The centerpiece of the 2008 New York residency “Prosperity and Inequality: Debates in India and China,” marked the beginning of two years of trilateral conversations among the 2008-10 ICI Fellows. The conference juxtaposed issues in India and China such as urbanization and wealth-formation; the management of risks associated with rapid growth in agrarian societies; the implementation of alternative designs for future development; and how to combine the virtues of socialism and capitalism without sacrificing the virtues of democracy and grassroots activism. The keynote address, delivered by Kemal Dervis, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, addressed the basis for economic growth in China and India; their relationship to the U.S. economy; as well as constraints on growth and the effect of the economic slow-down. Dervis is an expert in development economics and has held various positions at the World Bank as well as served as the Minister for Economic Affairs in his native Turkey. He serves as chair of the UN Development Group, a committee comprised of the heads of all UN funds, programs, and departments related to development.

View Presentations