International Public Goods

Security concerns, the AIDS epidemic, environmental degradation and financial contagion are salient features of the landscape of threats to global stability. A characteristic of these challenges is that they cannot be solved by individual nations acting alone. Enlightened co-operation is needed. This book focuses on actions in the international arena which complement domestic efforts in addressing a set of policy challenges that has become more prominent in the age of globalization. It examines the strategic and practical challenges of fostering solutions that have the character of international public goods, paying particular attention to the financing of these goods. International public goods or national public goods contributed by one country or another have risen in international importance and official attention since the last two decades of the 20th century. The subject is of great importance, and most unlikely to go away. Public goods contribute to general welfare but would be undersupplied without collective action - a well-known proposition that applies globally as well as nationally. This book identifies a range of international public goods and explores the possibilities and prospects for increasing their supply.