The WTO And Institutional (In)Coherence In Global Economic Governance

Abstract

This article explores institutional cooperation in global economic governance to address two fundamental questions: Where do the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) overlap or compete with those of other institutions? What explains institutional coherence/incoherence between the WTO and other international organizations? It analyses the relationship of the WTO with different institutions, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, and different issue areas, ranging from finance and aid, to intellectual property rights, and environmental and social regulations. The article argues that, in certain areas, which parties have directly targeted to facilitate trade liberalization, the WTO has a regulatory role to play in cooperation with other relevant institutions. But in areas such as social and environmental regulation, where the goal of regulation is to ‘embed’ economic governance in broader societal goals, coherence would be best achieved if states ensured that WTO rules continued to leave space for a global division of labour and allowed alternative institutions to do the regulating.