In The Balance

For as long as there has been taxation, there has been a debate about who should pay and how much? Tax is supposed to make sure that everyone who can, puts something into the pot. But how does any taxation system ensure that everyone who is supposed to pay, actually does? We have an exclusive interview with the head of taxation at the OECD, Pascal Saint-Amans. He is author of a report, out later this month, which aims to outline best world-wide practise for countries and corporations. We also hear about the challenges facing Africa in collecting enough tax to sustain development there, with the former chief economist of the African Development Bank, Mthuli Ncube. And, former US government adviser and now head of the Manhattan Institute Diana Furchtgott-Roth makes the case for keeping taxation of any sort, to an absolute minimum. Presented by Ed Butler. (Photo: A demonstrator holds a sign reading 'Stop tax evasion #Cahuzac case' on 8 February 2016. Credit: Miguel/Medina/AFP/Getty Images)

To what extent have the Millennium Development Goals helped to eradicate global poverty and improved things for the world's poorest? As the MDGs come to the end of their life, the author of the Millennium Development Goals defends his ambition and the strategies employed to meet the goals; with Mark (Lord) Malloch-Brown, Mark Suzman of the Gates Foundation, and Yasmini Aiya of the Centre for Policy Studies in Delhi Photo: Children collect pieces of coal along the roadside in Bujumbura, Burundi (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Nearly two thousand migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, trying to get to the European Union. Many of them are fleeing miserable conditions - wars, persecution and poverty - left behind in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea. But the southern states of the EU such as Greece and Italy where migrants arrive, do not have the resources to cope with the swelling numbers. So what should they do? Send them back? Pass them along? In the Balance looks at the push and pull factors driving this vast movement of people and considers the solutions available to the people and the countries affected. Presenter Ed Butler talks to former Italian Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner Emma Bonino, one-time head of the Africa Development Bank Mthuli Ncube and Alexander Casella, author of Breaking the Rules, a book about his time working with the UN’s refugee agency. PHOTO: Migrants gather in Ventimiglia, Italy, hoping to cross into France (CREDIT: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)

This year looks set to be the moment when the UK decides whether or not it will remain as part of the European Union. With a referendum expected, we look at the implications of this historic vote, not just for the UK, but for the EU and for the global economy, too. We hear from business men and women from both sides of the so-called 'Brexit' divide, making the case for Britain in or Britain out, including Global Head of Economics at Societe Generale, Michala Marcussen, CEO of JML John Mills and leading UK economist and adviser to the Mayor of London, Gerard Lyons. Presented by Ed Butler (Photo: A young spectator watches sporting action with a Union Jack painted on his face at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, England. Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Set up in the 1940s to ensure the world never again faced catastrophic economic recession, the International Monetary Fund has become a controversial presence in the management of the global economy. It is powerful, it is bossy and it is largely controlled by the USA and Europe. One of the IMF's top officials David Lipton, comes on to the show to answer the critics and to outline his vision for the IMF's future. He is joined by former IMF economist Professor Kenneth Rogoff and others who argue it's time for the IMF to reform to meet the needs of the 21st Century. PHOTO: A participant of the left-wing activists and members of the Greek community of Hungary holds a slogan to protest against the political and financial situation of Greece (CREDIT: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images)

Two years on from the Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka, Bangladesh where a factory collapsed killing over 1100 workers, what has changed in the global rag trade? Are workers safer? Are wages fairer? Are we as consumers any more willing to pay a higher price for our clothes to ensure that the one in six of us who work in the global clothing sector have a decent life? Or is the throw-away culture, in which a $1 t-shirt is bought, worn and chucked away in no time, here to stay; and with it a business model that locks in a race to the bottom? We speak to a factory owner from Dhaka, a fashion deisgner and the man responsible for drawing up the new rules intended to make life better and safer for the people making our clothes. Image: A relative of one of the victims of the disaster at a protest. Credit: Getty Images

What do we do when the antibiotics we rely on to cure deadly diseases stop working? A growing number of infections like malaria and TB are renewed killers because new strains of the diseases no longer respond to antibiotics. The World Health Organisation this week calls it the single greatest challenge in infectious diseases. We hear from the leading economist Jim O'Neill who is conducting a review of the global strategic challenges resulting from the spread of AMR (anti-microbial resistance). We talk to the WHO about the readiness of countries to face the health crises that may lie ahead. And, we ask the drug companies what they are doing to develop new drugs that might once more fight these lethal diseases. (Photo: A newborn baby is seen in an incubator in the maternity ward of a hospital. Credit: Qais Usyan/AFP/Getty Images)

