John H. Jackson, A Personal Tribute

My father, John Howard Jackson, was a life-long advocate for strengthening a rules-based trading system. While he recognized the importance of developing a predictable, transparent economic system, the larger goal in his view was to contribute to creating conditions for world peace. He argued for a system that would favour co-operation in situations where domestic policy-makers might otherwise make decisions that would have negative spill-over effects on their trading partners. At the same time, he recognized the tension between the need to have rules conducive to stability and predictability and the need to allow official discretion to address targeted problems. The challenge of crafting institutions that could effectively manage this tension captured his attention throughout his career.