2010 Raymond Aron Lecture Series: Global Inequality: Is There a Role for Global Governance?

On December 9, 2010, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) hosted François Bourguignon, a leading French economist and authority on the economics of growth and development, to deliver the seventh annual Raymond Aron Lecture. At the beginning of France’s presidency of the G-20, Mr. Bourguignon offered remarks on the evolution of global inequality. He explored how some countries in the global South are not catching up with the North, and how inequality is increasing within a number of nations. He also suggested strategies to avoid these pitfalls, even where the boundaries between national and global governance are blurred.

Mr. Bourguignon has been the director of the Paris School of Economics since 2007 and previously served as chief economist and senior vice president at the World Bank from 2003 to 2007. A director of research at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales since 1985, he has held a number of teaching and advising positions.

Following Mr. Bourguignon’s remarks, Kemal Derviş, vice president of Global Economy and Development at Brookings, offered a response. Senior Fellow Fiona Hill, director of CUSE, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. After the program, panelists took audience questions.

The Raymond Aron lecture series, named after the renowned scholar of post-war France, features leading French and American scholars and statesmen speaking on critical issues affecting the transatlantic relationship.