Gallagher Argues That the World Needs a New Bretton Woods Moment

Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy at BU’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Director of BU’s Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center), published a China Daily op-ed arguing for the reformation of the global economic system. 

Gallagher co-authored the article, titled “Unrigging the game,” with Richard Kozul-Wright, Director of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Their piece echoes arguments laid out in their latest book, The Case for a New Bretton Woods

According to Gallagher and Kozul-Wright, the world is currently contending with economic, environmental, and health crises; in order to build a better tomorrow, the world needs a new Bretton Woods moment. However, the two argue that such a moment must go further than the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods “in order to provide a broader set of global public goods and to align international cooperation with economic, social and environmental goals through a better mix of international resources, dedicated domestic policies and global coordination.” Their article outlines the main arguments of their new book including the inclusion of China in global economic policy discussions and giving developing countries fiscal space to recover from the economic shocks of COVID-19. 

The full op-ed can be read on China Daily‘s website.

Kevin Gallagher is a professor of global development policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he directs the Global Development Policy Center. He is the author or co-author of numerous books, including most recently, The Case for a New Bretton Woods (Wiley, 2022). Read more about Professor Gallagher on his Pardee School faculty profile.