Publications

Research Paper 37, March 2011

Capital Flows to Developing Countries in a Historical Perspective: Will the Current Boom End With a Bust?.

The paper argues that the policy of quantitative easing and close-to-zero interest rates in advanced economies, notably the US, are generating a surge in speculative capital flows to developing countries in search for yield and creating bubbles in foreign exchange, asset, credit and commodity markets. (more…)

Research Paper 36, March 2011

The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources: Analysis and Implementation Options for Developing Countries.

As is common knowledge, the Nagoya Protocol was rushed through in the final hours of COP10 in an attempt to secure a binding instrument on ABS. As a result the Protocol represents, at best, a partially negotiated instrument. In the process, transparency, legal certainty and balance seem to have been sacrificed. (more…)

Climate Policy Brief 5, March 2011

Complex Implications of the Cancun Climate Conference.

The 2010 climate conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which took place in Cancun (Mexico) on 29 November to 11 December was complex in both process and content, and in both aspects it will have an importance and ramifications that will take several years to unfold. (more…)

Analytical Note, March 2011

EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): Tools Protecting European Farmers.

The European Union (EU) uses a plethora of policy instruments to protect its agricultural sector and to ensure that European farmers, despite having higher production costs, are still able to continue production for both the European and export markets.

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Analytical Note, March 2011

EU’s Increasing Use Of Decoupled Domestic Supports In Agriculture: Implications For Developing Countries.

The EU has been undertaking reform in its Common Agricultural Policy. Nevertheless, subsidies to EU agricultural producers are continuing. The major change is that 93% of these supports are now provided in the form of direct aid payments to producers. (more…)

Research Paper 35, January 2011

The Right to Health and Medicines: The Case of Recent Negotiations on the Global Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property.

The purpose of this research paper is to describe, above all, a negotiating process which many have described as historical. More than an analysis on the subject of public health and intellectual property, this is an analysis of a negotiating process which could change the course and the nature of an organization such as the WHO. (more…)

Climate Policy Brief 4, December 2010

The Equitable Sharing of Atmospheric and Development Space.

In the quest for an international climate agreement on actions to address the climate change crisis, three aspects have to be the basis simultaneously: the environmental imperative, the developmental imperative, and the equity imperative. (more…)

Research Paper 34, November 2010

Addressing Climate Change through Sustainable Development and the Promotion of Human Rights.

This Research Paper sets out the relevance of international human rights obligations in light of the multiple constraints climate change poses to the sustainable development of developing countries. (more…)

Research Paper 33, November 2010

The Equitable Sharing of Atmospheric and Development Space: Some Critical Aspect.

This Research Paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the issues of environment, development and equity that are at the centre of the climate, development and equity nexus. (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…)

Climate Policy Brief 3, November 2010

Cancun Climate Conference: Some Key Issues.

The South Centre released a new Policy Brief addressing some key issues on Cancun Climate Conference, including the lowering of expectations; the Fate and Shape of the Global Climate Regulatory Regime; Disastrous Projection of Pledges; the Obligations Proposed for Developing Countries; and Cancun  New Structures in Finance, Technology and Adaptation. (more…)

Analytical Note, November 2010

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Exports Trends and the EPAs.

Trade trends are changing quite rapidly for Africa. A careful analysis of Africa’s export statistics reveals startling facts regarding the markets that are most important for Africa today, and in the years to come. (more…)