Emerging Economies Forum :: Battle of Ideas

Battle of Ideas

The following debates arranged by the Emerging Economies forum will take place at the Battle of Ideas Festival in London on 1st and 2nd of November 2008

For full details and tickets visit http://www.battleofideas.org.uk

WORLDbytes, the news channel run by WORLDwrite, will be filming all sessions and featuring selected speeches on this site after the event. If you would like to join the crew for these vital debates pleae contact WORLDbytes.

China and India: catching up with the West?

India and China are the world's fastest growing economies. The multinationals of the developing world are challenging the dominance of Western firms. China's oil companies and mining firms are spreading throughout the developing world, while India's hi-tech firms are more than a match for many in the developed world. The world's tallest buildings, largest airports, fastest trains, and biggest dams are now all to be found in the developing world.

Despite the rapid growth of the emerging economies, however, all reasonable projections point to a continued gap for decades to come between the West and the rest. China and India may soon become the world's largest economies, but it is not certain they will ever be the richest. Does this matter? 'Good enough' technology such as Tata's Nano, only a tenth the price of a Mercedes Smart Car, may allow people to enjoy some of the benefits of development without having to catch up in dollar terms. Similarly, the rapid adoption of mobile telephony seems to have bypassed the need for landlines. But without roads, an electricity grid and the provision of water and sewage systems to the majority of the population, how developed can a country really become?

Can the emerging economies jump a stage in development to become fully modern, or is their growth limited to dynamic pockets that lack the economic might to transform whole countries?

Speakers

Phil Mullan: Director of Business Transformation with Easynet (speaking in a personal capacity); specialist on international economic, demographic and business issues.

Sundeep Kumar: Director, Corporate Affairs & Communications at SABMiller, India

Professor Adrian Wood: Professor of international development, University of Oxford; former Chief Economist of the UK's Department for International Development.

Dr Xiaolan Fu: Director, Sanjaya Lall Programme for Technology and Management for Development and Fellow of Green-Templeton College, Oxford University; senior research associate, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

Chair: Patrick Hayes: Promotions manager, Battle of Ideas; MBA student, Henley Business School; formerly Head of Research and Development, TSL Education (Publishers of TES and THE).

Growing pains: the pros and cons of economic dynamism

As the West reels from the economic nightmare of the credit crunch and looming recessions, the dream of economic dynamism still seems very much alive for the emerging economies. The world's imagination is captured by the possibility of poor countries finally achieving the living standards of the developed world. But is the astonishing economic growth of the emerging economies a pain-free experience?

The benefits are clear. The most dynamic economies of the developing world are experiencing increased wealth, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, high literacy and improved food security. But this dynamism is limited and uneven: for the millions left behind, life can seem more uncertain than ever. Many rural communities are being uprooted to make room for development, or hollowed out as the young and able leave for the cities. The bright lights of the city hold little comfort for most migrant labourers: they have few rights, no property, no community and are easily exploited.

Are brutal urbanism and rural decay the cost of economic expansion, the unavoidable growing pains of development? Or should we reconsider the benefits of growth with the hindsight of Western experience? The problems of urban squalor, insecurity and rural poverty have been largely eliminated in the developed world. But even in the most advanced countries of the West, concerns about climate change and the soulless character of materialist consumerism have led some to argue that development brings as many problems as solutions. Is this self-indulgence on the part of the West, or a cautionary tale for the developing world?

Speakers

Paul Mason: Author, Live Working or Die Fighting: How the Working Class Went Global

Daniel Ben-Ami: Finance and economics journalist; author Pursuing Prosperity (forthcoming) and Cowardly Capitalism.

Martin Wolf: Chief economics commentator, Financial Times

Dr Ha-Joon Chang: Reader in political economy, University of Cambridge; author, Bad Samaritans - Rich Nations, Poor Policies, and the Threat to Developing World and Kicking Away the Ladder.

Chair: Stuart Simpson: Financial analyst and journalist; convenor IoI's Emerging Economies Forum; author, Debt and Development: Ghana - A Case Study.

Emerging Economies: Question Time

Your chance to quiz renowned experts, economists and business leaders on the significance of the BRICs - from their impact on the West to their positive or negative influence on Africa and the underdeveloped world - during a fast-paced and thoughtful end of day Question Time style session.

How do emerging economies as diverse as Cambodia, Slovenia, Dubai, Angola, Panama and Mexico measure up to the giants of India and China? For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, is the centre of the world economy turning away from the developed world?

Will the proclamations of the 'end of history' and the victory of Western liberal capitalism made in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union prove to be premature? Will the war on terror become little more than a footnote in history, overshadowed by the rise of the emerging economies? Is China's presence in Africa an opportunity for the continent or new imperialism in action? How will the dynamic growth of the developing world shape the political landscape of the 21st century?

Speakers

Stuart Simpson: Financial analyst and journalist; convenor IoI's Emerging Economies Forum; author, Debt and Development: Ghana - A Case Study.

John Dovey: Acting president UK Corporates BT Global Services

Sumit Das Gupta: Editor, Metro (the city section of Calcutta's largest English Daily, The Telegraph)

Chair: Ceri Dingle: Director, WORLDwrite and Chew On It productions

The credit crunch demystified

While the consequences of the credit crunch appear all too apparent, the intricacies of the complex financial instruments involved, combined with the vast sweep of the global financial system, seem to defy explanation. Attempts to accuse negligent regulators, fraudulent brokers and greedy borrowers cast much blame but little light on the causes of the crisis.

Are the current problems a sign that the developed world has been living off credit for too long? The United States is still by far the world's largest and wealthiest economy, so why for so long has it been reliant on credit supplied by the smaller and poorer economy of China? In the past 30 years, the UK economy has shifted away from manufacturing towards financial services. In many ways London is the pre-eminent world financial centre, but is this a source of weakness rather than strength, leaving the UK more exposed to financial crises?

Speakers

Dr Michael Savage: Investment banker with an interest in financial economics and development.

Phil Mullan: Director of Business Transformation with Easynet (speaking in a personal capacity); specialist on international economic, demographic and business issues.

Chair: Stuart Simpson: Financial analyst and journalist; convenor IoI's Emerging Economies Forum; author, Debt and Development: Ghana - A Case Study.

The following festival weekend overview provides you with a full list of sessions covering economics. These links will take you directly to the Battle of Ideas Festival web pages.

Saturday 1 November 2008

10.30am to 12.00pm Lecture Theatre 1 Battle for Prosperity

China and India: catching up with the West?

12.15pm to 1.15pm Henry Moore Gallery Lunchtime Debates

Bring in the consultants?

12.15pm to 1.15pm Upper Gulbenkian Gallery Lunchtime Debates

The credit crunch demystified

1.30pm to 3.00pm Lecture Theatre 1 Battle for Prosperity

Growing pains: the pros and cons of economic dynamism

3.30pm to 5.00pm Upper Gulbenkian Keynote Controversies

Capitalism - what is it good for?

3.30pm to 5.00pm Lecture Theatre 1 Battle for Prosperity