Publications | Economic Analysis and Policy Division

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01 November 2023

World Economic Situation and Prospects: November 2023 Briefing, No. 177

The revival and changing nature of industrial policy Industrial policies are gaining increasing relevance, becoming centrepieces of many government policy agendas. These policies aim at changing the structure or sectoral composition of the economy in line with strategic and medium-term goals, such as export diversification, technology upgrading and industrialisation. As such, industrial policies include a broad range of issues, including ?infant industry? support, science, technology and innovation (STI) policies, trade and foreign direct investments policies and intellectual property rights, public procurement policies, and policies shaping the allocation of financial resources (Chang,… World Economic Situation and Prospects: November 2023 Briefing, No. 177

02 October 2023

World Economic Situation and Prospects: October 2023 Briefing, No. 176

Labour markets in developed economies ? signs of stabilization? During the first three quarters of 2023, the state of labour markets in the developed economies continued to return to their pre-pandemic conditions, at least in terms of key headline indicators. The post-pandemic rebound in employment in these economies were quite swift, compared with the protracted labour market recovery that followed the global financial crisis of 2008?2009. Since early 2021, many developed economies, with the exception of the United Kingdom, saw a continuing decline in unemployment rates (figure?1), while the employment rates that reflect economic activity of the population reached historically high levels… World Economic Situation and Prospects: October 2023 Briefing, No. 176

12 September 2023

2023 Reports of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly

Development cooperation with middle-income countries (A/78/224)
中文, English, Français, Русский, Español Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries (A/78/506)
中文, English, Français, Русский, Español

08 September 2023

UN DESA Policy Brief Special Issue: Financing the Sustainable Development Goals through mission-oriented development banks

Special issue in collaboration with the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs Abstract There is an urgent need for channeling long-term risk-tolerant finance towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper argues that National Development Banks (NDBs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can play a crucial role in mobilizing the needed capital but only if an outcomes oriented ?mission-oriented? approach is adopted to galvanize, catalyze, and crowd in substantial global public and private finance (scaling it up from billions to trillions). Missions help transform broad SDG related challenges, like global health and climate change, into… UN DESA Policy Brief Special Issue: Financing the Sustainable Development Goals through mission-oriented development banks

05 September 2023

World Economic Situation and Prospects: September 2023 Briefing, No. 175

The need for energy transition Energy transition is at the core of fighting against climate change and achieving net-zero by 2050. It refers to the global energy sector?s shift from a fossil-fuels based energy system to one that is based on renewable sources such as solar and wind. It is a systemic change that involves a structural transformation in the production and consumption of energy. Therefore, it requires significant amounts of investment in energy transition technologies which includes power generation, storage and distribution, energy efficiency, electrified transport and district heat, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) (IRENA, 2023a). A truly net-zero economy also… World Economic Situation and Prospects: September 2023 Briefing, No. 175

01 August 2023

World Economic Situation and Prospects: August 2023 Briefing, No. 174

Recent trends in domestic food prices Food prices surged over the past few years owing to multiple shocks. Between 2019 and 2021, extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions derived from the pandemic drove up domestic food price inflation (measured as a component of the Consumer Price Index) in many countries. In 2022 domestic food inflation became more common across the world, reaching multi-decade highs in several countries amid the spillover effects of the war in Ukraine, higher international commodity prices and a surging US dollar. Headline inflation also rose significantly in most economies, in part due to the importance of food and energy in the consumption basket. While… World Economic Situation and Prospects: August 2023 Briefing, No. 174

24 July 2023

The raw reality of the growing (external) debt crisis: A call to action, by the CDP working group on external debt (CDP Background Paper No. 58)

This paper discusses the escalating external debt distress and financial constraints faced by many least developed countries (LDCs) and other developing countries, particularly in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates, high food and energy prices and currency depreciation. It stresses the importance of a comprehensive financing strategy to address the large scale of investment needs of developing countries. The paper underscores the urgent need for short-term solutions such as multilateral financing and debt renegotiation to tackle the current debt crisis, while simultaneously establishing long-term solutions to prevent future debt crises. It calls for improvements in… Download