Millennium Declaration and New Sources for Development Funding: A Retrospective View on Evolution of Pre-crisis Ideas

Mikhail Sherstnev

Mikhail Sherstnev - PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, Institute for Theoretical and International Economics of the Samara State Economic University; 141, Sovetskoj Armii, 443090, Samara, Russian Federation; E-mail: sherstnev@sseu.ru.

Abstract

Millennium Development Declaration, adopted in 2000, stated new ambitious goals in international development policy. It reaffirmed the international community commitmens to alleviate poverty and create conditions for further development in the third world, particularly in the poorest countries. To achieve these goals new sources of funding are required as according to an initial assessment the costs of attaining the goals amount to about 50 billion dollars per year. It is obvious that most financial tools created in cooperation of developed countries with more advanced countries of the third world are not relevant for the least developed countries. Therefore, international organizations experts and some governments started formulating proposals for developing new financial tools for development assistance. These proposals include both traditional and innovative ideas that may be useful for further fund mobilization. According to the author direct foreign investments, migrant remittances and various forms of official assistance to development have significant potential for leveraging resources. Their practical implementation demands consistent efforts on the part of the developed and developing countries through private investment, public-private partnerships, state guarantees for investments and other instruments.

The article presents an overview of these ideas for financing international development which were widely discussed by international community before the global crisis. The crisis and its aftermath present serious obstacles to international development assistance. However, the ideas remain a good starting point for further discussions and search for viable policy decisions in the post-crisis world.

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Contacts

Mikhail Sherstnev

Millennium Declaration and New Sources for Development Funding: A Retrospective View on Evolution of Pre-crisis Ideas