International Trade, Investment, and the Sustainable Development Goals: World Trade Forum

Description

In September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a distinctive approach to development that moves away from a narrow perspective on economic development to an integrative agenda that simultaneously pursues ecological, social and economic goals. Trade and foreign investment are important economic vectors through which many of these goals can be achieved. Much depends, however, on whether and how SDGs are incorporated in international trade and investment agreements, and in private or public sector initiatives. Policymakers are also confronted with the interdependence of the SDGs which raises difficult trade-offs between various Goals. The contributions in this book explore the penetration and trade-offs of the SDGs, drawing on a multi-disciplinary approach incorporating insights from economists, lawyers and political scientists. The book offers a valuable guide for scholars and policy makers in identifying and evaluating the complex challenges related to sustainable development.

Cosimo Beverelli is a research economist at the WTO and programme associate in the Global Governance Programme, European University Institute. He has published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of International Economics, on the effects of international fragmentation of production, the impact of services trade policies on manufacturing, trade facilitation, trade policy substitution, and international migration. Jurgen Kurtz is Professor of International Economic Law at the European University Institute. His most recent book is The WTO and International Investment Law: Converging Systems (2016). Professor Kurtz has acted as an ICSID arbitrator and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of International Dispute Settlement and Journal of World Investment and Trade. Damian Raess is SNSF Assistant Professor in Political Science at the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, specializing in international political economy. He is the co-author of the LABPTA dataset, which provides detailed information that documents key features of labor provisions across preferential trade agreements signed from 1990 onwards.

'The perfect sequel to Kurtz's classic The WTO and International Investment Law, but this time converging issues between the trade and investment regimes, on one hand, and sustainable-development goals (SDGs), on the other hand. Beverelli, Kurtz, and Raess offer a pragmatic, case-study-based, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive collection of essays on how to conquer the dungeon of the 2030 Agenda for Development via trade and investment. This is state-of-the-art reading for academics as well as policy-makers who want to avail themselves of the fundamental vectors of development in a post-COVID-19 sustainable world.' Makane Moise Mbengue, Professor of International Law, University of Geneva and Sciences Po Paris 'Twenty-four knowledgeable specialists take a cutting-edge and multidisciplinary approach to disentangling the variety of ways in which globalisation - and, specifically, international trade, foreign investment, and digitalisation - can advance the achievement of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. The authors critically analyse how governments, the private sector, and both domestic and international institutions can intervene to improve SDG outcomes. This book offers invaluable insights on the politics, economics, and legal challenges involved in achieving sustainable development in the current global economy. It is absolutely essential reading for development scholars, policymakers, and professionals alike.' Nita Rudra, Professor of Government, Georgetown University, USA 'The Sustainable Development Goals affect us all, and with exports accounting for over 30% of world output and investment flows well over $1 trillion a year, trade and investment are clearly key to achieving them. This book takes a detailed, multidisciplinary look at the way in which international trade and investment agreements, public bodies and the private sector deal with this key connection. It is packed with insight and thought-provoking ideas. It does not promote simple solutions but rather provides the understanding and analytical base on which future scholars and policymakers should build.' L. Alan Winters, Professor of Economics, University of Sussex