In drawing the most relevant lessons for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the World Economic and Social Survey 2017 systematically reviews the seven decades of development discussions contained in the publication ? the oldest continuous publication of its kind. Since its inception in 1947 and before the publication of the World Bank?s first World Development Report in 1978, the Survey had been the only publication that produced annual reporting and analyses of the global economic trends and their development implications. As such, the Survey has documented a wealth of development experiences across the different phases of global economic development (see Figure 1).…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #51: Reflecting on the World Economic and Social Survey's 70 years of development policy analysis
Since 1947 the World Economic and Social Survey has promoted a broader understanding of development, emphasizing the importance of advancing the structural transformation of the economy, progress in social development and environmental sustainability. This year?s edition, Reflecting on 70 years of development policy analysis, shows that many parallels can be drawn between the challenges currently facing the international community and those that confronted the world in the past. These lessons from the past are relevant to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In particular, the Survey highlights the importance of a stable global economy supported by coordinated…
World Economic and Social Survey 2017: Reflecting on 70 years of development policy analysis
Summary: Productivity growth has slowed down markedly since the global financial crisis. Many factors have been proposed as underlying forces behind this phenomenon, including a slower pace of technological progress and the role of weak demand and lower capital investment. However, one factor that has received relatively less attention is the slowdown in international trade. By exploiting the firm heterogeneity dimension, recent advances in the literature on international trade offer interesting insights to understand the relationship between the weaknesses in global trade and the deceleration in productivity growth. In particular, it shows how trade, investment and technology decisions at…
Development Issues No. 11: The Slowdown in Productivity Growth: A View from International Trade
Summary: Achieving the SDGs requires an enhanced global part?nership for the mobilization of financial resources. Long-term financial flows, such as remittances, FDI and ODA, can support investments that are critical for productive employment and growth in developing countries. A review of recent trends suggests the need for a renewed commitment and enhanced efforts by the international community to support financing for sustainable development. It also points out at potential risks of debt sustainability for a few developed and some emerging economies.
The Development Policy and Analysis Division at DESA has prepared a series of policy notes to review current trends in the global economy…
Development Issues No. 10: International financial flows and external debt
Summary: Developed countries? economic performance since the global financial crisis has been disappointing, with subdued growth, weak labour markets, low levels of investment and poor productivity growth. This combination of poor performance and constrained policy options has ignited a debate over the fundamental causes of what some call is a ?secular stagnation? in developed economies. Averting a secular stagnation scenario, with negative long term impacts over the possibility of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, will require policies that address the short-and long-term factors behind the underlying savings-investment imbalance.
The Development Policy and Analysis Division at…
Development Issues No. 9: Low growth with limited policy options? Secular Stagnation ? Causes, Consequences and Cures
Summary: As indicated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, sustained economic growth will continue to be an important objective in developing countries, especially in those where extreme poverty is widespread and income per capita remains low. This has been, however, a major challenge for many developing countries, with the exception of the first years of the 21st century, up to the financial crisis in 2008. Since then, the global economy has remained on a markedly lower trajectory and the situation has progressively deteriorated for developing countries. More than ever, developing countries need to design a policy framework to strengthen domestic fundamentals for growth and to…
Development Issues No. 8: Global context for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Sustained global economic growth
Summary: The global economy remains trapped in prolonged episode of slow growth, of which weak international trade is both a cause and a symptom. While developing countries have become more integrated and benefitted from international trade in recent years, this has also made them more vulnerable to a slowdown in global trade. Ensuring an enabling global environment for trade is thus critical for progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular given the risks associated with protectionism and inward-looking policies, which is on the rise in many countries.
The Development Policy and Analysis Division at DESA, has prepared a series of policy notes to review current trends…
Development Issues No. 7: Global context for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: International trade
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