The big picture that
one draws from this book is that the first phase of
globalization—primarily brought about by the greater
movement of ideas, goods, services, capital and people
across borders—has made various national public goods
interlocked. Individual countries today can no longer
unilaterally produce many of their public goods. Threats of
financial contagion, international terrorism, spread of
contagious diseases, and climate instability require that
policymakers look beyond their national borders and
cooperation is now necessary to ensure adequate provision of
national public goods. Thus global public goods can be said
to be the sum of national public goods plus international
cooperation.
The first phase of
globalization must now be followed by a second phase—characterized
by a globalization of policy measures to ensure enhanced
global inclusiveness, equity and efficiency. Such second
generation reform measures will, in particular, call for
enhanced cross-border cooperation. But cooperation towards
what end?
The key challenge is
for the international community to live with integrating
competitive markets while strengthening cross-border
cooperation to make both markets and states work better for
sustainable human development. Countries have learned, more
or less, how to strike such a balance nationally. With time,
and with full political engagement of the global public—all
of us, in our mutual interest—this balance may also be
achieved across national borders.
