Kunibert Raffer

Professor Kunibert Raffer is one of the most senior development researchers in Europe. His main contributions are on international economic relations, and the problems of unequal exchange.

His articles on Chapter 11 of US Title 11 (Bankruptcy) in the context of the problem of sovereignty created a veritable flood of international reactions.

In 1987 Raffer proposed to internationalise the basic features of the US Chapter 9, maintaining that its essential points can be applied to sovereign borrowers immediately and without problems.

The reactions included:

a) Academic Literature

Among the publications discussing Raffer's model (mostly referring to his 1990 paper published in World Development) are:

Eichengreen, Barry (1999) Toward a New International Financial Architecture: A Practical Post-Asia Agenda, Institute for International Economics: Washington DC

Rogoff, Kenneth (1999) "Global Financial Instability: Framework, Events, Issues", The Journal of Economic Perspectives 13(4), pp.21ff

Dabrowski, Martin , Rolf Eschenburg & Karl Gabriel (Hg) (2000) Lösungsstrategien zur Überwindung der Internationalen Schuldenkrise (Volkswirtschaftliche Schriften, Heft 509), Duncker & Humblot: Berlin

Rogoff, Kenneth & Jeromin Zettelmeyer (2002) "Bankruptcy Procedures for Sovereigns: A History of Ideas, 1976–2001", IMF Staff Papers 49(3), pp.470ff

Martin Dabrowski, Andreas Fisch, Karl Gabriel & Christoph Lienkamp (Hg) (2003) Die Diskussion um ein Insolvenzrecht für Staaten, Bewertungen eines Lösungsvorschlages zur Überwindung der Internationalen Schuldenkrise, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin

P.K. Rao (2003) Development Finance, Springer, Berlin etc.

b) Parliaments:

In 1990 Raffer's proposal and a second (legal) expertise were submitted to the Bundesrat by Swiss NGOs.

The German Bundestag took it up repeatedly.

Raffers 1997 memorandum on the IMF and debt management, submitted to the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons was published as Appendix 12 in its Fourth Report, International Monetary Fund.

Raffers was given the opportunity to discuss his ideas with Members of the European Parliament on 7 December 2005 as a guest speaker at the Workshop on the IMF in Brussels, and on 9 June 1992 at a Roundtable with MPs on international insolvency at Strasbourg.

In the US, Raffers proposal was incorporated into the "Global Development Resolution", initiated by Rep. B. Sanders ( for the 106th Congress, 1st Session).

Other legislative assemblies, reaciting to Raffers proposals, were the Argentine Parliament, Buenos Aires, the Uruguayan Parliament (Palacio Legislativo), the Indonesian Parliament, Jakarta.

c) UN/G7

On 18 March 1999, Raffer was invited to present his ideas at a consultative meeting between the international Jubilee 2000 campaign, representatives of the G-7 governments and the Bretton Woods institutions on developing country debts in London.

Hearings at the level of the UN include:

Civil Society Hearings of the Initiative Financing for Development, UN, New York (6-7 November 2000

26 September 2002 Conference "Towards a Fair and Orderly Resolution to Debt Crises - A Conference to replace the Paris Club 'approach' with a formal mechanism for restructuring developing countries debt" in the IMF Center-Auditorium, Washington DC

11 November 2003 " Restructuring of Sovereign Debt – Where Does the Discussion Stand Today?", at at the UNCTAD's Fourth Inter-regional Debt Management Conference, Geneva; and others

d) Civil Society

Many NGOs, especially the Jubilee movement have taken up Raffers proposals. Quite often the formulation Fair and Transparent Process of Arbitration (FTAP) has been used recently to avoid the word insolvency, especially by Southern NGOs.

(based on data, presented by Professor Kunibert Raffer at his website http://homepage.univie.ac.at/kunibert.raffer/)

CV

Associate Professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Vienna1979-80 and 1983-84 consultant to UNIDO

1986-89 visiting lecturer and visiting professor, University of Klagenfurt1989 Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex [academic sponsor: Sir Hans (H.W.) Singer]

1990-93 Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Commerce, University of Birmingham (UK)

1998 participation in the UNDP's research project "International Development Cooperation and Global Public Goods"

Since 2002 Senior Associate of the New Economics Foundation, London (Think Tank of the Year 2002)

Winter Term 2002-03 Visiting Professor at the Centre for the Study of International Institutions (CSI), SOWI Faculty, University of Innsbruck

(source: Website Professor Raffer http://homepage.univie.ac.at/kunibert.raffer/)

10 Main publications (sorted by international library presence)

1. The economic North-South divide six decades of unequal development. Author: Raffer, Kunibert, 1951-; Singer, Hans Wolfgang, Publication: Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA, USA : Edward Elgar, 2001