Business leaders say environmental concern is the big new driver in their forward planning as they strive to be heard ahead of the Paris Climate Summit taking place later this year. Are they problem or part of the solution? And what can they bring to the global debate about tackling carbon emissions? (Photo: A wind power generator. Credit: Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Expertise in any business would seem to be a good thing. But when it leads to barriers to sharing information - so called 'silos' - it can in fact represent a huge risk. So says Gillian Tett, author of a new book on the subject -The Silo Effect:The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers. Gillian argues that many of the business crises of the past ten years can be explained via silos in business sectors such as banking. She is joined by Karl Ludvigesen former Vice President of Ford Europe and by Alvin Hall the world renowned financial adviser; he says that no matter what you do, people will always get together into groups or 'tribes' in corporations often refusing to share skills and knowledge because it's human nature to do so. But is he right? And we have an exclusive interview with the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Sir Paul Tucker, on what part silos had to play in the 2008 global financial crisis, when he was at the bank. Presented by Ed Butler. (Photo: An

On IN THE BALANCE this week, we look at the so-called gig economy - where employees are matched to short-term work via online platforms - something which is changing how we all go about looking for work. In the West, it challenges the idea of what people can expect from employment - a job for life with a salary and benefits is becoming less common, causing worry for some. But in other parts of the world it's a different story. In emerging economies, new technologies enable prospective employees to log into places of work on the other side of the world, carry out jobs ranging from coding to legal services, and so it is opening up western jobs markets as never before. It means a greater talent pool and highly competitive pricing, but does it also mean a race to the bottom for terms of employment and wages? We hear from the CEO of the world's biggest online jobs market space, Stephane Kasriel of Upwork, and from a world expert on the global dynamics of the gig economy, Professor Arun Sundararajan of New York’s S

Alongside the enormous human tragedy of the Paris terror attacks, what is the economic cost? Just over a month on from the catastrophic events of the 13th of November, we visit Paris again, to hear the stories of the business people there who are still picking up the pieces. (PHOTO: Flowers and messages are left in Trafalgar Square, London. CREDIT: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)

As the world gathers in Paris to hammer out measures which all hope will slow the rise in global temperatures, In the Balance is in the city to debate the role of big business and big finance in what happens now? We hear from the CEO of one of the world's biggest electricity producers - Engie - and from the former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón. They are joined by an audience of activists, students and some leading thinkers from the world climate economics, to debate what corporate responsibility might look like, as the world confronts the need to change its ways. That's the Climate Countdown - an In the Balance special debate - from the Climate summit in Paris. PHOTO: Shows an apple marked with the portrait of French President Francois Hollande and another apple marked with the logo of the COP21 (CREDIT: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images)

Whether or not you work for yourself, a small company or a huge organisation, all of us are facing workplaces that are changing with a speed that can feel hard to keep up with. The skills-sets required of us are changing rapidly, the networks we are expected to be part of are many, complex and at times baffling. The remit of our work - and the results expected of us - may also seem to shift at a pace which can feel hard to follow. So we bring you some fresh thinking on what you may need to do to keep ahead of the pack in an increasingly competitive and demanding globalised workplace? We speak to the author Farai Chideya - her book The Episodic Career comes out later this month. We also have world renowned financial guru and a man who has built his own career on adapting to the jobs market around him Alvin Hall and last but not least Ari Wallach CEO of the strategy and innovation consultancy firm Synthesis Corporation. Presented by Ed Butler. (Photo: A department store employee poses with humanoid. Cre

Some of the biggest names in global business step up before an invited audience for a special In the Balance debate on the way forward in tackling climate change. Will business always follow the fastest route to a profit when it comes to burning fossil fuels? Are new policies needed, forcing businesses to change the ways in which they operate? Or when it comes to finding solutions to carbon emissions, is big global business now leading the way, daring to propose change that no government will propose, innovating new planet-saving technologies and creating new markets to make innovation possible? Recorded in New York, during Climate Week, featuring guest speakers Sir Richard Branson and Unilever's CEO Paul Polman and presented by Simon Jack. (Photo: Founder of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson discusses the interaction between business and climate during a New York City Climate Week, 2014 in New York City. Credit: Michael Graae/Getty Images)