Politics

Cyber-threat is the single most serious threat faced by the markets. Many countries cannot complete with the United States in conventional military warfare, but in the cyber wars? They can go toe to toe. This is what we call 'asymmetric' warfare where adversaries have been able to level the playing field.

Currency expert & author on financial threats to national security

We were able to trash the currency, inject hyperinflation and cause interest rates to skyrocket… all at the same time… through the use of a currency weapon. This is a real world, real time example of a currency weapon being used…. Not to gain trade advantage, but to destabilise a regime.

Currency expert & author on financial threats to national security

The greatest threat to our markets comes not from our adversaries but from ourselves. I think Ben Bernanke's policies are a greater threat to US national security than anything being cooked up in Moscow.

Currency expert & author on financial threats to national security

The key for the development of the poor is to include them in the democratic process as well as in the market economy. Therefore, inclusion is the key for getting rid of poverty. Political inclusion… social inclusion… environmental inclusion… education and knowledge inclusion… network inclusion… all these types of inclusion which are taken for granted by people who are inside the growth process.

French Economist, Advisor to Mitterrand & Founder of EBRD

Inequality is strong because wealth goes to wealth. The economic and political organisations of the world are such that the negotiation power of the poor is minimal if not zero. There are no trade-unions, no capacity to negotiate… even in the US, Europe and elsewhere… the level of concentration of wealth is bigger than ever.

French Economist, Advisor to Mitterrand & Founder of EBRD

When you consider that wealth transfer internally in western countries is around 15-25% of GDP… and that is not enough to solve the problem of poverty in the west… then you compare that to a transfer of less than 0.5% between North and South… that is just nothing compared to the needs.

French Economist, Advisor to Mitterrand & Founder of EBRD

The only serious mechanisms which have made progress in this sense are growth, microfinance and democracy. Economic growth will naturally have some spill-over to the poor, democracy helps transparency together with political consciousness and microfinance helps the very poor to develop their own business and allows them to control their own lives without expecting the help of anyone.

French Economist, Advisor to Mitterrand & Founder of EBRD

Corruption is a phenomenon that has existed for thousands of years, but only now is it becoming an unacceptable event. Corruption destroys societies, hinders development and undermines security. Note what happened in the Middle East and North Africa… corruption was one of the triggers of unrest in these countries. It appears that people are fed-up of corruption, they want change, and they want it now.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

We estimate with the World Bank that US$20-40 billion each year is lost in developing countries through corruption. If you add to that $5 billion each year in stolen assets, it clearly shows that corruption is a serious obstacle to the achievement of the millennium development goals. It is also a threat to human security and human rights.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

For every example I could give you of regulations causing problems, I could give you two of regulations creating opportunities. I think this notion that regulation is causing problems is a real red herring.

most of the half-trillion dollars received by Africa since the 1960s has funded military coups and civil wars, not economic development. Between 1982 and 1985, Zimbabwe spent $1.3 out of $1.5 billion of foreign assistance on arms and ammunition.

Economist and author specializing in terrorism financing and shadow economy

what turns a developing into a developed nation is not the amount of foreign aid it attracts, but how the money is spent.

Economist and author specializing in terrorism financing and shadow economy

We estimate that in talking about the cross-border flows of illicit money the component that is due to corruption- i.e. bribery and theft by government officials, is around 3-5% of the global total. It is very much the smaller part of the equation.

The important thing which central government can do is to promise, without reservation, that there will be no new taxation and 'emergency' taxation- and that they will focus on collecting existing taxes by expanding the tax-base to those who are evading taxes.

Professor of Economics specializing in network economics and digital markets

If Greece gets serious about privatisation, reducing the state sector and collecting existing taxes... if these things are done, whilst also reducing democracy? Then I believe Greece will emerge as a very significant success story. It could get the primary deficit eliminated in two years- creating a surplus.

Professor of Economics specializing in network economics and digital markets

There is a significant part of the Greek economy- maybe 30-40%- is not in the 'official' books. That has to be reined in. To put this in context, if that is reined in… to a large extent, the revenue side of the Greek problem would be fixed.

Professor of Economics specializing in network economics and digital markets