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arpadFound in my archive old rant of Brad de-Long about G7
The G-7 is, unfortunately, a victim of its own success. The most powerful force in its beginning was then-U.S. Treasury Secretary George Shultz, who believed that finance ministers and central bankers of different major economic powers needed to meet and get to know each other before there was a crisis, so that they would have already set the groundwork for cooperation when rapid cooperation turned out to be suddenly necessary. It seemed to work: the G-7 finance ministers got to know each other, business seemed to get done, and they told reporters that it was a useful meeting.
Then the prime ministers--most of whom are scared of their finance ministers--decided that they had to have a share in this positively-reported set of meetings too. They began to set up their own G-7 meetings. And then their policy, political, and media staffs began to come. And then the downward spiral in the usefulness of the meetings began. Because you can't have a big meeting without an important final communique, right?
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Looks like to be informal in our times you should first create completely useless formal structure. With sole purpose of mixing right people without alarming the world. :)
Seriously - it is time they should start talking via the Internet... Will be a lot cheaper than all this BS with planes, cars, hotels, banners and so on...
The G-7 is, unfortunately, a victim of its own success. The most powerful force in its beginning was then-U.S. Treasury Secretary George Shultz, who believed that finance ministers and central bankers of different major economic powers needed to meet and get to know each other before there was a crisis, so that they would have already set the groundwork for cooperation when rapid cooperation turned out to be suddenly necessary. It seemed to work: the G-7 finance ministers got to know each other, business seemed to get done, and they told reporters that it was a useful meeting.
Then the prime ministers--most of whom are scared of their finance ministers--decided that they had to have a share in this positively-reported set of meetings too. They began to set up their own G-7 meetings. And then their policy, political, and media staffs began to come. And then the downward spiral in the usefulness of the meetings began. Because you can't have a big meeting without an important final communique, right?
****
Looks like to be informal in our times you should first create completely useless formal structure. With sole purpose of mixing right people without alarming the world. :)
Seriously - it is time they should start talking via the Internet... Will be a lot cheaper than all this BS with planes, cars, hotels, banners and so on...
