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World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations responsible for providing finance to countries for purposes of development and poverty reduction, and for encouraging and safeguarding international investment. The group and its affiliates are headquartered in Washington, D.C. Together with the separate International Monetary Fund, the World Bank organizations are sometimes called the Bretton Woods institutions, after Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference that led to their establishment took place (1 July-22 July 1944). The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements. Commencing operations on 25 June 1946, it approved its first loan on 9 May 1947 ($250m to France for postwar reconstruction, in real terms the largest loan issued by the Bank to date). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was created on 20 July 1956, the IDA on 24 September 1960, the ICSID on 14 October 1966 and the MIGA on 12 April 1988. Though repeatedly relied upon by impoverished governments around the world as a contributor of development finance, the Bank and its affiliates have been criticised for undermining the national sovereignty of recipient countries through its pursuit of economic liberalisation and guarantees for private international investment. The World Bank's activities are currently focused on less economically developed countries in fields such as education, agriculture and industry. It provides loans at preferential rates to member countries who are in difficulty. In counterpart, it also asks that political measures be taken to, for example, limit corruption or foster democracy. The work of the Bank is subject to long-standing and strong criticism from a range of non-governmental organizations and academics, and in some cases from the Bank's own internal evaluations. It has been accused of being a US or western tool for imposing economic policies that support western interests. Critics argue that the free market reform policies - which the Bank advocates - in practice are often harmful to economic development if implemented badly, too quickly, in the wrong sequence, or in very weak, uncompetitive economies. Nevertheless the World Bank is one of the most highly-regarded financial institutions in the world, especially in the field of developmental economics.

Organizational structure

economic development Together with four affiliated agencies created between 1956 and 1988, the IBRD is part of the World Bank Group. The Group's headquarters are in Washington, D.C.. It is a non-profit-making international organisation owned by member governments. Technically the World Bank is part of the United Nations system, but its governance structure is different: each institution in the World Bank Group is owned by its member governments, which subscribe to its basic share capital, with votes proportional to shareholding. Membership gives certain voting rights that are the same for all countries but there are also additional votes which depend on financial contributions to the organization. As a result, the World Bank is controlled primarily by developed countries, while clients have almost exclusively been developing countries. Some critics argue that a different governance structure would take greater account of developing countries' needs. As of November 1, 2004 the United States held 16.4% of total votes, Japan 7.9%, Germany 4.5% and UK and France each held 4.3%. As major decisions require an 85% super-majority, the US can block any change.

World Bank Group agencies

The World Bank Group consists of
- the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), established in 1945,
- the International Finance Corporation (IFC), established in 1956,
- the International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960,
- the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), established in 1988 and
- the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), established in 1966. Governments can choose which of these agencies they sign up to individually. The IBRD has 184 member governments, and the other institutions have between 140 and 176 members. The institutions of the World Bank Group are all run by a Board of 24 Executive Directors, with each Director representing either one country (for the largest countries), or a group of countries. Directors are appointed by their respective governments or the constituencies. The Bank also serves as one of several Implementing Agencies for the UN Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Presidency

The World Bank Group is headed by Paul Wolfowitz, appointed on June 1 2005. Wolfowitz, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense and well-known neo-conservative, was nominated by George W. Bush to replace James D. Wolfensohn. By convention, the Bank president has always been a US citizen, while the Managing Director of the IMF has been a European.

Goals

The World Bank Group’s mission is to fight poverty and improve the living standards of people in the developing world. It provides long term loans, grants, and technical assistance, to help developing countries implement their poverty by reduction strategies. As such, World Bank financing is used in many different areas, from reform of health and education sector, to environmental and infrastructure projects, including dams, roads, and national parks. In addition to financing, the World Bank Group provides advice and assistance to developing countries on almost every aspect of economic development. Since 1996, with the appointment of James Wolfensohn as Bank President, and consequently, the World Bank Report 'Helping countries combat corruption: progress at the World Bank since 1997'[http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_01010905322182], the World Bank Group has been focused on combatting corruption in the countries that it works in. This has been seen as a move away from Article 10 Section 10 of the World Bank's Articles of Agreement which outlines the 'non-political' mandate of the Bank1. Although the move has been couched in socio-economic terms it has seen World Bank involvement in state reform, including elections. In recent years the World Bank Group has been moving from targeting economic growth in aggregate, to aiming specifically at poverty reduction. It has also become more focused on support for small scale local enterprises. It has embraced the idea that clean water, education, and sustainable development are essential to economic growth and has begun investing heavily in such projects. In response to external critics, the World Bank Group's institutions have adopted a wide range of environmental and social safeguard policies, designed to ensure that their projects do not harm individuals or groups in client countries. Despite these policies, World Bank Group projects are frequently criticized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for alleged environmental and social damage and for not achieving their intended goal of poverty reduction. Private Sector Development is one universally valid strategy for all parts of the World Bank to promote privatisation in developing countries.

Criticism

privatisation Although relied upon by impoverished governments around the world as a contributor of development finance, the World Bank is often and primarily criticised by opponents of corporate "neo-colonial" globalization. These advocates of alter-globalization fault the bank for undermining the national sovereignty of recipient countries through various structural adjustment programs that pursue economic liberalization and de-emphasize the role of the state. A related critique is that the Bank operates under essentially "neo-liberal" principles. In this perspective, reforms born of "neo-liberal" inspiration are not always suitable for nations experiencing conflicts (ethnic wars, border conflicts, etc.), or that are long-oppressed (dictatorship or colonialism) and do not have stable, democratic political systems. One general critique is that the Bank is under the marked political influence of certain countries (notably, the United States) that would profit from advancing their interests. In this point of view, the World Bank would favor the installation of foreign enterprises, to the detriment of the development of the local economy and the people living in this country. Furthermore, it is frequently suggested that the Bank intervenes in order to salvage irresponsible loans from private institutions to third world governments (and which are also often corrupt and non-representative), and thus shifts the risk from the original risk-takers to the public of the rich countries, who ultimately must back the Bank. Defenders of the World Bank point out that no country is forced to borrow its money. The Bank provides both loans and grants. Even the loans are charitable since they are given to countries that have no access to international capital markets. Furthermore, the loans, both to poor and middle-income countries, are at below market-value interest rates. The World Bank argues that it can help development more through loans than grants, because money repaid on the loans can then be lent for other projects. Finally, it has made a major effort in recent years to address criticism, particularly regarding the environment and corruption.

