The Institutional Reform Goals (IRG) project was launched in 2012. It aims to aid reform of the global rules and practices that are worsening global poverty. It has identified ten areas in which the reform of global rules and practices could have a major impact on human development and poverty eradication:
- illicit financial flows
- international resource and borrowing privileges
- intellectual property law
- democratization and accountability
- international labor standards
- international trade
- environmental sustainability and climate change
- global migration
- the arms trade
- debt, mispricing, smuggling, corruption, and money laundering.
IRG is both ambitious and unique. Over time, for each of the above areas the IRG team will:
- Articulate politically feasible institutional reform goals and illustrative targets to be presented through research-backed policy papers
- Work to build a broad coalition of academics and civil society members to support our call for new institutional reform goals
- Promote these institutional reform goals widely (as a first step, by engaging with and intervening in the post-MDG debate)
Current links and outputs:
Focus area 1: Illicit Financial Flows (IFF)
The IRG working group aims to establish a financial transparency and an IFF curtailing goal as part of the post-MDG framework. We see illicit financial flows as cross-border financial flows that leave developing countries and go to developed countries, contrary to both the letter and spirit of domestic and international laws. To get up to speed on IFF download and read our PDF providing background information on illicit financial flows. Alternatively download this more detailed discussion paper by Esther Shubert from Yale University. Finally, consider visiting the webpage dedicated to Illicit Financial Flows at the Global Justice Programme website.
Focus area 3: Intellectual property law
Download this discussion paper from May 2014 about Intellectual Property and Access to Medications by Rebecca Wolitz, Yale University.
Focus area 6: International trade
Download this discussion paper, also from May 2014 about Trade Reform and the Development Deficit by Amy Wood, Balsillie School of International Affairs.