Copenhagen Consensus
Professors Michael Greenwood and Keith Maskus both were invited to write papers analyzing the global importance of specific problems that may require coordinated solutions. The invitation was made by Bjorn Lomborg, creator of the international project called the “Copenhagen Consensus,” in which economists are asked to prepare cost-benefit analyses of major issues. These cost-benefit figures are then considered by a panel of prominent international scholars and policymakers for inclusion in a package of proposed reforms. The first volume in this project was published under the title Global Crises, Global Solutions, Cambridge University Press, in 2004.
tThe papers by Greenwood and Maskus appear in the second volume titled Solutions for the World’s Biggest Problems: Costs and Benefits, Cambridge University Press, published in late 2007. Professor Greenwood’s chapter considers key issues involved in domestic and international migration of workers. He noted the substantial gains thataccrue to migrant workers and the source and destination countries as well, while discussing also the costs to native workers. Professor Maskus’s chapter analyzes potential costs and benefits to developing countries of significantly reforming their intellectual property rights systems. Both chapters stressed the analytical complexities and considerable uncertainty involved in computing costbenefit ratios. The authors also pointed to potential policy reforms that could emphasize net benefits.
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