Bookshelf

LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT AND BUDGETING: A World Perspective,

edited by Rick Stapenhurst , Riccardo Pelizzo , David Olson , Lisa von Trapp. The World Bank, 2009.

In most countries, parliament has the constitutional mandate to both oversee and hold government to account. In light of the increased focus on good governance, academics and legislative strengthening practitioners are re-examining parliament's oversight function with a view to increasing public financial accountability, curbing corruption, and contributing to poverty reduction.

CREATIVE CAPITALISM: A conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and other economic leaders,

edited by Michael Kinsley. Simon & Schuster, 2008.

Gates has approached philanthropy with an ambition to change the rules of the game, he advocated a creative capitalism in which big corporations, integrate doing good into their way of doing business. This controversial new idea is discussed in this volume by forty contributors, among them three Nobel laureates and two former U.S. cabinet secretaries. Creative Capitalism is not just a book for philanthropists. It's a book that challenges the conventional wisdom about our economic system, a road map for the new global economy that is emerging as capitalism adapts itself once again to a changing world.

WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography

The World Bank, 2008.

Rising densities of human settlements, migration and transport to reduce distances to market, and specialization and trade facilitated by fewer international divisions are central to economic development. The transformations along these three dimensions—density, distance, and division—are most noticeable in North America, Western Europe, and Japan, but countries in Asia and Eastern Europe are changing in ways similar in scope and speed. WDR 2009 concludes that these spatial transformations are essential, and should be encouraged. However, the conclusion is not without controversy.

DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION SOURCEBOOK: Broadening the Boundaries of Communication,

by Paolo Mefalopulos. The World Bank, 2008.

This book illlustrates why the field of development communication is important and how its tools and methods enhance long-term and sustainable results. The book presents basic concepts and explains key challenges faced in daily practice. Each of the four modules is self-contained, with examples, toolboxes, and more.

THE GREAT INFLATION AND ITS AFTERMATH: The Past and Future of American Affluence,

by Robert J. Samuelson. Random House, 2008.

The Great Inflation, argues award-winning columnist Robert J. Samuelson, was the worst domestic policy blunder of the postwar era and played a crucial role in transforming American politics, economy, and everyday life–and yet its story is hardly remembered or appreciated. In these uncertain economic times, it is more imperative than ever that we understand what happened in the 1960s and 1970s, lest we be doomed to repeat our mistakes.

PROSPERITY UNBOUND: Building Property Markets with Trust,

by Elena Panaritis with foreword by Francis Fukuyama. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Prosperity Unbound is a provocative new look at real estate and "unreal estate" As a World Bank economist in the 1990s, and later as an investment advisor on deregulation, the author has seen first-hand how "unreal estate" distorts and suppresses property values and stunts the development of property markets. She has devised an analytical solution that was successful in the case of Peru and that may be applied just as successfully elsewhere.

CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS: Reducing Present and Future Poverty,

by Ariel Fiszbein and Norbert Schady. The World Bank, 2009.

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. This volume lays out a conceptual framework for thinking about the economic rationale for CCTs. The authors show that there is considerable evidence that CCTs have improved the lives of poor people and argue that conditional cash transfers have been an effective way of redistributing income to the poor. They also recognize that they need to be complemented with other interventions, such as workfare or employment programs, and social pensions.

FROM POVERTY TO POWER: How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World,

by Duncan Green with foreword by Amartya Sen. Oxfam Publishing, 2008.

From Poverty to Power argues that to break the cycle of poverty and inequality and to give poor people power over their own destinies a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets is required. The two driving forces behind such a transformation are active citizens and effective states.

THE PRINCETON ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE WORLD ECONOMY,

by Kenneth Reinert, Ramkishen Rajan, Amy Joycelyn Glass, and Lewis S. Davis, eds. Princeton University Press, 2009.

Written by an international team of contributors, this comprehensive reference includes more than 300 up-to-date entries covering a wide range of topics in international trade, finance, production, and economic development. These topics include concepts and principles, models and theory, institutions and agreements, policies and instruments, analysis and tools, and sectors and special issues. Each entry includes cross-references and a list of sources.

ECONOMIC GANGSTERS: Corruption, Violence and the Poverty of Nations,

by Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel. Princeton University Press, 2008.

Join the authors, two sleuthing economists, as they follow the foreign aid money trail into the grasping hands of corrupt governments and shady underworld characters. Spend time with ingenious black marketeers as they game the international system. Follow the steep rise and fall of stock prices of companies with unseemly connections to Indonesia's former dictator. See for yourself what rainfall has to do with witch killings in Tanzania—and more.

THE GROWTH REPORT: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development,

The World Bank, 2008.

The result of two years work by 19 experienced policymakers and two Nobel prize-winning economists, The Growth Report is the most complete analysis to date of the ingredients which, if used in the right country-specific recipe, can deliver growth and help lift populations out of poverty. By the Commission on Growth and Development.

ATLAS OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: A Visual Guide to the World’s Greatest Challenges (second edition),

The World Bank, 2009.

Published in association with Harper Collins, the completely revised and updated second edition of the Atlas of Global Development vividly illustrates the key development challenges facing our world today. Keeping abreast of a changing world, new topics have been added including child employment, internet use, foreign direct investment, food production, and energy flows.

ATTACKING INEQUALITY IN THE HEALTH SECTOR: A Synthesis of Evidence and Tools,

by Abdo S. Yazbeck. The World Bank, 2009.

While a disproportionate share of research has focused on measuring inequality in the health sector, work is emerging on how to understand the causes of inequality. This book summarizes the operational lessons emerging from this new focus. It is intended to be an operational resource for change agents within and outside government in low and middle countries.

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