The Political Economy of International Organizations
February 3 – 8, 2008
The international conference – organized by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute (ETH Zurich) and the Institute for Political Science (University of Zurich) – aims at bringing together economists and political scientists working on the political economy of international organizations, in particular the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO and the EU. It deals with questions of the institutional structure of these organizations, their impact on the incentives of the international bureaucracy, and the effects of these incentives on policy outcomes and administrative efficiency. Moreover, incentives of other political actors interacting with these institutions are considered, in particular individual governments, commercial lobbies and NGOs. Related to this, there are a discussion on the relationship between the policy of international organizations and the political economy within individual countries.
Finally, it is also considered to what extent the expansion of the field of activities of some organizations or the introduction of new international organizations challenges other already existing ones, which new incentives arise out of this situation and how individual organizations react to this challenge.
After an initial session on general political economy issues relevant for all international organizations alike, particular sessions are held to discuss each of the organizations individually. In this context, one major aspect is the assessment of the interaction of these organizations with developing countries, from the representation of their interest within these organizations to the impact of the organizations’ policies on their national political economies.
The conference gratefully acknowledges funding from the Foundation of the University of Zurich.
An international conference organized by:
- Axel Dreher, University of Goettingen
- Katharina Michaelowa, Center for Comparative and International Studies (University of Zurich & ETH Zurich)
Conference Venue:
Centro Stefano Franscini at Monte Verità in Ascona, Switzerland
Special issue of the Review of International Organizations: The Political Economy of International Organizations, eds. Axel Dreher and Katharina Michaelowa