[CivilSoc] Dialogue with Civil Society - now in Week 3

Mon, 16 Jul 2001 10:59:58 -0700 (PDT)

From: jessica <[email protected]>
Dear friend,
We are emailing this announcement to you as a member of a leading NGO
network and ask that you circulate this announcement as widely as
possible to your membership. Please post these details on your
website where appropriate, as we would like to engage as wide a
network of participants as possible.
The New Economics Foundation, in co-operation with Bellanet, is
engaging in a dialogue with Civil Society on a World Bank Group
discussion paper, entitled, "Private Sector Development Strategy".
The dialogue is now underway, and we invite responses from all
interested groups.
Issue 3 - Week 3 Discussion
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE WBG VIS-�-VIS THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN PURSUING
THE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA?
Here are the questions for discussion in week three.  For analysis of
the issue, and direction on further reading please visit the week
three discussion at:
http://www.bellanet.org/wbpsddialogue/index.cfm?fuseaction=week3
How deeply should the World Bank be involved in private sector
activity? The discussion for week three centres on the incentives and
performance of the private sector in developing countries. Should aid
be tied to performance?  Who and what should shape the emerging
private sector?
Questions for Discussion in Week 3
  1.. Does it make sense to shift more risk away from the taxpayer to
private investors?
  2.. Do you agree that foreign ownership can ultimately lead to more
job creation and the creation of a domestic private sector?
  3.. Should the WBG lend on a more commercial basis to private firms
and use any profits for targeted subsidies?
  4.. Can targeted subsidies help to overcome some of the problems
that private services have faced in the past? Have your say! Full
details of the discussion and the process are available on the
website, below.
We invite responses from any interested groups on these issues, or
those raised in earlier weeks.
To participate in the dialogue, simply send a blank email message to:
[email protected]
You can also subscribe via the website at
http://www.bellanet.org/wbpsddialogue
Week 2: Discussion summary
This week's discussion centred heavily on the ongoing issue of debt
relief. While it was generally agreed that debt was a central problem
in escaping poverty, there was a good debate around the role of debt
in poverty perpetuation, and some innovative suggestions for
alleviating debt. Capitalising the debt, or debt swap programs were
suggested.  There was also mention of conditionality in debt relief
and aid provision, notably around issues such as arms trading.  It
was widely argued that the benefits of debt relief could only come
from focused economic management and re-investment in services,
education in particular.
The transparency and visibility of the aid process was raised, with
the call for more national involvement in debt relief or aid
programs, to make the process more internally accountable within
aided nations. However, it was also noted that it was important not
to blame or criminalise developing country governments, especially
where their policies are constrained by creditors.
This raised the issue of sovereignty in the context of the WBG and
NGO interventions, with the call for more co-operation both between
sectors in providing services, but also between the NGOs and national
governments in developing strategies and solutions for service
provision.
The discussion also touched on the logistics of and difficulties with
incentives for private provision of services. There was a call for
minimisation of intervention, both from governments and the
non-government sector, whose roles would be restricted to engendering
and enforcing the juridical environment to facilitate investment and
thus service provision. But it was recognised that, in opposition to
this, freed markets alone could not be expected to build social
infrastructure.
There was an emphasis on building the capacities of small and medium
enterprises as an engine for community regeneration, and to view the
poverty alleviation as a means of creating the demand that would
encourage investment, versus expecting investment inflows to result
simply from macro-economic conditions.  To this end it was suggested
that a gap had developed between prescriptions for poverty focused
interventions and the de facto focus on macroeconomic enabling and
"trickle down".
This summary is designed to draw out the main threads of discussion
that emerged over the previous week, and is not an exhaustive
account.  Participants can view the full discussion at:
http://www.bellanet.org/wbpsddialogue/index.cfm?fuseaction=main&cat_id=114
Deborah Doane
Head, Corporate Accountability Programme
New Economics Foundation
Cinnamon House
6-8 Cole Street
London SE1 4YH
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0)20 7407 7447, ext. 240
Fax: 44 (0)20 7407 6473
email: [email protected]
website: www.neweconomics.org