Hunger, Poverty, and Economic Development
The following sites contain information on the relationship between hunger, poverty, and economic development. As we note in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, hunger is largely a function, not of the availability of food, but of people's ability to pay for it. The great dilemma is how to create economic, social, and political conditions to ensure that everyone has access to food or the means to acquire it.
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe.html
On November 3, the US Census Bureau released 1996 poverty estimates for three age groups of children and for people of all ages, in each state and the District of Columbia. "The 1996 estimates include the numbers of poor people, poor children under 18, poor children ages 5 to 17 living with a family and poor children under age 5," as well as estimates of median household income. These estimates are used in administering federal programs and allocating federal funds to local jurisdictions. Access to the data is available via the State and County Estimates link on the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates homepage. Users can then view tables of the 1996 data (as well as 1995, 1993, and 1989) by state and poverty statistic. Please note that no county data are available yet for 1996. (Scout Report, November 5, 1999)
2002
United Nations Human Development Report [.pdf]
Published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the 2002 Human Development Report emphasizes the importance of politics to successful human development and urges the creation and maintenance of potent forms of democratic governance at all levels of society. Entitled "Deepening democracy in a fragmented world," this 292-page report contains five chapters -- The state and progress of human development, Democratic governance for human development, Deepening democracy by tackling democratic deficits, Democratizing security to prevent conflict and build peace, and Deepening democracy at the global level -- and ends with human development indicators and indices. Users may access the report in its entirety or download by individual section. In addition, interested readers may access previous reports dating back to 1990.
A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities
2001 -- The
United States Conference of Mayors
http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/hunger2000.pdf
In January, the United States Conference of Mayors posted its annual status report on hunger and homelessness in America's cities. "The survey, conducted in 25 cities, examined the causes of hunger and homelessness, the demographic groups that make up this population, demand for emergency food and housing-related assistance, model programs that respond to these problems, and the projected impact of the economy on hunger and homelessness in America." The 125-page report finds that emergency demands for food were at their second highest rate in 2000 since 1991 with a seventeen percent increase in demand. The average demand for emergency shelter also increased by fifteen percent -- the highest one-year increase of the decade. The data are compiled from surveys conducted by city officials who consult with and collect data from community-based providers and government agencies. (Scout Report for the Social Sciences and Humanities, 4/3/02)
Africa Recovery is a journal published in English and French by the Library and Publications Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information. Each issue contains articles relating to development or obstacles to it in Africa. Volume 12 (August 1998), for example, contains articles on debt reduction, drug trafficking, and arms control.
A rich source of information on global agriculture, including the latest news on agricultural and livestock production in countries all over the world along with the latest on agriculture biotechnology.
Agriculture 21--UN FAO
http://www.fao.org/ag/
Agriculture Fact Book 1998 --USDA [.pdf, 277p.]"To 'promote food security and sustainable development into the next millennium,' the Agriculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has recently created this new resource. An impressive and clearly arranged interface leads researchers to more than one gigabyte of data from various UN Agriculture Department sites. A detailed list of available software, databases, publication lists, and email conferences is provided via the Guides section of the site. Other services include Magazine, a monthly publication on international agricultural issues, and Gateway, a link pointing to UN Department of Agriculture divisional homepages." (The Scout Report, 10/9/98) Some excellent features, such as why Asian rice crops are declining, and the threat that poses for Asian populations, and the environmental threats posed by increasing livestock production.
http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fbook98/content.htm
Do you want to know what Americans eat? How much they spend on food? How food habits have changed? This government site has this information and much more. You can find information on the number and size of American farms, and economic structure of American agriculture (who owns the farms), the age distribution of rural populations and so on. You need Adobe Acrobat to access the documents, but if you can check the legal structure of American farms. What percentage are still family operations? But what percentage of earned income is accumulated by corporations?
You can find out the quantities of agricultural products in the United States, who is consuming them, the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that are applied to crops, and so on.
America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 1999 [.pdf, 114p.] http://www.childstats.gov/ac1999/ac99.asp
The 1999 edition (last edition reviewed in the July 24, 1998 Scout Report of this annual compendia of statistical indicators on US children, produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics was placed online on July 8. This issue, which contains 23 indicators in four topics, shows overall improvement in children’s well-being but also reports continuing and significant disparities, principally along economic lines. Information is presented in non-technical terms with heavy use of charts and tables. The full text of the report, including the appendices, is available for download in HTML or .pdf format. Users may also browse the report highlights, the official press release, and three "backgrounders" on specific issues. [MD (The Scout Report, 7/9/99)]
America's
Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2002 [.pdf]
http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/
The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has released its sixth annual report on the status and well being of America's children (last edition reviewed in the July 27, 2001 Scout Report). The 2002 edition contains 24 key indicators divided into five categories -- population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. In addition, the report also provides data on eight key contextual measures and includes a special feature on children of at least one foreign-born parent. Users have the option of viewing the entire report in HTML or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats, or downloading each section individually in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
Assessing Aid-What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why -- World Bank [.pdf, PowerPoint] http://www.worldbank.org/research/aid/aidpub.htm
"The latest in a series of World Bank Policy Research Reports, this major new report summarizes the findings of a multi-year research program on aid effectiveness. The 1990s has seen official Development Assistance fall by one-third in real terms. One of the reasons for this has been "a sense that aid does not work very well. Assessing Aid aims to understand when aid works and when it does not, so that the lessons can be used to make aid more effective." The report identifies two key components of aid—money and ideas—and discusses how and when they can best be applied to promote developing economies. Users can read a detailed overview in HTML or download the full text of the report in .pdf format. Additional resources at the site include a PowerPoint slide presentation and a news release in several languages." (The Scout Report, 11/27/98)
The site represents the attempt by a group of scholars assembled in November 1996 at the Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy to establish guidelines for the practical assessment toward sustainable development. This site contains some of the recommendations. The site contains a summary of the goals and the principles. The site also contains a multimedia presentation of the conference.
"Thirty years of experience has placed the British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) at the forefront of development information provision. The BLDS makes its services available to those engaged in any sphere of social science related activity aimed at understanding the problems of what have traditionally been regarded as the developing regions of the world. The BLDS has primarily been used by the UK development community: however, our exploitation of the Internet now extends BLDS access to all regions of the world."
