ABSTRACT
The research that UNCTAD has performed over the years has been
seen by many as the key comparative advantage that the organization
has over other bodies. It is certainly a major facet of the Secretariat’s
role and so naturally follows on from the previous chapter. Of note is
the fact that through its research output, UNCTAD has made some
significant contributions to global debates on development and the
broader political economy. Obviously during the NIEO moment this
was quite evident but even during the ‘‘retreat’’ of the organization (see Chapter 5) UNCTAD was successful in critiquing established
views and challenging opinions and positions emanating from the
North. For instance, as the 1980s progressed, UNCTAD was quite
active in questioning the results of structural adjustment programs in
the developing world. And it was UNCTAD’s research on debt that
arguably provided the intellectual argument later used by the Jubilee
2000 campaign. Research on commodities by the organization also
continued to draw attention to the continuing decline in the terms of trade for developing nations. Other work raised concern about the
nature and effect of the WTO. Indeed, UNCTAD’s research-often in
tandem with the UNDP’s Human Development Report-gave incon-
trovertible proof that globalization and liberalization was not the
willy-nilly panacea for the world’s problems. The yearly Trade and
Development Report has often acted in the same way. It can be stated
that the research output of UNCTAD is indeed fundamental to the
organization and a principal aspect of its work and contemporary rationale.
