Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics--Global 2009: People, Politics, and Globalization

The Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings fresh, innovative perspectives to key problems of development. By providing a forum in which policy makers, academics and leading researchers focus on a common theme, ABCDE plays an important role in advancing debate and shaping the international development agenda. The 2009 ABCDE held June 9-11, 2008, in Cape Town, South Africa, was devoted to 'people, politics, and globalization.' The program included a strong dose of empirical research on the experience of developing countries in all regions of the globe. Speakers addressed such subjects as trade and investment, higher education and high-technology industry, migration and remittances, the interaction between health and economic development, and the political economy of public expenditures.