Global Governance

SouthViews No. 23, 24 July 2012

Equity is the Gateway to Environment Ambition: South Centre statement in UNFCCC

Below is the statement by Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre, which was presented at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) Workshop on Equity in Bonn on 16 May 2012.

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SouthViews No. 22, 20 July 2012

Developing countries very vulnerable to global economic crisis, UN role is vital: South Centre speech at UN

By Yilmaz Akyüz

The world economy is as fragile today as in 2009. Developing countries are very vulnerable to a slowdown caused by the Eurozone crisis. There has been no global reforms and the G20 is ineffective. Thus the role of the UN on global economic issues is vital. These are highlights of the speech by the South Centre’s Chief Economist at the UN General Assembly High Level Thematic Debate on the State of the Global Economy in New York on 18 May.

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SouthViews No. 20, 18 July 2012

Sustainable Development as an Answer to Economic and Financial Crises

Below is the speech delivered by Dr Yilmaz Akyüz, Chief Economist of the South Centre on the Sustainable Development Dialogue Roundtable on the Global Financial Crisis, UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, in Rio de Janeiro on 16 June 2012. (more…)

SouthViews No. 19, 17 July 2012

The Rio+20 Summit and its Follow Up

By Martin Khor

The Rio+20 summit from 13 to 22 June was disappointing to many, but it could still succeed through the mandated follow-up actions. The South Centre’s Executive Director gives an in-depth assessment.

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Research Paper 44, March 2012

The Staggering Rise of the South?

This paper argues that the unprecedented acceleration of growth in the developing world in the new millennium in comparison with advanced economies is due not so much to improvements in underlying fundamentals as to exceptionally favourable global economic conditions, shaped mainly by unsustainable policies in advanced economies. The only developing economy which has had a major impact on global conditions, notably on commodity prices, is China. (more…)

SouthViews No. 53, 6 February 2013

Statutory Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanisms: Why And How?

The following paper by the South Centre (authored by its Chief Economist Yilmaz Akyuz ) was presented by the Centre’s Executive Director at the UN General Assembly special event on sovereign debt crises and restructurings, held in New York on 20 October 2012.

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Policy Brief 5, May 2011

Summary overview of the recent development of the agenda of financial reform.

A cursory read of the FSB’s report on progress in the implementation of G20’s reform agenda indicates how vast the agenda has become. Agreement on the international agenda is being accompanied by measures implementing this agreement at national level and at the level of the EU. (more…)

Research Paper 32, November 2010

Why The IMF And The International Monetary System Need More Than Cosmetic Reform.

This Research Paper argues that the G20 agenda misses some of the key issues that need to be dealt with in order to effectively reform the international monetary system so as to avert future global financial crises. The missing issues include enforceable exchange rate and adjustment obligations, orderly sovereign debt workout mechanisms and the reform of the international reserves system. (more…)

Policy Brief 3, September 2010

Some preliminary thoughts on new international economic cooperation.

The developed countries have acted as engines of economic growth in the world for nearly half a century; but they may not continue to have that role for long. With their negligible population growth and low level of GDP growth, they are unlikely to generate significant additional consumer demand. (more…)

Policy Note on South-South Cooperation Principles, November 2009

South-South Cooperation Principles: An Essential Element in South-South Cooperation.

Developing countries today face the multiple interlinked financial, climate, and development crises. As the development gap between rich and poor countries grows and inequality deepens, never before has South-South cooperation at all levels been more essential at all levels and in all fields of international and domestic endeavour as developing countries seek, individually and (more…)

Paper on UN Global Economic Governance, August 2009

The Role of the United Nations in Global Economic Governance

Global economic policy issues are often addressed by specialized multilateral agencies in a fragmented, incoherent and inconsistent manner and often with failures in relation to certain areas of global policy – particularly in trade and finance – that have broader implications for the multilateral system as a whole. (more…)

Analytical Note, October 2008

Developing country perspectives on the role of the Development Cooperation Forum: building strategic approaches to enhancing multilateral development cooperation.

This Analytical Note follows up the study on stakeholder perspectives on the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) prepared by the South Centre entitled “Reshaping the International Development Cooperation Architecture: Perspectives on a Strategic Development Role for the Development Cooperation Forum” (more…)