UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Policy Briefs

Credit ratings play an important role providing information on sovereign borrowers. But financial markets, including credit ratings, often over-emphasize short-term economic concerns, and underweight longer-term issues, including environmental and social risks as well as investment in resilience and sustainability.

Central banks have relied heavily on unconventional monetary policy tools, especially large-scale asset purchases, to respond to the pandemic. These programmes have helped to stabilize financial markets and kickstart economic recovery. But the central bank asset purchases have also contributed to an underpricing of risk and sharp increases in asset prices.

Countries are urged to implement the UN Legal Identity Agenda model as matter of priority to establish the necessary interoperability between various government’s components for effective monitoring and assessing impacts of policy decisions.

Regulators and other market participants have introduced a variety of mandatory and voluntary approaches to help investors align investments with sustainability goals.

Institutions and regulators could consider investing in requisite resources and building capacities in deploying sandboxes and experiments, with the medium- and long-term aims to advance agile, responsive and resilient approaches in adopting new technologies and in preparing for the future of digital government and 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. The Forum discussions stressed the need for greater collaboration and coordination for inclusive data to leave no one behind; increase financial support; enhance the capacities of National Statistical Offices; and promote greater inclusion of, and access by, marginalised communities.

Promoting the inclusion of older persons in the new realities of work requires addressing barriers in their access to decent work, including age-based discrimination, rigid labour markets, inadequate access to life-long learning, and participation in informal employment and unpaid care work.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, undermining decades of development efforts. The crisis has pushed hundreds millions of people back into poverty and hunger, caused decades of learning loss, worsened inequalities, and much more. The availability of timely, open and disaggregated data will be essential to inform policy making and steer recovery efforts. New investments in data and information infrastructure, as well as human capacity are needed now more than ever. The world finds itself at a critical juncture, where achieving the SDGs will depend on whether or not the COVID-19 crisis serves as a much-needed wake-up call that spurs a decade of truly transformative action to deliver for people and planet.

Population and housing censuses are not being carried out as they were planned before the pandemic. National authorities to remain fully committed to conduct the censuses depending on national circumstances. Postponing census-taking will have adverse impact on assessing the effects of national development policies due to lack of granular census statistics in the 2020’s

There is a trend of broadening and deepening institutionalization of the 2030 Agenda. Yet institutionalization at the country level remains a work in progress – with many countries still putting in place or adjusting parts of their institutional systems for SDG implementation. No regularities or typical patterns of SDG institutionalization are easily identifiable across countries. The sequence and speed of institutional changes relating to the SDGs have varied significantly. Entry points for state and non-state actors to engage with SDG-related institutional processes are multiplying, making institutional arrangements more complex. Yet there are also wide variations in levels of engagement, with potential for greater involvement of different stakeholders in many countries.

Follow-up and review systems and processes promote transparency and accountability by providing information on the results of programmes to implement the SDGs. They also contribute to enhancing SDG implementation by informing policymaking and facilitating learning. Accountability institutions such as legislatures and supreme audit institutions are playing an increasing role regarding SDG assessment and oversight. However, countries have not yet systematically established synergies between SDG follow-up and review and existing accountability institutions. Strengthening such integration can contribute to more holistic SDG monitoring efforts and strengthen accountability for progress on the SDGs. This seems particularly relevant in the context of COVID-19, as countries must urgently address the significant and differentiated impacts of the pandemic on SDG implementation.

Achieving sustainable development requires determined actions to revamp production and consumption patterns, creating a resource-efficient and resilient post-pandemic recovery. The notion of the circular economy facilitates greater level of social and environmental sustainability, by emphasizing the vision of an economic system that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and martials in use and recognizes the residual value in natural resources and post-consumption waste, to regenerate the natural system. Cooperatives and other enterprises of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) are recognized as taking a leading role in incorporating the circular economic model into their businesses and communities. More supportive measures from governments are needed to strength their contribution to accelerated progress towards the goals of the 2030 Agenda. Continued efforts to improve statistical information on the circular economy, cooperatives and the wider SSE will help inform policy-making and facilitate transition to sustainable production and consumption.

Universally accessible social protection programmes play a vital role in overcoming poverty and inequality over the life course. Rural populations face financial, administrative and programme design barriers to accessing social protection. Government action is required to ensure social protection measures, including floors, are available for all in rural areas.

The decisions taken by institutional investors, commercial banks, capital market actors and corporations have a strong impact on the magnitude and quality of private investment available for the SDGs. To scale up available private finance and investment for sustainable development, it is necessary to address the incentives of the above actors through a combination of regulatory and institution/industry-specific measures. Further action is needed to better channel investment to countries and SDG-related sectors that are most in need. The development of innovative and scalable global platforms, instruments and funds would be an important first step in this regard. Additionally, to enhance the impact of given investment on sustainable development, and to avoid green or SDG-washing, it is necessary to advance industry-based standards for impact measurement and support the development and implementation of a clear set of SDG related metrics that can be integrated into existing reporting frameworks.

