(2006). The Siberian Curse: Does Russia's Geography Doom Its Chances for Market Reform? Problems of Economic Transition: Vol. 48, No. 11, pp. 7-29.
Accused of being secretive, unaccountable and ineffective, both the IMF and the World Bank are seeking to become more transparent, more participatory and more accountable. Yet few attempts have been made to dissect the existing structure of accountability within the international financial institutions. This article critically examines the existing accountability of these institutions and offers some recommendations for making them more accountable. It also warns that even at best, their accountability is Limited, and therefore so too should be their activities.
The paper sets out two views of the facts about the effects of globalization on world poverty and inequality. The bottom line: globalization is not the cause, but neither is it the solution to world poverty and inequality. The paper then explores why and how the global economy is stacked against the poor, making globalization asymmetric, at least up to now. It concludes with some ideas about a new agenda of good global politics, an agenda to shape a future global economy and society that is less poor and less unequal - not only because it is more global and competitive, but also because it is more fair and more politically representative.