Evaluation at the World Bank

Social and environmental concerns

Throughout the period from 1972 to 1989, the Bank did not conduct its own environmental assessments and did not require assessments for every project that was proposed. Assessments were required only for a varying, small percentage of projects, with the environmental staff, in the early 1970s, sending check-off forms to the borrowers and, in the latter part of the period, sending more detailed documentation and suggestions for analysis. During this same period, the Bank’s failure to adequately consider social environmental factors was most evident in the 1974 Indonesian Transmigration program (Transmigration V). Please note that this project was funded after President McNamara’s pledge noted above and after the establishment of the Bank’s OESA (environmental) office in 1971. According to the Bank critic Le Prestre, Transmigration V was the “largest resettlement program ever attempted... designed ultimately to transfer, over a period of twenty years, 65 million of the nation’s 165 million inhabitants from the overcrowded islands of Java, Bali, Madura, and Lombok...” (175). The objectives were: relief of the economic and social problems of the inner islands, reduction of unemployment on Java, relocation of manpower to the outer islands, the “strengthen[ing of] national unity through ethnic integration, and improve[ment of] the living standard of the poor” (ibid, 175). Putting aside the possibly Machiavellian politics of such a project, it otherwise failed as the new settlements went out of control; local populations fought with the migrators and the tropical forest was devastated (destroying the lives of indigenous peoples). Also, “[s]ome settlements were established in inhospitable sites, and failures were common;” these concerns were noted by the Bank's environmental unit whose recommendations (to Bank management) and analyses were ignored (Le Prestre, 176). Funding continued through 1987, despite the problems noted and despite the Bank’s published stipulations (1982) concerning the treatment of groups to be resettled.

OED and EIR

The World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (OED) plays an important check and balance role in the organization. Similar in its role to the US Government's Government Accountability Office (GAO), it is an independent unit within the World Bank that reports evaluation findings directly to the Bank's Board of Executive Directors. The goals of OED evaluations are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank's work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. After longstanding criticisms from civil society of the Bank's involvement in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, the World Bank in July 2001 launched an independent review called the Extractive Industries Review (not to be confused with Environmental Impact Report). The review was to take into account the World Bank Group's overall mission of poverty reduction and the promotion of sustainable development. The EIR recommendations were published in January 2004 in a final report entitled "Striking a Better Balance",[http://www.worldbank.org/ogmc/] and, concluding that fossil fuel and mining projects simply do not alleviate poverty, recommended that World Bank involvement with these sectors be phased out altogether by 2008, and replaced by investment in renewable energy and clean energy. The final response of the World Bank was to brush aside most of the EIR conclusions, and to weaken a key recommendation that indigenous peoples and affected communities should have to provide 'consent' for projects to proceed - instead, there would be 'consultation'.[http://www.newint.org/issue373/currents.htm]

Impact Evaluations

In recent years there has been a increased focus on measuring results of World Bank development assistance through impact evaluations. An impact evaluation assesses the changes in the well-being of individuals that can be attributed to a particular project, program or policy. Impact evaluations demand a substantial amount of information, time and resources. Therefore, it is important to select carefully the public actions that will be evaluated. One of the important considerations that could govern the selection of interventions (whether they be projects, programs or policies) for impact evaluation is the potential of evaluation results for learning. In general, it is best to evaluate interventions that maximize the learning from current poverty reduction efforts and provide insights for midcourse correction, as necessary.

References


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Notes

#Marquette, Heather, 2004. 'The Creeping Politicisation of the World Bank: The Case of Corruption', Political Studies Vol, 32 p.413-430.

List of Presidents

An unwritten rule establishes that the IMF's managing director must be European and that the president of the World Bank must be from the United States.
- Eugene Meyer (June 1946–December 1946)
- John J. McCloy (March 1947–June 1949)
- Eugene R. Black (1949–1963)
- George D. Woods (January 1963–March 1968)
- Robert S. McNamara (April 1968–June 1981)
- Alden W. Clausen (July 1981–June 1986)
- Barber B. Conable (July 1986–August 1991)
- Lewis T. Preston (September 1991–May 1995)
- James D. Wolfensohn (May 1995–June 2005)
- Paul Wolfowitz (June 2005-Present)

List of chief economists


- Joseph Stiglitz (1997 – 2000)
- Nicholas Stern (2000 – 2003)
- François Bourguignon (2003 – )

See also


- conditionality
- Anti-globalization movement
- Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group

External links


- [http://www.worldbank.org/ World Bank (website)]
- [http://www.worldbank.org/oed World Bank independent evaluation department (website)]
- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20510826~pagePK:36726~piPK:437378~theSitePK:29506,00.html World Bank Group Presidents (website)]
- [http://jolis.worldbankimflib.org/Bwf/ Bretton Woods 60th Anniversary Exhibition (website)]
- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20080726~pagePK:36726~menuPK:214047~piPK:36092~theSitePK:29506,00.html Foundations of the World Bank: 1944-1948]
- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20080767~pagePK:36726~menuPK:214047~piPK:36092~theSitePK:29506,00.html "Firsts" in World Bank History]
- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20078961~pagePK:36726~piPK:36092~menuPK:214047~theSitePK:29506,00.html Affliliates of the World Bank]
- [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20077363~pagePK:36726~menuPK:214047~piPK:36092~theSitePK:29506,00.html Buildings of the World Bank]
- [http://publications.worldbank.org/ World Bank Books]
- [http://rru.worldbank.org/ World Bank Group Private Sector Development Unit]
- [http://psdblog.worldbank.org/ World Bank Group PSD Blog]
- [http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2005/04/05/im-with-wolfowitz/ "I’m With Wolfowitz"] Article by George Monbiot, April 2005
- [http://www.christusrex.org/www1/news/ft-3-22-05a.html "It is time to free the World Bank"] Article by Jeffrey Sachs, March 2005
- [http://www.delindeboom.com/ Publication distributor in the Netherlands]
- [http://www.whirledbank.org/ A spoof website on the bank]

