A Conference on Economic Development
On August 22, 2003, the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and the Greater Dallas and Fort Worth Chambers of Commerce met with business leaders and academics to conduct a dialogue on reducing global poverty. The meeting was funded by a grant from the Hewlett Foundation, an organization whose interests extend to educating and engaging the American public regarding globalization and U.S. foreign policy.

CED President Charles Kolb began the discussion by explaining how U.S. domestic decisions can affect foreign markets – for example, West African countries are angry that government subsidies to U.S. farmers depress prices worldwide for raw cotton. Such subsidies often make it difficult for economies dependent on agricultural exports to share in the benefits of global trade.

Reducing Global Poverty
In response to such concerns, the CED has issued a report, A Shared Future: Reducing Global Poverty, which offers recommendations on reducing trade barriers and global poverty. (Two other recently released CED studies, Engaging the Global Enterprise and The Role of Women in Development, examine the role of global enterprises in promoting socially responsible trade policies.)

Steffen Palko, Vice Chairman & President of XTO Energy, Inc., wants to help fight global poverty. “Globalization has reduced poverty, yet it is impossible for an American businessperson to go to some places in the world without an armed guard,” says Palko. According to Palko, this backlash against globalization is due to a lack of checks and balances – such as organized labor movements and transparent government – in developing nations.

Palko compares criticism of globalization with similar criticisms of 19th and 20th century American capitalism. In order to remedy some of the current negative perceptions of globalization, business can help reduce poverty by curbing corruption and encouraging investment in hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.

The World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Code – Is it Enough?
Currently, the WTO’s Trade-Related Investment Measures agreement guides foreign investment in developing countries. But a more comprehensive code is needed to govern Western business investments. Special attention should be given to the status of women. “In a lot of developing countries women are less than zero,” Palko says. “But studies show that the educational level of a child’s mother is what will determine the child’s success later in life.”

The current backlash against globalization in developing nations is due to a lack of checks and balances, such as organized labor movements and transparent government.

Equal Treatment Can Grow Prosperity and Thwart Terrorism
Promoting business-led social engagement is a priority since the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on September 11. The CED’s A Shared Future: Reducing Global Poverty states: “We are now acutely aware that our security, liberty, and prosperity depend on creating a more prosperous and democratic world that rejects backward-looking or terrorist ideologies.”

One way American business leaders can promote a more forward-thinking and hopeful world is to encourage sound U.S. immigration policies. “Our immigration system is a mess,” says Dr. Jim Hollifield, Director of International Studies at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Hollifield credits immigration with helping to hold down inflation and attracting entrepreneurial talent, as well as supplying unskilled labor.

Equitable treatment of immigrants can serve as an example of how the US should treat its trading partners – equally. Dr. Hollifield cited a Texas Supreme Court case in which the Court invalidated a state law that withheld school district funding for educating children of immigrants. The Court reasoned that these children were entitled to the same opportunities granted to the children of US citizens. It makes sense that the same principle should apply to U.S. policies on trade – promoting shared resources and equal access to markets will stimulate wealth creation in developing countries instead of erecting barriers to success.

Public-Private Partnerships Can Work To Build A Better Tomorrow
Multinational corporate partnership with government can work to improve the basic sanitation and health conditions necessary to economic growth in developing countries. For instance, in Zambia, a percentage from every Zambian Exxon Mobil Corporation gasoline sale goes toward funding the Zambia National Malaria Control Center.

Multinational enterprises can help make a safer and more prosperous world if they continue to recognize that social investment is a necessary component to doing business in developing countries. Host governments can help make their countries safer and more prosperous if they continue to recognize the need to promote sustainable business investment and government transparency. Given the commitment to these goals present at the CED meeting, there is every reason to believe that productive private-public relationships will continue to emerge in developing countries around the globe.






Contributed by Amanda Howe, a free-lance writer and an attorney specializing in Comparative Intellecutal Property and Banking Law.

To read another Global Envision article about the complex challenges facing globalizing U.S. businesses, see Globalization Debate Perplexes Americans.