ESSAYS IN PUBLIC POLICY

Democratizing the World Trade Organization

1. Executive Summary (pdf)
2. Essay (pdf)
3. Notes only (pdf)

The WTO has been attacked by labor groups, environmentalists, and human rights organizations as an undemocratic institution, secretive and uncaring. However, the democraticness of the WTO hinges on how representative it is of both the winners and losers from free trade. This essay concerns which countries determine the course of policy proposals in the WTO and to what extent the winners or losers from free trade are championed by national trade negotiators. It is argued that opening the WTO process to greater participation could potentially pull outcomes further from the interests of the majority and toward the interests of unelected special interests.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (pdf) | ESSAY (pdf) | NOTES (pdf)