Robert Zoellick charts out new direction for World Bank

In a speech yesterday, World Bank President Robert Zoellick looked to take the multilateral organization in new directions in the way it view global issues and development. [Source: Center for Global Development]

Zoellick’s detailed and wide-ranging speech included a proposal for what he called a “one-percent solution” — for sovereign wealth funds to invest one percent of their holdings in equity in sub-Saharan Africa as a way of tapping long-term global liquidity to boost investment opportunities and development. Other issues he discussed included high global food prices and the prospect of shortages; the need for a global trade deal, and efforts to address the so-called “resource curse,” the many problems that face countries that are rich in oil and other high-value commodities.

The speech’s full text can be found here.