Group of Seven

What’s the G7? An international economist explains

Emily J. Blanchard

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What’s the G7? An international economist explains

LIPS. Extinction Rebellion activists wearing masks depicting G7 leaders pose during a protest under a slogan 'All mouth no trousers' to highlight male-dominated G7 leadership, during the G7 summit, in St Ives, Cornwall, Britain, June 13, 2021.

Peter Nicholls/Reuters

'[T]hese seven wealthy nations form the foundation of the modern global economy'
as published bythe conversation

The Group of 7 is an informal group of seven powerful democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The presidents of the European Commission and European Council also attend G7 meetings because several of Europe’s largest countries are also members.

Membership, which is decided internally, hasn’t changed much since the group’s founding in 1975. At the time, it included only six countries, all of which still belong. Canada joined a year later. Russia joined as an eighth member in 1998, temporarily changing the group’s moniker to the G8, but Russia was ousted after it annexed Crimea in 2014.

Together, these seven wealthy nations form the foundation of the modern global economy and the cooperative rules-based system on which it is built.

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Why the G7 matters

The G7 countries make up about 40% of the world economy, down from nearly 70% a few decades ago.

Despite the decline, the economic might of G7 nations remains undeniable, not least due to their collective position as countries at the forefront of technological innovation and industrial know-how. Moreover, G7 economies are inextricably interwoven with global supply chains, which means that a policy change or economic shock in one G7 country will, for better or worse, have ripple effects across the globe.

Ultimately, the G7 may be the best hope for quick, decisive, and meaningful policy action on pressing global problems.

While the G7 doesn’t have the institutional clout of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, or NATO, it also doesn’t have their institutional red tape or bureaucracy.

And although the G7 is a subset of the ascendant G20 – which also includes rising economic powerhouses China, India, and Brazil – the G7 has another advantage: it’s much easier to achieve consensus in an intimate group of similar nations than it is to find common ground among diverse nations with very different economic and political priorities.

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What the G7 does

The world is facing profound challenges, from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change to authoritarianism and attacks on democracy.

None of these issues colors neatly within the lines of national borders. Countries need to cooperate to find solutions that do not simply kick the can to their neighbors.

An example of meaningful action by the G7 is its June 5, 2021, announcement of an agreement on global minimum corporate tax rates, which marked a watershed moment in international taxation. If successful, the agreement could mean the end of tax havens and a dramatic shift in how companies record their profits around the world. – The Conversation|Rappler.com

Emily J. Blanchard is an Associate Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College.

The Conversation

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