Building
Poverty Reduction Strategies—World Bank
http://worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/
This World Bank site considers a new framework for reducing poverty worldwide. The three steps of this outline are highlighted. "Understanding the nature and locus of poverty" considers the demographics of the world’s poor. The second step, "Choosing public actions that have the highest poverty impact," examines the factors necessary for choosing public actions that will merit the highest impact on poverty. Finally, the provisions for monitoring the chosen poverty outcome indicators are explained in "Selecting and tracking outcome indicators." This site’s rich resources include information and data on poverty such as regional and social indicators, household surveys, and country data sets, and an extensive list of related links. An online library holds reports, working papers, speeches, and other materials from the World Bank as well as from other resources. Interested users may also subscribe to _PovertyNet_, a bimonthly e-newsletter. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 1/17/2000)
Census Bureau Reports: One in Five People Had Difficulty Satisfying Basic Needs in 1995
Abstract
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-130.html
Full .pdf version [163K]: http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/p70-67.pdf
Poverty is not simply a feature of so-called "underdeveloped" countries. As this U.S. Census report indicates, 20% of all Americans have difficulty meeting basic needs. The situation is particularly critical for children. "Extended Measures of Well-Being: Meeting Basic Needs, 1995," a recently published population report, examines demographic data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. It concludes that one in five people had difficulty meeting basic needs, such as food, shelter, and health care, in 1995 and found that "more than one quarter of children (29 percent) lived in a household in which someone reported difficulty meeting at least one basic need." Substantial correlative data is given concerning race, gender, region, employment, income, educational attainment, and other typical demographic categories. (Scout Report for Business and Economics)
Child
Trends
http://www.childtrends.org/HomePg.asp
A nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families, Child Trends conducts research and evaluation studies in areas including teenage pregnancy and childbearing, the effects of welfare and poverty on children, and parenting issues such as family structure and processes. A "one-stop shop for the latest trends in child and youth well-being," this Web site provides an extensive amount of information on youth issues, including essays and news releases, research briefs, fact sheets, and much more. Additionally, the site also contains a list of its current projects, categorized by research area. Easily navigable, this site is valuable for parents, social workers, teachers, child psychologists, and anyone else interested in youth related issues.
CIESIN:
Center for
International Earth Science Information Network
Columbia University
http://www.ciesin.org/
- A collection of research data and Web links on development and related issues.
- Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives and Publications
- iisd1.iisd.ca/measure/compendium.htm
"The Compendium provides a comprehensive and up-to-date information base of indicator initiatives being carried out at the international, national and provincial/territorial/state levels in the context of sustainable development. Some projects at the regional/local and community levels are included. The compendium also contains an annotated bibliography of indicator-related literature."
Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland—PBS [Flash, RealPlayer]An excellent site to find out what is being done in the area of sustainable development. The site is the home of In Context: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture in which you find articles related to the issues of sustainability.
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/farmhouses/
With the advent of capital intensive agriculture, small farms have become virtually obsolete. This PBS Website examines the settlement and cultivation of the Midwest through the focusing lens of the typical L-shaped farmhouse, the Website uses text, photographs, video, and audio to tell the story of agricultural life in the Midwest from the 1830s to the mid-20th century when agribusiness effectively transformed both the physical and cultural landscape of the prairies. Given that the documentary is based on a book from the Afton Historical Society Press in Minnesota, it is not surprising that the Website has a strong literary flavor with healthy excerpts from writers like Willa Cather and Minnesota writer Bill Holm and video readings of poetry by Robert Bly and Leo Dangel. Also included here are the texts of some articles on sustainable agriculture and the possibilities, albeit perhaps slim, for some sort of renaissance of the small family farm. (Scout Report for Social Science, 6/27/00)
Development Gateway
http://www.developmentgateway.org/
An incredibly rich site developed originally by the World Bank, provides articles, country information and links to other economic development sites. The site deals with issues such as privatization, gender rights, microfinance, indigenous rights, and topical problems (e.g. the crisis in Argentina) to name just a few. The site requires free registration, but you can also sign up to receive newsletters on the subjects addressing development issues.
An excellent site for information on economic development in Africa. "The Economic Commission for Africa is the arm of the United Nations devoted to making quality information on African development internationally available. ECA research focus areas include gender equality, agricultural productivity, information technology, social policy, and environmental concerns. The site features an extensive bibliography of articles on African socio-economic development entitled Africa Index as well as the comprehensive Africa Economic Report 1998. Current awareness is also facilitated by the long list of African Newspaper and Magazine links entitled News from Around Africa. [MW]" (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 9/10/98)
Economic History
McMaster
socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/index.html
A collection of classic writings on economics and related subjects; you can access works by Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, John Maynard Keynes, to name just a few. Great source for original documents.
Eliminating
World Poverty: Making Globalization Work for the Poor_
[.pdf]
http://www.globalisation.gov.uk/
Published in early December by Prime Minister Blair and the British Secretary of State Clare Short, this second White Paper from the UK government on International Development discusses strategies for making the rapid development that has accompanied globalization benefit the world’s poor more. The lengthy publication presents information and makes recommendations concerning third world governance and poverty, labour supply and skills development, private finance, trade, the global environment, effective development assistance, and the International System. A short summary of the paper in .pdf format as well as the full text in HTML (with a sidebar table of contents) has been posted. A search engine, extensive glossary, and text-only version are also available. [Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities -- February 6, 2001]
Engendering
Development_ -- World Bank [.pdf]
http://www.worldbank.org/gender/prr/draft.html
Published online in late May, this report from the World Bank is subtitled "Enhancing Development through Attention to Gender." Beginning with the oft-supported premise that "income growth and economic development promote gender equality in the long run," the report argues for a three-part global strategy for promoting gender equality: 1. a reform of economic and judicial institutions, 2. the implementation of policies that promote sustained economic growth and development, and 3. the promotion of active measures to give women a greater command of resources and a stronger political voice. Of course, the devil is in the details, and those who wish to confront him may examine the policy report’s specific arguments and recommendations in .pdf format linked to from the table of contents page given above. (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 6/27/00)
The EFA 2000
Assessment: Country Reports
http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/efa_2000_assess/index.shtml
Sponsored by the World Education Forum and UNESCO, the Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment is an extraordinarily in-depth evaluation of basic education in some 180 countries. The substantial report posted for each country contains data and analysis concerning fundamental issues of education, including statistics on enrollment, literacy, educational levels of teachers, and academic and vocational education; as well as an overall evaluation of early childhood, primary, and secondary instruction; and much more. Eventually, the reports will be listed by region and a search engine will be available; currently though, users must browse by country. More countries’s reports are to be added as they are completed. (Scout Report, 2/11/2000)
Employment
Characteristics of Families—Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm
In April of 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on the employment characteristics of American families. The statistics include data on employment and unemployment in families by race, relationship, sex, marital status, presence of children in the family, and presence of children under three, among others. The data can be accessed from a table of contents or reviewed in an extensive news release. (Scout Report for Social Sciences and Humanities, 5/12/01)
Entropy and Inequality
Measures
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SMIPP/frmentro.htm
You need to know some math to take full advantage of this site created by Electrical Engineer Goetz Kluge to measure the maldistribution of global wealth. But even without the math backgound, you can find excellent quantitative information; check out, for example, disparities in the global distribution of wealth. If the math is too much, then check out the summary on growing disparities of wealth.
