The largest Commodity Trading Houses account for a large and increasing share of international trade, linked arguably to their financialization and - according to some commentators - giving rise to issues of 'systemic importance' similar to those applying to large investment banks. This paper...

Commodity derivatives have been traded for well over a century, often stimulating calls for stricter regulation during periods of major commodity price inflation or deflation. The 2000s, when a sharp rise in commodity prices coincided with a spectacular rise in participation in derivatives...

Recent years have seen a considerable shift in economic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. Economic growth has been robust, international reserves are on the rise and levels of external debt are falling. Combined with the global boom in commodity prices, as well as expansion of Chinese interests...

Despite their critical importance for Africa, and African efforts to the contrary, tropical commodity problems have been touched on only marginally in the WTO Doha Round. This article examines African proposals in the area, their reception in the WTO, and their relation to the current...

Developing countries, and especially Least Developed Countries, were promised a WTO Development Round at Doha in 2001. In fact, the Round's agenda became dominated by topics and proposals of little relevance and at times threatening for some groups of developing countries, particularly those in...

This paper confirms recent evidence of a positive impact of aid on growth and widens the scope of evaluation to a range of outcomes including proximate sources of growth (e.g., physical and human capital), indicators of social welfare (e.g., poverty and infant mortality), and measures of...