Economic Paper

About one fifth of all politically independent countries are small island developing states. For these countries, sustainable development is not a matter of choice, it is imperative. This book seeks to initiate a debate on how to support a new wave of action for sustainable development.

What are the characteristics of current intra-Commonwealth trade, and how can it be encouraged to grow? Trading on Commonwealth Ties identifies opportunities for stimulating trade within the Commonwealth, but warns against setting up a free trade agreement across the member states.

This title provides a thorough overview of the economics of ITT relevant to developing countries and will be invaluable as a reference tool for policy makers, trade officials and trade negotiators.

There are indisputable concerns over the ineffective participation of Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) in the process of global integration, and their failure to derive benefits from the ongoing process of trade liberalisation and globalisation.

A new impetus has been given to faltering WTO trade discussions by the recent EU mandate supporting the liberalisation of agricultural trade policies and removal of export subsidies on agricultural products, within an environment in which all countries start reforming their trade policies.

In 2003 the WTO Ministerial Meeting at Cancun failed to achieve any significant progress on the liberalisation of agricultural markets in developed or developing countries. If the present round of negotiations is to be successful, it must continue the momentum for reform achieved through the Uruguay Round.

This publication is a study of the operating costs confronting the private sector in small economies, with the view to determine whether these act as a fundamental impediment to trade and investment.