Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability
Date: 2/15/2006
Duration: 83 minutes
Language : English
Keyword: Globalization-Urban Development-Economic Development
Presenter:
Tony Gomez-Ibanez
Daniel Kaufmann
Frannie Léautier
Alan Winters
DESCRIPTION
As nodes where power, trade, and culture concentrate, cities play an important role in development. But exactly what is that role, and how can the World Bank use it effectively? To answer that question, the InfoShop and the World Bank Institute launched a book titled “Cities in a Globalizing World: Governance, Performance, and Sustainability” on February 15, 2006, at the World Bank Headquarters.
The panel was chaired by L. Alan Winters, Director of the Development Research Group at the World Bank. Frannie Leautier, Vice President of the World Bank, head of the World Bank Institute and the book’s editor, led the presentation. Leautier detailed some of the hypotheses tested within the book, such as a link between growth and urbanization, and presented some of the findings from that research in regions including Africa. Daniel Kaufmann, Director of Global Programs for the World Bank Institute, followed with an overview of the data gathered for the book, including corruption and infrastructure, which can vary widely from city to city. Tony Gomez-Ibanez, Senior Advisor on Infrastructure, argued that the real lesson of the book is the degree to which cities matter in development. Questions for the speakers concerned the impact of scale on cities, the ties of cities to wider country policies, and the relationship of governance and globalization.
