Trade and development in the 1980s

In international circles, the concern of the day is the state of the world economy. There is a general appreciation of the severity of the problem, but no widespread agreement about either diagnosis or solutions. We shall focus here on a particular set of topics that have emerged as major issues during the last decade, and that also seem central to an understanding of the present economic situation. A characteristic of these topics is that they link international and domestic policy areas in so integral a way that neither can be analyzed in isolation from the other. They are: First, the recurrence of recession and unemployment in industrial countries, and the emergence of protectionism. Second, the changing international environment facing the developing countries and, in particular, the issues of export-led strategies and North-South trade in armaments. Third, the pricing of exhaustible resources, including oil, as a major issue in North-South trade, and in the international financial system. Fourth, the role of declining transfers of wealth from industrial to developing countries, and the perceived limitations of the existing international financial institutions.