Equity and Development

This is a rather short post.

The World Development report on Equity and Development (2006) is out, and has a tremendous amount of information. This has been discussed by a recent Hindu article; here.

That wonderful blogger, Anand, has taken a deeper look at the Equity and Development reports, and his posts are well worth a read:

1) Applying the Equity lens-I

2) Applying the Equity lens-II

3) Applying the Equity lens-III

4) Applying the Equity lens-IV.

They're well worth the time spent.

A small excerpt from the Hindu article:
"China's extraordinary emergence as an economic powerhouse — GDP per capital has quadrupled over the past 25 years — is also held up as an illustration of the importance of equity in supporting growth. Under Deng Xiaoping's leadership, in the 1980s, economic decision-making was decentralised to local governments and individual businesses and farmers, as the failures of post-war central planning became clear. Although the political stranglehold of the Communist Party over China has not relaxed, Mr. Ferreira says opening markets and spreading wealth more widely has been crucial. "We actually see China, particularly in the early 1980s, as an example of what we argue for here: a combination of equity and markets."

The complete World Development report is here, as a pdf file, and is worth reading in detail.