At the heart of the existing climate change regime is a divide between developed and developing countries. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN-FCCC) enshrines "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" and in so doing recognizes that historical...

According to conventional wisdom, the Basel II Accord - a set of capital adequacy standards for international banks drawn up by a committee of G-10 supervisors - is essential if we are to avoid another financial crisis. This paper argues that this conclusion is false: Basel II is not the...

With the countdown to the crucial climate change summit in Copenhagen now well underway, prospects for a breakthrough appear limited. Behind the increasingly intensive negotiating activity, familiar divisions continue to hamper progress. The deadlock between developed countries and the major...

In the wake of the global financial crisis, three G20 Summits have reinvigorated global cooperation, thrusting the International Monetary Fund centre-stage with approximately $1trillion of resources. With China, Brazil, India, Russia and other powerful emerging economies now at the table, is a...

The quality of governance and institutions is increasingly seen as a fundamental factor in shaping the development prospects of poor countries. As a consequence, donor agencies have increasingly allocated resources to providing technical assistance for improving governance standards in such...

The global trade and investment architecture (GTIA) plays a critical role in shaping the organisation and structure of international commerce - from production and distribution to consumption. Yet, tensions and questions abound - some longstanding, some new - about whose interests it best...

Nach einer kurzen Verschnaufpause zu Jahresbeginn hat die deutsche Wirtschaft wieder an Schwung gewonnen. Für das laufende und das kommende Jahr ist mit einem Anstieg des realen Bruttoinlandsprodukts von jeweils 1,9% zu rechnen, bevor sich die Konjunktur im Jahr 2020 allmählich abschwächen...

Weltweit steigt der Einsatz schulischer Leistungsüberprüfungen. Eine neue Studie des ifo Instituts, die die Auswirkungen von Reformen von Tests und Prüfungssystemen in 59 Ländern in den Jahren zwischen 2000 und 2015 anhand der PISA-Mikrodaten von über 2 Mio. Schülern untersucht, zeigt,...