The international public good concept has become central to the debate on economic development in international fora, in particular, when addressing the many challenges arising from the intensified international interdependence, and poverty eradication efforts in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.

Despite the body of research done in this field so far, a substantial gap still exists in the understanding of the role of international public goods in economic development and the need for a specific international public goods provision in the present global setting. Worries center on the fact that the real concerns and priorities of developing countries are not sufficiently taken into account in this debate.

The Conference on International Public Goods for Economic Development is a contribution to better understand the role of international public goods in economic development and the modalities of their provision in the present global environment. Besides, it seeks to move beyond the present state of affairs so as to identify those international public goods that are most relevant for reaching economic development in developing countries but are short in supply, thus affecting the speed and quality of those countries' economic development.

This Conference will bring together a group of policymakers, scholars, and specialists in economic development, who will contribute to the ultimate goal of the conference, namely, to identify concrete proposals and recommendations for policymaking at the national, regional and international levels, aiming to correct the undersupply of specific International Public Goods, and focusing especially on the role of the multilateral system in the provision of public goods.