Posted Date: July 20, 2001
CAW Presents an Introduction to Development Economics over Breakfast....
CAW Presents an Introduction to Development Economics over Breakfast....
"Global Gambles: What Investment and Currency Speculation Mean for Development and Financial Stability in the South" was the theme of this year’s Commission on the Advancement of Women breakfast.
In a participatory workshop simulation, InterAction members and Southern NGO delegates left their identities at the door and took on roles of bankers, currency speculators, real estate investors, operators of a toy manufacturing plant, and workers to explore the recent economic crisis in Thailand.
The simulation enabled participants to understand first-hand when an economy is ripe for a "speculative attack" and how a central bank can respond in terms of devaluing or backing the local currency or increasing interest rates. After three "rounds" of the role play, with an increasing trade deficit each round, the toy manufacturing plant was in severe debt, couldn’t sell its products, and had to lay off workers. Local banks were also in trouble, but the currency speculators had made a considerable profit.
As Dr. Mehrene Larudeee of the Center for Popular Economics and simulation creator put it: "It’s as if an 800-pound gorilla is crashing around the world looking for where to next make a profit."
Following the simulation, Steve Commins, World Vision, and Ritu Sharma, Women’s EDGE, discussed the implications of the economic crises in Asia and other parts of the world for PVO and NGO programs and advocacy. Commins presented reports from World Vision field offices in Thailand and Indonesia indicating that high numbers of women and men have lost urban jobs and returning to their villages, and that ongoing development initiatives are not equipped to deal with this situation.
As a result of such reports, Commins explained, World Vision has expanded its efforts to educate the World Bank and IMF on the "real time" impacts on the lives of the poor, particularly on women and girls. "If you [the IMF] bail out the banks, who will bail out the poor?" Commins queried. Both speakers urged the workshop participants to strengthen similar advocacy efforts in their own organizations.
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