Intergovernmental Economic Organizations and Economic Crisis

Russia - 19 November 2012

For the overwhelming majority of intergovernmental economic organizations (IEOs) the latest economic crisis has provided substantial additional incentive to adjust their performance to the whole set of challenges facing global community during first decade of new millennium. These institutions play significant and gradually increasing role in creating basic preconditions for stable and smooth development of international economic cooperation in general, its specific forms in particular. Present paper investigates the way 2007-09 economic crisis has influenced various activities of the World Trade Organization (WTO).  Four major aspects appear to be relevant here: 1) monitoring of development in international trading environment; 2) research; 3) implementation of Doha Development Agenda (DDA); 4) insuring sufficient coherence in global governance. An author tries to assess both respective results achieved by the WTO and possible steps aiming to improve its performance.