ABSTRACT
People and politicians are dominated by quite excessive expectations as to what can possibly, or practically, be delivered by governmental economic policies. Since 1975, the leaders of the major industrial democracies have met at the annual Group of Seven and Group of Eight (G7/G8) summits to address the most pressing international issues of the day, deliberate on shared problems and collectively set directions for the global community. In order for the G7/G8 summits to provide an environment for effective policymaking, they must establish a credible record, or the expectations placed upon them and the attention paid to them will surely fade. Though what one expects the summit to accomplish may be narrowed, it is more likely that the summits can accomplish something. Compliance studies indicate that the summits do accomplish something, but perhaps not as much as one would like them to.