NGOs


- [http://www.consejomexicano.org.mx Mexican Council for Economic and Social Development]
- [http://www.cepr.net/publications/development_2005_09.pdf The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress (CEPR)]
- [http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/ The Bretton Woods Project, monitoring the World Bank and IMF]
- [http://www.ifiwatchnet.org/ IFIwatchnet, monitoring the World Bank and IMF]
- [http://econjustice.net/wbbb/ World Bank Bonds Boycott]
- [http://www.worldbankpresident.org/ World Bank President] Category:International organizations
- Category: development zh-min-nan:Sè-kài Gûn-hâng ja:世界銀行

International organization

:For the political science journal, see: International Organization An international organization (also called intergovernmental organization) is an organization of international scope or character. There are two main types of international organizations:
- international intergovernmental organizations, whose members are sovereign states or other intergovernmental organizations (like European Union in the WTO).
- and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are private organizations. Generally and correctly used, the term international organization is used to mean international governmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article. Legally speaking, an international organization must be established by a treaty providing it with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by treaty, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred to as international organizations as well. International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties; while all international organizations are founded on a treaty, many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration. International organizations can be categorised in two main ways: by their membership, and by their function. International organizations differ in who their members are and in who is permitted to join them. Membership of some organizations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Some specialized agencies predate all other types. In the nineteenth century, France was the fons et origo of many of them. By this it is meant that much of the driving force to form such bodies (such as those which maintain the SI (metric system)) came from the French, and that their headquarters is in France, often in Paris. Under the Third Republic, the International Exposition of 1878 in that city held a great number of meetings of such international organizations - as opposed to the preceding regimes. The motivation was that to keep France a republic and not slip back into either a monarchist or Bonapartist regime, the republicans would underscore their inheritance of the crusading nature of the French Revolution against feudal cultural remnants within France, which had been generalized to the rest of feudal Europe, eventually to the world. Some conclude from this example that internationalism often has national origins, at the difference of globalism. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and so on. Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference). Were it to come about, the ultimate international organization would be a Federal World Government. The Union of International Associations provides information on international organizations.

Examples of global organizations


- United Nations, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations
- International Hydrographic Organization
- World Trade Organization
- Universal Postal Union

Examples of regional organizations

Universal Postal Union Europe:
- European Union (EU)
- Council of Europe
- European Free Trade Association
- European Space Agency
- European Patent Organisation Asia:
- Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Gulf Cooperation Council Eurasia:
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
- Eurasian Economic Community
- Central Asian Cooperation Organization
- GUAM Africa:
- African Union
- Conseil de l'Entente
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Arab Maghreb Union Western Hemisphere:
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- South American Community of Nations
- Mercosur
- Andean Community
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- Central American Parliament
- Rio Group
- NAFTA Trans-atlantic:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Pacific:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Pacific Islands Forum
- Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Organizations formed on miscellaneous membership criteria


- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- Commonwealth of Nations
- La Francophonie
- Comunidade dos países de língua portuguesa (CPLP)
- Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
- Unión Latina
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Arab League
- Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Sister Cities International

Financial international organizations


- Bank for International Settlements
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Bank Group

See also


- List of organizations
- List of international organizations
- Supranational union, Supranationalism
- Intergovernmentalism
- International decoration
- Environmental organizations
- Trade bloc
- Organizations with .INT domain names
- List of international trade topics __NOTOC__
- Category:International relations Category:Lists of organizations Category:International trade ja:国際機関 zh-min-nan:Kok-chè cho·-chit

Finance

Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses and organizations raise, allocate and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects. The term finance may thus incorporate any of the following:
- The study of money and other assets
- The management and control of those assets
- Profiling and managing project risks
- As a verb, "to finance" is to provide funds for business.

Examples of some basic financial concepts

The activity of finance is the application of a set of techniques that individuals and organizations (entities) use to manage their financial affairs, particularly the differences between income and expenditure and the risks of their investments. An entity whose income exceeds its expenditure can lend or invest the excess income. On the other hand, an entity whose income is less than its expenditure can raise capital by borrowing or selling equity claims, decreasing its expenses, or increasing its income. The lender can find a borrower, a financial intermediary, such as a bank or buy notes or bonds in the bond market. The lender receives interest, the borrower pays a higher interest than the lender receives, and the financial intermediary pockets the difference. A bank aggregates the activities of many borrowers and lenders. A bank accepts deposits from lenders, on which it pays interest. The bank then lends these deposits to borrowers. Banks allow borrowers and lenders of different sizes to coordinate their activity. Banks are thus compensators of money flows in space since they allow different lenders and borrows to meet, and in time, since every borrower will eventually pay back. A specific example of corporate finance is the sale of stock by a company to institutional investors like investment banks, who in turn generally sell it to the public. The stock gives whoever owns it part ownership in that company. If you buy one share of XYZ inc, and they have 100 shares available, you are 1/100 owner of that company. You own 1/100 of anything on the asset side of the balance sheet. Of course, in return for the stock, the company receives cash, which it uses to expand its business in a process called "equity financing". Equity financing mixed with the sale of bonds (or any other debt financing) is called the company's capital structure. Finance is used by individuals (personal finance), by governments (public finance), by businesses (corporate finance ), etc., as well as by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments, with consideration to their institutional setting.

