NGOs and global economic policy institutions

While many international policy arenas are recognised as receptive to NGO participation (see Willetts 2010), the leading global economic policy institutions have resisted the push for formal decision-making roles for NGOs at these bodies. This chapter reviews the state-of-play in regard to NGO participation at four economic policy institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (together known as the International Financial Institutions or IFIs), the World Trade Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The chapter critically examines the evolution of the arrangements for consulting with NGOs at these policy arenas. It reveals that despite the formal constraints, a diverse set of NGOs active on a range of issue types contribute to global economic policy issues in alternative ways and that the key institutional characteristics of the arenas themselves help give rise to the ensuing relationships between NGOs and member states (see Smythe 1998; Guiraudon 2000; Meyer-Bisch 2001; Murphy and Kellow 2013). Indeed, where NGOs face barriers to their formal participation, the fostering of relationships with member governments becomes an important avenue for influencing global economic policies in the areas of trade, finance and development.