PGP Term IV/V Elective Course

“Global Commons Negotiations and Business in Network

Technologies”
Faculty: Prof A Damodaran

Course Outline

3 Credits

Context, Objectives and Scope

In the preceding 5 years the Course was offered under the title “Économics of Global
Commons and Sustainable Development (EGCSD). The title of the Course has been
reformulated keeping in view the growing special emphasis of the course on global
commons negotiations and on distributed networking technologies. By global commons
problems of a global nature such as threats to global peace, climate change and
biodiversity loss. By Network technologies is meant blockchains IIoT.

The course deals with global commons economics, the negotiations strategies adopted
in UN forums as well as in the Trump-Kim Jon Yun bilateral talks) and the potential
use of distributed network technology business models to address the problems of global
commons. Game theory is an essential element of the negotiations exercise.

The context of this course has been the changing landscape of global commons in the
past few years and the astonishing importance that distributed network based
technologies {like Blockchains (linked to cryptocurrencies) , IoT and AI and associated
IPRs} have assumed as business propositions in recent years. The argument is that by
nature of their global spread distributed network based technologies like Blockchains,
IoT and AI are global commons as much are Climate, Biodiversity, peace, commodity
price volatility.

Thus distributed technologies (including their products like cryptocurrencies and

tokens) have their own economic logic . They while by being Global Commons can be
employed to solve the problems of unfavorable global commons like climate change,
wars and biodiversity loss, agricultural commodity price fluctuations if well approached
and employed by members of the UN Conventions concerned through skillful inter-
country negotiations.

Consequently the course emphasizes the importance of learners understanding the

nuances of inter-country negotiations in the United Nations through an experiential
1
exercise as well as understanding business models of distributed network technologies
that can create enterprises around these technologies and deploy them to address the
problems of climate change , global insecurity and biodiversity loss.

In short, this course seeks to expose participants to the game theoretic foundations of
the economics and institutional dimensions of global commons like distributed network
technologies, cryptocurrencies , climate change, biodiversity and digital financial
technologies. Participants will be exposed to IPRs, technology transfer regimes and
multilateral negotiations processes held in UN forums. An experiential global commons
negotiations exercise is an essential element of the course as was the case with the
former EGCSD course.

Following would be the key take away(s) :

 Clear understanding of the concept and forms of Global Commons
 Game theoretic frameworks in International Negotiations as applied to the
Trump-Kim Jon Yun Negotiations on Korean Peninsula Crisis
 Exposure to the law, policy and economics of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
 Exposure to experiential inter-country and multilateral negotiation exercise
involving an IPR Treaty administered by WIPO. The WIPO is a specialized
agency of the United Nations (UN).
 Economics of Cryptocurrencies and Distributed Network Technologies like
Blockchains , IoT and AI
 Business Models underlying Blockchains , IoT and AI enterprises
 Exposure to Mechanisms set up to facilitate transfer of technologies protected by
IPRs to needy countries/companies that desire to contribute to the protection of
global commons. This includes the operations of the World Bank, Asian
Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF). Exposure to practices that facilitate technology transfer,
absorption and commercialization.
 Exposure to United Nations (UN) systems and international diplomacy

Course Structure
As with the EGCSD , this course is organized around 7 modules. Three Modules will be
covered upto Mid Term and will be evaluated through an open book mid-term quiz. The
post mid-term modules are experiential based as it involves an actual instance of
international negotiations by students that simulates UN negotiations. This will be
followed by an End Term Quiz

Entry Requirement
Successful completion of PGP Core Course in Micro/ Managerial economics or
Equivalent Entry Level Course in Managerial Economics

Attendance

2
As per IIMB norms

Pedagogy
Lectures by the Instructor with one or two special lectures by Experts. Last year the
expert talk on negotiations was delivered by Prof Lawrence Susskind of MIT,USA.

PPTs will be provided by the instructor for all modules to cover readings.

Essential Readings
Apart from materials to be provided by the Instructor in the form of PPTs for readings
indicated. The following essential readings that cut across the five modules are
recommended:

 Damodaran, A. (2010): Encircling the Seamless; India, Climate Change and

Global Commons, Oxford University Press, 2010.

