The collapse of global trade and implications for developing regions
Global trade in goods and services tumbled in 2020
International trade sputtered to a halt in the first half of 2020, as the novel coronavirus pandemic prompted widespread lockdowns, curtailed factory output, disrupted transportation and depressed demand. Global merchandise trade shrank by 3 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (figure 1). Compared with the preceding quarter, trade volume shrank by 2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. Global services exports fell harder, by 7.6 per cent year-on-year in the same period and contracted by 7.3 per cent compared…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: September 2020 Briefing, No. 141
COVID-19 has been a tragedy, killing more than 775,000 people globally and directly impacting life and health, with over 21 million confirmed cases. The various containment measures are affecting hundreds of millions of people and their livelihoods. The aggregate effect at the national and global levels will persist for a long time.
COVID-19, and the measures to control it, has significantly slowed economic growth, increased unemployment, worsened inequality, and raised poverty and hunger in many countries around the world. The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2020 projected that the global economy will shrink by 3.2 per cent in 2020. The projected cumulative output losses…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #84: Achieving SDGs in the wake of COVID-19: Scenarios for policymakers
CDP Policy Review No. 10
By Daniel Gay and Kevin Gallagher
Bangladesh is one of the most successful least developed countries (LDCs). The country has made such strides that in 2021 the United Nations Committee for Development Policy will consider whether it should graduate out of the LDC category altogether. Like few others, Bangladesh took advantage of WTO flexibilities to build a vibrant pharmaceuticals industry that not only provides needed industrialization and employment but also gives access to essential medicines to millions of Bangladeshis as well as people in other developing countries and LDCs. LDC graduation would bring a loss of WTO exceptions, particularly in the intellectual…
The need to extend the WTO TRIPS pharmaceuticals transition period for LDCs in the COVID-19 era: Evidence from Bangladesh
When world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, they committed to a shared vision to set the world on a sustainable path for people, planet, peace, partnership and prosperity. Almost one third of the way into the journey, at the SDG Summit held in September 2019, Member States recognized that global efforts were coming up short to deliver that transformational shift by 2030 and a renewed international commitment was needed to fulfill the promise to present and future generations. The year 2020 kickstarts the Decade of Action?a reaffirmation of the global commitment through accelerated efforts and sustainable solutions to the world?s biggest challenges,…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #81: Impact of COVID-19 on SDG progress: a statistical perspective
Varying impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour markets of developed countries
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting severe restrictions on economic and social activities had a profoundly disruptive impact on labour markets in virtually every part of the world, including in the OECD countries?the group mostly characterised by high-income, industrially-advanced and diversified economies, which includes, among others, the United States, CANZ group of countries, most of the European Union (EU) and Japan. The aggregate OECD unemployment rate stood at 5.2 per cent in February 2020, as several OECD member states entered 2020 with historically low unemployment figures, but…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: August 2020 Briefing, No. 140
Over the past months, COVID-19 has inflicted catastrophic damage on societies and economies, and exposed weaknesses in health systems worldwide. While the pandemic continues to unfold across the globe and infections are yet to reach a peak in certain regions, some countries are gradually starting to prepare for the easing of social and economic restrictions, and to plan for recovery. Amidst deliberations on priority areas for rebuilding, much attention has been paid to the need to strengthen domestic health care, and such proposals will certainly be high on the agenda for many Governments. The crisis, however, has also shone a spotlight on the shortcomings of the global health system. A…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #83: Recovering from COVID-19: the importance of investing in global public goods for health
Introduction
Social protection systems play a key role in preventing hardship when people face adverse circumstances. Many countries around the world have some social protection programmes in place. In 2017, 45 per cent of the global population were covered by at least one social protection programme (ILO, 2017). However, COVID-19 is testing the limits of these systems. Unprecedented numbers of people are suddenly facing unemployment, disease, poverty and hunger. This brief explores how social protection systems can be made to be more responsive to acute shocks and enable countries to recover better. Well-designed systems should be both resilient enough to withstand the shock and flexible…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #82: COVID-19 and a primer on shock-responsive social protection systems
COVID-19 has been a tragedy, killing more than half a million people and bringing the economy and life to a standstill in many parts of the world.It is directly impacting life and health, with more than ten million confirmed cases.The various containment measures are affecting hundreds of millions of people and their livelihoods.The aggregate effect at the national and global levels will persist for a long time.
COVID-19 has slowed economic growth, increased unemployment, and raised poverty and hunger.The global output is estimated to shrink by 5.2 per cent in 2020, with a downside estimate of about 8 per cent contraction should the lockdowns continue into the second half of the year.?The…
Sustainable Development Outlook 2020: Achieving SDGs in the wake of COVID-19: Scenarios for policymakers
The global COVID-19 pandemic is plunging the world into a socio-economic and financial crisis of an unprecedented scale, in addition to the acute health crisis. Many of the gains achieved under the banner of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are under threat. The crisis has exposed and exacerbated vulnerabilities and inequalities in both developing and developed countries, deepening poverty and exclusion and pushing the most vulnerable even further behind. This is a watershed moment. A sustainable, equitable and peaceful future hinges on the right national and international policy decisions. This policy note assembles analysis by members of the United Nations Committee for…
Development Policy and Multilateralism after COVID-19
CDP Background Paper No. 50
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. This is the third annual review by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) that provides a systematic content analysis of the VNRs presented to the HLPF. It includes a broader analysis than in the previous years, including a stock taking of lessons learned in the CDP analyses as well as related studies and makes recommendations for strengthening the VNR process. The paper also analyses the VNRs presented in 2019 with regard to how countries addressed the key principle of…
Voluntary National Reviews Reports: What do they (not) reveal?
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