2. The Soviet bloc and the Third World :the political economy of East-South relations / Author: Schulz, Brigitte.; Hansen, William.Publication: Boulder : Westview Press, 1989

3. The foreign aid business :economic assistance and development co-operation / Author: Raffer, Kunibert, 1951-; Singer, H. W.Publication: Cheltenham, UK ; Brookfield, Vt., US : E. Elgar, 1996

4. The economic North-South divide :six decades of unequal development / Author: Raffer, Kunibert, 1951-; Singer, H. W.Publication: Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA, USA : Edward Elgar, 2001

5. Unequal exchange and the evolution of the world system :reconsidering the impact of trade on North-South relations / Author: Raffer, Kunibert, 1951-Publication: New York : St. Martin's Press, 1987

6. The political economy of globalization / Author: Gupta, Satya Dev.Publication: Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997

7. Trade, transfers, and development :problems and prospects for the twenty-first century / Author: Murshed, Syed Mansoob.; Raffer, Kunibert,Publication: Aldershot, Hants, England ; Brookfield, Vt., USA : E. Elgar Pub. Co., 1993

8. Sustainable development and good governance / Author: Ginther, Konrad.; Denters, Erik.Publication: Dordrecht ; Boston : M. Nijhoff ; Norwell, MA, U.S.A. : Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995

9. The Least developed and the oil-rich Arab countries :dependence, interdependence, or patronage? / Author: Raffer, Kunibert,; Salih, Mohamed Abdel Rahim M.Publication: New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 1992

10. The regulation of international financial markets perspectives for reform / Author: Grote, Rainer.; Marauhn, Thilo. Publication: Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006

Selection of important articles by or on Kunibert Raffer

1. Risks of Lending and Liability of Lenders Author: Raffer, Kunibert Source: Ethics & International Affairs 21, no. 1 (2007): 85-106 Libraries Worldwide: 510

2. The economic north-south divide: six decades of unequal development Author: Raffer, Kunibert; Singer, H. Source: Peace Research Abstracts 41, no. 3 (2004) Libraries Worldwide: 283

3. Las instituciones de Bretton Woods y las crisis monetarias y financieras Author: Raffer, Kunibert Source: Información comercial española. no. 816, (2004): 113 (16 pages) Libraries Worldwide: 29

4. The Global Crisis in Foreign Aid edited by Richard Grant and Jan Nijman Author: Raffer, Kunibert Source: The journal of development studies. 36, no. 4, (2000): 193 Libraries Worldwide: 752

5. The Future of Development Assistance: Common Pools and International Public Goods Author: Kanbur, Ravi; Sandler, Todd; Morrison, Kevin M, and others Source: The journal of development studies. 36, no. 4, (2000): 191 (2 pages) Libraries Worldwide: 752

6. The Foreign Aid Business: Economic Assistance and Development Co-operation Author: Raffer, Kunibert; Singer, H W; McGillivray, Mark Source: The journal of development studies. 34, no. 5, (1998): 162 (2 pages) Libraries Worldwide: 752

7. Co-operation Author: Raffer, Kunibert; Singer, HW; The, Foreign Aid Business Economic Assistance and Development, and others Source: Development policy review : the journal of the Overseas Development Institute. 15, no. 3, (1997): 333 (1 pages) Libraries Worldwide: 369

Further important writings 2004 to 2007 (from GBV catalogue)

1. Proposing built-in stabilisers for the international financial system / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: The regulation of international financial markets (2006), S.296-315

2. Debt work-out mechanisms : debt arbitration / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: The Millennium Development Goals (2005), S.156-180

3. Reinforcing divergence between North and South : unequal exchange and the WTO framework / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, ISSN 0258-2384, Bd. 21 (2005), 4, S.6-24

4. Sir Hans Singer : advocating a fair distribution of fruits of progress / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: The pioneers of development economics (2005), S.209-225

5. Multilateral debt management and the poor / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: Global development and poverty reduction (2005), S.179-196

6. The Third World's debt problem / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: John Kenneth Galbraith and the future of economics (2005), S.214-229

7. The economic North-South divide : six decades of unequal development / / Raffer, Kunibert. - Paperback ed., repr. - Cheltenham [u.a.] : Elgar, 2004

8. Las instituciones de Bretton Woods y las crisis monetarias financieras / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: Información comercial española, ISSN 0019-977x (2004), S.113-128

9. Applying musgrave's branches of government expenditures to ODA : tentative estimates / / Raffer, Kunibert. - In: Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, ISSN 0258-2384, Bd. 20 (2004), 1, S.104-118

Author's homepage:

http://homepage.univie.ac.at/kunibert.raffer/