Poverty and Social Analysis of Trade Agreements: A More Coherent Approach

The author argues for the importance of conducting comprehensive social and poverty assessments of trade policy, including consideration of social, economic and legal/regulatory factors. The author traces trends in international trade negotiations, including actions taken by developing countries to draw attention to the need for greater social and poverty analysis of trade agreements and development assistance. She offers criticisms of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's approach to trade and reviews responses by the development community, including an overview of tools developed to conduct a poverty and social analysis of trade policies. As an example, the author provides a more in-depth overview of the Gender Assessment Project, commissioned by the Women's Edge Coalition to develop a framework for carrying out gender assessment of trade and investment agreements.