 Susskind, Lawrence (2014): Good for You, Great for Me: Finding the Trading

Zone and Winning at Win-Win Negotiation, Public Affairs, New York . 

 WIPO (2008): WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook, 489 (E), ISBN 978-92-
805-1291-5. Second Edition, Geneva (downloadable from website with prior
permission)

Evaluation

 Pre-Mid Term Quiz (20%) (Modules 1 & 2)

 Diplomat’s Memo submission (Group effort) (15% )
 Inter-country Negotiations exercise simulating a UN forum including (Group
effort 10% + Individual performance 15% = 25%)
 End Term Quiz (40%)

Overall weight for group effort is 25%

Quizzes are open book Exam based

Notes on Negotiations Exercise

Participants will form groups, each group representing a country. Evaluation will have a
group and individual components. The negotiation exercise will have individual and
group components (15% and 10% respectively). The diplomatic memo will be group
effort and will be evaluated accordingly. Participants will be grouped into countries and
3
required to work on a pre-negotiating document (to be provided by the instructor) with
a view to arriving at an agreed text, through games of negotiations strategy involving
coalition formation, break away groups and working for consensus. The group level
negotiations exercise will simulate a UN negotiation forum

Notes on Module wise Evaluation

Modules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 will be covered by the end term exam. Modules 5 and 6 will be
evaluated based on individual and group based performance in the Inter country
Negotiations Exercise.

The ‘Detailed Guidelines on Negotiation Process and Evaluation process’ will be

provided which will carry detailed instructions on the Negotiations Module.

4
Session Wise break up of Topics/ Modules

Sessions Module Topics/ Readings

- Changing definition of Global Commons and
theoretical premises of Global Commons
- Overcoming Global Insecurity: Case of Kim
Jong Un
(Module 1)
- Intellectual Property Rights – PPTs: To be
Political Economy of
provided by Instructor
1 to 3 Global Commons and
Optional Reading
Intellectual Property
Chapters 1 and 2 of Nick Hanley, Jason F Shogren
and Ben White (1997): Environmental Economics
in Theory and Practice, Macmillan India Ltd,
Delhi.

The objective of this module is to introduce

(Module 2) fundamentals of Block Chains, IoT, AI and
Network Technologies & Cryptocurrency economics) and expose participants
4 to 9
associated Business to business models associated with these technologies
Models
Materials: To be provided by the Instructor
The focus of this Module is on the following tools
proposed to finance global commons :
 Technology Transfer and Absorption
 Mobilizing Financial Resources through
(Module 3) Market Based Instruments such as Pigovian/
Tobin fees, taxes, Emission Fees and
10 to 13
New Age Global Commons Marketable Permits and Futures and Spot
Technologies Markets and Off Sets

Materials: To be provided by the Instructor

5
 Focus on Introduction to Negotiations process and
game theoretic approaches in Inter
country/international negotiations including Game
theory Approaches / Summit Diplomacy: Trump-Kim
(Module 4) Meet at Singapore June 2018
14 to
The Art and Game of
15
International Negotiations Materials: To be provided by the Instructor

Guest Lecture by Prof Lawrence Susskind, MIT

(Modules 5-6) Activities include

Actual Negotiations
Exercise by Class
16 -18 (Day 1 Mock Exercise),
the following week
(Actual Negotiations
spread over two class
hours )
Mock Class Exercise : ‘Negotiating UN Resolution on
North Korea’
-Actual Negotiations: Case of a Multilateral Treaty
on Protection of Appellations of Origin and their
International Registration as negotiations Text for
Class room exercise –Evaluation will be concurrent
and based on the performance in the Negotiation
exercise

Materials : To be provided by the Instructor

Case of the UN and the World Bank

Materials: To be provided by Instructor

(Module 7)
Other Readings:
Global Conventions Chapters 11 and 12 of Damodaran A (2010):
19-20 Institutions and ‘Encircling the Seamless; India, Climate Change and
Governance Global Commons”, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Second Expert Lecture by a Diplomat

----------------