Personal finance

Questions in personal finance revolve around
- How much money will be needed by an individual (or a family) at various points in the future?
- Where will this money come from (e.g. savings or borrowing)?
- How do I protect myself against unforeseen events?
- How can family assets be best transfered across generations (bequests and inheritance)?
- How do taxes (tax subsidies or penalties) affect personal financial decisions? Personal financial decisions involve paying for education, financing durable goods such as real estate and cars, buying insurance, e.g. health and property insurance, investing and saving for retirement.

Business finance

In the case of a company, managerial finance or corporate finance is the task of providing the funds for the corporations' activities. It generally involves balancing risk and profitability. Long term funds would be provided by equity and long-term credit, often in form of bonds. These decisions lead to the company's capital structure. Short term funding or working capital is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit. On the bond market, borrowers package their debt in the form of bonds. The borrower receives the money it borrows by selling the bond, which includes a promise to repay the value of the bond with interest. The purchaser of a bond can resell the bond, so the actual recipient of interest payments can change over time. Bonds allow lenders to recoup the value of their loan by simply selling the bond. Another business decision concerning finance is investment, or fund management. An investment is an acquisition of an asset in the hopes that it will maintain or increase its value. In investment management - in choosing a portfolio - one has to decide what, how much and when to invest. In doing so, one needs to
- Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual - goals - time horizon - risk aversion - tax considerations
- Identify the appropriate strategy: active vs passive - hedging strategy
- Measure the portfolio performance Financial management is duplicate with the financial function of the accounting profession. However, accounting is concerned with reporting of historical financial information, while the financial decision is directed toward the future of the firm.

Finance of states

Country, state, county, city or municipality finance is called public finance. It is concerned with
- Identification of required expenditure of a public sector entity
- Source(s) of that entity's revenue
- The budgeting process
- Debt issuance (municipal bonds) for public works projects

Financial economics

Financial economics is the branch of economics studying the interrelation of financial variables, s.a. prices, interest rates and shares as opposed to those concerning the real economy. Financial economics concentrates on influences of real economic variables on financial ones, in contrast to pure finance. It studies:
- Valuation - Determination of the fair value of an asset
  - How risky is the asset? (identification of the asset appropriate discount rate)
  - What cash flows will it produce? (discounting of relevant cash flows)
  - How does the market price compare to similar assets? (relative valuation)
  - Are the cash flows dependent on some other asset or event? (derivatives, contingent claim valuation)
- Financial markets and instruments
  - Commodities - topics
  - Stocks - topics
  - Bonds - topics
  - Money market instruments- topics
  - Derivatives - topics
- Financial institutions and regulation

Financial mathematics

Financial mathematics is the branch of applied mathematics concerned with the financial markets. Financial mathematics is the study of financial data with the tools of mathematics, mainly statistics. Such data can be movements of securities - stocks and bonds etc. - and their relations. Another large subfield is insurance mathematics.

See also


- Funding, a synonym of financing
- There are also over 250 other finance articles in Wikipedia. See list of finance topics.
- Important publications in finance

External links


- For an in-depth finance glossary, see Glyn A. Holton's [http://www.riskglossary.com riskglossary]
- For finance theory and investing models, see [http://www.12manage.com/i_fi.html 12manage]
- For a Hypertextual Finance Glossary, see [http://www.duke.edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/glossary.htm Prof. Campbell R. Harvey]
- For a Free Derivatives Valuation and Calculation site, see [http://www.derivativeone.com Financial Derivatives Valuation and Calculators]
- For material covering three areas in finance - corporate finance, valuation and investment management, see [http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/ Prof. Aswath Damodaran]
- For links to finance web sites, grouped by topic see [http://web.utk.edu/~jwachowi/wacho_world.html#Part%20I Web Sites for Discerning Finance Students], Prof. John M. Wachowicz
- For list of online brokerages, online trading resources see [http://www.peoplenmoney.com/online_brokers/online_brokers.html The most complete list of online brokers www.peopleNmoney.com]
- For articles on current corporate finance and investment issues, visit [http://www.oaktree-research.com Oaktree Research], a financial education portal
- The introductory finance web site at the University of Arizona, [http://www.studyfinance.com/ studyfinance.com]
- For illustrative (simpler) worked examples covering several of these topics see [http://www.teachmefinance.com teachmefinance]
- For introductory articles covering mathematical finance see [http://www.quantnotes.com/fundamentals/ quantnotes]
- For introductory articles, a full glossary and links to resources on behavioral finance see the [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pgreenfinch/behavioral-finance.htm BF gallery]
- An extensive resource for mathematical and quantitative finance at [http://www.moneyscience.org moneyscience.org]
- For a English to Spanish Financial Dictionary [http://www.spanish-translator-services.com/dictionaries/finance-english-spanish/index.htm English to Spanish Dictionary of Finance Terms]
- For a Spanish to English Financial Dictionary [http://www.spanish-translator-services.com/dictionaries/finance-spanish-english/index.htm Spanish to English Dictionary of Finance Terms]
- For introductory articles and advanced discussion of finance with a focus on investing, see [http://www.investopedia.com investopedia].
- ja:金融 th:การเงิน