ERS:
World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, 2002 [.pdf]
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/waobr/view.asp?f=wasde-bb
This full-text monthly report by the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture provides the most current USDA forecasts of US and world supply-use balances of major grains, soybeans, cotton, and US supply and use of sugar and livestock products. Reports are available as far back as 1995 and are accessible in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
Explorations in Social Inequality
http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/strat.html
Excellent site for finding information on inequality in the United States. There links to statistics, articles, and other sites that detail the increasing gap in wealth between the rich and poor.
FAS Attache Reports
http://www.itdn.net/agrimen2.htm
Provided by the US Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), this daily updated database of attache reports on the agricultural situation and agricultural trade in other countries currently contains nearly 12,500 reports. Dating from 1995 to the present, the reports cover individual countries (almost 130), specific commodities and products, and trade policy. Users may search the database by commodity, country, subject, and AGR number. Searches may be further modified by date. [MD] (Scout Report, 7/9/99)
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
http://apps.fao.org/
An excellent source of statistical data about global food production and distribution. You can get information on land devoted to specific crops, yield, information on livestock production, lumber and fisheries production, as well as export data, to mention just a small amount of available information.
Food Cost Review, 1950-1997 -- ERS [.pdf, 50p.]
http://www.econ.ag.gov/epubs/pdf/aer780/
Food Consumption, Prices, and Expenditures, 1970-97 -- USDA ERS [.pdf]Provided by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS), this new report measures farm-to-retail price spread data to determine how much and why food prices rise. Although subtitled 1950-1997, the report actually focuses primarily on data for 1997. Contents of the report include an overview of the 1997 food prices, price spreads for selected foods, food industry costs and productivity, and food spending in relation to income. The report contains 25 pages of tables and a special article, "Historical Changes in CPI [Consumer Price Index]-Food Weights." Users can download the report by chapter or in its entirety in .pdf format.
http://www.econ.ag.gov/epubs/pdf/sb965/
"This report from the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, USDA ERS (described in the July 2, 1998 Scout Report for Business & Economics) provides "historical data on food consumption, prices, expenditures, and US income and population" for the years 1970-1997. According to the ERS, Americans now consume more total food, snacks, calories, and larger portions than they did 27 years ago, and 8 chapters and 107 statistical tables divulge hundreds of other food facts by product and income level." (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 5/6/1999)
Food First: The Institute for
Food and Development Policy
www.foodfirst.org
Food First was founded in 1975 by Frances Moore Lappé and Joseph Collins, authors of the book, Diet For a Small Planet. A "progressive think tank" Food First "highlights root causes and value-based solutions to hunger and poverty around the world, with a commitment to establishing food as a fundamental human right." The site provides information about the organizations publications, some background reports, and links to other sites concerning world hunger.
Food
Security and Safety: Economic Perspectives
At a time when safety and security are universal concerns, food is increasingly being considered both an asset and a liability. This study is essential reading for anyone interested in the exploitation of food as a basic resource. Offering numerous case studies of agricultural foreign aid programs sponsored by the United States and the United Nations, this issue of the State Department's online journal, Economic Perspectives, is at once serious and thought-provoking, exploring programs in several critically affected developing areas. A shining example of success, Bangladesh is pointed to as a nation that has completely reversed a long history of poverty and dependence through outside efforts to help it diversify and build its agricultural infrastructure. Focusing on the broader social and political implications of national and international agricultural policies, the study highlights the efficacy of well coordinated assistance and education in the alleviation of hunger as an unnecessary global ill
Global Development Gateway (GDG)
http://www.worldbank.org/gateway/
Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2000This new pilot project from the World Bank is designed as a portal for resources and tools on development issues, enabling those in the field to "share information, easily communicate, and build communities of practice around significant development challenges from the grassroots up." Currently, users can visit the site to learn about the project, its prototype features, and view the demo. At present, the demo offers country gateways for twelve nations. Each gateway provides numerous annotated links organized by topic under four categories: country guide; government and law; economy and business; and society, culture, and human development. News, a link to data, and a keyword search engine are also provided. At least 50 country gateways will be operational by June 2003. The demo also includes resources for selected topics and links to development-related news stories. Anyone interested in development issues will want to track the progress of this site. (Scout Report 10/13/00)
http://www.worldbank.org/prospects/gep2000/index.htm
This World Bank report concludes that Asian countries are recovering from the global economic crisis of 1997, but that "The crisis has led to a significant rise in income poverty and has engendered costly, large reallocations of people and sharp declines in middle-class standards of living. The crisis also reduced real public expenditures on education and health, with some countries experiencing significant declines in poor households’ access to both health and education services."
Global
Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture
(GIEWS) [.pdf]
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/giewse.htm
Global Issues That Affect Everyone"The Economic and Social Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (originally reviewed in the October 25, 1996 Scout Report), an internationally recognized source for information on the world food situation, has expanded its GIEWS site. The site continues to feature the FAO’s important bimonthlies, Food Outlook and Foodcrops and Shortages, but has also added a number of resources that focus on the food situation in Africa. These include Food supply situation and crop prospects in sub-Saharan Africa, a quarterly assessment of the current food supply situation in that region; monthly reports during the growing season on the drought-prone Sahel region; and frequently updated Special Reports on food shortages around the world. The site now also hosts three databases: on Western and Central Africa (in French only), Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. Data is available for all countries in each area and includes maps, satellite images, climatic profiles, crop zones, population data, various statistics, and background information. Visitors may also subscribe to any of GIEWS three mailing lists: one forwards the text of Special Reports, another sends users the monthly report on the Sahel, and a third consists of alerts on new publications at the site. The reports are available in French and Spanish, as well." (Scout Report, 1/29/99)
http://www.globalissues.org/
Anup Shah's terrific site that details global problems ranging from population, to debt, to racism, to the causes of poverty. The site is filled with links to other resources in the context of discussions regarding global issues.
