Selected papers and books of Augusto Lopez-Claros

Financing Instruments for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

There is broad recognition that current national emission targets are not consistent with limiting a temperature rise to 2◦C above pre-industrial levels. Indeed, it is estimated that annual global emissions need to drop by about 3 percent between now and 2030 to limit warming to this two-degree threshold. Absent mitigation of GHG emissions, global temperatures will be on a rapidly ascending trajectory through the end of this century. Given the associated damage to the global economy and its supporting ecosystems and to the natural world more generally there has been increasing emphasis in recent years in identifying policies that might facilitate climate change mitigation and adaptation. One particular area of focus has been on the financing needs associated with significant investments in various forms of infrastructure, including investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.[pdf]

The Gender Equality and Governance Index: Empowering Women for the Prosperity of Nations

Gender inequality has myriad faces: archaic laws that codify sexism, male control of joint income and household assets, exclusion from governance, trafficking and violence against women, denial of education and adequate health care, and gender segregation in the work force, to name a few. The scope of inequality is vast and its costs to society are mounting.

COVID-19 has prompted new awareness around this topic, as the effects of the pandemic have exacerbated existing gender inequalities and revealed the importance of female inclusion in governance and decision-making. The evidence linking gender equality to economic and social well-being and prosperity is clear. Now more than ever, we must prioritize the role of women in fostering communities’ and countries’ well-being and economic health by developing policies that guard against gender discrimination. [pdf]

Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century
(Cambridge University Press, 2020)

Praise for Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century

“Global Governance is a book of exceptional breadth and vision, written for an unprecedented period in the historical evolution of humankind.  Defying the cynicism and myopia that often define the political culture of our times, it dares to state the obvious truth that global interdependence is an inescapable reality, and that far from naïve idealism, building effective global institutions in the 21st century is a matter of survival for our species.”

Payam Akhavan, Professor of International Law, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

“Lopez-Claros, Dahl and Groff propose radical reforms to the charter that authorizes and rules the United Nations, and other methods of improving the current muddled state of global governance. Their case is persuasive. This book’s trenchant analysis of what ails the running of the globe should be read by policymakers everywhere, and certainly by those many citizens who concern themselves with fostering a better and more functional world. Change comes slowly, but this book is a prodding catalyst.”

Robert I. Rotberg, Harvard Kennedy School, author of On Governance

“The bold idealism championed by Lopez-Claros, Dahl and Groff is just what the planet needs, with not a moment to lose if we are to halt and reverse the trajectory of imminent disaster on which we have set ourselves. As a former Ambassador to the United Nations with first-hand experience on the UN Security Council, I applaud the vision laid out for transformational change grounded in past institutional experience.”

Amanda Ellis, Executive Director Hawaii & Asia-Pacific Arizona State University, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability

“In this outstanding volume, Lopez-Claros, Dahl and Groff document the existential challenges facing our global institutions, from environmental decline and the failure of existing international security mechanisms to mass population flows and the crisis of sovereignty and civil society engagement. The resulting landscape might seem hopeless and overwhelming, if not for the authors’ innovative, wide-ranging and thought-provoking recommendations for reshaping existing institutions to expand their relevance and effectiveness. Their ideas for updating our decades old structures include creating an international peace force, ratifying a United Nations Bill of Rights, reforming the U.N. Security Council and International Monetary Fund, establishing a civil society chamber, and beyond. Readers may not endorse every one of their suggestions, but they are invited into a fascinating game of “what if” and “why not?” It is an invitation that should not be missed.”

Ambassador Donald Steinberg, Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies

“This volume makes a powerful call for action to transform the international institutions that govern human affairs. Grounded in rigorous historical exploration, it offers a vision for collective courage to change what we can and reimagine what we consider outmoded and inadequate. This is the blueprint for a new global architecture.”

Maria Ivanova, Associate Professor of Global Governance and Director of Center for Governance and Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Boston

“This path-breaking work provides important insights for practitioners and scholars struggling to understand the economic, political, and scientific forces roiling the world. As humanity seeks ways, well beyond the traditional controls available to individual nation states, to manage problems which pose enormous risks as well as rich opportunities, this book points in promising directions.”