Poverty

shows his find.]] Poverty is the state of being without the necessities of daily living, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. For some, poverty is a subjective and comparative term; for others, it is moral and evaluative; and for others, scientifically established. The principal uses of the term include:
- Descriptions of material need, including deprivation of essential goods and services, multiple deprivation, and patterns of deprivation over time.
- Economic circumstances, describing a lack of wealth (usually understood as capital, money, material goods, or resources, especially natural resources). The meaning of "sufficient" varies widely across the different political and economic parts of the world. In the European Union, poverty is also described in terms of "economic distance", or inequality.
- Social relationships, including social exclusion, dependency, and the ability to live what is understood in a society as a "normal" life: for instance, to be capable of raising a healthy family, and especially educating children and participating in society. society A person living in the condition of poverty is said to be poor or impoverished.
- In economics, conventional discourse focuses on two kinds of poverty: absolute and relative. Absolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries. Relative poverty views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context. Poverty is measured either by indices of consumption or of income. Some countries, like the US measure poverty by identifying a minimum dietary or basket of goods; the US poverty line is based on a multiplier of dietary costs. The main conventional measure used in the OECD and the European Union, however, is based on "economic distance", a level of income set at 50% or 60% of the median household income.
- In politics, the fight against poverty is usually regarded as a social goal and many governments have — secondarily at least — some dedicated institutions or departments. Active interventions may include housing plans, social pensions, special job opportunities, or requirements.
- In law, there has been a movement to seek to establish universal "human rights" which aim to eliminate poverty.
- In education, poverty affects a student's ability to effectively profit from the learning environments. Especially for younger students coming from poverty, their primary needs as described in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs; the need for a safe and stable home, clothes on their backs, and regular meals clouds a student's ability to learn. Furthermore, in education circles there is a term used to characterize the phenomenon of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (as it relates to education but easily transfers to poverty in general) called the Matthew effect. Related debates on a states' human capital and a person's individual capital tend likewise to focus on access to the instructional capital and social capital available only to those educated in such formal systems.

World poverty

The Copenhagen Declaration describes absolute poverty as "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information." The World Bank identifies "extreme poverty" as being people who live on less than USD $1 a day, and "poverty" as less than $2 a day. On that standard, 21% of the world's population was in extreme poverty, and more than half the world's population were poor in 2001. [http://www.developmentgoals.org/Poverty.htm#percapita] The World Bank states that in 2001 worldwide about 1.1 billion humans (which is 21% of the worldpopulation) had less than $1 in local purchasing power per day. (In comparison: 1981 there were 1.5 billion humans, which made up 40% of the worldpopulation; in 1987 1.227 billion humans equaling 30%; 1993 1.314 billion humans equaling 29% of the worldpopulation). USD [http://www.borgenproject.org/ The Borgen Project] points out that while U.S. leaders give $230 billion a year to military contractors, only $19 billion a year is needed to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals [http://www.borgenproject.org/Ending_poverty.html] of ending severe poverty by 2025. Poverty may be seen as the collective condition of poor people, or of poor groups, and in this sense entire nation-states are sometimes regarded as poor. To avoid stigma these are usually called developing nations, but this too is considered derogatory by some. Maps of world poverty can be found at [http://www.povertymap.net/ povertymap.net]. There is evidence of poverty in every region. In developed countries, this condition results in wandering homeless people and poor suburbs (with so-called bidonvilles or favelas) in which poor people are—more or less—restricted to a ghetto. See List of countries by poverty.

Causes of poverty

Poverty has been attributed to:
- Individual, or "pathological" causes, behavior or choices of individuals;
- Structural causes, poverty is the result of the social preconditions such as: :: Unequal income distribution :: Geographic factors :: Lack of Globalization :: Education and skills :: Age discrimination :: Gender discrimination :: Racial discrimination
- Familial causes, which attribute poverty to upbringing;
- Subcultural causes, which attribute poverty to common patterns of life, learned or shared within a community;
- Agency causes, which see poverty as the result of the actions of others, including war, government and the economy;
- Political Corruption

Eliminating poverty

The main responses to poverty are:
- Poor Relief, or giving aid direct to poor people. This has been part of the approach of European societies since the middle ages. For example, the relief of poverty was recognised as a legal charitable purpose by the English Statute of Charitable Uses (Statute of Elizabeth) in 1601.
- Responses to individual circumstances. A variety of measures have been taken to change the situation of poor people on an individual basis, including e.g. punishment, education, social work, employment, and workfare.
- Provision for contingencies. Rather than providing for poor people directly, many welfare states have provided for categories of people who are likely to be poor, such as old people or people with disabilities, or circumstances which may impoverish people, like the need for health care.
- Strategic intervention. Many people have argued that poor people can be helped to change their circumstances through focusing on selected, specific measures. Examples have included political participation, community organizing, urban regeneration and the development of social capital.
- Economic development. The anti-poverty strategy of the [http://www.worldbank.org/poverty World Bank] depends heavily on preventing poverty through the promotion of economic growth. It is often argued that "a rising tide lifts all boats," though as critics comment, it can also sink those that are held down. Most developing countries have produced Poverty Reduction Strategy papers or PRSPs [http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/prsp.asp]. In addition to broader approaches the Sachs report (for the UN Millennium Project)[http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/] proposes a series of "quick wins", approaches identified by development experts that would cost relatively little but could have a major effect on world poverty. The quick wins are:
- Eliminating school fees
- Providing soil nutrients to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa
- Free school meals for schoolchildren
- Supporting breast-feeding
- Deworming school children in affected areas
- Training programmes for community health in rural areas
- Providing mosquito nets
- Ending user fees for basic health care in developing countries
- Access to information on sexual and reproductive health
- Drugs for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
- Upgrading slums, and providing land for public housing
- Access to electricity, water and sanitation
- Legislation for women’s rights, including rights to property
- Action against domestic violence
- Appointing government scientific advisors in every country
- Planting trees In his book [http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty/ “The End of Poverty"], world renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs laid out a lucid plan to eradicate global poverty by the year 2025. Following his doctrine, international organizations such as the [http://www.globalsolidaritynetwork.org Global Solidarity Network] are helping end poverty working with governments and partners to help eradicate poverty worldwide with known, proven, reliable, and appropriate interventions in the areas of housing, food, education, basic health, agricultural inputs, safe drinking water, transportation and communications. Noteable Figures in Poverty Reduction Bono - Rock Star Activist involved in lobbying for poverty reduction. Clint Borgen - Head of the Borgen Project and one of the world's most recognized figures in poverty reduction. Jeffrey Sachs - Economist and leading figure in poverty reduction.