Global System for
Sustainable Development (GSSD)
http://gssd.mit.edu/GSSD/gssden.nsf
A project of the Global Accords Consortium for Sustainable Development (located at MIT), this site offers a collection of over 2,500 abstracted, indexed, and cross-referenced online resources on sustainable development. Users have four options for searching the index: text (keyword and advanced) and three graphical browsers, one indexing all holdings (organized by subject and problems and solutions), the others covering industry related topics and the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS), respectively. Initial search returns include title, "slice" (subject), and "ring" (problem area). Item titles link to further information, including an abstract and the resource itself. GSSD also features a modest selection of full-text reports on "scientific developments and/or policy deliberations." The Consortium plans to make the entire knowledge base available in at least nine additional languages in the future. Scout Report, December 3, 1999).
"Human Development Report 1997 reviews the challenge to eradicate poverty from a human development perspective. It focuses not just on poverty of income but on poverty from a human development perspective - on poverty as a denial of choices and opportunities for living a tolerable life."
Human Development Report 1998--UN Development Programme http://www.undp.org/hdro/hdrs/1998/english/98.htm
"The Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme has released the Human Development Report (HDR) 1998. This site provides a detailed summary of the report’s contents and an agenda for action, outlining a comprehensive plan to change the world’s consumption patterns in ways that will facilitate future human development. Appended to the HDR 1998 are three indices: the Human Development Index, the Gender-Related Development Index, and the Gender Empowerment Measure. Each index presents pertinent statistical measures and displays the data in a table format. The site also archives HDRs dating back to 1990 and supplies information on ordering the full report. " (Scout Report for Social Science, 9/22/98)
Human Development Report (HDR) 1999 -- UN [.pdf, 262p.] http://www.undp.org/hdro/report.html
Released on Monday July 12, the tenth edition of the United Nation Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report has garnered considerable attention from the international press all week. The report ranks 174 countries on quality of life indicators such as life expectancy, wealth, and literacy, ranking Canada at the top and Sierra Leone at the bottom. The report pays particular attention to the opportunities and dangers of globalization. Although living conditions in almost all countries have improved over the last ten years, according to the report, economic inequalities have reached "grotesque" proportions, "with the richest fifth of humanity enjoying more than 85% of total gross domestic product and the poorest fifth only 1%." Users can download the full text and statistical tables of the report by chapter at the UNDP site. Additional resources include an Online Newsroom, which contains a press kit, author information, early reviews, and a feature on the HDR team.
The Website for The Hunger Project contains a description of the project, their strategies for alleviating world hunger, reports, information, and news about areas where hunger is the greatest problem. Find out where hunger is the greatest problem in the world and some of the means being employed to do something about it.
At this site you can initiate a donation of food from one of the site's sponsors, and you can see the frequency at which a children are dying of hunger throughout the world.
"The aim of this site is to help prevent and eradicate hunger by facilitating the free exchange of ideas and information regarding the causes of, and solutions to, hunger. It contains primary information, made available by the World Hunger Program -- the prime sponsor of this site -- and its partners, as well as links to other sites where information of relevance to hunger can be found." If you want to examine the data on how much food there is in the world, and whether there is enough to feed everyone, check out the State of World Hunger. You'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat to read the document.
Improving Women’s Access to
Credit
http://gdrc.org/icm/wind/wind.html
Inequality.orgImproving Women’s Access to Credit, created by Dr. Hari Srinivas of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, is an extensive list of resources and information pertaining to women and banking throughout the world. Included are studies and documents from sources such as the International Co-operative Alliance, UNICEF, and the Institute for Global Communications and links to women’s organizations, international networks, and programs.(Scout Report for Business and Economics, 7/23/99)
http://www.inequality.org/
Created and maintained by "a network of journalists, writers and researchers trying to look beyond conventional economics and its notions of prosperity and progress," this Website features news and analysis of the economic and cultural ramifications of the wide divide between the haves and the have-nots in America. The site offers both original articles and reprints from sources such as _The Nation_ and _The New Yorker_. In addition, pertinent economic statistics and recent news stories are also provided. For those doing research or advocacy, a useful list of both online and print resources is available along with an extensive contact list of experts, including descriptions of their work with economic-inequality issues. While the site’s agenda may appear obvious, readers should note that Inequality.org is hardly a hotbed of socialist thought. Its director and founder, James Lardner, writes about business, technology, and work for _US News and World Report_. Perhaps one does not have to have a political axe to grind to take note of the increasingly obvious. (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 6/13/2000)
Inner City Press
http://www.innercitypress.org/
Economic development is an issue, not only in the periphery, but in peripherialized areas of the core, as well. "Inner City Press / Community on the Move (ICP) is a non-profit community, consumers’ and civil rights organization headquartered in the South Bronx of New York City, engaged in cut-edge advocacy , reporting and organizing in the fields of community reinvestment, fair access to credit, insurance and telecommunications, environmental justice, and government and corporate accountability. The more recently formed Inner City Public Interest Law Center engages in litigation and administrative advocacy around these issues, including collaborating with or providing legal representation to other community groups. Click here for some recent news about our work. Click here for a brief description of some of our current campaigns."
Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy
http://www.iatp.org/home.htm
"The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) was established in 1986 as a nonprofit and tax exempt research and education organization. Our mission is to create environmentally and economically sustainable communities and regions through sound agriculture and trade policy." Check out the Globalism and Global Governance section of the site for information on the relationships between hunger and economic globalization.
Institute for the Study of Homelessness and
Poverty
http://www.weingart.org
Institute of Development StudiesA nonprofit organization that facilitates access to accurate data and research about homelessness and poverty, focusing principally on Southern California but also indexing materials of statewide, national and global importance.
