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UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) will launch a series of studies on growth, inequality and poverty at events in New York and Washington DC in April.

François Bourguignon, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Development Economics at the World Bank, will chair the first event to be held April 14 at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.

The second event, to be held April 16 at UN headquarters in New York, will be chaired by José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for UN Economic and Social Affairs and formerly Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Speakers at the two events will include: Giovanni Andrea Cornia, former director of UNU-WIDER and now professor of development economics at the of Florence; Anthony Shorrocks, Director of UNU-WIDER; and Rolph van der Hoeven, manager of the Technical Secretariat of the World Commission on Globalization, established by the International Labour Organization.

The presentations will be based on three UNU-WIDER publications:

• Perspectives on Growth and Poverty, edited by Rolph van der Hoeven and Anthony Shorrocks (UNU Press);

• Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Prospects for Pro-Poor Economic Development, edited by Anthony Shorrocks and Rolph van der Hoeven (Oxford University Press); and

• Inequality, Growth and Poverty in an Era of Liberalization and Globalization, edited by Giovanni Adnrea Cornia (Oxford University Press).

Speakers will discuss the relationship between growth and poverty that lies at the heart of development economics. While many see aggregate growth as both necessary and sufficient for reducing poverty, and consequently focus their efforts on achieving the desired macroeconomic outcomes, others stress that the benefits from growth may not be evenly spread. 

In fact critics of globalization often point out that growth of the macroeconomy may well have an adverse effect on the most vulnerable members of society. Thus the distributional impact of growth, as well as its level, needs to be taken into account when considering the consequences for poverty.

For more information about these events or to register in advance, click  for New York and  for Washington.

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