On the Open Budgets Blog, IBP’s Jason Lakin reviews Robert Skidelsky’s 2019 book, “Money and Government: the Past and Future of Economics,” which offers a deep dive into the importance of money and government to our understanding of the economy and a “powerful reframing of existing ideas into a persuasive argument.”
There’s been a lot of talk about the mobilization of finance at both the international and national levels to address the climate crisis, but how much are individuals and families spending to try to mitigate the impact? This new podcast discusses the findings of a study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): “Bearing the climate burden: how households in Bangladesh are spending too much.”
Three new members have joined the IBP board of directors, bringing needed expertise and networks related to strategic communications, ministries of finance and the dynamics of global movements. They are Jane Ellison, a media professional formerly with the UK’s BBC and Radio 4 and now a trustee for Libraries Connected; Malado Kaba, the first female minister of finance for Guinea and an advisory board member for the African Women’s Leadership Fund; and Sofía Sprechmann, program director at CARE International, a leading poverty-fighting and humanitarian-response nonprofit.
On International Human Rights Day, it is important to realize: a different world is possible, in which public finance and government budgets are instead inspired by and aimed at the realization of human rights for all.
When government agencies provide public reasons, they are legitimating public debate about those choices and signaling a willingness to accept criticism and revisions. This is the essence of democracy.
