By Lin Shi Understanding the income distribution among factors of production is crucial for examining countries’ long-run economic growths. Economists have long focused on the labor share, which measures the percentage of economic output that serves as workers’ compensation in exchange for their labor. The labor share is also an important inequality indicator, as it […]
When countries attempt to adopt policies aimed at more climate resilient growth trajectories, they naturally encounter the international trade and investment regime. This regime is comprised of the rules embodied by the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as the over 200 regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and the over 2,000 international investment agreements (IIAs) to which the world’s […]
By Rachel Thrasher Note: This research follows previous GDP Center work on the USMCA review as a strategic opportunity for Mexico to increase Mexican labor incomes in alignment with the broad goals of Plan México. For more on this analysis, read the recent working paper by Sandra Polaski: “USMCA and the Need for a ‘Second […]
“Dear President Gustavo Petro Urrego, We write to you as economists and legal scholars deeply concerned that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) poses a serious obstacle to building prosperous, equitable, and sustainable societies. As Colombia prepares to co-host the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta from April 24-29, where discussions […]
The current trade war and tensions with the US pose many challenges for Mexico, but at the same time they provide both an impetus and a strategic opportunity to make progress on the longstanding and interwoven problems of low wages, poverty and slow economic growth. The impetus comes from the clear need to reduce the […]
The access to medicines discourse over the past 30 years has highlighted the myriad of obstacles to access experienced by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Already plagued by over-taxed health services systems, a limited health care workforce and other resource constraints, in the mid-1990s these countries faced a new constraint in the form of the […]
The protection of the Amazon is a central theme of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. However, efforts to ensure that the Amazon is defended are at risk of instead being defunded—by investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Written into international investment treaties, ISDS gives foreign investors a special right to sue governments […]
By Rachel Thrasher and Praveena Bandara The consensus around the urgent need for climate policy continues to grow. In a July 2025 address, UN Secretary-General António Guterres lauded this new “moment of opportunity” by launching a technical report that highlights the benefits and inevitability of a global energy transition. The report highlights the rapid progress […]
Advanced economies that have criticized industrial policy in the past, are now increasingly turning to those tools in response to the climate crisis. At the same time, existing trade and investment agreements, negotiated and drafted at a time when countries viewed industrial policies with skepticism, embody a more “hands-off” approach to economic governance. The new […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns and Rachel Thrasher It is a fraught moment for North American trade policy. Over the last few months, United States President Trump has announced and then paused various tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Both countries have threatened retaliation on the US while simultaneously attempting to maintain an open channel of communication to […]