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Halting the spread of protectionism
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EBook
What world leaders should do to halt the spread of protectionism
Edited by Richard Baldwin and Simon Evenett
A VoxEU.org Publication.
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The book was published just as the worlds trade ministers were trying to follow up on the G20’s statement that they would push their trade ministers to get the WTO talks, the Doha Round, back on track before the end of 2008. It was also becoming increasingly clear that nations were undertaking protectionist policies.
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When incomes, investment and jobs are under threat, national governments try to cushion the blow – in part by erecting new protectionist measures. While the magnitude new protection observed so far is modest, this could change as the recession spreads and deepens globally. Protectionist policies rarely move in straight lines. Without careful control of the situation, protectionism and competitive devaluations could trigger a vortex of beggar-thy-neighbour policies.
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| In this context, Baldwin and Evenett gathered 17 leading trade scholars from the across the globe to address the question: “What must world leaders do to halt the spread of protectionism.” The essays – which were written in the first week of December with a minimum of coordination – provide a surprisingly consistent response. Authors differed on many points, but three main messages emerged. |
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1) Macroeconomic initiatives are the best way to fight this crisis, not protectionism.
2) APEC and G20 leaders’ words should be translated into deeds by agreeing a framework that will allow completion of the Doha Round.
3) World leaders should establish a surveillance mechanism to track any new protection, whether WTO consistent or not. |
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| The authors: |
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| Hadi Soesastro (CSIS Jakarta), Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia), Arvind Panagariya (Columbia), Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott (IIE), Ann Capling (ANU), R V Kanoria (ICC India), Robert Z Lawrence (Harvard), Wendy Dobson (Toronto), Richard Baldwin (Graduate Institute), Patrick A. Messerlin (SciPo), Simon J. Evenett (St. Gallen), Yung Chul Park (Seoul National), Peter Draper (SAIIA Johannesburg), Ryuhei Wakasugi (Kyoto), Kevin H. O'Rourke (Trinity College Dublin), Douglas A. Irwin (Brandeis). |
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| Richard Baldwin |
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Simon J. Evenett |
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| Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva; CEPR Policy Director, and VoxEU.org Editor-in-Chief |
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Simon J. Evenett is Professor of International Trade and Economic Development at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Co-Director of the CEPR Programme in International Trade and Regional Economics. |
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