762 



These problems of multinational cooperation are 

 real, but the scale of existing cooperation and the evident 

 success of many projects demonstrates that the problems can 

 be dealt v/ith, or at least need not over-balance the benefits 

 that are achievable. In fact, learning how to ameliorate the 

 problems should make succeeding pro.jects easier. 



It is also necessary to distinguish among various 

 forms of cooperation - bilateral, trilateral, or those involving 

 numbers of countries; whether nations manage the cooperation 

 themselves or place management in the hands of an international 

 organisation of some kind; whether the cooperation is formal 

 or informal; whether joint work is involved or simply exchange 

 of people or information; and other distinctions. The problems 

 and costs vary markedly depending on the nature of the cooperation, 



It should be noticed that the idea that cooperation, 

 any cooperation, is "good" is no longer a serious argument in 

 the technological maturity that characterizes most OECD 

 countries. Proposals for cooperation must be systematically 

 and hard-headedly evaluated as are any other proposals for 

 government activities and expenditures. Having said that, 

 it is also worth saying that the general value of increased 

 interaction and of appreciation of shared goals among OECD 

 countries may well be of growing importance in an era in which 

 disagreements, especially across the Atlantic, are in fact 

 politically serious. 



