Global financial markets integration and Millennium Goals

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the financial challenges associated with the key objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals that are designed to address the financial and other challenges of the 21st century. The paper argues that the current financial system could be globally integrated in such a way that its efficiency and its dynamic effects could release significant financial resources that could then finance a number of key global projects that are referred to by the IMF as global public goods. Furthermore, the financial gains from trade liberalisation, particularly associated with free flow of foreign direct investment and other services will be far more than any amount of financial assistance or foreign aid that the UN or any other institution could call for. The paper argues the imperative need for evolution of the current international institutions as a way of creating an effective framework for the reallocation of financial resources in the 21st century.