CGD’s research in this area focuses on how rich-country trade policies could be more supportive of poverty reduction and economic growth in developing economies. This work strives to rebuild a foundation for broad support of open trade policies in key developed and emerging markets. CGD’s research in this area focuses on how rich-country trade policies could be more supportive of poverty reduction and economic growth in developing economies. This work strives to rebuild a foundation for broad support of open trade policies in key developed and emerging markets.
Trade provides important opportunities for developing countries to attract investment, create jobs, and reduce poverty. Rich-country policies that are open to trade are critical in creating these development prospects. Unfortunately, support for open trade policies has eroded in recent years, particularly in the United States.
In addition, CGD’s education, outreach, and coalition-building activities strive to rebuild a foundation for broad support of open trade policies in key developed and emerging markets. Senior Fellow Kimberly Elliott leads this work.
Key areas of research include global trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization, especially on agriculture, the implications of proliferating regional trade agreements for developing countries, the role of labor standards in trade agreements and development, and the need for greater coherence between trade and aid policies, especially in the areas of trade facilitation and capacity-building.
CGD publications on trade include Elliott's Delivering on Doha: Farm Trade and the Poor and her essay “U.S. Trade Policy and Development” (access the brief or download the full chapter) in The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President.
Reforming Trade Preferences Initiative
One important way that rich countries affect the trade opportunities available to developing countries is through trade preference programs. While many rich countries provide special access for exports from the least-developed countries (LDCs), these trade preferences often do not extend to the products that matter most to LDCs, such as agriculture and clothing. Encouraging preference-giving countries to improve and expand their policies would significantly help developing countries. To effectively contribute to development, trade preferences need to be easy to use, permanent, coordinated with funding for capacity building, and available for products that developing countries commonly export.
To identify effective and feasible reforms, CGD launched theReforming Trade Preference Initiative and organized the Global Trade Preferences Working Group to devise practical policy recommendations for high-income and emerging-market countries to improve and coordinate their trade preference programs to better serve development objectives.
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This week, I’m joined on the Global Prosperity Wonkcast by Kimberly Ann Elliott, a senior fellow here at the Center for Global Development. Kim’s research focuses on ways in which rich country trade policy affects the developing world. She currently chairs CGD’s working group on Global Trade Preference Reform.
Trade preferences are a way for countries to offer access to their markets to poor countries, in spite of other import tariffs or quotas that might otherwise apply. Kim tells me that most countries, including a growing number of advanced developing countries, have some form of trade preference program. However, she says, not all of them benefit developing countries very much.
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CGD senior fellow Kimberly Ann Elliott submitted a written statement for the congressional record following the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on preference reform. Elliott urges policymakers to consider the special needs of the poorest countries as they debate the future of U.S. trade programs.
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The authors suggest a new approach assessing carbon taxes on imports to address the concerns from high-income countries about the effect of taxes on competition without damaging trade from developing countries.
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In this paper Arvind Subramanian and co-authors investigate the differential effects of cooperatitve policy action on climate change and find that one size doesn't fit all. Policy instruments should distinguish between low- and high-carbon countries to avoid serious trade consequences.
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Despite six decades of trade liberalization, trade policies in rich countries still discriminate against the exports of the world’s poorest countries. Much remains to be done to achieve the goal of meaningful market access for the poorest countries, including reformed rules of origin that facilitate rather than inhibit trade.
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What happens when capital and sophisticated goods flow uphill, from poorer to richer countries? With a new dataset of foreign direct investment and a measure of the sophistication of exports, CGD senior fellow Arvind Subramanian and his co-author Aaditya Mattoo find that developing countries sending goods and services uphill experience economic growth and other development benefits.
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Visiting fellow Nora Lustig examines the policy dilemmas rising food prices force on developing countries. Letting prices adjust can generate inflationary pressure while efforts to stabilize domestic prices often exacerbate global price increases; during the recent food price crisis, many countries chose instead to shift the burden back to international markets.
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Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report, and a senior political analyst for CNN, David Gergen joined CGD president Nancy Birdsall, and CGD senior fellows who authored essays in our recent book, The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President, for a lively discussion of the prospects for improved U.S. development policy under President Barack Obama.
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The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President shows how modest changes in U.S. policies could greatly improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, thus fostering greater stability, security, and prosperity globally and at home. Center for Global Development experts offer fresh perspectives and practical advice on trade policy, migration, foreign aid, climate change and more. In an introductory essay, CGD President Nancy Birdsall explains why and how the next U.S. president must lead in the creation of a better, safer world.
