This year’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Conference took place on April 19 and 20, 2005. Entitled “Growth Diagnostics,” the conference continued with last year’s theme of identifying growth strategies, but emphasized practical implementation of growth-related concepts. The sessions drew upon specific, illustrative country cases to highlight key issues that are of practical policy concern for the World Bank.
Danny Leipziger, Vice President and Head of Network for PREM, delivered a speech entitled “What’s Old and What’s New in Development Policy.” Antonio Estache, Senior Adviser for Infrastructure at the World Bank, chaired the session.
Leipziger framed his remarks in the context of two observations. First, he noted that economic growth in the developing world has been less than anticipated. Many previous assumptions about the nature of growth and development have been proved wrong or shortsighted. He added that development issues are receiving increased international attention, in part due to security concerns on behalf of developed countries. As a result countries are beginning to realize that global challenges must be addressed collectively. Leipziger remarked that the task for PREM and the World Bank as a whole is to transform awareness into practical advice that provides sustainable results. He went on to address the issue of shared growth, noting that there is irrefutable evidence linking growth to poverty reduction.
Leipziger concluded his remarks with a briefing on the current state of the PREM Network and its future objectives. A question and answer period followed the presentation. Topics addressed included the role of governance in the shared growth agenda, structural impediments that limit cross-unit collaboration within the World Bank, and growth strategies for fragile states.
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