Trade policy in the crisis: what implications for development?
Speakers:
Supachai Panitchpakdi - Secretary-General of UNCTAD
Dominique Njinkeu - Director, ILEAP
Carlos Primo Braga - Senior Adviser, International Trade Department, The World Bank
Simon Evenett - Professor of Economics, University of St. Gallen
Ambassador Ransford Smith - Deputy Secretary-General, Commonwealth Secretariat
Susan Prowse - Programme leader, Trade Programme and Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
Pradeep Mehta - Secretary General, CUTS
John Hancock- Counsellor, Trade and Finance Division, WTO Secretariat
Bernard Hoekman - Director, Trade Department, World Bank
Chairs:
Alan Winters - Chief Economist DFID and Professor of Economics, University of Sussex (TBC)
Sheila Page - Senior Research Associate, ODI
Description
The global financial crisis has raised fears of a shift to protectionist trade policies, which could reverse decades of progressive liberalisation. However, no clear evidence has emerged on how trade policies have responded to the crisis and the implications for developing countries’ trade prospects are still unknown.
At this event, leading experts will focus on three issues: whether and how the global crisis has affected trade policy across countries; the extent to which trade policy responses to the crisis have influenced developing countries’ capacity to trade; and finally, what types of policies may maximise the developmental benefits of trade during the crisis, as well as the possible role of multilateral institutions in promoting such policies.
The event will be followed by the launch of the new World Bank book on Trade Preference Erosion