Publications | Economic Analysis and Policy Division

Displaying 11 - 20 of 43

30 September 2019

2019 Reports of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly

Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries (A/74/264)
عربي, 中文, English, Français, Русский, Español Development cooperation with middle-income countries (A/74/269)
عربي, 中文, English, Français, Русский, Español

26 September 2019

Frontier Technology Quarterly: Frontier technologies for addressing plastic pollution

The severity of plastic pollution is now well-recognized, and countries and communities are looking for innovative solutions for addressing this menace of the modern age. This issue of the Frontier Technology Quarterly shows that new technologies such as nanotechnology, genetic modification and advanced chemical processes can help curb plastic pollution by developing natural substitutes and producing more biodegradable plastics. However, appropriate policies are needed to maximize the potential of new technologies for winning the fight against plastic pollution. Interventions at the production stage will have to be complemented by interventions at other stages of the plastics life cycle,… Frontier Technology Quarterly: Frontier technologies for addressing plastic pollution

05 September 2019

Improved assistance measures for graduated and graduating least developed countries for the achievement of agenda 2030

CDP Policy Review No. 9 By Ana L. Cortez LDC graduation has become an increasingly important issue in the international development agenda. Meeting graduation eligibility is a major goal of the Istanbul Plan of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade 2011-2020 (IPoA). But as countries? concerns about graduation persist, the potential for additional tension has widened, particularly now that an increasing number of LDCs approach graduation. Countries? reservations are centred on the potential negative impact that the withdrawal of LDC-specific measures can cause to their development and to the achievement of sustainable development goals as LDC-specific support is withdrawn… Improved assistance measures for graduated and graduating least developed countries for the achievement of agenda 2030

01 September 2019

World Economic Situation And Prospects: September 2019 Briefing, No. 130

Prolonged trade tensions exacerbating the cyclical slowdown in the global economy Global automobile production contracts amid higher tariffs and policy uncertainty Further easing of macroeconomic policies as external headwinds to growth rise English: PDF (168 kb) Global issue: Trade conflict a threat to global growth Trade tensions between China and the United States re-escalated in August, following the announcement by the United States that it will impose tariffs on a further $300 billion of Chinese imports. In retaliation, China introduced additional tariffs on $75 billion of imports from the United States. These developments triggered sharp movements in global equity markets, a… World Economic Situation And Prospects: September 2019 Briefing, No. 130

30 August 2019

For the least developed countries, revitalising multilateralism is life or death

Op-Ed by Daniel Gay and Kevin Gallagher Few would deny that the international system governing the environment and economy is under pressure. Globalisation itself is wobbling, to the chagrin of governments in rich and emerging economies. What's less talked about is the effect on the world's 47 least developed countries (LDCs), home to a billion people, a quarter of whom live in extreme poverty. The financial system has long been rusty. Criticism was again this year leveled at the selection process for the heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Developing-country voices called for an open and transparent process based on a pool of candidates drawn from all countries, rather… For the least developed countries, revitalising multilateralism is life or death

26 August 2019

No. 4: The inadequacy of mechanisms to help channel capital and know-how to SMEs

What is holding back the implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Insights from the CDP
by Kori Udovicki One factor holding back the implementation of the SDGs is the absence of better mechanisms to help channel globally available capital and know-how to support the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is well-known that SMEs are an important generator of employment and innovation, and significant efforts are invested in helping them overcome their limitations. However, as historically development has come through the conquest of technologies with ever-larger increasing returns to scale, SMEs have generally been only able to complement, rather than independently contribute… No. 4: The inadequacy of mechanisms to help channel capital and know-how to SMEs

07 August 2019

Project LINK Meeting Documents 2019

Glen Cove NY, 17-19 June Global Economic Outlook, June Agenda from the Project LINK Meeting LINK List of Participants LINK Report 2019 Presentations [accordion autoclose=false openfirst=true clicktoclose=true tag=h4]
[accordion-item title="Day 1" state=open] World Economic Prospects: Risks and Development Challenges World Economic Outlook: Growth Slowdown, Precarious Recovery World Economic Prospects: Heightened Tensions, Subdued Investment World Economic Prospects: Capital Economics The 2018-2019 World Economic Slowdown Accelerating Africa's Transformation to Unlock Africa's Potential Accelerating Africa's Transformation to Unlock Africa's Potential Part 2 Overcoming Development…

05 August 2019

No. 3: Insufficient attention to inequalities and participatory governance

What is holding back the implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Insights from the CDP
by Marc Fleurbaey The 2030 Agenda is an impressive wish list which covers all the main issues that need to be tackled in our time. In particular, it adds the crucial sustainability dimension to the poverty eradication goals of the millennium. But it is not sailing smoothly toward success and one can be pessimistic about many goals in the SDG list. For some, this is partly due to inertia. For instance, it takes time to build up school infrastructures and prop up enrollment in secondary education. But there is a deeper flaw in the SDG architecture. To understand the problem, I?d like to refer to the first… No. 3: Insufficient attention to inequalities and participatory governance

31 July 2019

World Economic Situation And Prospects: August 2019 Briefing, No. 129

Carbon pricing is a vital policy tool to address the unfolding climate crisis Amid rising global temperatures, drought forces Australia to import wheat for the first time in a decade Debt-for-climate swaps are an innovative?development financing instrument English: PDF (168 kb) Global issues: Climate risks and the case for internalizing the cost of CO2 emission The rationale for carbon pricing: changing decision-making amid an unfolding climate crisis Evidence such as historic temperature data indicates a worrying trend. In numerous countries and geographic areas, the hottest years over the last century have occurred in the last decade. At the global level, the past four years were the… World Economic Situation And Prospects: August 2019 Briefing, No. 129

12 July 2019

Voluntary National Reviews Reports - What do they (not) tell us?

CDP Background Paper No. 49 By CDP Subgroup on voluntary national reviews Voluntary national reviews (VNRs) are an important innovation as a United Nations process for follow up to the adoption of development agendas. The paper analyses how countries addressed two key cross-cutting issues of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the VNRs submitted in 2018: leaving no one behind; and pursuing global partnership as means of implementation as well as how they addressed Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education. While the VNRs contain already many interesting examples as basis for mutual learning and sharing of, the paper also identifies a need for more attention to these… Voluntary National Reviews Reports - What do they (not) tell us?