The Global Development Network Newsletter [GDNews] # 47
February 02, 2006.
A Monthly Newsletter
January 2006
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To learn more about GDN visit: www.gdnet.org
To access a web and or PDF version of this newsletter, please visit:
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In this issue:
-> Seventh Annual Global Development Conference
Conference speak
Brainstorming on research
Papers and presentations
Russian support for the conference
-> Global Development Awards Competition
-> GDN/WBI Seminar
-> GDN Annual Report 2005
-> GDN on local research and global governance
-> Seventh Annual Global Development Conference
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GDN’s seventh annual conference ‘Institutions and Development: At the Nexus of Global Change’ has just concluded in St. Petersburg, Russia.The conference held from January 19-21, 2006 was a huge success and brought together over 500 researchers and policymakers from across the world to understand the relationship between institutions and development.
Conference speak
-> The welcome address by Valentina Matvienko, Governor, St. Petersburg, highlighted the appropriateness of the city as the conference venue.
“We are quite convinced that the market legal field does not guarantee the
emergence of effective market institutions and therefore the State needs to create favorable conditions for business.”
-> Francis Fukuyama, John Hopkins University on ‘Development and the
Limits of Institutional Design’
“Institutions are extraordinarily complex, interdependent packages of
different kinds of rules and many of them are informal, they come from the realm of political culture, not formal legal institutions.. Therefore
it is only understanding that perplexity and that totality of rules that one can understand the ways in which institutions affect economic
development.”
-> Martin Wolf, 'Financial Times' on the ‘Risks And Rewards Of
Globalization’.
“The failure to create stable net flows of capital from the rich world to
the poor one is arguably the greatest single failure of the second age of globalization.”
-> Egor Gaidar, Institute for the Economy in Transition, Russia on
institutional development and economic reforms in transition countries.
“Institutional building is a long process, extremely difficult, you need
time, effort and you need to understand your own inheritance because just to import the best possible institutions from the world is not always the solution. Institutions are not written in law, they are best based on previous experiences and traditions.”
-> Vladimir Mau, Academy of National Economy under the Russian Federation on ‘Economic Reforms and Economic Growth in Russia’
“For better understanding of current economic development in Russia one
should pay attention to long-term trends in the public policy area that proceed from the logic of post-communist transformation. It is the success or failure of these particular avenues that ultimately determines transformation outcomes.”
Brainstorming on research
The St. Petersburg conference also provided the venue for five workshops
for researchers working on development issues to discuss their research, receive valuable feedback from their peers and more importantly, brainstorm on how to take research forward. A full list of workshops at the conference can be found on:
www.gdnet.org/activities/annual_conferences/seventh_annual_conference/
Papers and presentations
All the papers presented at the St. Petersburg conference are available
online at:
ctool.gdnet.org/agenda_online.cfm
For a full list of participants:
Russian support for the conference
Held in partnership with the Leontief Centre, the international centre for
social and economic research and the St. Petersburg city government, the GDN conference also found support from the Russian business community. These include:
o RUSSIAN STANDARD - The Russian Standard Vodka company, one of the
leading Russian manufacturers of alcohol in the country, exports to 24 countries across the world. Russian Standard Vodka - a part of the holding company "Russian Standard" which also includes Roust Inc. is a leading distribution company in the Russian market and the exclusive
importer of brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, Cinzano, Campari, Gordon's, Remy Martin and Jagermeister in Russia.
o NESTE OIL CORPORATION - Neste Oil Corporation is a leading ndependent northern European oil refining and marketing company focusing on high-quality traffic fuels and other high value-added petroleum products with reduced environmental impact. The Neste network covers nearly 1000 Neste service stations, unmanned A24-stations, D-stations and
sales outlets in Finland, Russia, the Baltic states and Poland.
o PYATEROCHKA - With a chain of 315 stores, Pyaterochka is the largest grocery retailer in Russia. In addition to the Group’s stores, franchisees operate Pyaterochka-branded stores in Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
The Pyaterochka brand is acknowledged as a value-focused retailer committed to price competitiveness. Pyaterochka’s stores offer up to 3,500
products that cover the day-to-day needs of customers.
-> Global Development Awards
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The sixth annual Global Development Awards and Medals competition has now
concluded. In a series of scintillating presentations on the opening day of the conference, thirty researchers presented papers/proposals and the winners were announced at the awards dinner later in the evening. A complete list of winners can be found on our website:
www.gdnet.org/activities/gdn_competitions/global_development_awards/2005_awards/
-> GDN/ WBI Seminar
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GDN and the World Bank Institute invite researchers to a brainstorming
session to mark the launch of the book 'Cities in a Globalizing World' edited by Frannie Leautier, Vice-President, the World Bank Institute. The
event scheduled for February 3, 2006 in New Delhi will explore ways in which the findings of this book can be applied to city policies and
local governance.
For more information and an invitation to the event, email Arlene Elcock
(aelcock@gdnet.org ) at the GDN Secretariat
-> GDN Annual Report 2005
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The GDN annual report for 2005 is now available online! Read a comprehensive overview of the network’s activities during the past year
at:
www.gdnet.org/about_gdn/annual_report/
-> GDN on local research and global governance
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The February edition of the ‘Global Governance’ journal features the
article ‘Local Research, Global Governance: A Challenge for Institutional Design’ by Ramona Angelescu, political scientist, GDN and Lyn Squire, GDN President. The article examines the possibilities and opportunities for building capacity, locally, through global initiatives.
For more information log onto:
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