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/index.html
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) [.pdf]Located in Sussex, England, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is an international authority on development. IDS serves as a center for research and education on development and offers conferences and workshops, as well as a host of online information about research and publications. Full-text working and discussion papers are available online, as are several special research reports and descriptions of projects on such subjects as Globalization, Governance and Civil Society, and Environment. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 9/12/99)
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/
"Established in 1966 by the US Office of Economic Opportunity, the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), University of Wisconsin-Madison, investigates the 'causes and consequences of poverty and social inequality' in the United States. Often a source of in-depth information on welfare reform, IRP research is available in full text via the quarterly publication Focus_ (Fall 1994 to present), IRP Discussion Papers (1993 to present), and selected Special Reports (1997 only). A subject index to IRP publications is provided, and other resources on-site include a Consumer Price Index Calculator and an extensive metapage of poverty-related links to resources in a variety of areas, from activism to public policy." (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 11/5/98)
Excellent site for information on issues related to food supplies, trade, the environment, and sustainable development. At the site you can read or subscribe to BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest, or access the monthly reviews.
International Development Network
http://www.idn.org/
The IDN states that its "goal is to promote sustainable and responsible development initiatives and projects by providing access to development related information and related resources to individuals, NGOs, Companies and Government Agencies." You can find links to many other sites on sustainable development
International Development
Research Center
http://www.idrc.ca/
"The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada, fosters social, environmental, and economic development worldwide by conducting research that produces the knowledge to solve problems. The IDRC Website is as deep as it is wide, providing access to lodes of information on development programs from its offices located in Ottawa, Singapore, Montevideo, Dakar, New Delhi, Cairo, and Johannesburg." (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 12/1/98) Check out the Resource Clock that tracks the relationship between population and the amount of ariable land available in the world. Remember, however, that comsumers in core countries use far more ariable land to support their consumption needs, than do people in the periphery.
Long Road to Sustainable
Development
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lebanon/254/develop.htm
A collection of Web sites, articles, reports and other resources relating to the subject of sustainable development.
National
Center for Children in Poverty
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/
"The mission of the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is to identify and promote strategies that reduce the number of young children living in poverty in the United States, and that improve the life chances of the millions of children under age six who are growing up poor." Check some of the basic facts about child poverty in America.
Novartis
Foundation for Sustainable Development
http://www.foundation.novartis.com/
The mission of the foundation is to "foster sustainable development in the poor countries of the South through support of programs and projects in the areas of sustainable agriculture, health and social development." The site contains an extensive set of links along with articles relating to the subject of sustainable development. Check, for example, Food Security for a Growing World Population, an article by Klaus M. Leisinger on the relationship between hunger, population, poverty, urbanization and environmental degradation.
Overcoming
Human Poverty_ - UNDP Poverty Report 2000 [PowerPoint]
http://www.undp.org/povertyreport/
This year’s annual Poverty Report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the world’s largest aid agency, breaks new ground in the way it directly indicates poor governance as a leading cause of continued poverty in many nations. The question of government and poverty has been a matter of some contention within the UN and between aid agencies and countries seeking assistance. This report identifies effective governance as "the ‘missing link’ between national anti-poverty efforts and poverty reduction," and concludes that "for many countries it is in improving governance that external assistance is needed." The authors call for a new and more sharply focused global strategy to combat poverty, one that emphasizes good government, the integration of poverty programs on the national and international level, and empowering people. The full text of the report is available by chapter at the site, along with an executive summary, country profiles, and a PowerPoint slide show. The text and summary are also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish. (Scout Report 4/7/00)
The
Oxfam Education Report_
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/educationnow/edreport/report.htm
Published earlier this year, this report from Oxfam "sets out the scale of the worldwide education crisis, identifies the causes, and sets out an agenda for reform." Divided into seven sections that examine data concerning education worldwide, the report discusses the critical connection between education and poverty globally, the progress made in achieving the goals set out at the 1990 UN conference—Education for All, and the worldwide inequalities in education. The report also examines efforts at international cooperation on education, "partnerships for change," and presents a nine-page agenda for action. According to the report, the promises concerning education made at the 1990 UN conference have been "comprehensively broken," and, if current trends continue, none of the conference’s quantitatively measurable goals for 2015 will be reached. (Scout Report for Social Sciences and Humanities, 5/1/01)
Oxfam describes itself as "a development, advocacy, and relief agency working to put an end to poverty world-wide. Oxfam believes that poverty is not inevitable: it can be tackled. In partnership with local groups, Oxfam works with poor people to help them help themselves." There is an excellent section for teaching primary and secondary school students about world hunger and poverty.
- Poverty Lines--World Bank [.pdf, compressed .ps]
- www.worldbank.org/html/prdph/lsms/research/povline/plhome.html
A World Bank publication, "Poverty Lines is a brief, two-page newsletter which summarizes research on poverty. Many of the issues covered will come from the LSMS Working Papers, but not all working papers will have a corresponding issue of Poverty Lines. While the working papers summarized may be technical in presentation and require training in economic theory or statistics to read, the summaries provided by Povery Lines are written for readers who may not have this training."
PovertyNet—The
World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/data/index.htm
This Website from the World Bank (first mentioned in the March 26, 1999 _Scout Report_) serves as a directory of the copious reports and data on poverty produced by the World Bank. Data are available here on income poverty and social status broken down by country, region, and sometimes continent. The entire Website may be searched, or materials may be browsed by special topics, including understanding poverty, responding to poverty, voices of the poor, impact evaluation, inequality, poverty and health, social capital, and many more. Access to .pdf and Word versions of World Bank publications is also available as well as links to a number of World Bank resources. [The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities -- May 1, 2001]
- Praxis: Data Bases on Social and Economic Development
- http//caster.ssw.upenn.edu/~restes/praxis.html
The site established by Prof. Richard J. Estes of the University of Pennsylvania, "PRAXIS provides access to a vast array of archival resources on international and comparative social development." There are extensive links to information about countries and about development in general.
