There are four main policy
messages.
First, new analytical tools for
understanding public goods are needed. Among these tools, the concept of
public goods itself has to be expanded in order to account for new
realities in the world today where the impact of policies (or the lack
thereof) transcends national borders. (See also the answers to questions
2 through 5.)
Second, the circle of stakeholders
should match the circle of decision makers. Clearly, this is a challenge
primarily when public goods transcend political boundaries—in health,
trade, the environment, and international finance, among other areas. (See
also the answer to question 7.)
Third, financing public goods must
be systematized and must not mixed with financing of official development
assistance (ODA). (See also the answers to questions
16 through 18.)
Finally, the political and
production process for providing global public goods must be able to span
borders, sectors and groups of key actors. One needs to recognize that
global public goods also have production processes, like any good or
service. (The answer to question 12 provides
further details.)
The overview chapter of the book
pulls together the various measures that chapter authors propose in order
to encourage policy reforms along these lines. For ease of reference, the
overview tables summarizing some of the suggested steps are reproduced in
the annex to this note.
