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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERcountries rocketed tenfold from $17bn in 1990 <strong>to</strong> $169bn in 2005,twice the global flow of aid. This represents a serious capital outflow,cutting in<strong>to</strong> the potential developmental impact of FDI. 154Employment: FDI tends <strong>to</strong> use capital-intensive technology thatgenerates few jobs. According <strong>to</strong> the UN, some 70,000 TNCs generate53 million jobs around the world, but this represents just 2 per cent ofthe global labour force. 155Race <strong>to</strong> the bot<strong>to</strong>m: As poorer countries such as China and Viet Namhave climbed aboard the globalisation bandwagon, the pressure ongovernments <strong>to</strong> introduce incentives <strong>to</strong> attract investment has intensifiedin<strong>to</strong> a ‘race <strong>to</strong> the bot<strong>to</strong>m’. Governments desperate for foreigncapital and technology are going <strong>to</strong> enormous lengths <strong>to</strong> outbid theirrivals. This includes privatisation of state-owned companies, perks suchas tax exemptions for incoming inves<strong>to</strong>rs, the easing of restrictions onprofit remittances, and the establishment of special export-processingzones where trade unions are banned. Such competition deprivesgovernments of tax income and risks undermining labour rights inthose countries that have already made some progress.Global agreements on a universal floor for corporate taxation, andgreater efforts <strong>to</strong> ensure global recognition of the core labourstandards of the ILO, could help <strong>to</strong> reverse the race <strong>to</strong> the bot<strong>to</strong>m. Inthe end, however, the main responsibility lies with individual states.Governments in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Botswanahave proved highly effective in getting a good deal out of foreigninvestment. In the initial stages of its take-off, Taiwan insisted onforeign inves<strong>to</strong>rs undertaking joint ventures with local businesses inorder <strong>to</strong> accelerate the rate of technology transfer; Botswana negotiatedfavourable deals for its diamonds with South Africa’s de Beers; whileall the East Asian countries improved their bargaining power withinves<strong>to</strong>rs by spending on infrastructure and on health care and educationin order <strong>to</strong> guarantee a skilled, healthy workforce.As major ac<strong>to</strong>rs whose activities affect the lives of poor people,transnational corporations have a duty <strong>to</strong> behave responsibly. What isknown as corporate social responsibility (CSR) has many facets, fromallocating a small portion of the profits <strong>to</strong> charity, <strong>to</strong> producingproducts that are of particular benefit <strong>to</strong> poor people (such as BPdeveloping a fuel-efficient s<strong>to</strong>ve), 156 <strong>to</strong> taking in<strong>to</strong> account the social176

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