2005 and beyond: the future of trade, development and international institutions

2005 and beyond: the future of trade, development and international institutions

Published Jan 2005

Author

R. Sally

Publisher

Focus themes

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The growing importance of the Asia-Pacific for international institutions

Examining questions on trade, development and international institutions through a 2005 stock-take, the author of this paper is pessimistic about the prospect for a fresh wave of liberalisation through the WTO and other international institutions. It is argued that most of the new ideas on aid are wrong and that top-down global-governance prescriptions are misguided. The author however is optimistic that further liberalisations and economic globalisation heralded today by China (possibly joined later by India), will come from below through unilateral example-setting and competitive emulation.

The author anticipates that the importance of international institutions and the transatlantic relationship between the US and the rising powers in Asia-Pacific will decrease, while not becoming unimportant. The author sees this development as being good news for developing countries with market-based policies and institutions. Furthering liberalisation and related regulatory reforms will allow countries to take maximum advantage of globalisation, raise real incomes, make serious inroads into poverty and generally improve human welfare.

The author argues that the African problem is the failure of aid and policy solutions driven by international organisation in alliance with local postcolonial elites. Recognising that the US is not interested in a liberal-imperial role in Africa, the author concludes that the region is in a real dilemma.

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