Group of 30 (G-30): Meaning, History, Qualifications

What Is the Group of 30 (G-30)?

The Group of 30, generally abbreviated to G-30, is a private, nonprofit international body composed of academic economists, company chiefs, and representatives of national, regional, and central banks. G-30 members meet twice a year to discuss and better understand financial and economic issues in the private and public sectors worldwide.

Understanding the Group of 30 (G-30)

The G-30 claims its mission is to "deepen understanding of global economic and financial issues and to explore the international repercussions of decisions taken in the public and private sectors."

It sets out to achieve this by meeting twice yearly in various locations, even virtually. Topics that often come up include foreign exchange, capital markets, central banks, and macroeconomic issues, such as global production and labor.

The events hosted by the G-30 are invitation-only, meaning that regular members of the public are not able to attend them. However, the group has made it possible to download its publications and research for free from its website.

Often, the G-30 reports generate little interest from the public due to their technical nature. That said, some of its findings have had a significant impact, including a paper it released on derivatives.

At the time, many people were skeptical of derivatives, citing a lack of understanding and the complexity of financial securities, such as forwards, futures, options, swaps, and other similar market contracts that derive their value from an underlying asset.

History of the Group of 30 (G-30)

The G-30 was founded in 1978 by Geoffrey Bell under the directive and initial funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. Before the existence of the G-30, similar aims in understanding economic issues and crises were sought by an organization called the Bellagio Group.

The Bellagio Group, formed by Austrian economist Fritz Machlup, first met in the early 1960s to address international currency issues and the balance of payments (BOP) crisis facing the United States.

The G-30's first chair was Johannes Witteveen, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As of 2023, the current chair of the G-30 is Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England.

Qualifications for the Group of 30 (G-30)

The international body's present and alumni members list reads like a who's who of international finance. Members come from worldwide and are known for holding leadership positions in the public and private sectors. The majority of participants formerly held senior positions in central banking, while many still do.

Current members include Paul Krugman, economist and opinion writer for the New York Times; Jean-Claude Trichet, a former president of the European Central Bank (ECB); Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England (BoE), and William Dudley, a senior research scholar for economic policy studies at Princeton University, who until 2018 was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Bottom Line

The G-30 is a group of individuals from various backgrounds who seek to understand the economic and financial climate of the world and how policies impact nations and people. The group publishes its research and findings for all to share.