Basic needs and global models: resources, trade and distribution

This paper analyses both the basic assumptions and the results of the better known and widely used global models - specifically, the UN world model, the RIO (Reshaping the International Order) model and the Bariloche model - in relation to basic needs and to North-South interdependence. The rationale of the exercise is that these very assumptions underlie various development strategies and give legitimacy to competing claims on the world's resources. Even if some of the findings of the analysis are critical of the suitability of a particular model for the study of the questions posed, they serve a useful purpose in that they suggest what strategies and structures built into the model do not work. The paper ends by summarizing the conclusions and indicating their implications for policy as well as for further modelling work.