Debates about poverty

Poverty is a highly political issue. People with right wing views often see it as related to laziness, a lack of family planning or too much interference of government. People with left wing views see it more in terms of social justice and lack of opportunity in education. It is a highly complex issue in which various factors often play a part. The condition in itself is not always considered negatively, even if this is the prevalent interpretation: some cultural or religious groups consider poverty an ideal condition to live in, a condition necessary in order to reach certain spiritual or intellectual states. Poverty in this sense is understood as the lack of material possessions. For some orders this is equivalent to voluntary simplicity: Mother Teresa said that the vow "frees us from all material possessions". However the vow of poverty traditionally goes beyond that: the Dominicans "lived a life of voluntary poverty, exposing themselves to innumerable dangers and sufferings, for the salvation of others." (Honorius III, 1217). There are also several different ways to measure poverty. See income inequality metrics. The German social scientist Richard Albrecht recently gave a theoretical overview on "pauper/ism" within advanced capitalist societies according to that "late modern age" (Anthony Giddens) as sketched as a grounded concept by Karl Marx named "relative Übervölkerung" (relative overpopulation). Moreover, this essay sketches within current German society an empirical "poverty line" which also includes "working poor". The scholarly piece has an English summary: "Pauper(ismus) bei Marx"; http://www.grin.de/grin/hausarbeit/sok/24673.html; abriged version (without English summary): "Pauperismus: Mit uns zieht die neue Zeit". Die Sozialpolitik der SPD und die Wiederkehr eines überwunden geglaubten Phänomens [http://www.jungewelt.de/2005/02-07/003.php]

See also


- Cycle of poverty
- Working poor
- Income disparity
- Minimum wage
- Poverty in the United States
- Pauperism

External links


- [http://www.povertyzero.org/ PovertyZero] International organization whose mission is to help eradicate global poverty by the year 2025.
- [http://www.borgenproject.org/ The Borgen Project] Global effort to make poverty the number one priority of U.S. political leaders.
- [ http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/ Make Poverty History] — Campaign dealing with fighting poverty.
- [http://www.eldis.org/poverty/ Eldis Poverty Resource Guide] Free online research and other resources on poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- [http://www.eldis.org/healthsystems/dossiers/v_poor/ Meeting the health-related needs of the very poor] Online dossier synthesising research knowledge and experience on the delivery of health care to the very poor in developing countries
- [http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty Poverty] — The Development Gateway community portal on Poverty is a comprehensive collection of articles, reports, data, statistics, projects and other resources.
- [http://www.povertynet.org/ PovertyNet] — PovertyNet from The World Bank Group provides an introduction to key issues as well as in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies for researchers and practitioners.
- [http://www.cgdev.org Center for Global Development] — The Center for Global Development is a Washington, D.C. policy center pursuing research-based, actionable ideas for the fight against global poverty.
- [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317916/us65566/us63968/ LookSmart — Poverty Issues] directory category
- [http://dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Poverty/ Open Directory Project — Poverty Issues] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/Poverty/ Yahoo! — Poverty Issues and Causes] directory category
- [http://www.antipovertycampaign.org The Anti-Poverty Campaign]
- [http://www.liberaassociazioneilpopolo.it/inglese/index.html 2010: Poverty Elimination] proposes a nine-step poverty elimination plan. The first global campaign for poverty elimination which changed the common goal of "poverty reduction" to "poverty elimination". A work published for free in internet with a similar Wikipedia method with the contibution and the approval of more of 200.000 people, translated in several languages and that more than 25 milion people read.
- [http://www.iddc.org.uk International Disability and Development Consortium] Network of NGOs and disability organisations
- [http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/povertyrate.html Graph of US Poverty] US Census
- [http://www.oct17.org UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty] commemorated annually, throughout the world on 17 October
- [http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3905&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html UNESCO Anti-Poverty Programme]
- [http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:dv9fX4jJ4zoJ:topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/filedownload.do National and International Poverty Lines: An Overview] Category:Socioeconomics Category:Social justice Category:Development Category:Development Studies Category:Spirituality ja:貧困

Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." stands for the "District of Columbia", the federal district containing the city of Washington. The city is named for George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal government, so for most practical purposes they are considered to be the same entity. It is known locally as the District or simply D.C. Historically, it was called the Federal City. The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution with limited—and sometimes contentious—local rule. The District is ruled "in all cases whatsoever" by the U.S. Congress, though its residents have no voting representative in that body. The land forming the original District came from the states of Virginia and Maryland. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded", to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The term "District of Columbia" is derived from an old poetic name for the United States, Columbia, which has fallen out of common use since the early 20th century. The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in Washington, D.C., as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, among other international (and national) institutions. All of this has made Washington the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and sports teams, and is a popular destination for tourists. The population of the District of Columbia, as of 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 563,384. The Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, with a population surpassing 4.7 million. If Washington, D.C. were considered a state, it would rank last in area behind Rhode Island, 50th in population ahead of Wyoming, and 36th in Gross State Product, ahead of 15 states. __TOC__

History

Wyoming map of Washington, D.C.]] A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the "Federal City" was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City". Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited. On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable and destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces, who burned public buildings including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building. The Presidential Mansion was also gutted. James Madison Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies—such as veterans' pensions—led to notable growth in the city's population. In July 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The site, now called [http://www.nps.gov/batt/ Battleground National Cemetery] is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. President, Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office [http://www.nps.gov/rocr/ftcircle/stevens.htm 1]. In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century. The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century. Lincoln Memorial The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College. The first 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but he was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990 and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, now named the Washington Nationals, despite opposition from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready in 2008.

