Development at the WTO

• Analyses the question of the WTO and development from an institutionalist perspective, offering new insights on why the Doha Round has stalled
• Provides a thorough analysis of the special and differential treatment of developing states and of these states' capability to participate in WTO decision-making
• Presents a range of proposals for a better balance between trade liberalization and the development needs of WTO member states

New to this edition

• Includes a new preface to the paperback edition addressing recent developments, including the accession of Russia to the WTO

Seeking to open paths for reconsidering the trade and development relationship at the WTO, this book takes into account both the heritage of the trade regime and its present dynamics. It argues that the institutional processes for creating and implementing trade rules at the WTO and the actual regulatory outcomes are inseparable. A consideration of the WTO's development dimension must examine both jointly. 

It shows that the shortcomings of the Doha Development Round are in part due to a failure to assess trade rules as part of the legal processes and institutions that produced them. This book devotes significant analysis to the systemic impact of the WTO as an institution on developing and least developed members. From a pragmatic perspective, it provides a coherent and systematic analysis of the legal meaning, the implementation, and the adjudication of special and differential treatment rules for developing members. It then evaluates the different regulatory approaches to trade and development from a more theoretical perspective. The book finishes by presenting a range of proposals for a better balance between trade liberalization and the development needs of many WTO members.

Readership: Students and scholars of international economic law, WTO law, and development studies; legal advisers and policy-makers working on questions related to the WTO and development