These ideas continue the search for an automatic source of revenue but they require a level of international agreement which seems un negotiable in present conditions. All these proposals, to differing degrees, involve supranational institution building. These include the initial international agreement to impose the charge and a forum for negotiating the coverage of the scheme, including penalties for evasion, and for amending its parameters as necessary in the light of experience. For most of the proposals, machinery for collecting the proceeds from national agencies and distributing them to international bodies would rely heavily on the co operation of national authorities. It is possible that there would be less objection to the IDA, which is more tightly controlled by the G 7 countries through votes in the World Bank.
Conclusions There is little to show so far for fifteen years of debate.
But this is not surprising. They are also the countries where vested interests would be most adversely affected. In many of them, such as the United States, distrust of public sector and multilateral intervention is widespread. The potential beneficiaries, for various reasons, have not progressed far beyond rhetoric. As a result, despite much activity by international secretariats and outside experts, no nation or group of nations has made concrete proposals for action, in an appropriate forum with powerto carrythe action forward.