Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
In September, the Group of 20 met in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. It was the third Group of 20 summit in
less than a year. Leaders of the major developed and
developing economies discussed ways to fix the world
financial system.
In April they had agreed to do everything necessary
to prevent a collapse. This time they noted their
success, but warned that the "process of recovery
and repair remains incomplete."
The presidents and prime ministers launched what
they called a Framework for Strong, Sustainable and
Balanced Growth. At the same time, they agreed to
make the G20 the main group to guide international
economic cooperation.
For years that has been a job for the Group of 8:
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia and the United States.
But the world's economic power structure has
changed. The G8 leaves out developing nations with
big populations and growing economies like China,
India and Brazil.
In Pittsburgh, rich nations agreed to also give up
some of their representation in the International
Monetary Fund. And they called for more voting power
for developing nations in the World Bank.
Ghiyath Nakshbendi is a professor of international
business at American University in Washington, D.C.
He said the decision to cooperate on economic policy
is important, given how much Gross Domestic Product
the G20 represents.
He said that when you talk about the G20, you are
talking about nineteen countries plus the European
Union that produce ninety-five percent of the G.D.P.
in the world.
Martin Edwards is an assistant professor at Seton
Hall University in New Jersey who has written about
the I.M.F. He says increasing the influence of
developing nations will increase the standing of the
fund and the World Bank.
But he notes that having more players at the table
could also mean more disputes.
In terms of financial reforms, experts say there is
widespread support for some proposals to control
risks. But others are unpopular in America and
Britain. These include linking the pay of bankers to
their bank's long-term performance.
G20 leaders plan to meet next in Canada in June and
in South Korea next November. They face many hard
choices in the coming months. Professor Nakshbendi
says the biggest question is to what extent are they
willing to follow their own advice.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