Geography and climate

Geography

2008, 2002. The axes bounding its quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building.]] Washington, D.C. is located at (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water. Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the Potomac River's southern shore both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River as it passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District of Columbia border. The physical geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the physical geography of much of Maryland. The District has three major natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. The Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac River. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland; McMillan Reservoir near Howard University; and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown. The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls - Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.

Climate

Washington's weather is seasonal subtropical with some variations between summer and winter, although it is moderated by its proximity to the coast, making its climate more moderate than cities at a similar latitude further inland. Summer tends to be very hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s° to low 90s°F (about 30°C). Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s°F (about 20°C). Winter can bring cold temperatures and, on some occassions, significant snowfall. While hurricanes (or the remnants of them) occasionally track through the area, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington. The average annual snowfall is 17 inches (430 mm) and the average high temperature in January is 43°F (6°C); the average low for January is 24°F (−4°C). The highest recorded temperature was 106°F (41°C) on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was −15°F (−26°C) on February 11, 1899. 1899

People and culture

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there are 572,059 people (2004 estimate: 553,523), 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km² (9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.01% Black or African American, 32.78% White, 2.66% Asian, 0.30% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race, with Salvadorans being the largest Hispanic group. A plurality of whites are of British ancestry. There are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 3.07. In the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $40,127, and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under the age of 18 and 16.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. As of 2000, 83.2% of Washington, D.C. residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 9.2% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 1.8%, followed by African languages at 1.0% and Chinese at 0.5%. According to the 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_studies/aris.pdf American Religious Identification Survey], nearly three out of four District residents self-identified as Christians. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% as some other form of Protestant), 13% stating no religion, and minor religions including 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.

Housing

Due in part to the renewed expansion of the federal government, Washington has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving to the District. While the Census Bureau estimated in 2005 that the District's population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, city officials alleged systemic undercounting and released their own estimate that the District's population will rise to 712,000 by 2030.

Crime

During the violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. was known as the murder capital of the United States. The number of homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, with violence declining drastically since then. Once plagued with violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods, such as Columbia Heights, are becoming safe and vibrant areas as a result of gentrification. While not as intensely violent, crime hot spots have since displaced farther into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C. and across the border into Maryland. Although the eastern side of the city has developed a reputation for being unsafe, these crime hot spots are generally concentrated in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs. Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's wealthier Northwest neighborhoods, experience low levels of crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C. crime rates (2004) remain among the highest of U.S. cities, behind only Camden, New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Gary, Indiana. [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm#25]

Landmarks and museums

Gary, Indiana Washington is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The National Mall is a large, open area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders, as well as connecting the White House and the United States Capitol buildings. Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest near the Mall include the Jefferson Memorial (see right), Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Albert Einstein Memorial. The world famous Smithsonian Institution, is also located in the District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of museums that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Zoo. There are also many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that are part of the Smithsonian, including the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Corcoran Museum of Art, and the Phillips Collection. The Library of Congress and the National Archives house thousands of documents covering every period in American history. Some of the more notable documents in the National Archives include the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Blair House, Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, Old Post Office Building, Theodore Roosevelt Island, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Washington National Cathedral.

Media

Newspaper

The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington, and has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers in the U.S., perhaps most notable for exposing the Watergate Scandal, among other achievements. The daily Washington Times and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily tabloid Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers. The weekly Washington Blade focuses on gay issues, and the Washington Informer on African-American issues. Many neighborhoods in the District have their own small-circulation newspaper, usually published by the neighborhood association on a weekly basis. Some of these papers included the Dupont Current (Dupont Circle), Georgetown Current (Georgetown), In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, & Adams Morgan), Northwest Current (Upper Northwest), the Voice of the Hill, the Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), and East of the River (Anacostia).

Television

The metro area is well served by several local broadcast television stations, and is the eighth largest designated market area in the U.S., with 2,252,550 homes (2.04% of the U.S. population). Major television network affiliates include WUSA 9 (CBS), WJLA 7 (ABC), WRC 4, (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WBDC 50 (WB), WDCA 20 (UPN), as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4, 5, 20, and 50 are owned by the networks themselves. Public Access on Cable Television is also provided by the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia on two channels simulcast to both local cable TV Systems. One channel is devoted to religious programming and the other channel provides a diversity of offerings. Several cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington area including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Northeast Washington, and Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland. Major national broadcasters and cable outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN also maintain a significant presence in Washington, as do those from around the world including the BBC, CBC, and Al Jazeera.

Radio

Al Jazeera There are also several major radio stations serving the metro area, with a wide variety of musical interests. Rock stations include WARW 94.7 FM (classic rock), WIHT 99.5 FM (top 40), WWDC, 101.1 FM (alternative rock), and WWZZ 104.1 FM (alternative rock). Urban stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR/Mainstream Urban), WHUR 96.3 FM (student-run Howard University Urban AC station), WMMJ 102.3FM (Urban AC), WKYS 93.9 FM (Mainstream Urban), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate radio station broadcasting the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights). Stations that concentrate on talk and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM, WMAL 630 AM (conservative), WPGC 1580 AM (Urban Gospel), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), and WTOP 1500 AM (all news). There are also two NPR affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (usual NPR programs, community programming, and BBC news) and WETA 90.9 FM (round-the-clock news/analysis, broadcasting shows originating mainly from NPR, PRI, and BBC). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary), WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL 99.1 FM (Latin/Hispanic), WGMS 103.5 FM (classical music), WPFW 89.3 FM (jazz and progressive talk), WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz), and WRQX 107.3 FM (adult contemporary). XM Satellite Radio and National Public Radio are based in Washington. The Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service, is also headquartered in Washington.

