WGS 2017: Panel Discussion to Launch 2017 World Development Report Mulls Relationship between Development Economics and Politics

Former Spanish Prime Minister Attributes Policy Success to Education, while Former Bolivian President offers Perspective that Policy is Largely Influenced by Society 

Dubai-UAE: 13 February, 2017:  The World Bank launched the 2017 World Development Report at the World Government Summit on the inaugural day of the annual event being held in Dubai. 

Speaking as part of a panel discussion hosted at the launch of the report, Former Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: “Public policy requires three key elements to succeed - it needs to have basic social consensus (in addition to having political consensus), it needs to be supported by a stable legal framework and executed by an independent administration, or a strong, competent, civil service body.”

Other panelists that participated in the discussion titled ‘Governance and The Law’, moderated by BBC News anchor Kim Ghattas included, Francois Bourguignon, former Chief Economist and Senior VP, World Bank, Prof. James Robinson, University of Chicago and Jorge Quiroga, Former President of Bolivia.

Raising the question, ‘Why do policies fail?’ among others, Ghattas opened the discussion by inviting co-author of the World Development Report, Luis-Felipe Lopez-Calva, Co-director WDR2017, World Bank to share an overview of the 2017 edition. He highlighted power symmetries that impact policies and said ineffective policies persist due to manifestations of power - exclusion, capture and clientelism.

Speaking about the ‘globalization paradox’ after the introductory presentation Zapatero demonstrated how when it began, globalization was meant to be (in theory), a new liberal impulse coming from developed countries that would be its key beneficiaries. However, sections of these countries fought globalization and this allowed emerging nations to reap its benefits.

He recounted key events in world history that impacted globalization, and led to present-day status quo. He concluded with an example to demonstrate how the internet - a by-product of globalization - was now being used as a tool to spread populism and racism, in effect attacking the very basis of globalization.

Jorge Quiroga, Former President of Bolivia criticized populism for being very unpredictable and breaking down barriers leading to confusion and disorder. He spoke about the role that social media plays in modern governance, making people a more active part of the policy framework. He attributed societal intolerance and the enforcement of law, to reinforcing the relationship between policy and governance.

Bourguignon cited transparency and the availability of information as factors that contributed to the success of public policy, while Robinson commended the World Development Report for its timeliness and relevance to the discussion about public policy.

The World Government Summit (WGS) 2017 has drawn the participation of more than 4,000 personalities from 139 countries around the world, reflecting the leading stature of the summit on regional and international levels and the high interest from governments, global organizations, private and public sector entities, decision makers, entrepreneurs, academics and university students as well as scientists and innovators. WGS 2017 features 150 speakers across 114 sessions that highlight the world’s most pressing challenges and showcase best practices and cutting-edge solutions to deal with them.