The World Trade Organization is a major player in the field of global governance. Since its creation in January 1995, it has expanded the reach of trade rules deep into the regulatory structure of almost 140 sovereign states, affecting the daily lives of all citizens. As a result, it has found itself at the center of controversy in areas that are well outside the domain of traditional trade policy. The response of public interest groups in Seattle and elsewhere has been to demand a role in WTO processes and for the WTO to undertake major reforms.

Reform will not come easily. The architects of the WTO are proud of having created what they consider to be a major achievement in institutionalized global economic cooperation. They point to the success of the WTO in doing what governments wanted it to do: to reduce barriers to trade and to conduct that trade according to agreed rules.

The central question is how wise policy makers should respond to the pressures now falling on the WTO system while ensuring the preservation of a trading system that has led to unprecedented growth in the world economy and contributed to the peaceful coexistence of nations. This question is addressed in this book. A number of prominent personalities representing a broad spectrum of interests in the field of international policy-making, and with a strong interest in a well-functioning trading system, offer their views on the role of the WTO in Global Governance.

ISBN: 92-808-1055-3
Price: US$24.95 / £18.50
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The Poverty of Rights: Human Rights and the Eradication of Poverty By Willem van Genugten & Camilo Perez-Bustillo, Editors Published by International Studies in Poverty Research, 2001

Political leaders, social scientists and lawyers now pay more attention to two, not necessarily related, issues: the reduction of poverty and a respect for human rights enshrined in law. This volume links these issues, arguing that law is no panacea for the intractable problem of poverty. But it can be an indispensable basis for, and complement to, social mobilization, strengthened in turn by socially engaged and critical social science. Vigorous advocacy of compliance with international human rights norms and explicit incorporation and actionability of such standards in national legal frameworks can play a role in the struggle to reduce, and ultimately eradicate, global poverty and social justice.

ISBN: 1 85649 978 2
Price: US$27.50 / £16.95
Contact: zed books
Sales@zedbooks.demon.co.uk

The poor in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to adverse shocks. They have little or no access to public social insurance, are unlikely to save in adequate amounts to rely fully on self-insurance or informal insurance, face restricted access to private market insurance or credit mechanisms, and have little or no political voice to demand the protection of safety net programs. In this book, the authors analyze the best ways to help the poor manage risks such as health shocks, unemployment, sudden drops in income, and old age. Unemployment benefits, employment programs, means-tested social assistance, social investment funds, and micro-finance for consumption-smoothing purposes are the leading options considered.

The book provides a careful assessment of issues that governments need to address in the process of designing appropriate safety nets.

ISBN: 0815753217
Price: US$26.95 / £19.50 /
Cdn$43.00
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