In late 2009, Oxford University’s Global Economic Governance Programme convened an Expert Taskforce on Global Knowledge Governance to propose a set of principles and options for the future of the global knowledge governance. To contribute to their work, the Expert Taskforce invites you to take part in a short international survey on Global Knowledge Governance and Intellectual Property. To complete the survey, please follow this link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/globalknowledgegovernance.
Though our work and research on matters of global economic governance continues, our posting here does not. For up-to-date information on the latest GEG news and research, please check the main GEG website and Facebook page.
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July 21, 2010 / intellectual property, trade, WIPO, wto
Tags: intellectual property, knowledge, WIPO, wto
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In this blog, GEG’s Carolyn Deere-Birkbeck argues that Ministers should use this Ministerial Conference to take leadership and push discussion of institutional reform and governance higher up the multilateral trade system’s official agenda. With just over one week remaining before the Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference (30 November – 2 December 2009), WTO reform and the functioning of [...]
Tags: developing countries, governance, institutional reform, Ministerial Conference, multilateral trade system, sustainable development, trade, wto
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Strengthening Multilateralism: A Mapping of Proposals on WTO Reform and Global Trade Governance
4 CommentsThe Global Economic Governance Programme is pleased to announce the release of a discussion draft of Strengthening Multilateralism: A Mapping of Proposals on WTO Reform and Global Trade Governance, by Carolyn Deere-Birkbeck and Catherine Monagle, and jointly published with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
Tags: developing countries, governance, institutional reform, Ministerial Conference, multilateral trade system, sustainable development, trade, wto
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April 2, 2009 / aid, climate change, financial crisis, G20, imf, trade, world bank, wto
The G20 leaders’ communiqué today has provided a vital boost for global trade, but several important trade-related commitments – to developing countries, to sustainable development and to multilateralism – were disappointing or missing. With a further G20 meeting scheduled before the end of the year, leaders must now deepen and expand their trade agenda to address these shortfalls. At the same time, they must acknowledge the democratic deficits of the G20 and explore more inclusive alternatives for global economic decision-making – in particular those that would ensure greater representation of the world’s poorest countries.
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Guest blogger Lawrence J. Lau makes the case for keeping the trade door open, outlining options for China and the world.
The “open door” policy was a critical component of the economic reforms China introduced in 1978, opening the country to the outward and inward flow of goods and services, of capital, and of people.
Deng Xiaoping’s government brought China into the globalised economy, expanding international trade and attracting foreign direct investment, which brought with it capital, technology, markets, new business models and methods needed after decades of relative isolation. It permitted hundreds of thousands of Chinese scholars to go abroad for exchange and advanced study, and let foreign experts become involved with China. The “open door” underpinned the extraordinary growth of the Chinese economy over the past three decades.
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From Crisis Management to Sustainable Development: Why We Need a WTO Ministerial Conference This Year
1 CommentTrade ministers have not met for a broad-ranging WTO Ministerial Conference since the launch of the Doha Round in 2001. At the G20 London Summit, governments should call for a full Ministerial Conference in Geneva to be held this year.[1]
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The Trade System Amidst the Global Financial Crisis
Comments OffMarch 26, 2009 / financial crisis, G20, trade, wtoGuest blogger Sylvia Ostry reflects on the challenges for the trade system amidst the financial crisis
If there was ever any doubt about the close, even intimate, relationship between trade and finance in the global economy, the statement issued by the G20 leaders on 15 November 2008 put that doubt to rest. In that document – wide ranging and complex – the G20 tasked several national and international organisations with implementing enunciated principles for reform of financial markets and an initial set of specific measures, including high-priority actions to be completed by the end of March 2009.
Tags: developing countries, financial crisis, G20, trade
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Guest blogger Dominique Njinkeu sets out the challenges facing Africa in the current economic crisis, highlights the and makes the case for a stimulus package for Africa to address shrinking trade.
The current global downturn is a crisis emanating from advanced economies rather than from bad policies on the part of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. African economies will nevertheless be affected through a variety of international trade-related channels, including reduced commodities prices and exports receipts, foreign direct investment and equity flows, exchange rate fluctuations, and remittances. Trade is already shrinking, growth declining, and unemployment rising. The associated losses for SSA countries are forecasted at over USD 50 billion in 2008-2009. Unless appropriate solutions are identified and swiftly implemented, the crisis risks undermining the achievements of three decades of policy reform, thus further reducing the possibility of achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. Fortunately, such solutions exist that could even turn the crisis into opportunity for African countries.
Tags: developing countries, G20, trade
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March 23, 2009 / financial crisis, G20, trade, wto
Roberto Bouzas
The challenges faced by developing countries and sustainable development regarding global economic governance are not substantially different from those faced by the developed world. In fact, both groups of countries share common challenges.
The first and most urgent challenge is to revive the multilateral trade regime. In the last half century, trade has been the policy area in which the international community has made the most strident progress towards cooperation. In the last decade, however, the effectiveness of the international trade regime has eroded under the weight of a changing international and domestic landscape (a new balance of power, an expanded membership, the emergence of new constituencies, and the development of uncharted regulatory areas). These structural transformations were underway well in advance of the financial crisis, but a creeping recession and mounting protectionist pressures have sharply deepened existing tensions.
Tags: developing countries, G20, sustainable development, trade
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The Upside of a Downturn: A Chinese Perspective
Comments OffMarch 23, 2009 / financial crisis, G20, trade, wtoGuest blogger Shuaihua Cheng provides a Chinese perspective on global trade governance and the economic crisis, focusing on the upside of a downturn.
The most critical problem facing global trade governance at this moment is that we have focused too much on problems at the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is dangerous to disregard the fact that the WTO has functioned well as a stabilizer of basic global economic order amidst economic turmoil.
Tags: developing countries, G20, trade, wto