From the United Nations, "The Progress of Nations, an annual scorecard of the social health of nations, records achievements in the form of statistics that measure fulfilment of minimum human needs. The knowledge it unearths is fundamental to solving problems, because information is the first ingredient needed by those with the will and the means to make change. The Progress of Nations 1997 tells both good news and bad, and some news that is both. For example, mortality rates among children under 5 have declined impressively over the past 15 years—but HIV/AIDS is undermining that success in about 30 countries. A code is in place to protect breastfeeding from unethical infant formula marketing practices—but enforcement of the code is spotty. Safe water supplies have expanded dramatically in recent years—but access to sanitation is falling. "
The Progress of Nations 1999 [.pdf, 38p.;
RealPlayer]
Frames Version: http://www.unicef.org/pon99/
No Frames: http://www.unicef.org/pon99/fronote1.htm
Public Opinion on Poverty, Income Inequality and Public Policy 1996-2001 ReportUNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has once again posted its annual report, The Progress of Nations, online. This year’s report places special focus on the debt crisis of the world’s poorest nations, the AIDS emergency, the campaign to eradicate polio, and a new Child Risk Measure League Table, which ranks the risks to children in countries around the world on a scale of 0 to 100. The report is available in HTML or .pdf format. Four RealPlayer videos are also available. (Scout Report, 7/23/99)
http://www.demos-usa.org/Pubs/POReport/
Probing notions on poverty and inequality over the course of the strongest economy in history, the Demos's white paper "Public Opinion on Poverty,Income Inequality and Public Policy: 1996-2001" is both curious reading and an eye-opening study in the contradictions that inhere in virtually every discussion of poverty in America. The report indicates that, while an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that the government should take decisive steps to aid America's underclass, they are also convinced that the underclass both could and should do more to help itself. Certainly its largest contribution, the report offers a compelling analysis of the obvious schisms in the war on poverty by pointing to the struggle between those who believe that the American Dream is universally realizable and those who are convinced that it is not. With this long-standing question mark on the American political landscape in mind, the report contends there are reasons for optimism on the part of all interested in helping, in that now more than ever Americans from across the political spectrum believe that government should play a greater role in helping the underclass -- "even if helping results in higher taxes." (Scout Report, 1/18/02)
Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends_ [.pdf] http://www.cbpp.org/1-18-00sfp.htm
A new report released on January 18 from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals that, despite the strong economy, income disparities in most states are significantly larger in the late 1990s than they were in the 1980s. In all but four states, income disparities between high- and low-income families increased, and in 45 states, "the gap between the average incomes of middle-income families and of the richest 20 percent of families expanded between the late 1970s and the late 1990s." For the US as a whole, the average income of families in the top 20 percent was more than ten times that of the poorest 20 percent of families. Users can read the full text of this important report by section or in its entirety in .pdf format. A press release and state fact sheets are also provided. (Scout Report, 1/1/2000)
ReliefWeb
http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/
"ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, formerly DHA). The purpose of this effort is to strengthen the capacity of the humanitarian relief community through the timely dissemination of reliable information on prevention, preparedness and disaster response. "
RRojas Databank
http://www.rrojasdatabank.org
One of the most comprehensive sites on the Web dealing with development and economic globalization. Robinson Rojas (many of whose writings are included on the site) has compiled an impressive list of articles and links relating to economic development. It is also remarkably well-maintained. There is also an impressive array of curriculum material, including lecture notes, some of it used in Robinson's Open University courses. A treasure trove of material.
Second Harvest
http://www.secondharvest.org/index.html
If you need to be convinced that hunger is caused, not by a lack of food, but a lack of the ability to pay for it, consider the fact that 30 million people in the United States are hungry. And there are many more in other areas of the so-called developed world. This Web site documents the extent of hunger in the U.S. and the reasons for it.
Smart Library on Urban Poverty
http://www.poverty.smartlibrary.org/
The Kennedy School at Harvard University and the National Institute for Social Science Information (NISSI) provide "the best research on urban poverty from leading academic journals" at the Smart Library on Urban Poverty. This complex site allows six pathways into its databases, which cover a range of topics: welfare and work facts, first-person narratives, and evaluations of major economic experiments. A Headlines section links readers to Smart Library contents via the latest news concerning urban economies, communities, and families in the US.
"The State of Food and Agriculture is FAO's annual report on current developments affecting world agriculture. It reviews policy factors underlying recent agricultural performances at the world and regional levels, highlighting the experience of selected countries in each region. It also discusses issues of current or emerging interest, and presents each year an in-depth analysis of a selected topic of importance to world food and agriculture." The Report contains a section on world overviews of the production and distribution of various crops, and a region by region breakdown of food production and supplies. A remarkable compilation of information. Check out the World Review section to find out about problem areas and trends.
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 1999
_ [.pdf, 1028K] http://www.fao.org/NEWS/1999/img/SOFI99-E.PDFThis excellent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, _The State of Food Insecurity in the World_ (_SOFI_), found that, in 1999, 790 million people in the Third World are undernourished, and 34 million in First and Second World nations also do not have enough to eat. Although the number of undernourished people has dropped by 40 million since 1996, a decline of 8 million a year, the world will not be able to meet the 1996 World Food Summit goal of reducing the number of starving people to about 400 million in 2015. This 35-page report is filled with graphically rendered data sets, maps, glossaries of defined terms, and side bars highlighting specific countries and issues. _SOFI_’s presentation conveys the urgency of the issues surrounding the world’s food insecurity clearly and concisely. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, Dec. 2, 1999)
The State of Food and Agriculture 2000 -- United Nationshttp://www.fao.org/docrep/x4400e/x4400e00.htm
According to the recently released The State of Food and Agriculture 2000 (SOFA), the closing years of the last century were not particularly good for world food and agriculture. Due to difficult climatic conditions and the financial crisis of 1997, crop and livestock production in developing countries continued to decline noticeably. The report is divided into two main sections. The first offers a general world review of the state of agriculture including information on some specific current agricultural situations, economic environments and agriculture, and selected issues including the effects of microcredit and "conflicts, agriculture, and security." The second section explores in detail the lessons learned about world food and agriculture in the last 50 years. Main chapters in the section include "Half a Century of Food and Agriculture," "Socio-Economic Impact of Agricultural Modernization," "Food Nutrition Security: Why Food Production Matters," and "What Have We Learned." The entire body of this report is available online in HTML format. (Scout Report 10/20/00)
State of the
World's Children--1997
www.unicef.org/sowc97/
The 1997 report from UNICEF focuses on child labor. "UNICEF urges an immediate end to hazardous and exploitative child labour, and advocates urgent support for education, so that children may acquire knowledge and skills to improve their lives.
