There has been a major shift in the world economy’s centre of gravity – from North to South, and from West to East. China and India have been the main drivers of this process, but other regions of the developing world have also been enjoying growth rates well above those of the OECD countries. Multinational corporations have been active in the developing world, as have sovereign wealth funds. The rising share of emerging markets in global assets has increased their political influence on global governance. We have, in short, been witnessing what has been termed ‘the Rise of the Rest’.

Existing governance structures of the global economy have come under intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the credit crisis. How can the current system of international financial institutions be used and modified to magnify their development impact? How can new aid donors best be integrated into existing structures? How can the global development architecture be made more inclusive, representative and efficient? How effective is the Western-built international legal framework? In a rigorous, yet lively manner, the GDO will propose innovative solutions to these most pressing problems.

Apart from documenting the shift in wealth, the GDO will focus on how local and global governance as well as strategies for development and poverty reduction have to be revised to achieve inclusive globalisation. By mapping the shifts in economic and political power, with a focus on different kinds of capital flows, the GDO will chart the changing geography of the global economy. What has been the nature of south-south capital flows and what impact will the global credit crisis have on MDGs and inequality?

Taking advantage of its unique position in the OECD, the Centre has invited experts from emerging and developing countries to steer the GDO through its Advisory Panel, the members of which constitute Non-Residential Fellows of the Development Centre.

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