Collaboration or Co-optation? A review of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax
By Manuel F. Montes and Pooja Rangaprasad
The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT), launched in April 2016, is an effort to intensify cooperation on tax issues among the staff of the OECD, IMF, World Bank and the United Nations. The PCT’s stated objectives include the production of joint outputs, strengthening interactions between standard setting, capacity building and technical assistance and sharing information. PCT has since produced toolkits on issues such as tax incentives, transfer pricing, and taxation of offshore indirect transfers. The PCT also held its first global conference in February 2018 at the UN where a concluding ‘conference statement’, negotiated among the four secretariats, was produced.
Renewed crises in emerging economies and the IMF ‒ Muddling through again?
As recognised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global financial safety net including international reserves, Fund resources, bilateral swap arrangements, regional financing arrangements is “fragmented with uneven coverage” and “too costly, unreliable and conducive to moral hazard”. Given the aversion of emerging economies to the IMF and unilateral debt standstills and exchange controls, the next crisis is likely to be even messier than the previous ones. Some countries may seek and succeed in getting bilateral support from China or some reserve-currency countries according to their political stance and affiliation. In such cases, crisis intervention would become even more politicised than in the past and a lot less reliant on multilateral arrangements. By failing to establish an orderly and equitable system of crisis resolution, the IMF may very well find its role significantly diminished in the management of the next bout of crises in emerging economies. In other words, multilateralism, however imperfect, could face another blow in the sphere of finance after trade.
Climate Partnerships for a Sustainable Future: An initial overview of South-South cooperation on climate change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty
At COP23, the United Nations Southern Climate Partnership Incubator (SCPI) released a report entitled “Climate Partnerships for a Sustainable Future: An initial overview of South-South cooperation on Climate Change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty”. This report was jointly produced by the South Centre and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
South Centre Statement for the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development
Below is the statement by the South Centre during the first session of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development (IGE Ffd) held in Geneva on 8-10 November 2017.
Input of the South Centre to the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development
This is a contribution by the South Centre to the first session of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development (IGE-FFD) that will take place on 8-10 November 2017. (more…)
South Centre Statement to the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 24
Below is the statement by the South Centre’s Executive Director Mr. Martin Khor which was distributed during the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Twenty-four held in Washington DC on 12 October 2017.