Article at a glance:

Public-private partnerships as a development engine

• Both economic growth and the eradication of poverty depend on the private sector’s energy and drive, asserts Rajat K. Gupta in a September 2005 speech at the United Nations. Business is the engine of all successful development efforts.
• But small-minded conflicts between business, government, and civil society can thwart these efforts. A new approach is needed.
• Short-sighted companies make fundamental mistakes; enlightened self-interest should send business leaders to the development table.
• There is too much mistrust of business; governments should have higher expectations of what it can deliver. Development that fails to leverage the best of business is development that aims too low.