G20 Working Group

CIGI conducts an active program of research, policy analysis, conferences and workshops on G20 challenges and issues, cutting across several program themes including the Global Economy, Environment and Energy and Global Security.

Featured Materials

¡Viva México! In Praise of a Global Steering Committee

blog
After G20 foreign ministers meet in Mexico, Gordon Smith praises the idea of international leadership through a global steering committee.

Lagarde and the IMF: The Unlikely Winners of the Cannes G20 Summit

CIGI Commentaries
Under Lagarde the IMF appears to have secured a renewed faith in its ability to guide the global community out of the euro zone storm.

National Perspectives on Global Leadership During the Cannes G20

CIGI Papers
The 2011 NPGL series concludes that while the euro crisis dominated the Cannes summit, G20 leaders made progress on some key agenda items.

The G20 Returns to Crisis Committee — with Positive and Negative Implications

CIGI Commentaries
Though the euro-crisis dominated last week's G20 Summit, the crisis has helped the group regain some of its former intensity.

What Next for China in the G20? — Reorienting the Core Agenda

CIGI Commentaries
If China increases its IMF contributions, we should not be surprised if they come with requests for changes in the G20's core agenda.

Series Introduction: New World, New Ideas?

CIGI Commentaries
The world is looking for the Cannes summit to provide realistic and meaningful steps towards solving the crisis and moving forward.

Related Materials

Publication
Since the international financial crisis of 2008, the G20 has devoted extensive attention to the improvement of international financial regulatory standards. Having agreed on a wide range of new standards, the G20 is now facing growing questions about whether these will actually be implemented at the national level in a consistent manner. In addition to recommitting themselves to adopt these standards, the G20 leaders should use the 2012 Mexican summit to strengthen the capacity of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to address this issue.
Publication
As we approach the Los Cabos summit, it is easy to be downbeat about the state of the global economy. The G20 goals of a full recovery from the Great Recession and putting the global economy on a sustainable growth path, as outlined in the Cannes Action Plan for Growth and Jobs, are not only far from realization, but they have also suffered serious setbacks due to failures of policy and governance.
Publication
Advocates all want to get their pet topic discussed at the G20. Economic and financial crisis issues will dominate. Employment and commodity price volatility are next in line. Development, corruption, tax havens and anti-money laundering, drug trafficking and transnational crime, protecting the marine environment and resuscitating trade negotiations will all compete for attention. Climate change will receive very little agenda time.
Publication
In considering the evolving role of the G20, it is worth reflecting upon the factors that shaped the group’s original mandate. As the first decade of the new century progressed, it became increasingly clear that the international balance of power had shifted, but the institutional framework, which sought to manage the global economy, had not adapted to reflect this new reality. The financial crisis of 2008 forced the leading economic powers (notably the US, where the crisis originated) to confront the need to integrate the emerging economies more effectively into international economic decision making.