International financial flows are the propagation mechanism for transmitting financial instability across borders. They are also the source of unsustainable external debt. Managing volatility thus requires institutions that promote domestic financial stability, ensure that domestic instability...

This paper discusses two pertinent policy issues dealing with the global liquidity crisis - global prudential regulation reform, and reassessment of using international reserves in the crisis. We point out the paradox of prudential regulations while the identity of economic actors that benefited...

This paper discusses two pertinent policy issues dealing with the global liquidity crisis - global prudential regulation reform, and reassessment of using international reserves in the crisis. We point out the paradox of prudential regulations - while the identity of economic actors that...

It is commonplace to link neoclassical economics to 18th- or 19th-century physics and its notion of equilibrium, of a pendulum once disturbed eventually coming to rest. Likewise, an economy subjected to an exogenous shock seeks equilibrium through the stabilizing market forces unleashed by the...

In this paper we evaluate the feasibility of a common Asian Currency Unit (ACU) involving countries of East and South Asia. We analyze the various properties of an ACU and calculate it's value using weighted averages of the values of Asian currencies. Looking at the movement of individual Asian...

This paper evaluates the special and differential treatment provisions in the WTO Agreement and examines whether there is truth in the averment made by certain developed countries that special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions have made the WTO framework of rules and disciplines...

When Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic, countries administered lockdowns and stimulus packages were announced to address the deteriorating situation. For implementing these packages, routine control measures were simplified and often relaxed. The G20 countries were quick to react by...

Some initiatives in the ongoing debate on improving transparency and notifications as a part of talks on WTO reform seem to have been based on the false belief that compliance with notification requirements could be induced through threat of punitive action. Arguments made during discussions on...

For many years now, lack of progress in multilateral trade negotiations has been a major cause of concern among WTO members. With diversity in the economic situation of members and differences in their stages of development, delay in concluding trade agreements is inevitable. However, the...

The service sector is evolving. New services and new modes of delivering existing services have increased the complexities of services negotiations in the WTO and in FTAs. The WTO negotiations focus on market access but FTAs tend to go beyond market access to seeking regulatory commitments from...