In an article published in Project Syndicate today, Prof. Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University and Hamid Rashid, Senior Advisor for Macroeconomic Policy in DPAD, discuss the recent spree of sovereign bond issues by a number of sub-Saharan economies and their impact on macroeconomic stability, long-term debt sustainability and development.

DESA/DPAD held an informal presentation of the work being done on the statistical issues to be considered in choosing a new set of indicators to follow the Millenium Development Goals. The work, which represents the collective thinking of over 50 UN entities, presents the lessons learned from the MDG process, the guiding principles and the best practices that can serve to develop the indicators for a new development agenda.

Dr. Eduardo Zepeda Miramontes, Intra-regional Policy Coordinator in DPAD/DESA, will present his study on "Inclusive Development Policy in India: Evaluating the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme" on Wednesday, June 19th at 3 pm in S-1518. This presentation is part of the Development Policy Seminar series sponsored by the Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit of DPAD.

The World economic situation and prospects as of mid-2013 was launched today by ASG for Economic Development Shamshad Akhtar, DPAD Acting Director Pingfan Hong and Economic Affairs Officer Ingo Pitterle. According to the report, global growth will remain subdued in 2013 despite improved financial conditions and reduced short-term risks.

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On 7-10 May 2013 in Tegucigalpa, DPAD, in collaboration with UNDP-Honduras provided practical training for government experts in the use of modeling tools needed for development policy analysis and methods for assessing human development strategies aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

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Marco V. Sánchez, Economic Affairs Officer in the Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit of DPAD, presented a background paper, co-written with Martin Cicowiez, at the Development Policy Seminar held on April 23. The presentation focused on the drivers of potential, medium- to long-run economic gains from past human development investments in pursuance of the MDGs. These gains have been quantified through policy analyses, drawing on a computable general equilibrium model for four developing countries: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Uganda and Yemen.

The global partnership for development, as crystallized in Millennium Development Goal 8, has played a crucial role in galvanizing international support for development. Given the global challenges at hand there is an urgent need for true collective action from all countries to create an enabling environment for development at all levels. A renewed global partnership for development, which is broader in scope and deeper than the current one, is needed to underpin any post-2015 development agenda.

The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, presented the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013 (WESP) report in a briefing to a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) today in New York. The report outlines the state of the world economy, the issues that are restraining global growth and the policy challenges that will need to be overcome to move towards a sustainable growth path.

“Will the Poor be ‘Always With Us’? Global Growth, Distribution and the Prospects for Poverty Eradication in a Carbon-Constrained World” presented by David Woodward on Tuesday, 19 February 2013, 10.30 to 12:30 a.m. 27th floor Conference Room in the Secretariat building (S-2725BR). David Woodward is currently an independent writer and researcher, based in the Netherlands.

On 22-25 January 2013 in Managua, DPAD provided practical training for government experts on the use of modelling tools needed to evaluate policies and strategies, including spending and financing options for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the effect of external shocks on the economy and the MDGs. The workshop is the latest in a series of activities conducted in Nicaragua under the project "Strengthening Macroeconomic and Social Policy Coherence through Integrated Macro-Micro Modelling".