The report forecasts global economic growth to 2.6% in 2024, barely above the 2.5% threshold commonly associated with a recessionary phase. The report says the prevailing focus on inflation overshadows urgent issues like trade disruptions, climate change and rising inequalities. It advocates for structural reforms and coordinated global efforts, proposing …
Global growth has continued to soften this year. A modest recovery in emerging market and developing economies continues to be constrained by subdued investment, which is dampening prospects and impeding progress toward achieving critical development goals. Downside risks to the outlook remain elevated, and policymakers continue to face major challenges …
In July 2018, the Government of India imposed a two-year safeguard duty on solar cells and modules, in an attempt to protect domestic manufacturing. This policy brief discusses the impact of that duty on the business prospects of manufacturers. It also analyses the implications of the duty on the rest …
China’s economic growth has so far remained resilient in the face of high global uncertainty. GDP growth was 6.4 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2018 and in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 6.8 percent in the first half of 2018. Growth is projected at …
This report aims to enhance understanding of the implications, capacity needs and enabling conditions for trade liberalization of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs), with focus on developing countries. It focuses its analysis on five ESTs, namely solar photovoltaic cells (PVs), water filters, waste incinerators, gas filtering machinery, hemp and flax fibers.
After strong growth in 2017 and early 2018, global economic activity slowed notably in the second half of last year, reflecting a confluence of factors affecting major economies. China’s growth declined following a combination of needed regulatory tightening to rein in shadow banking and an increase in trade tensions with …
Growth in developing Asia is projected to soften to 5.7% in 2019 and 5.6% in 2020. Excluding Asia’s high-income newly industrialized economies, growth is expected to slip from 6.4% in 2018 to 6.2% in 2019 and 6.1% in 2020. As oil prices rose and Asian currencies depreciated, inflation edged up …
Sri Lanka hosts the latest CITES conference this May, where member states will consider proposals for protections for a wide range of species. The host country has proposed several endemic lizard species for inclusion in CITES Appendix I, including the Knuckles pygmy lizard (Cophotis dumbara), a critically endangered species. Organizers …
As the world population swells, the inequitable distribution of food around the globe is prompting profound moral questions. Is the unequal distribution of food in rich and poor countries, for instance, merely a consequence of geography, with rich countries having more fertile lands? Or are food shortages in some countries …
A joint World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO) report “Exports to Jobs: Boosting the Gains from Trade in South Asia” breaks new ground in examining the impact of exports on local labor markets in South Asia. It uses an innovative approach, analyzing the effect on local employment, wages …
During the last decade international trade has been characterized by a progressive shift in the use of trade policy instruments. Despite the trade tensions that have characterised the last year, tariffs have remained substantially stable during the last few years with tariff protection remaining a critical factor only in certain …
India will continue to remain the world’s fastest-growing large economy in 2019 as well as in 2020, much ahead of China, a UN report said. According to the UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019, India’s GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.6% in 2019-20 from an estimated …
A CAG report has expressed concern over uncleared cargo containing live bombs and war material scrap lying at various inland container depots (ICDs) of the customs department for several years. In a report tabled in Parliament, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has asked the revenue department to …
The Directorate of Economics and Statistics brings out its flagship publication “Agricultural Statistics at a Glance” every year. The publication is widely used as a trusted source of information on various aspects of agriculture and allied sector, including crop production and productivity, growth and investment in agriculture, minimum support price, …
This publication examines the enormous potential for scaling up green business development in Asia and the Pacific. It reviews green markets, technologies, and practices with a focus on developing Asian countries and offers a set of policy options to enable governments and finance institutions to accelerate green business development in …
Are poor macroeconomic outcomes primarily the result of economic policies, or of deeper underlying state fragility problems in sub-Saharan Africa? Attempt to answer this question by using carefully specified dynamic panel regression techniques to show how state fragility conditions help to explain the differences in the macroeconomic performance of sub-Saharan …
The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR) is a recurrent publication prepared by the Trade, Investment and Innovation Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It provides information and independent analyses of regional trends and policy developments in trade, goods and commercial services, …
Global trade has contributed strongly to reducing poverty but important challenges remain in making trade work for the poorest. This publication presents eight case studies to reveal how trade can help to reduce poverty in developing countries. The publication focuses on four constraints faced by the extremely poor – namely …
Seaborne trade expanded by four percent in 2017, the fastest growth in five years, according to its Review of Maritime Transport 2018. Volumes across all segments are set to grow in 2018, with containerized and dry bulk commodities expected to record the fastest growth at the expense of tanker volumes. …
International trade offers unique opportunities to help tackle mounting environmental challenges while fostering economic and social prosperity. Open, predictable and equitable trade relations among countries can accelerate the worldwide diffusion of environmentally sound technological solutions and facilitate the creation and expansion of markets for sustainable products. Moreover, with the growing …
The world economy remains on shaky ground a decade after the 2008 financial crisis, with trade wars a symptom of a deeper malaise, according to UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2018: Power, Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion. While the economy has picked up since early 2017, growth remains spasmodic, …
