Washington, DC, November 6, 2008 – History shows that severe crises can cause nations to become inward-looking, sometimes with negative consequences. The World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography, released today, argues that the most effective policies for promoting long-term growth are those that facilitate geographic concentration and economic integration, both within and across countries. “The world’s most geographically disadvantaged people know all too well that growth does not come to every place at once,” says Indermit S. Gill, Director of the World Development Report (WDR) and Chief Economist, Europe and Central Asia. “Markets favor some places over others. To fight this concentration is tantamount to fighting prosperity. Governments should facilitate the geographic concentration of production. But they must also institute policies that make the provision of basic needs—of schools, security, streets, and sanitation—more universal.”