Provision of global public goods: politics and provision

If so many global public goods are human-made, key questions need to be asked to determine how well the three dimensions of publicness are met for global public goods. That global public goods are largely national public goods that have gone global has important implications for the social aggregation strategies used to provide them.

1) Politics

Although the world is globalising, states still exhibit many political, economic, social and cultural differences. The impact of the systemic features of the globalisation process on peoples’ developments varies very much from country to country as to scope, pace, timing and intensity of the global public goods. The question is whether the global scope of these goods’ benefits and costs has been accompanied by a corresponding publicness in national and international policymaking.

This question is urgent because publicness in consumption is often a requirement, not an option.

A stronger voice for the provision of global public goods, such as human development, human security and human rights, is often sought in the interest of democracy and pluralism. When international cooperation is required to curtail costly, inefficient global public “bads”, an effective voice for all is also critical. This is particularly evident in cases where international institutions are assigned to implement

12 Kaul, I., The Changing Role of the United Nations: lessons for multi-level governance, in H. Enderlein, S. Wälts and M. Zűrn, Handbook on Multi-level Governance, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2010, p. 323-342.

13 Kaul, I., I. Grunberg and M. Stern (1999),op. cit., p. 454.

international standards to promote certain public goods (such as international security and international financial stability), often resulting in incursions on domestic policymaking and lawmaking. The legitimacy of such interventions depends on more participatory decision-making. Hence it is important to assess the main global public goods, notably those involving high interdependence, against the ideal triangle of publicness. Here an important role is set for global civil societies, which might serve as global consciousness.

2) Provision

Few global public goods are “readymade”. Even the natural global commons often require international management regimes for their sustainable use. Most global public goods follow a complex, multidimensional, multilayered and multi-actor provision path of cooperation. Notwithstanding the importance of international cooperation, the issue of subsidiarity needs to be raised in view of choosing national policy harmonisation or joint provision at the international level. There is a diversified vision and a differentiated impact of globalisation across the globe on countries’ and people’s visions and conditions.¹⁴As a consequence, increasing the provision of a global public good often requires a community of shared values and a respect for diversity. Therefore policy pluralism should be more acceptable than the centralisation and standardisation of policy making, conditioned to debate on the best approach to providing certain goods.

However, policy pluralism increases the transaction costs involved in providing global public goods because it may entail more management support, monitoring, and reporting. In summary, given the complexity of providing global public goods, there is no easy or standard formula for ensuring their adequate provision.

As argued in the case for public goods provision on a national scale, similarly on the global scale the actors most likely to ensure that the process moves beyond narrow national self-interests are no longer only governments, because they are territorially bound. Actors include more and more transnational businesses, civil society organisations, and members of the public. As Sen¹⁵ points out, these actors often pursue interests and concerns independent of their nationalities. The growing de-territorialisation of national public goods makes concerted public goods provision on the international level (or global policy-making) a policy priority in the global era.

14 ILO,A fair globalization: creating opportunities for all, World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, February 2004, p. 1-128.

15 Sen, A.,Development as Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

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3. A policy assessment

The issues mentioned in our first part are even more urgent at the international level, particularly when one considers international cooperation in support of global public goods. The reasons are that at the international level there is no real equivalent to the institution of the state and that the global public has far more diverse interests and preferences than any national public. Furthermore, many people – indeed, entire countries – often find themselves in “no exit” situations.

Under these conditions, a decision-making and provision process for global public goods that is more participatory and “bottom up” is perhaps most ideal. Therefore, the debate on global public goods cannot simply build on the existing theory of public goods. It should be updated to reflect current realities following the suggestions of Kaul and others.

Global public goods provision is today more than ever a matter of policy choice. First, few global public goods are global and public by nature. The ozone layer is one of these few naturally global and public goods. Most other global public goods are national public goods that have become interlinked in the wake of increasing openness of borders and as a result of increasing international regime formation and policy harmonisation behind national borders. In summary, the wellbeing of people within the globalising context depends on private goods and public goods. Together, the available public goods create an enabling framework for economic growth as well as for human development.

Secondly it is argued that, in the wake of global trends and threats, the importance of global public goods has grown. Significant advances have been achieved in terms of openness of national borders and behind-the-border policy harmonisation. Coupled with progress in transportation and communication technologies as well as enhanced political openness, these trends have not only encouraged a high volume of transborder economic activities but they have also led to an interlocking of national public domains. The result has been the globalisation of a growing number of public goods. Financial stability, public health, the control of crime and violence, including terrorism, or food safety, are examples.

Thirdly, some global public goods remain today severely underprovided, such as international financial architecture or the international regime for knowledge management, and others are ill shaped, such as some dimensions of the multilateral trade regime. Still, the provision of global public goods has become crucial in the management of international relations and the survival of our planet.

Many public goods can today no longer be adequately provided for national or local consumption through domestic policy actions alone.

These goods now require international cooperation as an integral part of their provision path.¹⁶