NEWS
Former World Bank President Speaks at AIM James Wolfensohn warns of socio-political pressures due to divergent economies “Our world is breaking into four distinct but interconnected tiers of wealth and growth— a four speed world. If present trends continue, the socio-political pressures generated by these divergent economic developments may negatively impact global peace and stability.”
“TODAY’S COMPLEX INTERnational environment cannot be characterized by binary divisions such as North vs. South or East vs. West. Our world is breaking into four distinct but interconnected tiers of wealth and growth —a four speed world. If present trends continue, the socio-political pressures generated by these divergent economic developments may negatively impact global peace and stability.” Mr. James Wolfensohn, World Bank President from 1995 to 2005, shared this observation at the “Bridges—Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace” held on March 5 at the Asian Institute of 4
Management (AIM). Wolfensohn spoke on the subject “Beyond EastWest, North-South—Peace and Prosperity in a Four-Speed World.” Held in cooperation with the Vienna-based International Peace Foundation (IPF), Bridges dialogues have already brought three Nobel laureates to the Philippines: Prof. Robert Alexander Mundell, who spoke about economic development by fitting globalization into the national development strategy; Prof. David Jonathan Gross, who talked about the coming revolutions in fundamental physics; and Prof. Finn Erling Kydland, who discussed peace and economic development
A I M A LU M NI LEA D ERS HIP M AGAZIN E April to J u n e 2008
in the age of globalization. “Our era is characterized by unprecedented global economic integration and material growth,” Wolfensohn said. “Unfortunately, inequity in the world is also increasing; the fruits of global prosperity are not evenly spread.” According to Mr. Wolfensohn, the four-speed world consists of 1) steadily growing, high-income economies, largely in Europe, East Asia and the Americas; 2) rapidly growing economies in Eurasia, led by Russia, China and India; 3) volatile economies in many parts of the Middle East and Latin America; and
4) retrogressing and stagnant economies, such as those found in sub-Saharan Africa. “We need to seize the moment and use our present prosperity to address the challenges of global inequity,” he told an audience composed of members of the diplomatic corps, government officials, officers of multilateral institutions and development agencies, and members of the business community and academe. “We must peacefully recalibrate the balance of political power in the world by reforming global institutions, and we must increase global aid to developing countries,” he added. “In bringing about these changes, ASEAN nations can play a crucial role. Their development success shows us a path to more equity, while their efforts at regional integration provide us with a model for using economic ties to foster regional peace and stability.” Reactors to Mr. Wolfensohn’s speech were Mr. Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., chairman of PHINMA and member of the AIM Board of Trustees, and Mr. Rajat M. Nag, managing director general of the Asian Development Bank. AIM is a local partner institution in the 1st ASEAN-wide event series “Bridges—Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace.” Bridges is a series of discussions initiated and facilitated by the IPF. In the Philippines, Bridges is chaired by Mr. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Corporation chairman and CEO, and Mr. Washington SyCip, SGV Group founder and AIM chairman. “The Bridges events, especially the forum with Mr. Wolfensohn, are very timely and relevant given the strides in technology and economic development and the continuing challenges to reduce poverty, particularly in Asia,” remarked AIM President Francis Estrada.