Dan Sarooshi QC, Professor of Public International Law, Faculty of Law and the Queen’s College, University of Oxford; and Essex Court Chambers, London

Equality for Women = Prosperity for All

Gender discrimination is often seen from a human rights perspective; it is a violation of women’s basic human rights, as embedded in the Universal Declaration, the UN Charter and other such founding documents. More recently we have also come to realize that gender discrimination has no basis on any credible system of moral and ethical principles and philosophy and that it undermines human prosperity and equity. It is a terrible foundation for allocating resources and creating wealth and opportunity. Why is gender inequality so pervasive? Where does it come from? Does it have cultural and religious roots? Has the world paid a heavy price over the past several hundred years for the overwhelming domination by men of government and the political process? Is gender equality a prerequisite for a more peaceful world? And what are the sorts of policies and values that will deliver a world in which being born a boy or a girl is no longer a measure of the likelihood of developing one’s human potential? A look at some of these and other such difficult questions.

Praise for Equality for Women = Prosperity for All

“The authors of Equality for Women=Prosperity for All expose the economic wastefulness of gender inequity.” “This is an ideal book for policymakers who need to understand the broader picture of gender inequality and its impact. The authors use clear and expressive language, peppering the text with examples and cases from around the world. For individuals who may not have experience applying a gender lens to development issues, this book provides insights into the many ways that the oppression of women is tied to economic stagnation and too often shielded from policy interventions by arguments of national or cultural sovereignty.”

– Excerpted from Domesticity’s Gross Product, a review published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Alyson Colón, Associate Director at the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE)
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

“A compelling and often disturbing read by two authors well read in other social sciences, religion and history – and with a fluid command of the pen. The chapter on violence against women is gripping and disturbing, its commonality amply documented. Do not overlook the chapter on culture, with its argument that incentives are what matter, and its thorough rejection of doctrinal beliefs as legitimate “cultural” traditions – a message for the Taliban and the Pope as well.”

Nancy Birdsall, founding President of the Center for Global Development and former executive vice-president of the Inter-American Development Bank

“Based on solid research and current data, the authors speak to the hearts as well as minds to all readers who are determined to find an antidote against this virus and bring an end to an egregious breach of human rights.”

Maud de Boer Buquicchio, UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Former Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

“The authors of Equality for Women=Prosperity for All offer a refreshing look at gender inequality, a subject rendered all the more painful for being both entrenched in society and exhausted by analysis over the past decades. Their unique combination of economics and literature, of a deep commitment to feminism and an extensive grasp of global politics succeeds in looking at gender relations from an unconventional perspective, and in a language that is exceptionally transparent.”

Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Chair The Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University, Israel Vice-President: UN CEDAW Experts Committee

“The authors of Equality for Women = Prosperity for All provide fresh insights into a systemic problem expected to have been solved many years ago. Yet gender inequality remains pervasive, despite economic arguments that prove it inefficient. This is a wonderfully compelling book, combining as it does a breadth and depth of relevant statistical data with unique insights and stories that bring the subject matter to life. Beautifully written – I literally couldn’t put it down!”

Amanda Ellis, New Zealand Ambassador, Geneva, Switzerland

“Equality for Women = Prosperity for All is a captivating read. It shines a spotlight on the discrimination and injustice that keep women and girls in the shadows of society; it shows the links between gender stereotyping and oppression, between domestic violence and political instability. It highlights how the costs of gender inequality are borne not only by the individual but by society as a whole.”

Veronika Bard, Swedish Ambassador, Geneva, Switzerland

“Lopez-Claros and Nakhjavani’s book Equality for Women is not only timely but profoundly important: its clarity and accessibility clearly sets out the reasons we simply cannot afford gender inequality to continue – at any level or on any analysis. The book’s wide-ranging subjects convincingly make the case that gender inequality has and continues to cost the world too much: from the pandemic of violence against women and girls to religious and cultural totalitarianism, Equality for Women provides statistics and examples from every corner of the globe, it is truly a tour de force for anyone, not just scholars in the field, and a must-read.”

Jackie Jones, Professor of Feminist Legal Studies, Department of Law
University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

“This book on the economic dimensions of gender inequality is full of insights on different cultures, on their selectivity in relation to women’s rights and on the terrible consequences of gender inequality which result across the world. It is a thought-provoking analysis of how such inequality impacts every aspect of politics and society, whether at home, in the workplace, within particular countries or internationally.”

Rt Hon Baroness Lindsay Northover, Member of the House of Lords, Former Minister in the Department for International Development, UK