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Partnerships for the Goals

At the crossroads of climate change and global security

Main Title: UN Chronicle 50, pp 4 - 6 (2013)

10月 2013

Article

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and Daniel Klingenfeld

Recent extreme events witnessed around the world are drastically visible reminders of ongoing environmental perturbations on our planet, many of which are linked to global climate change. The last decade has seen an exceptional number of extreme heatwaves with resulting severe consequences. The 2010 Russian heatwave is estimated to have cost the lives of 55,000 people and destroyed 25 per cent of the country’s annual crop. In the United States, the drought in 2012 has been the most severe since the 1930s, impacting about 80 per cent of agricultural land. Hurricane Sandy was yet another stark showcase of the forces of nature and our vulnerability in the face of destabilized weather and climate patterns.

2014 Fiftieth anniversary of the group of 77 From unity diversity celebrating

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 42 - 43 (2014)

7月 2014

Article

The emergence of the Group of 77 (G-77) is now recognized as one of the most important political phenomena of the post-Second World War era especially within the evolution of the United Nations system. However, this statement still underestimates the significance of that enduring compact of the 77 developing countries in 1964 in terms of a singular achievement of our humanity that was to influence and reshape multilateral diplomacy and consequently the economic, social and ecological management of the relationship of the human race with our blue planet.

Adolescent marriage crossroad or status quo?

Main Title: UN Chronicle 47, pp 42 - 44 (2012)

4月 2012

Article

“It wasn’t an option,” murmured a thirty-two-year-old woman with a troubled face who wished to remain anonymous. I felt her emotions so strongly that I wished I had a chance to change her life. “I was the oldest girl among my sisters,” she said, “my aunt came to my father wanting his consent for my marriage to her oldest son. My dad could not let her downhis politeness resulted in my melancholy.” She was married at sixteen. Deep down, I knew she wasn’t the only one. Somewhere out there, even in my country, adolescent females suffer from similar situations.

Looking through conduit FDI in search of ultimate investors – a probabilistic approach

Main Title: Transnational Corporations 26, pp 109 - 149 (2019)

7月 2019

Article

This paper presents a novel computational method to determine the distribution of ultimate investors in bilateral FDI stock. The approach employs results from the probabilistic theory of absorbing Markov chains. The method allows for the estimation of a bilateral matrix that provides inward positions by ultimate counterparts for over 100 recipient countries, covering 95% of total FDI stock and including many developing countries. Reconstructing the global FDI network by ultimate investors enables a more accurate and complete snapshot of international production than do standalone bilateral FDI statistics. This has considerable implications for policymaking. It also provides more nuanced context to some contemporary developments such as the trade tensions between the United States, China and others, as well as Brexit.

Building worldwide expertise to detect and seize illegally traded wildlife

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 25 - 28 (2014)

9月 2014

Article

The effective monitoring and control of transboundary movements is a key component of wildlife protection. In most countries, this task falls upon Customs which is at the forefront of efforts to counter wildlife trafficking and ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is practiced legally by implementing the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as relevant national legislation.

New security risks and challenges for consuls

Main Title: UN Chronicle 50, pp 36 - 39 (2013)

10月 2013

Article

The rapidly changing global environment affects the nature of the work done by consuls and the conditions under which they work. Among the significant challenges that consuls face globally is the emergence of new security risks that threaten peace, security and development. The events of 11 September 2012 in Benghazi, Libya, have brought into sharp focus the new security environment in many countries. Events like these have led the international community and individual states, as well as groups of countries, to evaluate the security risks in diplomatic and consular missions and to propose sweeping new changes. These policy and strategic changes constitute part of the conceptual redefinition of international and national security.

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 17 - 18 (2015)

6月 2015

Article

Jianguo Wu and Tong Wu

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the Open Working Group of the General Assembly of the United Nations recognize the importance of the natural environment and its resources to human well-being. As a whole, it is definitely a worthy charter for the twenty-first century, as it addresses the diverse challenges that we face as a global community. SDG 7—to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”—is a challenge confronting every country, that touches everyone. To understand the necessity of meeting this goal, and what is required to do so, we should unpack the statement of the goal itself. The four dimensions of SDG 7 are affordability, reliability, sustainability and modernity. These different dimensions are not mutually exclusive. They overlap, and in some cases even entail each other.

