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IMF official named IDB vice president
January 01, 1999
A senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive who has been in the forefront of some of the major economic policy challenges of recent years took up her duties in January as the IDB's executive vice president.
K. Burke Dillon, a United States citizen and formerly head of the IMF's Administration Department, replaces Nancy Birdsall, who left the Bank in September of 1998 to join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Donors back Peru's fight against drugs
January 01, 1999
The international donor community pledged $277 million to help Peru intensify its fight against drug production and trafficking at a November meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Of this amount, $140 million will be for new programs presented to the meeting, and $137 million will be used to support and consolidate existing programs.
Round-Up
January 01, 1999
A day of records
It was one of the biggest days in the 40-year history of the IDB: on December 16 the Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved the largest lending amount for one session, $3.5 billion, as well as the largest single loan for a country, $2.5 billion to Argentina. The Argentina loan will help the country to strengthen its banking sector, deepen macroeconomic reforms and make improvements in education, health and jobs. Other loans approved that day were for Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Panama.
Volunteerism against poverty
New plumbing for securities markets
January 01, 1999
Building a safe and sound securities system for capital markets is like putting plumbing in a house.
"If a house doesn't have plumbing, who will buy?" asks Antonio Vives, deputy manager of the IDB's Sustainable Development Department. Similarly, if a stock market doesn't have the mechanisms to guarantee that brokers will get their money and buyers will get their stock in a timely and efficient way, who is going to invest?
Geography and economic destiny
January 01, 1999
Real estate agents are fond of saying that the three most important things to look for in buying a house are location, location and location.
Geography matters a great deal, and not just in real estate. A growing number of economists and historians are using the tools of this venerable academic discipline to plumb the mysteries of why some nations achieve great economic success, giving their citizens high standards of living, and why others do not. They contend that conventional analyses based exclusively on socioeconomic factors only reveal part of the story.
Exotic festivals, just a click away
January 01, 1999
From Park Avenue socialites to Andean villagers, all peoples hold festivals to express their cultural values and to mark important events. Their role is particularly important today, when globalization and modern communications threaten the identities of different cultures.
In February, anyone with a link to the World Wide Web will be able to visit festivals from around the Western Hemisphere and gain an understanding of other peoples' ways of life.
New Approvals
January 01, 1999
Argentina
A $2.5 billion IDB emergency loan to strengthen the banking sector, deepen macroeconomic reforms, and improve the social safety net in such areas as education, health and employment.
A $250 million IDB loan for an innovative program to support reform in the area of potable water and sanitation by promoting investment by commercial banks.
A $250 million IDB loan to support the sustainable development of municipalities.
A mayor to remember
January 01, 1999
The destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch robbed millions of people in Central America of their loved ones, their homes and businesses, sometimes even the very soil under their feet.
It also took away the mayor of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. This would have been bad enough in normal times, or if César Castellanos were a normal mayor. But for many in Tegucigalpa, his death on Nov. 1 was an especially tragic loss.
IDB approves $130 million for Private Sector toll road in Brazil
December 22, 1998
The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the approval of $130 million in financing to Concessionária de Rodovias do Oeste de São Paulo to support the construction, upgrade, operation, and maintenance of approximately 156 kilometers of toll road that links the city of São Paulo with Sorocaba and Araçoiaba da Serra.
Democracy and women's participation
November 01, 1998
How do we ensure that democracy and free market economies produce better lives for all people, especially the poor and the marginalized?
We believe that a nation's progress depends on the progress of women; that the strength of democracy depends on the inclusion of women; that the vibrancy of an economy depends on the hard work of women; that the richness of civil society depends on the full participation of women; that human rights are women's rights; and women's rights are human rights.