Letter From the Editor

• Author: Laura Wallace
• Position: Editor-in-Chief

As 2001 drew to a close, there was a heaviness in the air and in people's hearts, as we wondered what the future held in store for us. Prospects for the global economy had worsened and become unusually uncertain, and the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States raised the specter of a world gripped by fear, with nations hunkering down and turning inward. Was this what we were headed for, despite the promise of the technological revolution and the urgent need to tackle widespread poverty-the world's biggest development challenge?

The March 2002 issue of Finance & Development probes this question by taking a fresh look at how the increasing integration of global markets-no doubt a defining characteristic of the world economy today-is shaping up. As IMF Deputy Managing Director Eduardo Aninat suggests, "perhaps never has so much been at stake, with so much potential within our reach." For him, the globalization debate seems to have undergone a subtle but possibly profound shift, accentuated by the events of September 11. Debating whether globalization is "good" or "bad" is now seen as simplistic; instead, all parties recognize the need to manage the process of globalization so that its benefits are widely shared and its costs kept to a minimum. This recognition opens the way for a renewed dialogue, already exemplified in this issue's Point/Counterpoint between Kevin Watkins of Oxfam and David Dollar and Aart Kraay of the World Bank. Both sides agree that "globaphobia" is unjustified, and they also agree that, besides...