Post-colonial Africa is littered with regional trade agreements that amounted to little more than a photo opportunity for the leaders that signed them. This book explores conventional explanations for past failures and posits a new theory rooted in the symbiotic relationship between authoritarian politics and crony-capitalism.

How can the poorer countries of the world be helped to help themselves through freer, fairer trade? In this challenging and controversial book Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and his co-author Andrew Charlton address one of the key issues facing world leaders today. They put forward a radical and realistic new model for managing trading relationships between the richest and the poorest countries. Their approach is designed to open up markets in the interests of all and not...

One of the most important yet least understood organizations in the world, the WTO is a lynchpin of globalization, allowing us to enjoy products and services from around the globe. However, it also lays bare the frailty of many industries, leading some to claim that it stokes unemployment and harms the developing world.In this engaging introduction, David Collins examines the goals of the WTO and the difficulties experienced by member countries struggling to adapt to the pressures ...

Africa is poor. If we send it money it will be less poor. It seems perfectly logical, doesn't it? Millions of people in the rich world, moved by images on television and appalled by the miserable conditions endured by so many in other countries, have joined campaigns to persuade their governments to double aid to Africa and help put an end to such shameful inequality.It seems simple. But it isn't. In this book, Jonathan Glennie argues that, along with its many benefits, government ...

“Globalization,” surely one of the most used and abused buzzwords of recent decades, describes a phenomenon that is typically considered to be a neutral and inevitable expansion of market forces across the planet. Nearly all economists, politicians, business leaders, and mainstream journalists view globalization as the natural result of economic development, and a beneficial one at that. But, as noted economist Martin Hart-Landsberg argues, this perception does not match the reality of global...

The book examines trade agreements in the context of the current world economic crisis and the uncompleted World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade negotiations. With economies shrinking and protectionism on the rise, many fear a protracted global recession. This raises important questions as to what role trade agreements – multilateral, plurilateral, and bilateral – should be playing in the current climate of uncertainty, and how best to plan for a more stable economic future. P...

In recent years, China and India have become the most important economic partners of Africa and their footprints are growing by leaps and bounds, transforming Africa's international relations in a dramatic way. Although the overall impact of China and India's engagement in Africa has been positive in the short-term, partly as a result of higher returns from commodity exports fuelled by excessive demands from both countries, little research exists on the actual impact of China and India's g...

OECD countries still dominate the world economy, but their share of world trade dropped from 73% in 1992 to 64% in 2005, and some of the world’s most important economies are not members of the OECD. Foremost among these are the so-called BRIICS: Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa.This book analyses key elements of the trade performance of the BRIICS in relation to the rest of the world, focusing on trade and other policies influencing that performance. Develop...

As Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy chaired the Doha Round of negotiations and witnessed a rapidly changing international trade environment. In his first book since leaving the WTO, Lamy reflects on his time there and outlines his views on the significance of open trade in generating global economic growth, reducing poverty and creating jobs around the world. He argues that trade can only act as a motor for growth if the correct mix of domestic and internationa...

The authors investigate well-known concerns in natural resource management in Africa while focusing on the capacity dimension of the problems. They examine dynamics of leadership, governance, criminality, structural transformation, as well as emerging issues such as green growth.

This book provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive account of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) organisation and examines the challenges APEC now faces in the new century. Subjects covered include: * the history of APEC * APEC and the latest WTO round * case-studies of countries in the region including China, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan * APECs approach to competition and deregulation policy * assessment of APECs standing as an international institution Featuring con...

The papers in this editor's choice from among the many articles, books and other commentaries that have provided clear and reasoned responses and solutions, to inform and guide our leaders in the creation of a Community for All.The publication posits that the time has come for the citizens of the Caribbean Community to be brought formally into the process that directly affects them and their capacity to live better lives. It advocates the need for them to be informed and educated s...