Performing arts

There are a number of venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of the first not-for-profit regional theaters in the nation, is rich with history and produces an eight-show season ranging from classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American canon of theater. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety of other musical and stage performances. Notable local music clubs include Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; the Eighteenth Street Lounge in the Dupont Circle district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, and the Bohemian Caverns jazz club, all in the U Street NW area. D.C. has its own native music genre, called go-go, a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of R&B that blends live sets with relentless dance rhythms (that "go and go and go.") The most accomplished practitioner of go-go was D.C. bandleader Chuck Brown, who brought go-go to the brink of national recognition with his 1979 LP Bustin' Loose. Go-Go band and Washington natives Experience Unlimited hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable dance tune "Da Butt". Washington was also an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States. Punk bands of note from Washington include Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Native Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a storied indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels. There have also been a number of television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (The West Wing) or security organizations (The District, Get Smart). Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus, telling stories on their own that were not always tied to the infrastructure of the government either in the district or for the country. For instance, Murphy Brown focused on the lives of the reporters of the (fictional) Washington-based television newsmagazine, FYI. The soap opera Capitol allowed for stories about political intrigue alongside the traditional class struggle sagas. The sitcom 227 portrayed the life of the African-American majority as seen through the eyes of residents in a Washington apartment building.

Sports

Washington Metro area is home to several professional sports teams: the MLS D.C. United, the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the MLB Washington Nationals, and the NFL Washington Redskins (now based at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland). Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, and the Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, and, during the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington Senators in the early and mid-20th century, which left to become respectively the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. In the 19th century, the town was home to teams called the Washington Nationals, Washington Statesmen, and Washington Senators on and off from the 1870s to the turn of the century. Washington was also home to several Negro League teams, including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington Potomacs. The MCI Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards, and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, WWE professional wrestling, and other events. Washington also hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament that takes place at the Carter Barron Tennis Center on 16th Street.

Economy

Carter Barron Tennis Center Washington, D.C. is first and foremost a company town, with the primary company being, of course, the federal government. A significant portion of the metro area's population has some sort of connection to the federal government. Also, the presence of many major government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, or the Food and Drug Administration, has led to a significant amount of business development both in the District itself as well as in the suburbs of northern Virginia and Maryland. These businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms, catering and administrative services companies, and several other industries that are sustained by the enormous economic presence of the federal government. This arrangement has the effect of making the Washington economy virtually recession-proof relative to the rest of the country, because the federal government will still operate no matter the state of the general economy, and often grows during recessions. The metro area includes thirteen major Fortune 500 companies, including:
- Freddie Mac (McLean, Fairfax County)
- Fannie Mae
- electric utility Pepco Holdings Incorporated
- manufacturing company Danaher
- communications giant Nextel (Reston, Fairfax County)
- the credit card company Capital One (McLean, Fairfax County)
- AES Corporation (Arlington County)
- Gannett (McLean, Fairfax County), the publisher of USA Today
- SLM Corporation (Reston, Fairfax County)
- NVR Incorporated (McLean, Fairfax County)
- hotel services company Marriott International (Bethesda, Montgomery County)
- Choice Hotels (Silver Spring, Montgomery County)
- Coventry Healthcare Incorporated (Bethesda, Montgomery County) Defense contractors General Dynamics (Falls Church) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda) are also in the metro area. In addition to Nextel, several other major network and communications companies are located in the area, including America Online (Dulles) and MCI Communications (Ashburn). Other media companies located in the DC metro area include the new XM Satellite Radio and Al Hurra (Springfield), a new cable new channel marketed towards Arabic countries. The Public Broadcasting Service is also based in suburban Alexandria, while Discovery Communications, the parent company of such cable networks as the Discovery Channel, is based in Silver Spring. The largest private employer in DC is the [http://wwww.bna.com Bureau of National Affairs], a publishing company based in the west end of the city since the early 1950s. The aerospace and commercial air travel industries also have a major presence in the area, in addition to the aforementioned General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Independence Air, based in Dulles, started service in 2004, and operates as a low-cost air carrier to many major airports in the United States. The regional airline Colgan Air, based in Manassas, also operates out of the DC area. Defense contractor Orbital Sciences Corporation is also based in Dulles and specializes in satellite launch and manufacture. Due to the proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the American genomics industry has recently sprouted in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Prominent players are Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research (also known as "TIGR"), and Human Genome Sciences (all of which are in the city of Rockville). The gross state product of the District in 2004 was $75.264 billion, ranking it #36 when compared with the fifty states.

Infrastructure

Government

Local government

$ The city is run by an elected mayor (currently Anthony A. Williams) and a city council. The city council is composed of 13 members — a representative elected from each of the eight wards and five members, including the chairman, elected at large. The council conducts its work through standing committees and special committees established as needed. District schools are administered by a school board that has both elected and appointed members. There are also 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The ANCs serve as local councils, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the DC Council. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created locally, and has often done so. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not apply to the District of Columbia. D.C. residents do pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget of local money with Congress reserving the right to make any changes. Much of the valuable property in the District is federally owned and hence exempt from local property taxes; at the same time, the city is burdened with the extraordinary expenses related to its role as the capital, such as police overtime and street cleaning for D.C.'s frequent parades and festivals. These factors are often used to explain why the city's budget is frequently overstretched. However, the federal government also appropriates funds for the city. For instance, according to Public Law 108-7, the federal government provided, among other funds, an estimated 25% of the District's operating budget in 2003. Historically, the city's local government has earned somewhat of a reputation for mismanagement and waste, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry. A front page story in the July 21, 1997 Washington Post reported that Washington had some of the highest cost, lowest quality services in the region. Prosperity in the late 1990s and early 2000s has lessened public pressure on Mayor Williams, who still faces daunting urban renewal, public health, and public education challenges.

Representation in federal government