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Abstract
Mr. Chairman, Governors, honored guests, it is a pleasure to welcome you to these meetings on behalf of the International Monetary Fund. I would like to extend a special welcome to my new colleague Paul Wolfowitz. Paul’s qualifications are strong. His distinguished career as a diplomat and public servant were very well known. What was less well known in some circles when he took office was his deep commitment to development, which was again so evident in his excellent speech today. Welcome, Paul.
'Wising Up to the Costs of Aging' looks at how falling fertility and rising life expectancy have combined to threaten the ability of many countries to provide a decent standard of living for the old without imposing a crushing burden on the young. In our lead article, Ronald Lee and Andrew Mason say that while population aging in rich industrial countries as well as in some middle- and lower-income countries will challenge public and private budgets in many ways, a combination of reduced consumption, postponed retirement, increased asset holdings, and greater investment in human capital should make it possible to meet this challenge without catastrophic consequences. Neil Howe and Richard Jackson publish a fascinating ranking of which countries are best and worst prepared to meet the needs of the growing wave of retirees. We also have articles on a broad range of current topics, including Middle East unemployment, the economic repercussions of the earthquake and devastating tsunami in Japan, and banking in offshore financial centers such as the Cayman Islands. Carmen Reinhart and Jacob Kirkegaard look at how governments are finding ways to manipulate markets to hold down the cost of financing huge public debts, and, in Straight Talk, the IMF's Min Zhu talks about the long-term challenges now facing emerging markets. Prakash Loungani speaks to Nobel Prize winner George Akerlof, and we discuss with three other laureates-Michael Spence, Joseph Stiglitz, and Robert Solow-what the global economic crisis has taught us. Back to Basics explains economic models, and Picture This highlights the great variations in the cost of sending money back home.
This paper examines Cameroon’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Implementation Progress Report. Cameroon is expected to benefit from a significant debt relief upon reaching the completion point. This will make huge financial resources available to Cameroon for financing its growth and poverty alleviation policy designed in conformity with the new financial assistance programs of the Bretton Woods institutions. The downturn in inflation is a result of a substantial increase in the supply of food and market garden produce, the opening up of some agricultural zones, and a flow of imported staple consumer goods.
Abstract
1. The Meetings was held in Constitution Hall (Saturday a.m. session) and Fund Headquarters 2 Conference Hall (Sunday p.m. session), and all sessions are joint.