The world economy has undergone miraculous changes in the last decade, particularly in developing and former communist countries. Privatization and trade liberalization have replaced the protectionist and statist policies that were deeply entrenched in these areas just ten years ago. Today, these dynamic emerging markets offer attractive opportunities. According to Robert Lawrence, liberal international trade and investment should provide significant opportunities for gains in developing and developed nations alike. But will the developed countries be allowed to keep their markets open and absorb exports from developing countries? Many in the U.S. and Europe blame international trade for unemployment and wage inequality. But what is the real relationship? Lawrence contends that while trade has played some role in reducing the wages of poorly educated workers in the U.S. and in raising the unemployment of unskilled workers in Europe, its impact has been small compared with other causes of these changes. Lawrence examines the role of trade in developed and developing countries and its impact on labor markets and wage inequality, and discusses what he considers the more important effects of technological and organizational change. He begins by focusing on U.S. wage behavior, then moves to wage behavior in the OECD countries. Lawrence concludes that the impact of globalization on OECD labor markets has been far less damaging than many have argued and, indeed, that international trade enhances national welfare. He presents considerable evidence that the sources of poor labor market performance are essentially domestic—they reflect ongoing technological and organizational shocks that would be present even if the economy was closed. This evidence suggests that international differences in wage rates and labor standards are not major factors in OECD labor market behavior. He explains that the major challenges to policy are educating the public on the nature of these changes, emphasizing the need for worker training and education to take advantage of new technologies and new organizational structures, and developing measures to reduce earnings inequality while preserving and increasing wage flexibility. Robert Z. Lawrence is professor of international trade and investment at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His previous books include A Vision for the World Economy: Openness, Diversity, and Cohesion (Brookings, 1996), the capstone volume to the Integrating National Economies series. Copublished with the OECD Development Centre

The UN, World Bank, and the IMF were all created in the radically different world of the 1940s. It is becoming increasingly apparent that our global structures are struggling to cope with the new globalized, interconnected challenges of the twenty-first century. Ian Goldin looks to the future to consider radical new approaches to our world order.

FROST (copy 1) from the John Holmes Library collection.

A global history of human rights in a world of nations that grant rights to some while denying them to others Once dominated by vast empires, the world is now divided into some 200 independent countries that proclaim human rights—a transformation that suggests that nations and human rights inevitably develop together. But the reality is far more problematic, as Eric Weitz shows in this compelling global history of the fate of human rights in a world of nation-states. Through vivid histories from virtually every continent, A World Divided describes how, since the eighteenth century, nationalists have established states that grant human rights to some people while excluding others, setting the stage for many of today’s problems, from the refugee crisis to right-wing nationalism. Only the advance of international human rights will move us beyond a world divided between those who have rights and those who don't.

This report revisits the theoretical concepts of inequalities including their measurements, analyzes their global trends, presents the policy makers' perception of inequalities in 15 countries and identifies various policy options in combating this major development challenge of our time. The report makes the basic point that in spite of the impressive progress humanity has made on many fronts over the decades, it still remains deeply divided. In that context, it is intended to help development actors, citizens, and policy makers contribute to global dialogues and initiate conversations in their own countries about the drivers and extent of inequalities, their impact, and the ways in which they can be curbed.

For the first time in human history, the world consists of theoretically equal sovereign states, most of which belong to one world organization--the United Nations--and subscribe to a single set of principles--those of its Charter. Yet the U.N. has conspicuously failed to solve problems of armaments, war, division, inequality, and dictatorship. An authoritative assessment, this book brings together distinguished academics and senior U.N. officials--including the Secretary-General--in a sympathetic yet critical account of the U.N.'s role in international relations since 1945.