Evolving Global Economic Architecture

This book is useful for scholars and practitioners who did not follow the GATT/WTO negotiations and who desire to acquire a comprehensive background on the subject. Mordechai E. Kreinin, Journal of Economic Literature This comprehensive and accessible book examines the evolution of the multilateral trade regime in the ever-changing global economic environment, particularly during the WTO era and the ongoing Doha Round. Professor Das explores how the creation of the multilateral trade regime, or the GATT/WTO system, has been fraught with difficulties. He describes the ways, by means of various rounds of negotiations, the multilateral trade regime has constantly adjusted itself to the new realities of the global economy. One glance at the recent history indicates that the evolution of the multilateral trade regime was far from even-handed and steady. The GATT/WTO system was repeatedly pushed to the brink of utter and ignominious disaster. Yet, as the author illustrates, the participating economies persevered. Consequently, the fabric of multilateral trade regime is stronger, its foundation deeper and its framework wider now than it was a generation ago. Unlike the GATT era, membership of the present trade regime is close to universal. The author concludes that of the two phases, the latter has turned out to be the more arduous, intricate and complex phase of evolution. Students and scholars of economics, international trade, international political economy and international relations will find this study of great interest. The definitions and explanations of terminology and advanced concepts make the book accessible to those without an extensive economic background.

Policymakers, academics, think tanks and practitioners will benefit from the international perspective of the book, particularly those interested in the influential Asian architecture. This book is also a useful reference tool for students of macroecon

This book focuses on the recent rise of new regional economic institutions such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which were established, in part, as a result of dissatisfaction of dynamic emerging markets with global economic institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the GATT/WTO. The latter were formed by advanced economies in the West, after the historic Bretton Wood Conference of 1944. In doing so, the book addresses how this recent round of decentralisation, defined as the co-existence of “senior” global institutions and a plethora of newly-established regional institutions, has affected global economic governance, and the delivery of global public goods. It also poses the question if this has led to the fragmentation of global economic governance. The book adds value to existing literature by using a benefit-risk analytical framework to study the decentralisation process. Unlike the “contested multilateralism” argument used by some authors which focuses on the costs of decentralisation, the authors argue that benefits must also be considered. It also describes and analyses the establishment of global and regional international economic institutions and the evolving relationships between the two. Third, the authors argue that this decentralisation process will continue in the postpandemic period and recommend policies to reset the relationship between global and regional institutions. And lastly, the book discusses proposals to reform the international monetary system including the global reserve system with a view to reducing the hegemony of the US dollar. Throughout the book, the role for Asia is also identified, and elaborated on.

The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 exposed flaws and shortcomings in the global economic architecture, and has sparked an international debate about possible remedies for them. The postwar global architecture was essentially guided by the major developed economies, and was centered around the IMF, the GATT - the predecessor of the WTO - and the World Bank. Today, however, the balance of economic and financial power is shifting toward the emerging economies, especially those in Asia, and both global governance and economic policy thinking are beginning to reflect this shift. This book addresses the important question of how a regional architecture, particularly one in Asia, can induce a supply of regional public goods that can complement and strengthen the global public goods supplied through the global architecture. These public goods include institutions to help maintain financial stability, support more open trading regimes and promote sustainable economic development.

This paper argues that calls for a New Bretton Woods system in the aftermath of the global economic crisis -- similar to the remarkable 1944 Bretton Woods conference that led to the establishment of various international economic institutions -- are unlikely to be answered. The likely scenario is that the centralized architecture from before the global economic crisis will evolve toward a more decentralized and multilayered global architecture where regional institutions are linked together to a “senior” global organization in a complementary manner by rules and regulations. The paper also highlights the new regional institutions that Asia needs to establish to contribute to this evolving global economic architecture.

This book analyzes the shifting global economic architecture, indicating the decentralizing authority in global economic governance since the Cold War and, especially, following the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The author examines recent adjustments to the organizational framework, contestation of policy principles, norms, and practices, and destabilizing actor hierarchies, particularly in global macroeconomic, trade, and development governance. The study's ‘analytical eclecticism’ includes a core constructivist IR approach, but also incorporates insights from several international relations theories as well as political and economic theory. The book develops a unique ‘analytical matrix’, which analyzes effects of strategic, political, and cognitive authority in the organizational, policy, and actor contexts of the global economic architecture. It concludes that, despite concerns about potential fragmentation, decentralizing authority has increased the integration of leading developing states and new actors in contemporary global economic governance.

The Russian version of this paper can be found at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2327608. The author argues that international financial institutions that were established to regulate global economic processes need reforming for a number of reasons. Their current functions are not compliant with the contemporary realities and requirements of economic development as the opportunities to regulate them do not reflect the potentials of the member states, otherwise the IMF and World Bank will be unable to influence the processes to prevent possible crises.

Can regional and interregional mechanisms better institutionalize the - creasing complexity of economic and security ties among states in Nor- east, Southeast, and South Asia? As the international state system und- goes dramatic changes in both security and trade relations in the wake of the Cold War’s end, the Asian financial crisis, and the attacks of Sept- ber 11, 2001, this question is now of critical importance to both academics and policymakers. Still, little research has been done to integrate the ana- sis of both regional security and economic dynamics within a broader c- text that will give us theoretically informed policy insights. Indeed, when we began our background research on the origin and e- lution of Asia’s institutional architecture in trade and security, we found that many scholars had focused on individual subregions, whether Nor- east, Southeast or South Asia. In some cases, scholars examined links - tween Northeast and Southeast Asia, and the literature often refers to these two subregions collectively as “Asia”, artificially bracketing South Asia. Of course, we are aware that as products of culture, economics, history, and politics, the boundaries of geographic regions change over time. Yet the rapid rise of India and its increasing links to East Asia (especially those formed in the early 1990s) suggest that it would be fruitful to examine both developments within each subregion as well as links across subregions.