The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
In Ethiopia, smallholder farmers’ commercialization and integration into the market has been one of the policy directions to ensure households’ progress out of poverty and maintain the sustainable development trajectory. A lot of progress has been made in this endeavor over the past couple of decades. However, market participation and …
This book proposes a simple framework for understanding the political economy of subsidy reform and applies it to four in-depth country studies covering more than 30 distinct episodes of reform. Five key lessons emerge. First, energy subsidies often follow a life cycle, beginning as a way to stabilize prices and …
Inviting the comments/suggestions/modification on initial Draft National Indicator Framework for Sustainable Development Goals as prepared Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) based on the inputs received from Ministries/Departments. Based on the inputs received from the subject matter Ministries and Departments, MoSPI has prepared a initial Draft National Indicator Framework …
From East to West, the economies of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) are not taking full advantage of the internet to foster economic growth and job creation. The residents of Central Asia and the South Caucasus pay some of the highest prices in the world for internet connections that are …
China will be home to three of the world’s 10 priciest infrastructure projects of 2017, with President Xi Jinping’s US$150 billion “One Belt, One Road” signature programme topping the survey by architecture consultancy Arcadis. India’s US$90 billion New Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is the world’s second-most expensive public works project, Arcadis …
PREMIER Li Keqiang yesterday pledged to continue reforms to attain the economic growth target of about 6.5 percent this year despite challenges ahead. The annual government work report, delivered by Li at the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, set the GDP growth …
This case study explores the trade-offs between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through the lens of an imaginary country: Progressia. This may not be a place on the map, but the facts on which it is based, and the dilemmas it faces, are real. The report shows the complexities around …
Developing Asia will need to invest $1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure until 2030 to maintain its growth momentum, tackle poverty, and respond to climate change. This report examines developing Asia’s infrastructure—defined as transport, power, telecommunications, water supply and sanitation. It examines how much the region has been investing in …
This working paper provides an analysis of economic resilience at the national level, presenting a broad picture of changes in resilience to climate extremes over a 42 year period. It focuses on 12 countries in the Sahel, East Africa and Asia that are part of the UK Government funded resilience …
Richard Pandohie reckons that the eight initiatives under the Economic Growth Council’s 5 in 4 plan are lacking focus on Jamaica’s agricultural sector. The chief executive officer of Seprod Ltd who recently announced plans to partner with the Government, private sector and farmers across the island in an effort to …
The purpose of this report is to increase understanding of the nature of the challenges that agriculture and food systems are facing now and will face into the 21st century. Its analysis of 15 global trends provides insights into what is at stake and what needs to be done. Most …
This report sets out the logic for identifying the implications of Global Mega Trends at the national, regional or European level, and aims to provide inspiration to EEA member and cooperating countries to undertake their own national studies. It describes the context and the reasons why understanding global trends is …
A new report published by WWF and ISEAL indicates how businesses can contribute strongly to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and unlock new market opportunities by using credible voluntary sustainability standards to transform entire sectors and supply chains. The report, “SDGs mean business: How credible standards can help companies …
Analysis commissioned by Greenpeace East Asia shows that, despite having met and exceeded ambitious capacity cut targets for 2016, China’s steel industry last year saw a net increase in operating capacity equivalent to more than twice the UK’s total capacity. An average 74% of cut capacity was already idle, while …
This publication seeks to illustrate some conflicting issues in the field of food and nutrition in Asia. The contributions from across the continent highlight a selection of fields, where political action is needed to ensure that there is enough food on people's plate, which is also healthy and nutritious.
Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is reducing, but the concentration of extreme poverty in fragile states is likely to increase, according to a new report published by the Financial Sector Deepening Africa in partnership with Mercy Corps. The report concludes that the donor community can crowd-in legitimate financial market actors …
Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing rapid population growth. Yet their economic growth has not kept pace. Why? One factor might be low capital investment, due in part to Africa’s relative poverty: Other regions have reached similar stages of urbanization at higher per capita GDP. This study, however, identifies a …
This paper investigates the relationship between mining and spatial inequality in Africa during 2001-12. The identification strategy is based on a unilateral causation between mining and district inequality. The findings show that when minerals are aggregated, mining increases district inequality. But an analysis of individual minerals shows that mining affects …
The long-term global economic power shift away from the established advanced economies is set to continue over the period to 2050, as emerging market countries continue to boost their share of world GDP in the long run despite recent mixed performance in some of these economies. This is one of …
Global climate change projections for Nepal and the Himalayas suggest significant changes in temperature and precipitation, including increased monsoon (summer) precipitation and more variable and highly unpredictable actual rainfall patterns. The projections also suggest warmer winters and more frequent extreme weather events, with extended droughts between periods of intense rain. …
