Economic Development ForumAmman JordanMarch 18, 2017

Draft Presentation Do Not Quote Without Author’s Permission

Regional Economic Blocks, Regional Public Goods and Development

Louis W. GoodmanSchool of International Service

American UniversityWashington, DC 20016

An examination of a world increasingly defined by disorder and a United States unable to shape the world in its image, from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations

The Old Monroe Doctrine The New Monroe Doctrine Coercion Attraction

The Monroe Doctrine means… that we would oppose a foreign power extending its power to the

Western Hemisphere (JFK 1962)

Soft power is the ability of a country to structure situations so that other countries develop preferences

consistent with its own (Joseph Nye 1990)

A dynasty can be founded and established only with the help of asabiya [group feeling]. Ibn Khaldun, The Muqaddimah

Public Goods – Definition Examples• Public goods are “…(goods) which all enjoy in common (non-

excludable) in the sense that each individual’s consumption of such a good leads to no subtractions from any other individual’s consumption of that good (non-rivalrous).” Paul A. Samuelson (1954:387–389) "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure” Review of Economics and Statistics. 36 (4): 387–389.

• Public goods include fresh air, knowledge, official statistics, trading systems, national security, common language(s), flood control systems, lighthouses, and street lighting.

Providers of Public Goods• Multilaterals• Great Powers• Regions*• Nations• Cities• Private entities

Regional Public Goods (RPGs): Key Questions 1. Do different providers produce different types of public goods –

especially global vs. regional providers.2. What is a region? Why do regions matter in the provisions of public

goods?3. To what extent do specific regions produce public goods – or intend to?4. Are the processes and sequences the same or different across regions

and time periods?5. What are the processes and sequences among different functional

areas in the provision of RPGs?

21st Century Cooperation: Regional Public Goods, Global Governance and Sustainable Development, Antoni Estevadeordal & Louis W. Goodman (eds.), Routledge: Spring 2017 (open access).

A Regional Public Goods Data Base• An empirical database permitting the quantification of nation states’

cooperation in public goods creation.• Based on all (33,485) unique treaties agreed to by 186 distinct countries

between 1945 and 2015 registered with 4 international organizations and coded according to 6 functional categories.

• Permits the estimation of which groups of countries are actually making efforts to create RPGs

• Permits estimation of the effectiveness of specific regions or regional organizations facilitating the production of public goods.

• Permits estimation of production of public goods in specific functional areas and in specific time periods

Data Sources: international agreements between/among states and international organizations signed between 1945 & 2015

Bilateral Agreements Regional Multilateral Agreements

United Nations Treaty Collection

United Nations Treaty Collection

Treaty Secretariat of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

World Trade Organization (WTO)

World Trade Organization

United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD)

Methodology

Six main public goods functions

Functions Examples

1-Natural Resources & Environment Energy, environmental protection

2-Economic Cooperation & Integration Trade, taxation, customs regulation

3-Human & Social Development Education, culture, science, health

4-Governance & Institutions General cooperation, legal issues

5-Peace & Security Military alliance, crime control

6-Connectivity Transportation network, visa, infrastructure

A system of six functional categories.Each international agreement is classified under one function.This measures the frequency/number of RPGs that national governments intend to create within a given period.

Elements in the RPG Database Database Name

Bilateral

Multilateral

UN

23,969

6,086

WIPO

452

WTO

118

427

UNCTAD

2,433

Total observations: 60,457= 53,944 (bilateral) + 6,513 (multilateral)Total unique agreements (no country pairs): 33,485= 26,972 (bilateral) + 6,513 (multilateral)

LAC vs MENAT:Number of Treaties Concluded through 1990

Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction)

1. Natural Resources and Environment

2. Economic Cooper-ation and Integration

3. Human and Social Development

4. Governance and Institutions

5. Peace and Security 6. Connectivity0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

MENAT LAC

LAC vs MENAT:Number of Treaties Concluded through 2015

Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction

1. Natural Resources and Environment

2. Economic Cooper-ation and Integration

3. Human and Social Development

4. Governance and Institutions

5. Peace and Security 6. Connectivity0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

MENAT LAC

Latin America and the Caribbean:Number of Intra- and Extra-Regional Treaties, 1990

Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction.

Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction.

Latin America and the Caribbean:Number of Intra- and Extra-Regional Treaties, 2015

Middle East and North Africa:Number of Intra- and Extra-Regional Treaties, 1990

Note: Includes Turkey.Source: Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction.

Middle East and North Africa:Number of Intra- and Extra-Regional Treaties, 2015

Note: Includes Turkey.Source: Source: IDB/RPG Database (in construction

Network of Cooperation: LAC

Network of Cooperation: MENAT