UN, Stiglitz and Blanchard about the economic crisis

Joseph Stiglitz

UN conference on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development
24-26 june 2009

From official site of UN:
"The United Nations is convening a three-day summit of world leaders from 24 to 26 June 2009 at its New York Headquarters to assess the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression. The aim is to identify emergency and long-term responses to mitigate the impact of the crisis, especially on vulnerable populations, and initiate a needed dialogue on the transformation of the international financial architecture, taking into account the needs and concerns of all Member States."

In Italy the media coverage about this conference was close to zero but it's interesting to point out few things.

The Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, chaired by Joseph Stiglitz and informally known as the Stiglitz Commission, was convened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, "to review the workings of the global financial system, including major bodies such as the World Bank and the IMF, and to suggest steps to be taken by Member States to secure a more sustainable and just global economic order". It presented its recommendations on March 20, 2009 and a preliminary draft of its full report on May 21, 2009. The draft is available here.

On August 18 2009, Olivier Blanchard (Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF’s Research Department) wrote an article for IMF's F&D magazine:

Sustaining a global recovery

Blanchard on April 2009 wrote a paper called The crisis: basic mechanisms, and appropriate policies

Joseph Stiglitz (2001 Nobel Prize in economic sciences) is the chairman of the UN commission of experts and he wrote his view in an article on The Nation:

A global recovery for a global recession
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These are the contents of the draft of that commission of experts:

chapter 1: introduction
the crisis: its origins, impacts, and the need for a global response
the institutional response to the crisis
policy responses to the crisis
a global crisis needs a global response
some basic principles
impact on developing countries

chapter 2: macro-issues and perspectives
the sources of the crisis
international responses: fiscal policy
monetary policy and restructuring financial markets
bail-outs
the role of central banks
risks and policy trade-offs
multiple and new objectives
impacts on developing countries
developing countries need additional funding
concluding remarks

chapter 3: reforming global regulation to enhance global economic stability
failure of the prevailing regulatory philosophy
the purpose of financial regulation
financial policy and regulatory policy
regulation and innovation
regulatory capture
boundaries of financial regulation
micro-prudential regulation
ring-fencing
some common principles of macro- and micro- prudential regulation
securitization
transparency
macro-prudential regulation
countercyclical regulations
capital market liberalization
capital account management for development
capital market interventions during crises
financial market liberalization
further issues in micro-regulation
lending and public banking to promote development
regulating other players
credit rating agencies (CRAs)
sovereign wealth funds
regulatory institutions
capture and voice
regulation and political processes
incentive structures
personnel
regulatory structure
global regulation
comprehensiveness
international banking centres and international tax cooperation
international cooperation on taxation
beyond financial regulation

chapter 4: international institutions
the challenges ahead - the need for new global economic governance
a global economic coordination council could lead the way forward
policy coherence for development also has to be improved on the national level
policies and instruments
the Bretton Woods institutions must support national capital account management
other international financial bodies
international lending and ODA
additional funding for developing countries is needed
aid effectiveness
expansion of resources by IFIs
the IMF needs an immediate expansion of its resources
review developing countries' debt sustainability in light of the financial crisis
establish a new credit facility
trade and investment
commodities trade and compensatory financing
appendix: the Doha round and development

chapter 5: international financial innovations
the global reserve system
sovereign debt default and restructuring
innovative risk management instruments
innovative sources of financing