The World Bank's Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is one of the world's best known series of conferences for the presentation and discussion of new knowledge about development. This volume collects together papers from the 1999 ABCDE in Europe given by some of the most prominent thinkers on development issues.

Over the last half century, Europe has gradually built institutions for a regional economic integration which was both desired and controlled. In this era of globalized markets, which policies and which institutions are best suited to foster development and equity? In initiating this open and pluralistic debate among academics and decision-makers, this European conference on development should contribute to the emergence of a better global governance. Pierre-Alain Muet, Adviser to the French Prime Minister The conference aims to energize the community of European development economists at a time when their expertise in market infrastructure is proving invaluable to governments and societies struggling to make markets work. By bringing together leading thinkers and policymakers in Europe, the Bank is extending its global research network and widening its scope of economic analysis to emphasize questions of social protection, stability, and economic decision-making. Joseph E. Stiglitz, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution