Extensive new studies suggest that the world has made extraordinary progress in reducing poverty in recent decades.The research suggests that the pace of economic progress has been repaid and contunied for decades, built on the foundations of relative political stability ,rising trade and economic liberalization after two world wars. One new study ,published recently by institute for international economics in Washington, says that the proportions of 6.1 billions in the world who live on 1$ a day or less shrank from 63 percent in 1950 to 35percent in 1980 and 12 percent in 1999, By some other measures, the progress has been more modest. Still, the economists agree that poverty has plunged in key nations such as India and especially China, thanks to slowing population growth as well as economic freedom. This is a huge success for the world as a whole, says Harvard University economist Cooper. We are doing something right.
The research comes as the World Bank is about to open its annual meeting----an event has been troubled in recent years by protests that the bank and its sister institution the International Monetary Fund have done too little for world's poor.The research will not put an end of that dispute .Vast populations remain poor and many still question the wisdom of Bank policies. Nonetheless, the research findings are helpful to understand what policy should be followed by these institutions and hundreds of development groups working very hard to hasten the pace of economic progress. If dramatic gains are under way , the present policies ---calling for open markets, free business activities, and tight monetry control--are working and correct.
But critics of IMF and WORLD BANK policies maintain that such economic success stories as Japan China South Korea and Singapore are rooted in more than just free markets. These nations have manage to grow economic rapidly ,and thereby reduce poverty by limiting imports when their domestic industries were young and pushing exports to rich nations. putting controls on purely international financial flows .They have been open to foreign-owned factories but have often insisted that these investors share the knowledge and skill on modern technologies.
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