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While the precise contribution of biofuels to surging food prices is difficult to know, policies promoting production of the current generation of biofuels are not achieving their stated objectives of increased energy independence or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching the congressionally mandated goal of blending 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels in gasoline by 2015 would consume roughly 40 percent of the corn crop (based on recent production levels) while replacing just 7 percent of current gasoline consumption. The food crisis adds urgency to the need to change these policies but does not change the basic fact that there is little justification for the current set of policies.
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The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President shows how modest changes in U.S. policies could greatly improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, thus fostering greater stability, security, and prosperity globally and at home. Center for Global Development experts offer fresh perspectives and practical advice on trade policy, migration, foreign aid, climate change and more. In an introductory essay, CGD President Nancy Birdsall explains why and how the next U.S. president must lead in the creation of a better, safer world.
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Aid and trade are over-rated when it comes to helping reduce poverty, according to this provocative Foreign Affairs article by Nancy Birdsall, Dani Rodrik, and Arvind Subramanian. Neglected issues, such as giving poor nations more space for policy making, financing R&D for vaccines and other new technology, and easing restrictions on migrant labor, are potentially more important, they argue.
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Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report, and a senior political analyst for CNN, David Gergen joined CGD president Nancy Birdsall, and CGD senior fellows who authored essays in our recent book, The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President, for a lively discussion of the prospects for improved U.S. development policy under President Barack Obama.
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Development refers to improvements in the conditions of people’s lives, such as health, education, and income. It occurs at different rates in different countries. The U.S. underwent its own version of development since the time it became an independent nation in 1776.
Learn more about Rich World, Poor World: A Guide to Global Development
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The authors suggest a new approach assessing carbon taxes on imports to address the concerns from high-income countries about the effect of taxes on competition without damaging trade from developing countries.
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Despite six decades of trade liberalization, trade policies in rich countries still discriminate against the exports of the world’s poorest countries. Much remains to be done to achieve the goal of meaningful market access for the poorest countries, including reformed rules of origin that facilitate rather than inhibit trade.
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In this paper Arvind Subramanian and co-authors investigate the differential effects of cooperatitve policy action on climate change and find that one size doesn't fit all. Policy instruments should distinguish between low- and high-carbon countries to avoid serious trade consequences.
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Agricultural market liberalization is the linchpin for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations because these are the most protected markets remaining in most rich countries. But the implications for developing countries, especially the poorest, are more complex than the current debate suggests. In her new book, Delivering on Doha: Farm Trade and the Poor, Kimberly Ann Elliott, a joint senior fellow at CGD and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, examines the structure of agricultural support in rich countries and the challenges and opportunities for reviving and completing the Doha Round of trade negotiations.
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Each year since 2003, the Commitment to Development Index (CDI) has ranked 21 rich countries on their dedication (or not!) to policies that benefit the five billion people living in poor countries. The CDI moves beyond simple comparisons of aid funding and in so doing embodies the mission of CGD, which addresses all government policies that affect poorer countries. This report summarizes the results of this year's Index, discusses key ideas that underpin each component and shows how countries' scores have changed over time.
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A Better Globalization: Legitimacy, Governance, and Reform by Kemal Dervis is a reformist manifesto that argues that gradual institutional change can produce beneficial results if it is driven by an ambitious long-term vision and by a determination to continually widen the limits of the possible.
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Thomas Bollyky, Visiting Fellow Thomas J. Bollyky is a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development where he investigates the legal and ethical issues that arise during the discovery, development, and delivery of essential medical technologies to the developing world.
Learn more from his YouTube interview
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William R. Cline, Senior Fellow William R. Cline is a senior fellow jointly at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Global Development. His research focuses on finance, capital flows, trade and development; currently he is investigating the differential impact of global warming on agriculture in rich and developing countries.
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Kimberly Ann Elliott, Senior Fellow Kimberly Ann Elliott is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on a variety of trade policy and globalization issues, including uses of economic leverage in international negotiations (both economic sanctions for foreign policy goals and trade threats and sanctions in commercial disputes). Her most recent book is Delivering on Doha: Farm Trade and the Poor, which was co-published by CGD and the Peterson Institute (PIIE) in July 2006.
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Ricardo Hausmann, Non-Resident Fellow Ricardo Hausmann is Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Previously, he served as the first Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank (1994-2000), where he created the Research Department.
