From innovation hubs and policy experiments to regulatory sandboxes
Digital technologies carry a promise to fast track sustainable development by supporting innovative, forwarding-looking policies and digital government solutions. There are, however, numerous risks and complexities of frontier technologies that come along with those opportunities, as well as policy and regulatory challenges such as those related to inclusion, competition, privacy and security.
Innovation hubs, incubators, accelerators or testbeds have since emerged as springboards for new technologies and are now common in many developed and developing countries. In some scenarios, however, the perceived risks and costs of…
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 123: Sandboxing and experimenting digital technologies for sustainable development
Reversing the setback to global poverty?will a commodity super-cycle help?
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked twin economic and social crises that resulted in the first increase in global poverty in decades. The number of people living in extreme poverty?at $1.90 per day globally?is estimated to have escalated by 10 per cent in 2020 and remains at the highest level in almost a decade (figure 1). Island economies registered among the highest increases in both number and share of poor population (Cabo Verde, Jamaica, Madagascar) as well as some landlocked economies (Chad, Ethiopia, Uganda). Prior to the pandemic, poverty was projected to decrease by 2 per cent globally, in line with a slow pace of…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: December 2021 Briefing, No. 156
Introduction
While fertilizers, genetically modified crops, and biotechnology have brought substantial benefits for farmers in recent decades, the accelerated application of smart, digital, and precision agricultural technologies offers a historic opportunity to improve farm productivity going forward. Such technologies are wide-ranging, including small mobile applications for decision support, field sensors and remote sensing technologies for data collection, drones and robots for automation of processes, and digital platforms for market access and sales. Use of these technologies helps address information asymmetries and deficiencies facing farmers, particularly smallholders, which can…
Frontier Technology Issues: Frontier technologies for smallholder farmers: addressing information asymmetries and deficiencies
Introduction
International development cooperation can help countries to overcome crises in an interconnected world. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new demands on development cooperation in its various forms: finance, capacity support, policy change and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The ongoing challenge of the pandemic and its consequences has also shown the durability and adaptability of development cooperation. The pandemic recovery offers a unique opportunity to fully reimagine and scale up international development cooperation that is informed by risk, designed to build resilience and strongly linked with climate action. Such a reimagined development cooperation could strengthen the…
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 122: Adapting international development cooperation to reduce risk, enable recovery and build resilience
Building a strong data community
Since its inception in 2017, the United Nations World Data Forum has brought together the data community to spur innovation, nurture partnerships, and mobilize high-level political support and a financial commitment to build a pathway to better data for sustainable development. The third Forum, held in Bern, Switzerland, in October 2021 brought together over 700 participants in person and over 7,000 virtually, representing a diverse group of stakeholders from the data and statistics community, joining from over 180 countries around the world (Figure 1). The Forum discussions stressed the need for greater collaboration and coordination for inclusive data to…
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 121: Bringing the data community and policy makers together to ensure a world with data we trust
The Handbook on the Least Developed Country Category contains comprehensive and authoritative information on criteria defining the category, graduation procedures, and international support measures for LDCs. This new edition contains updates to LDC criteria and procedures as well as new information particularly on ?smooth transition? provisions for countries graduating from the LDC category. The handbook, prepared by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), is intended for government officials, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders interested in the LDC category.
Advanced economies are facing large-scale labour shortages
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of 2020 caused an unprecedented and severely disruptive shock to labour markets worldwide. Despite the immense efforts to protect employment and to support businesses undertaken in the majority of countries around the globe, unemployment reached alarming levels in 2020, leading to erosion of incomes and pushing many households into poverty. Although the global economy has been gradually rebounding over the course of 2021, the speed of job creation is generally lagging to compensate for the earlier employment losses, especially in developing economies. This is especially true…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: November 2021 Briefing, No. 155
Welcome to the United Nations
