The combined sales of the world's top 200 companies surpass the combined economies of 182 countries. More than a billion people in developing countries lack access to safe water, and more than 2.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation. Some 90 million children are out of school at the primary level. Budget cuts often retrench civil servants, cut subsidies for basic staples and cut pension and social security benefits. Tight credit can reduce consumption and investment.
Privatization can raise costs to consumers.
2 UNDPs Human Development Report, 1999. Made possible by the generous financial contributions of the Ford Foundation, the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.