Languages
Friday, August 14, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
An ‘Exorbitant Privilege’ for All?
Ending US dollar dominance alone will not end monetary imperialism. Only much better multilateral arrangements to clear international payments can meet the Global South’s aspirations for sustainable development.
Food Systems Worsen Diets, Health
Corporate-dominated food systems are responsible for widespread but still spreading malnutrition and ill health. Poor diets worsen non-communicable diseases (NCDs), now costing over eight trillion dollars yearly!
Financing for Development Priorities Today
The forthcoming fourth United Nations Financing for Development conference must address developing countries’ major financial challenges. Recent setbacks to sustainable development and climate action make FfD4 all the more critical.
New Geopolitics Worse for Global South
The new geopolitics after the first Cold War undermines peace, sustainability, and human development. Hegemonic priorities continue to threaten humanity’s well-being and prospects for progress.
New Approaches Urgently Needed to Tackle Resurgent Social Crises
Despite uneven economic recovery since the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and food insecurity continue to worsen, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to fare better than the rest of the Global South.
Western Finance Ruining Economies of the Rest
Western financial policies have been squeezing economies worldwide. After being urged to borrow commercial finance heavily, developing countries now struggle with contractionary Western monetary policies.
World Inequality Still Rising Despite Some Convergence
Despite earlier income convergence among nations, many low-income countries (LICs) and people are falling further behind. Worse, the number of poor and hungry has been increasing again after declining for decades.
Another Nobel for Anglocentric Neoliberal Institutional Economics
New institutional economics (NIE) has received another so-called Nobel prize, ostensibly for again claiming that good institutions and democratic governance ensure growth, development, equity and democracy.
IPEF: Much Ado about Nothing
After 2.5 years, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is increasingly irrelevant due to its own limitations and broader US foreign policy shifts.
Net Zero by 2050 Delays Needed Urgent Climate Action
Net zero emissions by 2050 prioritise mitigation for climate stabilisation. Pledges to achieve this still distant target have grown but inadvertently delay urgently needed climate action in the near term.
The Global South in the New Cold War
Marginalised and dominated economically by the Global North, developing countries must urgently cooperate to better strive for their shared interests in achieving world peace and sustainable development.
Global Poverty Grows as Super-Rich Get Richer Faster
Oxfam expects the world’s first trillionaire within a decade and poverty to end in 229 years! The wealth of the world’s five richest men has more than doubled from 2020, as 4.8 billion people became poorer.
Handling Financial Crises in the South
When history repeats itself, the first time is a tragedy; the next is a farce. If we fail to learn from past financial crises, we risk making avoidable errors, often with irreversible, even tragic consequences.
More Poverty for the Poor
Many low-income countries (LICs) continue to slip further behind the rest of the world. Meanwhile, people in extreme poverty have been increasing again after decades of decline.
US Fed- Induced World Stagnation Deepens Debt Distress
For some time, most multilateral financial institutions have urged developing countries to borrow commercially, but not from China. Now, borrowers are stuck in debt traps with little prospect of escape.
Finance Healthcare, Not Insurance Premia
Comparative research on healthcare financing options shows revenue-financed healthcare to be the most cost-effective, efficient, and equitable, while all health insurance imposes avoidable additional costs.
Government Debt Is Symptom, Not Cause
Developing country governments are being blamed for irresponsibly borrowing too much. The resulting debt stress has blocked investments and growth in this unequal and unfair world economic order.
Land Grabs Squeeze Rural Poor Worldwide
Since 2008, farmland acquisitions have doubled prices worldwide, squeezing family farmers and other poor rural communities. Such land grabs are worsening inequality, poverty, and food insecurity.
South Suffering Due to Powerful Nations’ Policies
The World Bank expects the international economic slowdown to be at its worst in over four decades in 2024. This is mainly due to powerful Western nations’ contractionary macroeconomic and geopolitical policies.
Chronicle of a Catastrophe Foretold
The IMF warns of a decade ahead of ‘tepid growth’ and ‘popular discontent’, with the poorest economies worst off. But as with inaction on Gaza, little is being done multilaterally to avert the imminent catastrophe.
Trade Liberalisation Kicked Away African Development Ladder
Africans have long been promised trade liberalisation would accelerate growth and structural transformation. Instead, it has cut its modest production capacities, industry and food security.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
