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 […]
Most of the world’s countries have renewed their interest in leveraging industrial policies to address concerns about global competitiveness, economic security and much needed investment in low-carbon technologies. Indeed, to combat climate change, the world needs rapid, diverse and experimental action by all nations, regardless of development or income level. To enable such action, the […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns 2025 admittedly presents a dubious landscape for achieving substantive global economic governance reforms. The scale of needs is large—achieving development and climate goals demands trillions more in annual financing and a reorientation of our economic system—while our political context is trending in the wrong direction, with countries cutting international investments and geopolitical […]
The most notable milestone of 2024 was the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization. This anniversary came as calls for ambitious global economic governance reforms gain momentum in key fora, and developing country frustrations with the existing system continue to grow. 2024 […]
By Praveena Bandara With Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing giants like Jetour announcing plans to establish EV assembly plants in Mexico by the end of 2024, it is a critical time for Mexico to revisit its past success with the automotive industry. This can inform future decisions and help develop mutually beneficial strategies with respect […]
Since the early 1990s, Mexico has been on a path of increasing export re-specialization, the sequential shift in a country’s exporting pattern from diversification to specialization in more technology and capital-intensive products. This is an unexpected phenomenon, as export re-specialization is typically experienced by advanced economies. In a new working paper, Praveena Bandara examines why […]
By Akanksha Goyal The Think20 (T20) is an engagement group of the Group of 20 (G20) that seeks to convene think tanks and research centers from G20 members, guest countries and organizations in order to provide evidence-based research to support policymaker decisions in the G20. As a busy fall policy season kicks off this month […]
The Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) is a policy-oriented research center working to advance financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability across the globe through rigorous interdisciplinary research, policy engagement and strategic communications. The GDP Center is a University-wide research center in partnership with the Office of Research and the Frederick S. […]
By Samantha Igo On Tuesday, July 30, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) hosted a webinar titled, “Are We Out of the (Bretton) Woods Yet? The International Financial Architecture 80 Years On.” The discussion reflected on 80 years of the Bretton Woods institutions, citing a new flagship report that synthesizes the GDP […]
By Rachel Thrasher The European Union officially voted to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) on May 30, after several years of increasing agitation over the role of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), a controversial legal tool in international investment agreements (IIAs) that fossil fuel companies can use when the value of their investments are […]