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 6 - 8 (2015)

6月 2015

Article

The year 2015 presents a unique opportunity for the global development community to build on and strengthen the momentum initiated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Fighting wildlife crime to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 23 - 24 (2014)

9月 2014

Article

Now a US $213 billion industry, environmental and natural resource crimes such as poaching, illegal logging and wildlife trafficking are growing every year, putting natural resources and biodiversity at risk. This is not just a tragedy for people who love animals or care about the environment. When elephants are slaughtered for their ivory and trees are illegally logged, ecosystems break down. The world’s poorest often bear the brunt of the fallout. That is where and why the World Bank comes into the picture.

Conference diplomacy from Vienna to New York: A personal reflection

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 4 - 8 (2014)

12月 2014

Article

Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal

Conference diplomacy is not just one of the most powerful multilateral instruments to peacefully address questions related to post-conflict balance of power. It is today also the major tool in addressing global problems, identifying innovative solutions and engaging in ground-breaking strategies for the sake of millions of people. The Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda is a case in point. It is therefore an interesting exercise to have been invited to take a fresh look at recent conference diplomacy in the light of the bicentenary of the 1814- 1815 Congress of Vienna.

The journey of a dental surgeon into international education

Main Title: UN Chronicle 50, pp 37 - 39 (2014)

2月 2014

Article

When I was a student of dentistry, a caption on a T-shirt during the annual dental students orientation programme captured my attention. It read Dental StudentsBUILDING BRIDGES IN SOCIETY. It had graphic visuals that illustrated this caption. As a student, I became increasingly involved in the broader role that health professionals play in society and the influence that they have in being able to positively change the lives of members of society. Later, as part of my studies I was awarded a student exchange scholarship at the University of Melbourne in Australia and the Royal Dental Hospital which was attached to the universitys faculty of dentistry. This was an eye opening experience that not only exposed me to differences within societies but also the common threads that run through humanity. Although I was involved in a field of study that was very much focused on health and medicine, and my subsequent working life was as a clinical dentist in both private practice and the public sector and thereafter as an academic in various sub-disciplines within dentistry, my sojourn into the international dimension had begun much earlier without me being fully cognizant of the strong influence it would have on my future career and my present activities.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Multilateral diplomacy at work

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 29 - 32 (2014)

12月 2014

Article

Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli

The year 2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”). The Convention has been widely accepted. As of 16 November 2014, the number of States Parties to the Convention stood at 166, including the European Union.

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 19 - 20 (2015)

6月 2015

Article

Aurelio Parisotto

After a two-year blizzard of consultations, debates, task forces and reports, the General Assembly of the United Nations started its final round of negotiations on 19 January 2015 to finalize the global post-2015 development agenda, a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Green spaces: An invaluable resource for delivering sustainable urban health

Main Title: UN Chronicle 53, pp 37 - 39 (2016)

4月 2016

Article

Nathalie Röbbel

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and climate change are two defining challenges of the twenty-first century, as each poses a significant threat to health and sustainable development. NCDs, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental and neurological disorders, are currently responsible for 68 per cent of global mortality, while climate change is projected to cause several hundred thousand deaths annually by 2030. Risk factors for NCDs include exposure to air pollution and physical inactivity. Eighty-eight per cent of urban populations are exposed to levels of outdoor air pollution that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines, and 3.7 million deaths globally were attributable to ambient air pollution in 2012. Furthermore, urbanization leads to changes in occupation and ways of life associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher automobile use. WHO attributes 3.2 million deaths annually to physical inactivity and 1.3 million to road traffic injuries.

Pedaling a revolution

Main Title: UN Chronicle 53, pp 25 - 26 (2016)

8月 2016

Article

Eight years ago I began working in Afghanistan, which is repeatedly ranked the worst place in the world to be a woman, let alone one fighting for women’s rights. I came to the country on my own with questions centred around gender violence and equality. I was cognizant of my own preconceptions as an American woman, but as a victim of rape, and as a sister of a rape victim, I was working from a place of curiosity. What are the conditions necessary for widespread acceptance of gender violence and oppression? What are the similarities in how Afghanistan and the United States address women’s rights, and where are the solutions? What does it take for women to have a voice?

