'Operationalizing' Policy Space at the WTO and Beyond

Developing country leaders have been critical of industrialized country positions, in the Doha WTO negotiations and in regional trade negotiations, arguing that proposed changes in the global trade regime will shrink the “policy space” that developing countries have to establish effective policies for sustainable development. 

Increasing attention is now being paid to the concept of policy space in academic and policy circles,  but developing countries are in need of specific proposals that “operationalize” the concept of policy space in international treaties and frameworks.  GDAE will work with developing country researchers, such as RIS in India, CENIT in Argentina, and the Geneva-based South Centre, to identify the key developmental policies governments most need to preserve.

Key Publications

"The WTO and the Shrinking of Development Space: How Big is the Bite?" by Alisa DiCaprio and Kevin P. Gallagher, Journal of World Investment and Trade, Volume 7, no. 5, October 2006

Putting Development First: The Importance of Policy Space in the WTO and IFIs, Edited by Kevin P. Gallagher, Zed Books, 2005.

"Relevance of ‘Policy Space’ for Development: Implications for Multilateral Trade Negotiations," by Nagesh Kumar and Kevin P. Gallagher, RIS Discussion Paper #120, March 2007.

"Policy Space for Development in the WTO and Beyond: The Case of Intellectual Property Rights," by Ken Shadlen, GDAE Working Paper 05-06, November 2005.

"Preserving Policy Space for Sustainable Development: The Subsidies Agreement at the WTO," Francisco Aguayo Ayala and Kevin P. Gallagher, Trade Knowledge Network/IISD, December 2005.