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Ethan Kapstein, Visiting Fellow Ethan Kapstein is a visiting fellow at CGD and Paul Dubrule Professor of Sustainable Development at INSEAD. Prior to this, Kapstein was Stassen Professor of International Peace at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Dept. of Political Science at the University of Minnesota (1996-2003). He has also served as vice president and director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest book, The Fate of Young Democracies, co-authored with Nathan Converse, is available through Cambridge University Press.
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Raymond Robertson, Non-Resident Fellow Raymond Robertson is professor of economics and director of the Latin American Studies program at Macalester College. His research focuses on the effects of globalization on labor markets, particularly in developing countries. Following graduation from Trinity, he spent a year on a Fulbright grant in Mexico City studying the effects of NAFTA. A Social Science Research Council (SSRC) fellowship supported his dissertation field research in Mexico City. As an assistant professor, he was the top-ranked liberal arts assistant professor in economics for publishing. His early research was supported by a three-year Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Opening Markets for Poor Countries: Are We There Yet? - Working Paper 184
- Oct 7, 2009
Despite six decades of trade liberalization, trade policies in rich countries still discriminate against the exports of the world’s poorest countries. Much remains to be done to achieve the goal of meaningful market access for the poorest countries, including reformed rules of origin that facilitate rather than inhibit trade.
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Coping with Rising Food Prices: Policy Dilemmas in the Developing World - Working Paper 164
- Mar 19, 2009
Visiting fellow Nora Lustig examines the policy dilemmas rising food prices force on developing countries. Letting prices adjust can generate inflationary pressure while efforts to stabilize domestic prices often exacerbate global price increases; during the recent food price crisis, many countries chose instead to shift the burden back to international markets.
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The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President
- Aug 22, 2008
The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President shows how modest changes in U.S. policies could greatly improve the lives of poor people in developing countries, thus fostering greater stability, security, and prosperity globally and at home. Center for Global Development experts offer fresh perspectives and practical advice on trade policy, migration, foreign aid, climate change and more. In an introductory essay, CGD President Nancy Birdsall explains why and how the next U.S. president must lead in the creation of a better, safer world.
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Biofuels and the Food Price Crisis: A Survey of the Issues - Working Paper 151
- Aug 11, 2008
While the precise contribution of biofuels to surging food prices is difficult to know, policies promoting production of the current generation of biofuels are not achieving their stated objectives of increased energy independence or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching the congressionally mandated goal of blending 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels in gasoline by 2015 would consume roughly 40 percent of the corn crop (based on recent production levels) while replacing just 7 percent of current gasoline consumption. The food crisis adds urgency to the need to change these policies but does not change the basic fact that there is little justification for the current set of policies.
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The Structural Transformation as a Pathway out of Poverty: Analytics, Empirics and Politics - Working Paper 150
- Jul 23, 2008
Successful poverty reduction hinges on successful structural transformation, but poor countries must cope with political pressures resulting from deteriorating income distribution and simultaneously retain the policies that generate rapid economic growth. Based on historical and statistical evidence, CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer and Selvin Akkus argue for enacting policies to do just that: policies that value the many non-market payoffs of investment in agriculture, the main driver of short- and medium-term poverty reduction; context-specific policies to connect rural workers to urban economies to reduce rural poverty in the long term; and fairer rich-world agricultural trade policies to allow small farmers better access to domestic supply chains.
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Integration in the Americas: One Idea for Plan B (Essay)
- Jun 16, 2008
In this CGD Essay, visiting fellow Nancy Lee provides the full details and policy recommendations for a strategy of regional investment integration in the Americas. The essay, excerpted from her chapter in the forthcoming White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President, builds on a previously published CGD Note by specifying the scope of the proposed agreement, outlining its expected gains, and identifying the initial steps the United States could take to encourage a fresh agreement to be reached.
There are no initiatives related to this topic.
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Aid and trade are over-rated when it comes to helping reduce poverty, according to this provocative Foreign Affairs article by Nancy Birdsall, Dani Rodrik, and Arvind Subramanian. Neglected issues, such as giving poor nations more space for policy making, financing R&D for vaccines and other new technology, and easing restrictions on migrant labor, are potentially more important, they argue.
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From the World Policy Journal
By Todd Moss and Alicia Bannon
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From Foreign Affairs, Volume 83 No. 4
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From the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
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