Diverging inflation rates suggest new risks
Global inflation trends
While an increasing number of countries are reopening their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospects of the world economy remain highly uncertain. One of the many uncertainties that the world economy is facing is the prospect of consumer prices.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world economy, the global average trend pointed to a historically low level of consumer inflation (figure 1). The converging unweighted and GDP-weighted world average inflation rates implies the trend was observed not only in high-income countries. Several factors contributed to this trend. First, the supply capacity for consumers…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: July 2020 Briefing, No. 139
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront some of the most pressing global challenges that humanity has faced in recent history. Health systems have been stretched thin and lockdown measures have taken a heavy social and economic toll, the devastating impacts of which are being felt by all ? from urban residents of densely populated megacities to indigenous peoples living deep in the heart of forests.
As countries respond to this global crisis, the focus is on strengthening health systems, cushioning the knockon effects on livelihoods and economies and building back better (UN, 2020a). At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that the path ahead represents a oncein- a-…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #80: Forests at the heart of a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected over 180 countries, infected more than 6.5 million people and killed more than 383,000 (as of 3 June 2020). In addition to the health implications and loss of life, the pandemic has strained health care systems, disrupted the education system, wreaked havoc on businesses and economies, led to job losses and disrupted social life with lockdowns, curfews and other stringent measures aimed at containing the virus being implemented globally. All this has happened in the context of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where the Public Service and Public Servants are critical.
The following are identified as the roles public…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #79: The role of public service and public servants during the COVID-19 pandemic
Introduction
The SDG Summit in September 2019 was marked by renewed commitment from world leaders to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Scientific assessments such as those in the Global Sustainable Development Report identified strategic entry points through which targeted efforts, for example to build sustainable food systems, invest in human well-being or protect the global environmental commons, could lead to positive outcomes that would cascade across many of the SDGs. Although the way ahead appeared steep, stakeholders were energized by the launch of the Decade of Action. Then, only months later, the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a tsunami of human suffering with far reaching…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #78: Achieving the SDGs through the COVID-19 response and recovery
The pandemic hits emerging economies
Emerging economies are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. The synchronous collapse in global demand and the widespread disruptions in supply chains are inflicting severe economic pain through trade, financial and commodity prices channels. To contain the pandemic, emerging economies have imposed, to varying degrees, lockdowns and social distancing measures, further disrupting economic activity. India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and South Africa have implemented full or partial lockdowns. But even as countries have followed different approaches to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, enforcement has in many cases been…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: June 2020 Briefing, No. 138
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for businesses and investors to adjust to a world of increasing uncertainty or mounting risks. To be viable, businesses can no longer focus only on short-term financial returns; they must anticipate and prepare for future risks, including growing risks from climate change and unsustainable practices. For investors, their portfolio?s financial return ultimately depends on a sustainable and stable economy.
With sizeable assets under management, large investors have the interest and power to demand a shift towards business models that better account for sustainable development and thus reduce risks for the economy. The question should no longer be…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #77: How can investors move from greenwashing to SDG-enabling?
The thirty-two landlocked developing countries (LLDCs)? home to nearly 7 per cent of world population, representing 15 per cent of the membership of the United Nations?are the least economically-integrated countries in the world. As a group, LLDCs are at the fringes of the world economy, accounting for only 0.9 per cent of world gross output and 0.8 per cent of global exports (Figure 1). Seventeen of them also belong to the group of least developed countries (LDCs). These economies are highly heterogeneous, both in terms of the level of development and economic structure. The average per capita income of LLDCs is 2.5 times higher than the LDC average. This average, however, masks the huge…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #76: COVID-19 poses grievous economic challenge to landlocked developing countries
The emergence and spread of the coronavirus in late 2019 and the impact of its disease, COVID-19, which has been categorized by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic, is, at the time of writing, ongoing.
Efforts by governments to try to control the pandemic?s spread while managing its wide ranging impacts demonstrate the critical role of the relationship between state and people in shaping and determining government responses, strategies and approaches in tackling the crisis. While there have been some rapid and effective responses by governments, in many respects, the pandemic has exposed some of the shortfalls in countries? resiliency to crisis, and in particular in the way…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #75: COVID-19: Reaffirming State-People Governance Relationships
National institutions are strongly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has disrupted to varying extents the regular functioning of state institutions, such as parliaments and justice systems, and affected key government functions and processes, undermining the effectiveness of government action. The need to respond quickly and with drastic measures has also created additional risks for institutional processes and organisations. Beyond individual institutions, the pandemic has increasingly affected whole institutional systems and the way public institutions interact with people.
This brief discusses the challenges of the COVID-19 emergency along key dimensions of national…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #74: Resilient institutions in times of crisis: transparency, accountability and participation at the national level key to effective response to COVID-19
Introduction
Sport is a major contributor to economic and social development. Its role is well recognized by Governments, including in the Political Declaration of the 2030 Agenda, which reflects on ?the contribution sports make to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities, as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives.?
Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost all countries of the world. Social and physical distancing measures, lockdowns of businesses, schools and overall social life, which have become commonplace to curtail the spread of the disease, have also disrupted many regular aspects of life, including sport and…
UN/DESA Policy Brief #73: The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development
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