Over the last year, the data and statistical community has faced unprecedented disruptions in statistical operations and a spike in demand for data to monitor the effects of the global pandemic. Many National Statistical Offices adapted quickly to challenges raised by COVID-19, and many of them have played a major role in governments’ COVID-19 response. New partnerships have been crucial in responding to new data demands, helping National Statistical Offices introduce measures that are permanently changing the statistical production process in many countries. However, the pandemic has exacerbated critical funding gaps in national, regional, and global statistical offices, making the mobilization of international and domestic resources to support data for sustainable development more urgent than ever.

A full recovery from the pandemic crisis is not possible without addressing economic security and reducing inequality. Otherwise, people and families who already faced more insecurity are likely to be excluded from the benefits of recovery. This policy brief highlights inequality in the experience of economic security focusing on the risks to livelihoods and the protections against those risks as laid out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In recognizing the right to “security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond one’s control”, the Universal Declaration highlights the crucial importance of economic security to everyone’s rights and well-being.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the world of work, hitting labour markets that were already weak and fragile. This brief describes recent changes in the world of work and discusses their implications for the social contract. It contends that the deep, long-standing employment crisis is damaging the social and economic fabric and, without decisive action, it may weaken support for a renewed social contract. Giving all workers a voice and ensuring decent working conditions is the only way to break the cycle of growing economic insecurity and low trust in public institutions.

This policy brief reviews the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in Africa and presents the continent’s social protection responses. The crisis has hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest and laid bare structural shortcomings such as inadequate health, educational and technological infrastructure, limited social protection, gender inequality, large informal economies, lack of access to basic services, constrained fiscal policy space and a high risk of debt distress in many countries, making them particularly vulnerable to the lasting effects of the pandemic. African countries have realized the need to scale-up social protection programmes and measures to meet the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis as well as to ensure preparedness for other unexpected future events. Thus, they have introduced or adapted over 200 social protection and labour market policies in response to the pandemic. Recognizing the ongoing efforts as well as the persistent gaps and challenges, the brief stresses the need for allocating adequate resources for social protection systems and programmes, aiming for universal coverage to adequately address the different risks and vulnerabilities that individuals face throughout the lifecycle. It also urges development partners to provide financing support to the poorest countries to help them create fiscal space for increased public spending for social protection that is sustainable and equitable through multilateral development co-operation as well as national and regional multi-sectoral partnerships.

COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of digital transformation. In so doing, it is opening the opportunities for advancing social progress and fostering social inclusion, while simultaneously exacerbating the risk of increased inequalities and exclusion of those who are not digitally connected.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread economic insecurity was linked to rising distrust and popular discontent, undermining governance and ultimately sustainable development. The current crisis has reminded us of the extent of insecurity embedded in today’s societies and, without concerted effort, could exacerbate societal and political instability. Investing in truly universal public services, including social protection, that confront today’s risks is a crucial policy priority to ensure economic security, rebuild trust and recover progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Fears related to economic insecurity are on the rise. Changes in the world of work, together with globalization and technological breakthroughs, have benefited many people but are also putting many others at disadvantage or at risk. These long-standing trends, which have raised aspirations but also fears, are compounded by evolving threats, including those brought about by climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments are highly dependent on all data including official statistics, administrative data, open data and big data analytics for decision-making and actions to address the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. These data allow governments to set priorities and adjust their decisions quickly and effectively in response to rapidly evolving COVID-19 situations. Open data and big data analytics, particularly through Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms and data visualization tools, are empowering governments to predict virus mutations, track virus spread in real-time, and identify medications for treating COVID-19. Governments are using big data analytics to get prepared, react effectively, and develop both short-term and long-term strategies. Yet, increasing public concerns about data privacy and security put in jeopardy public trust in data collection, use and dissemination by government, business and relevant non-government institutions. To ensure effective use of open data and big data analytics for combatting COVID-19, it is necessary to strengthen data governance with regard to data collection, data partnership, data analysis, data dissemination, and protection of data privacy and data security.

Financing has emerged as a key challenge in SDG implementation. Yet, a recent study found that 79 out of 107 national sustainable development plans are not costed. Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) can help countries to close this gap. They help countries raise resources, enhance coherence of financing policies, and overcome short-termism in budgeting and the financial sector. INFFs can also help countries recover from COVID-19 (coronavirus) and its economic fallout, finance building back better, and manage risks. Interest in INFFs has grown exponentially since the concept was introduced in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda—around 60 countries have committed to design and implement integrated financing frameworks with support from the UN system.