Browse by title

This book investigates the contributions of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to policymaking at the WTO, challenging the idea that NGOs can be narrowly understood as potential ‘democratic antidotes’ to the imperfections of Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs).

On the Brink of Deglobalization addresses the breakdown of international trade and capital flows in 2008/09 and challenges the mainstream narrative for the world trade collapse. Detailed chapters on international finance, fragmentation of production, protectionism and earlier episodes of collapsing trade reveal data that contradicts conventional explanations and demonstrates that the trade collapse was driven by the shock of (perceived) trade uncertainty. Peter van Bergeijk discusses why trade barriers and import substitution are seen as solutions during depressions while presenting empirical evidence demonstrating the risks of such policies. This book provides a broad, historical and statistical analysis relevant to understanding the recent world trade collapse.

The book presents an overview of the general aspects of trade uncertainty, a central element in the analysis of economic diplomacy, illustrating that some instruments, such as sanctions (both positive and negative), increase trade uncertainty, whilst others – multilateral trade policy, for instance – aim to reduce this uncertainty. Commercial policy and bilateral economic diplomacy are explored, and economic sanctions analysed. An extensive review of the literature and empirical investigations of 161 sanctions and the commercial relationships of 37 countries provide topical and empirical perspectives on how international diplomacy may both be a cost and a benefit of the key drivers of productivity growth. Finally, policy conclusions are drawn, and a future research agenda presented.

This timely book brings fresh analysis to the important issue of trade policy reform in emerging markets.

The book is based on original data and field studies from Brazil, Thailand, India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on the issue of universal and free access to treatment (a goal now taken to heart by the international community), it assesses the progress made and presents a rigorous diagnosis of the obstacles that remain, especially the constraints imposed by TRIPS and the poor state of most public health systems in Southern countries. In so doing, the book renews our understanding of the political economy of HIV/AIDS in these vast regions, where it continues to spread with devastating social and economic consequences.