Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 1995.

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics provides a forum for debate and the exchange of ideas and information between World Bank staff and development researchers and practitioners from around the world. The 1995 conference addresses four themes: (1) where we stand on inequality, poverty, and growth; (2) demographic change and development; (3) aid and development; and (4) fiscal decentralization. The first theme centers around a book by Hollis Chenery, Redistribution With Growth, which discusses: (a) the constant elasticity of substitution production functions to economies of scale; (b) the complementarity and timing of investment decisions; (c) investment criteria and shadow pricing; (d) dynamic comparative advantages; and (e) issues of income distribution and growth. This book has made two important contributions to development economics: it has established the intellectual base for research and policy analysis at the Bank, and has changed the course of thinking on development, especially on how to help the poor. The second theme refers to government provision and regulation of economic support in old age, and new perspectives on women, work, and demographic change. The theme of aid and development focuses on incentives and guidelines for development, reasons behind multilateral lending, and whether or not growth in developing countries is beneficial to industrial countries. The fourth theme discusses efficiency, macroeconomics, conflicts, and dilemmas of fiscal federalism and decentralization, and presents a roundtable discussion on second-generation issues in transition economies. The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics has evolved over the years to become the single largest gathering of the development economics community in the world. The findings, interpretations and conclusions of the 1995 conference are highlighted in this publication.

Description based on print version record.