When many people think of financial globalization, the first thing that comes to mind is "these wild creatures, hedge fund managers and so forth" who are responsible for greedily destabilizing the markets of developing countries, said Eswar Prasad, the N.P. Tolani Senior Professor of International Trade Policy at Cornell. While discussion of international development gives rise to "fierce passions," it is important to preserve open minds on the issue, he insisted.

Indeed, a wide variety of opinions regarding globalization and international development were expressed during a panel discussion, "Globalization and Development Strategies," at the first Cornell Conference on International Development, held Sept. 15-16 in Alice Statler Hall Auditorium.

The panel opened with Prasad's commenting on the opportunities that developing countries might seek in globalization. Governments of developing nations should take steps to encourage foreign investment that will serve as a beneficial social, political and economic regulator, he said, adding that "globalization should not be feared and avoided."

Xiaobo Zhang, Ph.D. '00, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute and former president of the Chinese Economists' Society, analyzed the role of political decentralization in generating healthy competition for investment among local governments in China since the 1980s. Although this policy may at first glance appear counterproductive to development efforts, he said, the competition generated by decentralization has been key to China's growth over the last two decades.

Cornell professors Lourdes Beneria, city and regional planning, and Kaushik Basu, the C. Marks Professor of International Studies, explored the negative consequences of international development. Beneria said that the marginalization of women in the industrial employment of the 1950s and 1960s has been replaced, since the 1970s and under globalization, with a "preference" for women workers, even if under very precarious working conditions.

Basu discussed economic inequality within developing nations. "With footloose capital ... and footloose labor, there is indeed a very serious problem in putting a clamp on inequality going out of control," he said. The governments of developing countries must work together to form social policies that effectively deal with the challenge of inequality, Basu said, while acknowledging that inequality is not a problem unique to developing nations.

In the question session that followed the panel presentation, many alumni and students insisted on the importance of addressing human rights issues and environmental challenges related to globalization. The panelists agreed that attention to such issues is extremely important and offered a number of strategies for minimizing the negative side effects of international development.

About 160 alumni attended the conference, and dozens of undergraduates, graduate students and Cornell faculty also participated. In addition, the event drew academics from as far away as Thailand.

In opening remarks, Ravi Kanbur, the T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs at Cornell, explained that, while valuable intellectual discussion on issues related to international development occurs every day at the university, the conference was important because it represented "the first time that Cornell alumni, Cornell faculty and Cornell students have come together in quite this way, to engage in a dialogue and discussion on the leading issues of international development."

Kanbur also emphasized the importance of the conference as a way for Cornell to pursue its commitment to public service.

Christopher Tozzi '08 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.