The 1998 report from UNICEF focuses on nutrition. "Over 200 million children in developing countries under the age of five are malnourished. For them, and for the world at large, this message is especially urgent. Malnutrition contributes to more than half of the nearly 12 million under-five deaths in developing countries each year. Malnourished children often suffer the loss of precious mental capacities. They fall ill more often. If they survive, they may grow up with lasting mental or physical disabilities."
State of the World's
Children--1999
http://www.unicef.org/sowc99/
"Nearly a billion people will enter the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names and two thirds of them are women. And they will live, as now, in more desperate poverty and poorer health than those who can. They are the world’s functional illiterates—and their numbers are growing." Thus begins the sumary of the latest UNICEF Report, The State of the World's Children--1999. This includes 130 million children of primary school age growing up without access to basic education. Check out the report or the summary.
The State of the World’s Children 2000 --
UNICEF
[.pdf, RealPlayer]
http://www.unicef.org/sowc00/
This year’s UNICEF State of the World’s Children report ... includes an appeal for a new international coalition on behalf of children. The report also summarizes progress made since the 1990 World Summit for Children and the challenges that remain. Included in the report are a number of photographs, maps, tables, and a glossary. A summary, features (a collection of children’s own words on important issues), RealPlayer videos, and a .pdf version of the report are available form the main page. (Scout Report, 12/17/1999)
Sustainable
Development/Economics
http://www.colby.edu/personal/thtieten/sustain.html
"This site offers three types of information: (1) a bibliography of works emphasizing economics and sustainable development, (2) a series of "executive summaries" of case studies involving attempts to pursue sustainable strategies, and (3) links to other sustainable development sites."
To Our Credit
http://www.pbs.org/toourcredit/
Trade Liberalisation and WomenThe PBS companion site to their two-part series on microcredit institutions, such as the Grameen bank discussed in Chapter Six, that specialize in small loans for the establishment of small business enterprises. The site contains descriptions of microcredit, along with stories abot its success. Check on the fact page to find out about the need for such lending programs? Do they work? What is the likelihood of someone escaping poverty through microcredit as opposed to someone without access to such resources?
http://www.undp.org/unifem/trade/index.htm
Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resource Guide [Flash]A special report from the United Nations Development Fund for Women’s (UNIFEM) program on Women and International Trade, Trade Liberalisation and Women seeks to explain how trade liberalisation, defined as the "process of systematically reducing and eventually eliminating all tariff and non-tariff barriers between countries as trading partners," is affecting the women of the world. The site explains how, as economies compete with each other, global liberalisation will drive down the working wages and working conditions of countries, thus affecting female workers. As well as this situational analysis, the site also includes extensive databases of related links, research, and books; UNIFEM’s research into the subject of women and trade; and a list of organizations users can contact if they are interested in persuing issues related to women and trade liberalisation. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 9/12/99)
http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/
Developed by four professors in the Soil and Crops Sciences and Life Sciences Departments at Colorado State University, this site aims to "provide balanced information and links to other resources on the technology and issues surrounding transgenic crops (also known as genetically modified or GM crops)." None of the authors is affiliated with companies involved in transgenic crop development or with groups campaigning against such crops. The site covers topics such as plant breeding, how transgenic crops are made -- including a Flash demo (not working at time of review), regulation of transgenic crops, current and future transgenic products, risks and concerns, and news updates. The authors deliberately steer clear of the moral or ethical implications of transgenic technology, staying focused on the scientific issues. Throughout the site, links are provided to related sites and other resources. Other sections include a bibliography, quiz, and FAQ. (Scout Report 9/1/00)
Read some of the primary documents of the Irish famine; examine how journals and newspapers reported the hunger that swept Ireland, remembering that while millions strarved to death, food, under armed guard, was being shipped to England and to people who could pay for it.
UC
Atlas of Global Inequality
http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/
Researchers
attempting to wade through the murky and volatile waters of globalization can
sometimes find the going rough. For the general public, even grasping the mere
tenets of what globalization entails can be equally confounding. The Center for
Global, International and Regional Studies at the University of California Santa
Cruz has stepped in to help with their UC Atlas of Global Inequality. Drawing on
a wide range of data sets, their online Atlas _explores the interaction between
global integration (globalization) and inequality._ Some of the themes visitors
can explore include economic globalization, health, and income inequality. Along
with these interactive features, visitors also have access to time series maps
of the world that show patterns of inequality and a database that allows tables
and graphs to be generated and downloaded for selected data and countries.
University of
Texas Inequality Project [.pdf]
http://utip.gov.utexas.edu/
The University of Texas Inequality Project (UTIP) is a small research group concerned with "measuring and explaining movements of inequality in wages and earnings and patterns of industrial changes around the world." The group applies cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and Theil’s T statistic to data from the US government, the Organisation for Co-operation & Development (OECD), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and posts world-wide measures of inequality on-site. UTIP working papers are also available (1998-present) in addition to Inequality Watch—a current awareness report on inequality in the US, Mexico, and Canada. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 5/6/1999)
United
Nations Capital Development Fund
http://www.uncdf.org/about_uncdf/index.html
A United Nations microcredit program to provide capital to the poor to begin or expand small businesses and enterprises. The site is valuable for its descriptions of different programs in different countries.
