Aid For Trade

A Report for the Commonwealth Secretariat - Working Paper #95

Andrew Charlton, Joseph Stiglitz

Paper  249kb pdf

For several years, the governments of many developed countries have argued that “trade not aid” is the answer to the problems of the developing countries. The insincerity of their approach has been revealed in successive rounds of trade negotiations in which they have been reluctant to open their markets to poor countries. And more recently their claims have also been exposed as fundamentally inaccurate as liberalization fails to result in either export growth or development for the poorest countries. This poor outcome is not the result of a Machiavellian plot to cheat the developing countries, but certainly the outcomes of trade deals are determined by real politik and the special interests in developing countries. The good intentions of trade negotiators get lost along the way. Developing countries face enormous challenges in expanding exports and greater adjustment costs and greater barriers to seizing new opportunities. The international trade regime has not provided a level playing field, and if we are to increase the chances of a development round leading to development, not only must there be a more level playing field, but there must also be aid to help developing countries.

About the Authors

Andrew Charlton
Research Fellow
London School of Economics

Andrew Charlton is a Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. He has taught at Oxford University and been a consultant for the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, The United Nations Development Program and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Joseph Stiglitz
President
Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)

Joseph E. Stiglitz is President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, and Chairman of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. He is University Professor at Columbia, teaching in its Economics Department, its Business School, and its School of International and Public Affairs. He chaired the UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, created in the aftermath of the financial crisis by the President of the General Assembly. He is former Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank and Chairman of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2001.

Publication Information

Type Working Paper
Program Trade
Posted 03/01/06
Download 249kb pdf
# Pages 33