G-20 to Replace the G8: Why Not Now?

On Wednesday, September 22, 2004, the Poverty & Global Economy Initiative (PGE) at the Brookings Institution held a workshop on the possibility of the G-20 replacing the G-7/8. The workshop was chaired by Colin Bradford and Johannes Linn, co-authors of the April 2004 Policy Brief “Global Economic Governance at a Crossroads: Replacing the G-7 with the G-20”. More than thirty participants from universities, think tanks, and international organizations attended.

Lael Brainard (Director, Poverty & Global Economy Initiative, Brookings), Fred Bergsten (President, Institute for International Economics), Nancy Birdsall (President, Center for Global Development) and John English (Executive Director, Centre for International Governance Innovation) led off the half day discussion. Six Canadians participated in the workshop; Canadian prime minister Paul Martin is the foremost champion of advancing the G-20 ministers of finance group, which has been meeting since 1999, to head of state level.

The thought-provoking and lively discussion will be followed with a Chairmen’s Summary, which will highlight the main issues of the conference. Major issues that emerged from the discussion included determining the goals of the G-7/G-20 (global finance/economy or a more diverse set of global issues); rethinking European representation; and strengthening and reinforcing the legitimacy and effectiveness of global governance mechanisms and international financial institutions. Participants discussed the pros and cons of expanding global participation to include the non-Western, non-industrial world; issues regarding transition into a larger (or smaller) group; fair global representation; and possible catalysts for transition from current arrangements to more representative and effective ones.