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Agricultural Data: Production and Production Indices
- apps.fao.org/cgi-bin/nph-db.pl?subset=agriculture
Forestry
Data
apps.fao.org/cgi-bin/nph-db.pl?subset=forestry
United Nations Millennium Development Goals [pdf, Real Player]
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
In the year 2000, all of the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions signed on to a compact sponsored by the United Nations in order to assist the needs of the world's poorest people. This compact included eight primary development goals that would be met by 2015. Some of these goals included a significant reduction of child mortality and the promotion of gender equality. This particular site offers updates on the progress towards these eight primary goals, along with links to the annual report on these goals. Visitors can visit the documents area to read the text of the previous annual reports, along with reading some of the regional reports filed for Latin American, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The "Background" area is another good place to look for summary materials, as it features the text of the millennium declaration and progress reports from 2004 and 2005. The site is rounded out by a selection of links to additional sites that may be helpful, such as those for the United Nations Population Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization. (Scout Report 9/16/05)
UN Report on the Outcome of the World Summit for Social
Development
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/geneva2000/index.html
This comprehensive report by the UN Secretary-General provides an assessment of progress on the international social development goals outlined at the World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) held in 1995 in Copenhagen (see the February 3, 1995 _Scout Report_). Collating and analyzing national reports from over 74 nations, the report examines specific national policies aimed at social development, depicts "the scope of regional and international cooperation in this area," presents "a series of regional overviews and analyses" that assess progress in the implementation of the WSSD goals, and analyzes eleven cross-cutting issues arising from the national reports as well as global and regional trends. (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 1/25/2000)
The Virtual Library on Microcredit
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/
Created by Dr. Hari Srinivas of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, The Virtual Library on Microcredit (VLM) is an encyclopedic resource on the issues surrounding microcredit. It was established to be "a repository of information on microcredit...[and aims] to support microfinance and related activities with information on policies, strategies, tools, case studies etc." Special themes, such as "Inspiring Ideas in Microcredit," "Improving Credit Access for Women," and "Capacity Building for Microfinance" are highlighted and contain a vast array of informative resources including documents, Websites, and networks and programs. The site is easily navigated using the main menu and pull-down menu and includes materials in French, Spanish, and Japanese, as well as English. (Scout Report, 1/28/00)
- Welcome to The World Bank
- www.worldbank.org
- World Bank Annual Report: 1996
- www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/annrep96/annrep96.htm
- World Bank _Annual Report_ 1997
- www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/annrep97/
- World Bank on Sustainable Development
- www.globalknowledge.org
World
Development Indicators [.pdf]
http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2001/
Published by the World Bank Group, World Development Indicators is an annual report containing statistical data on global topics such as people, environment, the economy, and states and markets. The Website for World Development Indicators provides all of the text of the report, but it only contains a small selection of the tables offered in the actual report, which is available on CD ROM for purchasing. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 10/21/1999)
World Development Report
1998/99: Knowledge for Development
http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/
World Development Report 1999/2000 [.pdf]"The World Bank has published the twenty-first annual World Development Report, investigating 'the role of knowledge in advancing economic and social well-being."\' The report makes three important suggestions directed to developing countries. First, developing countries are encouraged to institute policies to narrow the gap between the information-poor and the information-rich. Second, governments, NGOs, and the private sector need to collaborate to address the information problems that cause economic and political failure. Third, developing countries are prompted to recognize that knowledge is at the core of all development endeavors. This site provides the full version of the report, a report summary, a slide show, press releases, a Q & A section about the report, and ordering information." (The Scout Report for the Social Sciences, 10/20/98)
http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/2000/
World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty -- World Bank [.pdf]Released on September 15, 1999, the 22nd edition of this annual report from the World Bank Organization examines the effects of globalization and localization on the world economy in the coming millennium. Along with the full report, which can be downloaded by chapter in .pdf format, this extensive Website includes overviews of the World Development Report in general and the 1999/2000 report in particular. An online slide show guides users through the basics of globalization and localization with clear graphs and charts along with accompanying text. The Q&A section explains the reasons why the World Bank chose these two topics and covers the concepts of globalization and localization. (Scout Report for Business and Economics. 9/23/99)
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/index.htm
The full text of the World Development Report (WDR) 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty is now available for download. Along with the text of the report, World Bank has created a thorough Website that offers supporting information. Key resources include a large collection of background documents, conference and workshop papers, and the archive of the electronic discussion of the consultation draft. Also included is an ever-changing What's New section, the World Development Report Workplan, a calendar of events, and the WDR Newsletters. (Scout Report, 10/6/00)
World
Development Report 2002: Building Institutions for Markets [.pdf]
http://www.worldbank.org/wdr/2001/fulltext/fulltext2002.htm
A carefully weighted, well-conceived document, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2002 (last mentioned in the October 5, 2000 Scout Report) discusses the viable options available to developing nations attempting to open their markets to the world and thereby better the circumstances of their peoples. Honestly recognizing that free market economies are not one-size-fits-all, the report encourages policy builders and analysts to carefully consider the specific circumstances and histories of their countries as they add to infrastructure. A primary focus of the report is on individual institutions and their positive potential in serving in a nationwide system of checks and balances, ones which can greatly extend the interests of the people. Here, the reports insists, policy makers must look to establish institutions and organizations that are right for given populations at a given place and time. Ultimately, therefore, the report calls on those responsible for true nation building to look to the welfare of their own people, especially as they seek to move their nations into an increasingly voracious global market.
World
Development Report 2003 [.pdf]
http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/wdr2003/text-17926/
Last month, the World Bank released this report (last mentioned in the March 8, 2002 Scout Report), which "examines the relationship among competing policy objectives-reducing poverty, maintaining growth, improving social cohesion, and protecting the environment-over a 50-year horizon." The report is divided into nine chapters, which deal with topics ranging from "Global Problems and Local Concerns" to "Getting the Best from Cities." While the casual reader may not have time to read the entire report, there is a 30-page overview that provides a description of the basic themes contained within the full report. At its essence, the report argues that "development is sustainable if the rules of the game are transparent and the game is inclusive." This important document will be especially relevant to those with an interest in sustainable development from an inclusive and global perspective
World Food Habits
Bibliography
http://lilt.ilstu.edu/rtdirks/
"Professor Robert Dirks of Illinois State University compiled this comprehensive list of resources for the anthropological study of food and culture. The World Food Habits Bibliography is subdivided into regional and topical lists. All regions of the globe are included and topic areas cover various facets of food-related studies. In addition, a special section provides a list of resources related to the study of the American diet from 1891 to 1942." (The Scout Report for Social Sciences, 10/20/98)
World Hunger
http://ethics.acusd.edu/world_hunger.html
World Income Inequality Database [MS Access]Part of Lawrence M. Hinman's site, Ethics Updates, designed for ethics instructors. The world hunger section contains classroom presentations, discussion forums, and links to other sites addressing the issues of world hunger. There is also a special page on poverty and welfare.
http://www.undp.org/poverty/initiatives/wider/wiid.htm
The Social Development and Poverty Elimination Division of the United Nations Development Programme provide the World Income Inequality Database (WIID) to supply data and information on cross-country and time level series of income inequalities. Data on 149 countries, spanning from 1950 to 1998 have been entered into the database. Users may choose to view WIID on the Web, or they may also download it in Microsoft Access. Also included on-site are general information on WIID, a data selection guide, references, and country sources. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 2/10/2000)
