With the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in Geneva suspended, with the G8 summit in St Petersburg deeply flawed, with an irritating outlook for next year’s Heiligendamm summit, and – last but not least – with the Bretton Woods twins IMF and World Bank in acute crisis, these days seem to form a perfect scenario for an anti-globaliser‘s summer festival. But it is the globalisers themselves who are obstructing globalisation. And the alternative to this fatal perspective is democracy, writes Rainer Falk.
Rainer Falk
Ironically, the publication of the 2006 World Trade Report on 24 July (see reference) coincided with WTO Director-general Pascal Lamy’s announcement that all negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) will be suspended... ... this article was published in >>> Issue 3/Aug-Sep 2006.
Race to a New Bretton Woods + Time for UN to Act + Stiglitz' New Economic Compact + China's Agrarian Reforms + Transparency Deficit of IMF and World Bank
Since the financial meltdown began in mid-September, the bond markets of most of the region have been hit, as well as most of their stock markets and a number of currencies. Can South America escape the wrath of the economic and financial storms that have their epicenter in the United States?
On 11 October 2008, the International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IWG) released the Generally Accepted Principles and Practices (GAPP) that would guide the governance and accountability framework of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
For years, only a small and enlightened elite and some NGOs looking beyond their tiny projects have been calling for a New Bretton Woods - a global conference to restructure the global economic and financial system. Yet suddenly such demands have become almost mainstream, and developments have accelerated tremendously.
The timing has been perfect: In the middle of October, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved a reform proposal that will allow farmers to lease or transfer their land rights. Called a "historic" decision by some observers, the Chinese government announced it as Chinas contribution to counter the financial crisis.
The 2008 US Presidential election was historic itself owing to the candidates' profile. But the timing of the elections as the U.S. and global economy are in the midst of the worst financial crisis and recession in decades reminds us of the Great Depression era and the 1980s recession.