Global Cooperation—An Uphill Battle: Finance & Development magazine

IMF Blog, August 30, 2017

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Bibliographic details

• Published: August 30, 2017

Major geopolitical and systemic risks highlighted

• Changing geopolitical environment could undermine the world’s ability to manage:
  • global money and trade flows
  • climate change
  • international terrorism
  • money laundering
  • pandemics
  • migration
• Observation by Harold James (Princeton professor and IMF historian): the postwar economic order appears to be under strain, including among "its main architects—the United Kingdom and the United States."

International taxation

• Core problem: inability to agree on a common approach to rethink a framework that dates to "the 1920s."
• Consequence: multinational companies exploit tax competition among countries.
• Contributor: Michael Keen (IMF) discusses these issues in the issue.

Financial regulation and fintech

• Despite "important strides in international regulatory collaboration," there are calls to roll back some reforms.
• Position: Tobias Adrian and Aditya Narain (IMF) argue that such rollbacks must be resisted "to keep the global financial system safe and sound."
• Fintech: described as a "brave new world of financial services" that "holds much promise" but "provides an even greater regulatory challenge for governments around the world."

Crime, terrorism, and international collaboration

• Problem: international groups of criminals are often "two steps ahead of national law enforcement."
• Implication: the terror-crime nexus cannot be fought effectively without stronger international collaboration.
• Contributor: Douglas Farah (IBI Consultants) addresses this theme.

Health, gender, and public finance

• Focus areas:
  • Investing more in women's health and education will boost economic development.
  • In an age of austerity, targeted changes in taxes and subsidies can improve public health without overburdening public budgets.

Source: Global Cooperation—An Uphill Battle: Finance & Development magazine, August 30, 2017.