The world economy and international economic institutions are in trouble. That, at least, is the opinion in informed circles following the Conference on International Economic Cooperation (CIEC) held in Paris last spring. There is a growing realization that CIEC failed to grapple with the systemic problems the world economy faces, a failure that threatens developing and developed countries alike.

Despite Secretary of State Cyrus Vance's dramatic call for a “new international economic system,” the Paris conference failed to address systemic issues. Instead, the developed nations of the North angled for a separation of the issues of energy from those of development; and the developing countries of the South closed ranks by linking the two. Consequently neither side truly debated the crushing problems of the world economy.