The 2011 Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE), cohosted by the World Bank, OECD, the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, was held on May 31-Jun 1 in Paris. This year’s conference, “Broadening Opportunities for Development,” focused on five themes: inequality; job creation; youth; social protection; and gender equity. On the final day of the conference, the roundtable on ‘Democratizing Development Economics’ highlighted ways to integrate wider lessons from emerging and developed countries, and discussed problems related to data collection and sharing.

More information

• Conference website
• Webcast of the conference
  (English and French)
• Papers and Proceedings
• Conference blog

Maximo Torero, Director of IFPRI’s Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division (MTID), presented a paper, Alternative mechanisms to reduce food price volatility and price spikes at the panel on “Achieving Food Security: A Key Element of Social Protection: How to Insure Against Price and Weather Instability”. This paper addresses the need for more research into the functioning of international financial and agricultural markets in order to institute a global solution to prevent food price spikes. While the proposed mechanisms to institute such a solution vary, from reserves and stocks to regulatory proposals, they all center on the need for a strong, research-based global response to food price volatility. For more information on food price volatility, visit the Food Security Portal.