The outcome of last week’s L’Aquila meeting confirms a common (and worrying) aspect of G8 summits: an abundance of promises and commitments, without sufficient details and clear mechanisms that would ensure effective implementation. Perhaps it is finally time to relegate the G8 to the history books and leave it to the G20, or another more inclusive forum for dialogue and coordination, to take the reins of global economic policy.
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17 Jul 2009 / Paolo De Renzio
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02 Apr 2009 / Paolo De Renzio
Despite all the statements and rhetoric to the contrary, there is little doubt that foreign aid from rich countries will contract as a consequence of the global financial crisis. Averting such further impact of the global crisis calls for urgent and innovative solutions to both the quantity and quality of foreign aid. Proposals to increase aid in times of crisis require important institutional reforms aimed at addressing the shortcomings of the existing aid system. While political appetite for such reforms may not be high at the moment, extraordinary times require extraordinary solutions. The G20 and other development actors need to step up to the plate.
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07 Dec 2008 / Paolo De Renzio
Just think about it. The $700 billion rescue package that the US Congress approved for the financial crisis is equal to seven times current yearly aid levels, or the equivalent of global aid flows between now and 2015, the year that marks the target for the Millennium Development Goals. It will be spent within a [...]
