Economic & Financial Committee

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Topic A:  Financial Crises and the Role of Regulatory Regimes for International Financial Flows

The ongoing global financial crisis shows the great degree of vulnerability of the financial arena: short-term speculatory investments, unclear mechanisms of capital control, and difficulties of the banking systems to deal with the volatility of financial flows. Financial crises and unclear regulation over finances might be truly harmful to developing countries to the extent that the link between financial and real economy is among them less strong than in developed nations. In this sense, financial crises may bring solvency problems, associated with monetary instability and recessionary scenery. 

This topic aims at discussing the importance of regulations over the international financial system as a tool for promoting development. Therefore, the discussions expected to be on the floor are: is further regulation on international finances needed? If so, on what terms should it be implemented? What are the macroeconomic policies available to deal with financial crises (measures of capital control, adaptations in the banking systems, role of central banks)? What is the role of institutions such as IMF and the World Bank? What should international regimes and single undertaking agreements do in order to deal with financial crises and turn them into an instrument for “strengthening a global identity”?

Topic B: Economic Sanctions as Tools for Political and Economic Coercion

The United Nations system and the multilateral trade system institutionalized through the World Trade Organization (WTO) are both committed to promote development via cooperation. However, economic sanctions have been used as instruments of coercion. Bearing in mind the principles of the UN Charter and the regulatory scope of WTO, topic B aims at discussing on what terms economic sanctions should be used as means of political coercion.

Discussions on the floor: according to the constitutive agreement of WTO and the UN Charter, what economic measures can be taken to produce political coercion? Are they acceptable in the name of peace and security?  How much do they hamper cooperation and development? Should these economic sanctions be adopted against developing countries, especially LDCs? If so, on what terms should this be done?

A way of “strengthening a global identity” is discussing what could possibly hinder cooperation and development. That is why the debate of economic sanctions for political purposes is on the floor.

The ECOFIN team invites you to join our debates!