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That realisation alone should temper some of the optimism buoying financial markets. But the prospect of a “new normal” (a phrase popularised by Mohamed El-Erian, the boss of Pimco, a fund manager) still spans at least two distinct possibilities. One is that the world economy returns roughly to its pre-crisis rate of growth, without regaining the ground lost. That, the IMF points out, is what happens after most financial crises. The second, more depressing possibility is that growth stays at a permanently lower rate, with investment, employment and productivity growth all feebler than before.

Dirty elections: To the rigger the spoils | The Economist

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politics economics development

Strikingly, the authors contend that “dirty elections are bad for economic growth by skewing politicians’ incentives.” This is because, they find, good economic performance makes a huge difference to an incumbent’s chance of re-election whether the vote is free or rigged, adding about three years’ to his or her tenure. Although economic success wins rewards in both systems, in clean ones, it adds 40% to a president’s time, whereas in dirty ones, the rewards of growth are swamped by those of rigging, which more than doubles the time in power. So rigging makes the economy less important to a president’s future—a rejoinder to the Chinese claim that in developing countries “managed democracy” is better for growth than an electoral free-for-all.

Poor whites: On the edge | The Economist

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community cohesion UK urban economics

Most outlying estates have not had Castle Vale’s makeover. Many are shabby and a long way from shops, jobs and power. Frankley, an estate that lies at the end of an infrequent 40-minute bus ride south from Birmingham, is one. “Here feels so far away from the power base,” complains Andy Ross, a community worker who recently lost a colleague after an unexpected edict from city hall unilaterally deployed him elsewhere.
Frankley has had a particularly rough time, straddling the boundary between Birmingham and a neighbouring council. Squabbles over who is responsible for drains, street lighting and other services mean that, sometimes, work goes undone. Ray Goodwin, who works for Birmingham Settlement, a local charity, says that these slip-ups leave gaps for the BNP. “Someone will come round and take your rubbish away, or mend your fence. The next time he knocks it’s to ask for your vote,” he says. Frankley is not alone in feeling cut-off: national polling shows that whites feel less in control of their communities and country than any other ethnic group (see chart).

China and America: The odd couple | The Economist

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BRICs US economics politics

30 Oct 09

Do "local currencies" really help the communities that use them? - By Tim Harford - Slate Magazine

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community cohesion London urban economics

Money, whether pounds or Brixton bricks, isn't wealth. It's just a way of keeping accounts, and swapping one system of accounts for another isn't going to alter the basic productive potential of Brixton.
True, community currencies may very gently encourage trade with locals rather than strangers. But the gains from more trade with locals are more than offset by the losses from less trade with strangers.
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- Nor are the environmental benefits of community currencies terribly persuasive. Local trade sounds environmentally friendly, but it is a distraction: The environmental cost of driving to the shops or growing food on inappropriate local land is far greater than the cost of the carbon emissions of long-range shipping.
- The real benefits, if they exist, are not economic but social, and best explained not by an economist like me but by a sociologist such as Ed Collom of the University of Southern Maine.
  Collom's work looks, at first glance, like bad news for the community-currency movement. He has found, for example, that most currency schemes in the United States last only a few years before collapsing. The ones that thrive are in places which already have strong, liberal, middle-class communities, such as Portland, Ore., or Ithaca, N.Y. In the Rust Belt areas that would seem to need them more, they have not taken root.
- But despite the obstacles, Ed Collom is convinced that local currencies can strengthen neighborhood ties and allow people to make friends: They are a focal point for the community-minded, even when they do not last.
  That is possible. I live near a determined, community-minded entrepreneur who owns the local cafe, the sort of person who helps to get community currencies started. But rather than minting a Homerton dollar, she has founded a traders' association and is trying to set up a street market. I think she has the right priorities.

Will the Brixton pound buy a brighter future? | Environment | The Guardian

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community London future urban economics cohesion

By nurturing this highly visible sense of localism and civic pride, the organisers hope to show that self-reliant communities can not only thrive, but be better prepared for looming environmental threats and the resulting social stresses.
Is it about strengthening community bonds and boosting the local economy, though, or spreading the environmental message? Both, says Nichols. "We want to hit home the idea of localism
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- One of our early supporters told us that Jamaicans are naturally sceptical, so we've worked really hard trying to convince them about the merits of the Brixton pound, visiting some businesses up to four times. Now the likes of Blacker Dread Records, a well-known music shop on Coldharbour Lane, have signed up, and that's been important to us as the owner is very influential in the local community
- The system works like this: whenever you purchase a product or service from a participating business, you are offered the opportunity of receiving your change in Brixton pounds. These may then be spent at any other participating business, either as an alternative to sterling or in combination with sterling. By "sticking" to Brixton, the notes will, in theory, help to boost local trade and reduce the reliance on "external" economies. Some participating businesses have also pledged to offer discounts to anyone paying with Brixton pounds.
- An obvious question that arises, not just in Brixton but any community introducing its own local currency, is the issue of crime: what's to stop counterfeiters scuppering the whole scheme? Transition Towns Brixton has spent £2,000 designing and printing the bank notes, which will be available in £1, £5, £10 and £20 denominations.
- "You are always searching for the ties that bind people together," says Harris Beider, a professor at the Institute of Community Cohesion in Coventry and former adviser to the prime minister's social exclusion unit. "It is important to build the economic base and social capital of any community. If the Brixton pound can aid integration, that would obviously be a good thing. And if it can achieve the local multiplier effect [the number of times money is circulated within a community] that would be good, too."

29 Oct 09

Mobile Banking: Financial services for mobile devices: new trends from the Philippines

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finance mobility economics development

The Smart List: 12 Shocking Ideas That Could Change the World

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trends essential future politics economics society technology environment

26 Oct 09

A Better Bednet Approach

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development markets economics

21 Oct 09

Communities in recession: Broad Green, Swindon | Society | guardian.co.uk

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community society cohesion economics employment

Shirley works across the community, training people in broadcasting skills so they can make their own programmes.
It is the lack of such new skills and training that is a major concern for Swindon, which lags behind the rest of the UK in terms of its residents' qualifications.
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- Open Hands is planning to launch a debt counselling service later this year to meet the demand for help and advice on finance and mortgages.