《高盛经济报告》, Jim O’Neill,Robert Hormats
[摘要] 在增长前景不明朗、通货膨胀上升、石油价格达到创纪录高水平的时代,谁能引导世界经济呢?现有的国际组织能够胜任这一工作吗?或者,现在是否应改革全球经济结构,给新兴经济体以更大的发言权?未来几年这些国家将在世界经济中发挥越来越重要的作用。 我们的著名观点是现有的国际机构,特别是七国集团,已经过时了,应该被彻底改革。5月七国集团财长发表声明,呼吁产油国扩大生产,以平抑上涨的原油价格,是该观点的进一步证据。对我们来说最有趣的是,这是七国集团连续第四次对其无法直接控制的事情发表声明。之前三次七国集团会议令人注意的是,七国集团呼吁非该集团的亚洲国家采取更加富有弹性的货币制度。
(海外论坛·北京)未来面临的挑战
上世纪70年代中期以来,全球经济发生了显著变化,包括资本主义的扩散、全球资本市场和供应链的一体化、外包的增多、移民的增加,以及恐怖主义和全球性疾病的传播。对全球经济制度性结构的最新回顾将会引导八国集团考虑许多关键问题。下个十年世界面临的中心问题是什么?哪些国家对解决这些问题是至关重要的?扩展了的八国集团能解决这些问题吗?是否另一个集团更合适?是否一些问题可以由扩展了的八国集团最好解决,而一些问题可能由另一个集团解决更有效?
尽管考虑到世界经济变化的性质,国际货币基金组织和世界银行的改革可能都有意义,但在这篇文章中我们集中讨论七国集团和八国集团的改革。(注:在整个上世纪90年代,俄罗斯以渐进的过程加入了七国集团。1991年戈尔巴乔夫总统首次被邀请到伦敦参加首脑会议。叶利钦总统参加了随后的首脑会议,参与度逐步提高,直到1998年完全参与首脑会议。1994年,俄罗斯外长开始与七国集团国家的外长会谈,商讨政治和安全问题。俄罗斯不是七国财长会议的成员国。)凭借成员国的力量,这些机构有巨大责任改善世界经济的运行状况。
机构改革的目标不简单是谈判桌旁增加几个会员国,或把一些问题从一个集团转移到另一个集团。改革的目标是把合适的国家组织到合适的谈判桌旁,解决世界面临的最紧迫问题。
未来若干年世界可能面临的关键挑战包括:
实际上,成功解决或处理所有这些问题都将需要许多新兴国家的建设性参与。如果要使新兴国家参与到解决方案中去,它们在全球经济管理中的作用就必须更大。这意味着全球经济管理的机构、程序和机制都必须与变化了的经济现实相一致。问题在于怎样使新兴国家加入解决这些问题的进程。
扩大首脑会议,从G7转向F8
可能的措施之一是扩大七国财长和央行行长集团及八国首脑会议。一个重要的,但对许多人来说很显然的步骤是将中国纳入,以俄罗斯在上世纪90年代被逐步纳入七国集团类似的方式。实际上,中国被吸纳的速度可能比俄罗斯更快。中国高级金融官员已经参与了四次七国集团财政部和央行官员会议。正式加入这些官员组成的较大的八国财长集团(Financial Eight, F8),只需要较小一步。
中国的GDP已经超过了意大利,将在未来12个月超过法国,并可能在2007年超过德国。中国已经成为主要贸易国,其外汇储备仅次于日本,位居世界第二。它计划改革金融市场,对其参与全球金融谈判而言,这既是值得的也是必须的。
这也是一个机会,通过降低欧元区单独成员国的参与而进一步巩固这一金融集团。假设欧洲经济和货币联盟已经统一了货币政策及大多数宏观经济政策,那么欧元区作为单独一个成员参与到集团中就似乎是合乎逻辑的了。而且,在以前联合国内部关于国际贸易和农业的重大决策会议,甚至外交政策的讨论中,欧盟已经证明它有能力确保各成员国的有效参与和互相协作。
我们建议目前七国集团的成员国法国、德国和意大利被一个三人代表团所取代,由现任欧盟财政部长集团主席、欧盟委员会主席和欧洲央行行长组成。
改组后的F8将是一个更现实的论坛,能够促进一些必要的变革,以非通货膨胀的方式减少全球经济的不平衡。我们经常写一些东西,阐述美国减少经常项目差额、全球财政状况重新平衡以及亚洲货币强劲的必要性。吸纳中国成为F8直接和平等的会员国将增加这些事情成功的可能。
没有必要吸纳俄罗斯加入F8,尽管它仍应该保留在扩大了的八国首脑会议中。因为俄罗斯对当今世界贸易和金融的意义要远小于中国。
实际上,成功解决或处理所有这些问题都将需要许多新兴国家的建设性参与。如果要使新兴国家参与到解决方案中去,它们在全球经济管理中的作用就必须更大。这意味着全球经济管理的机构、程序和机制都必须与变化了的经济现实相一致。问题在于怎样使新兴国家加入解决这些问题的进程。
原文:
The G7 Speaks, But Who Listens? ( 2)
Challenges Ahead
The global economy has changed markedly since the mid-1970s, given the spread of capitalism, the integration of global capital markets and global supply chains, the rise of outsourcing, expanding migration and the spread of terrorism and global diseases. A fresh review of the institutional architecture of the global economy should lead the G8 to consider a number of key questions. What are the central problems the world faces over the next decade? Which nations are vital to the solutions? Can an expanded G8 do the job? Is another group better suited? Are there some topics that an expanded G8 can do best and some that another group might address more effectively? While reform of both the IMF and World Bank might make sense in view of the changing nature of the world economy, in this paper we focus on reform of the G7 and G8.1 By virtue of their membership, these institutions have an enormous responsibility for improving the health of the world economy
The goal of institutional reform is not simply to put a few more countries around a table or to shift issues from one group to another. It is to put the right group of countries around the right tables to solve the most pressing problems the world faces
