Ann Pettifor
Encyclopedia
Ann Pettifor is a fellow of the New Economics Foundation
, London, and author of books on government debt
and international finance
. She is best known for her leadership of a worldwide campaign to cancel approximately $100 billion of debts owed by 42 of the poorest countries – Jubilee 2000
. In 2003 she correctly predicted the bursting of the credit bubble ("The Credit Crunch") in a book she edited for the New Economics Foundation
The Real World Economic Outlook (Palgrave, 2003). In 2006 Palgrave Macmillan published her book The Coming First World Debt Crisis (Palgrave, 2006). She is a co-author of the Green New Deal, published by the New Economics Foundation in July 2008 - a set of policies to deal with threats posed by the Credit Crunch, Peak Oil and Climate Change.
She is now the executive director of a consultancy Advocacy International, which undertakes research and advises governments and organisations on matters relating to international finance and sustainable development. Advocacy International has worked with the Nigerian, Guyanese and Ethiopian governments, and advised the Global Fund for Aids, the Queen of Jordan and the Norwegian and British governments as well as prominent NGOs. She currently advises a group of British churches on their climate change campaign, Operation Noah
.
, Pettifor graduated with a degree in politics and economics from the University of the Witwatersrand
. In the 1980s she held several posts as adviser to the leader of the Greater London Council
, Ken Livingstone
, and the leader of the Inner London Education Authority
, Frances Morrell
. She also advised the Right Hon. Margaret Beckett MP who went on to serve in the 1997 Labour government.
Pettifor co-founded the Jubilee 2000
worldwide campaign for the cancellation of the debts of the poorest countries. In 1998, Jubilee 2000
organized a human chain of approximately 70,000 people, which surrounded the 1998 G8
summit in Birmingham
, United Kingdom
. In 1999 at the Cologne G8 Summit, the G8 agreed to write off approximately $100 billion in third world debt
, in large part due to the campaign, which had supporters such as Pope John Paul II
, Muhammed Ali, Bono
, Tony Blair
, Gordon Brown
and Bill Clinton
.
At the conclusion of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, Pettifor joined the New Economics Foundation
in London where she headed up their research unit on global macro-economics.
She subsequently set up Advocacy International, a UK-based consultancy that advises governments and international organisations and serves as its executive director, and has helped secure debt relief for the governments of Guyana
, Nigeria
, and Ethiopia
. Among the awards and honours she has received are an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle (2000), the Pax Christi
International Peace Prize, the Freedom of the City
of Callao
. In 2003 President Obasanjo honoured her work on behalf of African governments by bestowing the Order of the Niger
on her.
New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is a British think-tank.NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth creation, based on equality, diversity and economic stability"....
, London, and author of books on government debt
Government debt
Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...
and international finance
International finance
International finance is the branch of economics that studies the dynamics of exchange rates, foreign investment, global financial system, and how these affect international trade. It also studies international projects, international investments and capital flows, and trade deficits. It includes...
. She is best known for her leadership of a worldwide campaign to cancel approximately $100 billion of debts owed by 42 of the poorest countries – Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
. In 2003 she correctly predicted the bursting of the credit bubble ("The Credit Crunch") in a book she edited for the New Economics Foundation
New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is a British think-tank.NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth creation, based on equality, diversity and economic stability"....
The Real World Economic Outlook (Palgrave, 2003). In 2006 Palgrave Macmillan published her book The Coming First World Debt Crisis (Palgrave, 2006). She is a co-author of the Green New Deal, published by the New Economics Foundation in July 2008 - a set of policies to deal with threats posed by the Credit Crunch, Peak Oil and Climate Change.
She is now the executive director of a consultancy Advocacy International, which undertakes research and advises governments and organisations on matters relating to international finance and sustainable development. Advocacy International has worked with the Nigerian, Guyanese and Ethiopian governments, and advised the Global Fund for Aids, the Queen of Jordan and the Norwegian and British governments as well as prominent NGOs. She currently advises a group of British churches on their climate change campaign, Operation Noah
Operation Noah
Operation Noah may refer to:*Operation Noah , a 1944 reconnaissance operation by the Belgian Special Air Service*Operation Noah , a 1959 operation in Zambia and Zimbabwe to move animals from a flooding dam site...
.
Biography
Born in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Pettifor graduated with a degree in politics and economics from the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
. In the 1980s she held several posts as adviser to the leader of the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
, Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, and the leader of the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
, Frances Morrell
Frances Morrell
Frances Morrell was a British Labour politician who led the Inner London Education Authority 1983-87....
. She also advised the Right Hon. Margaret Beckett MP who went on to serve in the 1997 Labour government.
Pettifor co-founded the Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
worldwide campaign for the cancellation of the debts of the poorest countries. In 1998, Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
organized a human chain of approximately 70,000 people, which surrounded the 1998 G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
summit in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1999 at the Cologne G8 Summit, the G8 agreed to write off approximately $100 billion in third world debt
Developing countries' debt
The debt of developing countries is external debt incurred by governments of developing countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay...
, in large part due to the campaign, which had supporters such as Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, Muhammed Ali, Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
At the conclusion of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, Pettifor joined the New Economics Foundation
New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is a British think-tank.NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth creation, based on equality, diversity and economic stability"....
in London where she headed up their research unit on global macro-economics.
She subsequently set up Advocacy International, a UK-based consultancy that advises governments and international organisations and serves as its executive director, and has helped secure debt relief for the governments of Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Among the awards and honours she has received are an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle (2000), the Pax Christi
Pax Christi
-History:Pax Christi was established in France in 1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the Second World War. In 2007, it existed in more than 60 countries...
International Peace Prize, the Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
. In 2003 President Obasanjo honoured her work on behalf of African governments by bestowing the Order of the Niger
Orders, decorations, and medals of Nigeria
Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were instituted by the National Honors Act No...
on her.
Works
- 1996: Debt, the Most Potent Form of Slavery: : a discussion of the role of Western lending policies in subordinating the economies of poor countries. Debt Crisis Network.
- 2000: Kicking the Habit: Finding a Lasting Solution to Addictive Lending and Borrowing and Its Corrupting Side-Effects (Joseph Hanlon & Angela Travis). Jubilee 2000 Coalition.
- 2001: It Takes Two to Tango: Creditor Co-Responsibility for Argentina's Crisis - and the Need for Independent Resolution (with Liana Cisneros & Alejandro Olmos). New Economics Foundation.
- 2002: Chapter 9/11?: Resolving International Debtcrises - The Jubilee Framework for International Insolvency. New Economics Foundation. ISBN 978-1899407446
- 2003: The Real World Economic Outlook Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403917942
- 2006: The Coming First World Debt Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230007840