GROUP OF 20

Group of 20

Group of 20

Q1: How legitimate is the Group of 20?

The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy (Mertes, 2006). The inaugural meeting of the G-20 took place in Berlin, on December 15-16, 1999, hosted by German and Canadian finance ministers.

Mandate

The G-20 is the premier forum for our international economic development that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability. By contributing to the strengthening of the international financial architecture and providing opportunities for dialogue on national policies, international co-operation, and international financial institutions, the G-20 helps to support growth and development across the globe (Brecher, 2007).

The Group of 20 (G-20) brings together the European Union and nineteen countries that represent the world's major and top emerging economies. The group was established in September 1999 by the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations, which convenes several times a year to discuss economic issues. It was formed in response to the financial crises of the mid- and late 1990s, with the aim of better integrating emerging economies into international dialogue on financial issues. It initially served as a forum for representatives from national finance ministries and central banks (Klein, 2007)

The meetings of November 2008, however, attracted G-20 heads of state to confront the economic crisis, producing a communiqué that sought to calm fears and prepare the way for possible collective action. The G-20 includes all the G-7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), Russia (which also meets annually with the G-7 countries in a format for broader political discussions dubbed the G-8), as well as: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey. The European Union is also represented, both by its president and the chair of the Eurozone's central bank (Fratianni, 2006).

Origins

The G-20 was created as a response both to the financial crises of the late 1990s and to a growing recognition that key emerging-market countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. Prior to the G-20 creation, similar groupings to promote dialogue and analysis had been established at the initiative of the G-7. The G-22 met at Washington D.C. in April and October 1998 (Cohn, 2007).

Its aim was to involve non-G-7 countries in the resolution of global aspects of the financial crisis then affecting emerging-market countries. Two subsequent meetings comprising a larger group of participants (G-33) held in March and April 1999 discussed reforms of the global economy and the international financial system. The proposals made by the G-22 and the G-33 to reduce the world economy's susceptibility to crises showed the potential benefits of a regular international consultative forum embracing the emerging-market countries. Such a regular dialogue with a constant set of partners was institutionalized by the creation of the ...