Key challenges the world is likely to face in coming years include: Reducing global trade and current account imbalances without slowing the aggregate rate of global growth or causing disruptive movements in currencies
Successfully concluding the Doha Round of trade negotiations. Developed nations must recognize that this is a two-way street: it requires freer access for the goods and services of developing and emerging nations to industrialized nations’ markets, as well as greater access for industrialized nations to the markets of developing and emerging nations. It also must address such key issues as protecting intellectual property rights
Strengthening the international financial system to avoid a recurrence of crises similar to those experienced in the 1990s, such as the Mexican Tequila crisis and the financial crises in Asia and Russia
Integrating into the global economy emerging nations that have dismantled ponderous government regulations and that have large pools of low-wage labour, without producing massive dislocations and job losses in the industrialized world. This must entail recognizing the low-cost workers’ strong comparative advantage in certain manufacturing activities and basic services while also strengthening investment, training, education and other adjustment programmes in the industrialised countries to expand domestic jobs, especially through higher value added employment and exports
Addressing the enormous contingent costs of the growing numbers of retirees in both the industrialized world and in many emerging economies--and doing so without dramatically increasing government borrowing or taxes, which would disrupt financial markets and slow worldwide growth
Preventing funding of terrorists around the world and strengthening the legal and intelligence frameworks to catch terrorists and bring them to swift justice
Devoting more resources to reducing hunger, poverty and disease in the world’s poorest economies at a time when budgets are already stretched in industrialized nations and when their own social security systems will face increased demands
Confronting the global dependence on imported oil and growing concerns about global warming by removing energy supply bottlenecks and taking bolder steps to conserve energy and to develop cleaner and renewable sources
Strengthening international efforts to fight HIV/AIDs and to contain the risk of global pandemics of other infectious diseases that spread rapidly across continents. SARS was but a sample of what virologists see as the prospects of much worse to come
The successful resolution or management of virtually all of these problems will require the constructive participation of a number of emerging economies. If emerging nations are to be part of the solutions, they must be given a greater role in governance of the global economy. This means that the institutions, procedures and mechanisms of global economic governance must conform to changing economic realities. The question is how to engage them in the process of confronting such problems