GLOBALIZATION AND LIBERALIZATION:
Development in the face of two powerful currents
June 1996
Report of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD to the ninth session of the Conference
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I
- Trade and development in a liberalized and globalizing world
economy
- 1. Liberalization and the broadening scope for private initiative
2. The globalizing world economy
- 1. The role of the State
- (a) The State, enterprises and development in a globalizing economy
- (b) The State and the sustainability of development
- (c) The State and the distribution of economic benefits
- 2. Seizing the opportunities
- (a) Trading opportunities arising from the Uruguay Round
- (i) Trade policy implications
- (ii) Issues of trade efficiency
- (b) Opportunities related to international capital flows and the financing of
development
- (c) Opportunities provided by international production
- (d) Globalization, liberalization and economic and technical cooperation
among countries
- 3. Meeting the challenges
- (a) Loss of policy autonomy
- (b) Financial openness and the risk of instability and disruption to
development
- (c) The phenomenon of marginalization
- (i) Supply-side impediments
- (ii) Commodity dependence
- (iii) Difficulties in attracting FDI
- (iv) The decline in official development assistance (ODA)
- (v) Continued difficulties with external debt
- 1. Globalization, interdependence and economic management
2. Evolving institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks
- (a) The international trading system: new and emerging issues
- (b) Current trends in the evolution of arrangements governing foreign direct
investment
- (c) Current trends in the evolution of the regulatory framework for
international financial flows
Chapter II
- Promoting international trade as an instrument for
development in the post-Uruguay Round world
- 1. Trade policy
- (a) Effective implementation of the Uruguay Round commitments and
further liberalization
- (b) Measures to alleviate transitional costs
- (c) Measures to enhance the effectiveness of the generalized system of
preferences (GSP)
- (d) Assistance to enhance the capacity of the developing countries and
countries in transition to participate effectively in the WTO
system of rights and obligations
- (e) Structural adjustment policies of developed countries
- 2. Trade Efficiency
- (a) Establishing a Trade Efficiency Review Mechanism (TERM)
- (b) Providing the Global Information Infrastructure with a development
dimension
- (c) The creation of subregional GII nodes
- 3. Measures and actions to address commodity dependence
- (a) Reduction of the instability and risks faced by the commodity-export-
dependent developing countries
- (b) Promotion of commodity diversification
- (c) The efficient management of natural resources
- 1. Competition policy
- 2. Trade and investment
- 3. Trade and environment
- 4. Regionalism and the new and emerging issues
Chapter III
- Promoting enterprise development and competitiveness in
developing countries and countries in transition
- 1. Main features
- 2. The East Asian experiences
- 1. The enabling environment
- (a) Fostering business confidence and investment
- (b) Strengthening government-business relationships
- 2. Formulating national strategies for enterprise development
- (a) Elements of an enterprise development strategy
- (i) Mobilizing entrepreneurial resources
- (ii) Supporting micro-enterprises in the informal sector
- (iii) Assisting small and medium-size enterprises
- (iv) Access to support services
- (v) Access to finance
- (vi) Access to information networks
- (vii) Building technological capabilities at the enterprise level
- (viii) Encouraging inter-firm linkages
- (ix) Regional cooperation
- 1. Global supporting activities
- (a) Fielding of enterprise development missions, especially in LDCs
- (b) Ensuring that structural adjustment programmes include strong measures
in favour of enterprise development
- (c) Activities aimed at enhancing enterprise competitiveness
- (i) Capacity building for producer services
- (ii) Capacity building in trade efficiency
- (iii) Science, technology and innovation policy reviews
- (d) Diffusing "best support practices" for enterprise development
- 2. Issues for intergovernmental action
- 3. Establishment of a Global Advisory Committee
Chapter IV
- Future work of UNCTAD in accordance with its mandate;
Institutional implications - Some personal reflections
Note
The present report TD/366/Rev.1, prepared for the ninth session of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development was issued in a preliminary version with a symbol
TD/366.
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