G20 leaders made a number of commitments on trade in their London Communiqué. This column argues that the anti-protection pledge is more credible than the one agreed in the Washington Declaration. The commitment on the Doha Round, by contrast, was pitiful.

The G20 is an accomplishment beyond what many expected. This column argues, however, that G20 actions will not stop the recession and that the policy framework adopted is only a sketch. There is hard work ahead translating the G20 achievements into practical action. Communiqués are but a start, not a finish, of the process of true global cooperation.

Did the Summit succeed? This column argues that the G20 Summit is not the turning point, but it provides the strongest reason yet to be less pessimistic. The commitments may leave plenty of room for the devil to make mischief with, but it is hard to think what more the G20 could have done. Gordon Brown has pulled some large rabbits from his hat.

Did the Summit succeed? This column argues that, except for the promises of more resources for the IMF, the summit did not move the agenda forward. Doing more was probably impossible, but now national governments must do more at home, and very urgently. It would be a tragedy if the Summit outcome encouraged complacency.

The crisis, started by rich nations, is now harming developing nations. In this column, Alan Winters – one of the world’s leading trade and development economists and now chief economist of the UK’s Department for International Development – argues that Summit commitments show that development and developing countries are at the heart of G20 leaders’ vision for the twenty-first century.

The long awaited London Summit of G20 leaders took place on April 2. This column – written by a senior economist working within the UK government on the Summit – sets out the background, what was agreed, and what will happen as a result.

The global crisis has laid bare the inadequacies of the existing global financial architecture. Absent a grand bargain to address the need for major reforms, countries will resort to beggar-thy-neighbour policies. This column outlines a major package – including increased IMF lending, significant IMF governance reform, coordinated fiscal stimulus, and greater WTO discipline – that could meet the needs of both developed and developing economies. Negotiations should start at the London summit.

Announcement that the WTO talks will not be put back on track this year – despite the G20’s November 15th commitment to do so – is the first concrete demonstration of the G20’s ineffectiveness. This column argues that the G20 should undertake a “Plan B” on world trade to restore G20 creditability and shore-up support for the WTO.

Leaders of the G20 nations are meeting this weekend to discuss financial markets and the world economy. Announced just a few weeks ago, this summit is both very unprepared and very important. The world economy and world financial markets are in a delicate state. This eBook from VoxEU.org collects essays from some of the world's leading economists on what the G20 should do.

This column introduces a collection of essays by leading economists from around the world on what the G20 leaders should do this weekend. Four priorities are identified: nations should act quickly to strengthen and coordinate their firefighting responses; they should immediately reinforce the IMF’s ability to fire-fight the crisis as it spreads to emerging markets and vulnerable developing nations; they should 'above all, do no harm'. Finally, they should start 'thinking outside the box' when it comes to long-run fixes.