A Southern renaissance?

Main Title: UN Chronicle 51, pp 34 - 35 (2014)

7月 2014

Article

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report 2013 bore the enthusiastic title, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. The Programme felt that the Global South had finally arrived in economic terms, and that in time it would make political inroads against a system that has been suborned to the needs of the Global North. It is certainly the case that China’s economy has a high growth rate and that various international agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predict that within a decade or two it will have the world’s largest economy. What is often forgotten in these predictions is that while China might have the largest economy in terms of its GDP, its population size means that it will not have the highest per capita GDP. That honour will continue to belong elsewhere. This is the reason China continues to insist that it is a developing country, despite having the second largest GDP among the world’s states. There is no question that China and India have emerged as major economic powerhouses, but their own internal vulnerabilities are considerable, including poverty, unemployment and most dramatically, starvation rates. The South might be rising, but the questions that need to be raised are what kind of rise are we seeing, and what kind of political impact will this have?

Home-country measures to support outward foreign direct investment: variation and consequences

Main Title: Transnational Corporations 26, pp 61 - 85 (2019)

7月 2019

Article

Florian Becker-Ritterspach, Maria L. Allen, Knut Lange and Matthew M. C. Allen

The state, especially in emerging economies, plays a key role in influencing firm behaviour, including outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Often literature on the state’s influence on OFDI stresses direct state ownership. However, the state can influence OFDI in several ways, including policy support and subsidies; the literature has largely overlooked these effects. We build on key insights from the comparative capitalisms literature to put forward a series of propositions on how home-country measures – in both emerging and developed economies – to boost OFDI will influence, inter alia, the volume, location and mode of firms’ investments abroad. We thus contribute to the literature by showing how government policies across a wide range of countries influence an important aspect of firm behaviour that has economic, social and environmental implications.

Estimating the fiscal effects of base erosion and profit shifting: data availability and analytical issues

Main Title: Transnational Corporations 25, pp 91 - 106 (2018)

9月 2018

Article

David Bradbury, Tibor Hanappi and Anne Moore

The multilateral efforts, led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) have attracted much attention from tax policy makers, practitioners and academics. In 2012, the OECD/G20 BEPS Project was launched to address BEPS through a range of international tax policy measures. A key part of the BEPS package was the Action 11 report, which considered the fiscal and economic impacts of BEPS and produced an empirical estimate of the global corporate income tax (CIT) revenue losses arising from BEPS of between 4 per cent and 10 per cent of global CIT revenues. This research note highlights some of the data-related and methodological challenges facing researchers attempting to estimate the fiscal impacts of BEPS, discusses some of the methodological approaches that have recently been applied to this end, and provides a preview of the forthcoming release of the first edition of the OECD Corporate Tax Statistics.

Transfer pricing and state aid: The unintended consequences of advance pricing agreements

Main Title: Transnational Corporations 25, pp 9 - 36 (2018)

9月 2018

Article

Lorraine Eden and William Byrnes

An advance pricing agreement (APA) is a formal arrangement between a tax authority and a multinational enterprise (MNE) in which the parties jointly agree on the MNE’s transfer pricing methodology, estimated taxable income, and tax payments for a fixed period, thus reducing the likelihood of an income tax dispute. We argue that APAs, which were developed by governments to solve MNE-state problems in one realm (international taxation of related party transactions), have had unintended consequences for both parties due to the spillover impacts of APAs into other policy realms. We explore this argument in the European Union state aid cases where, in the context of competition policy, APAs can be viewed as hidden, discretionary policies that can be misused by lower-tier governments to attract or retain inward foreign direct investment by offering individual MNEs preferential tax treatment. Our paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the unintended consequences of APAs and recommending policy changes to reduce these negative spillovers.

The MDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Main Title: UN Chronicle 45, pp 33 - 34 (2008)

12月 2008

Article

José Luis Machinea

There is no doubt that Latin America is on track to meeting its commitment to halve the 1990 extreme poverty rate by the 2015 target deadline. The most recent estimates by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) show that some 14 million Latin Americans escaped from poverty in 2006 and another 10 million are no longer destitute. The number of poor people stands at 36 per cent of the population (194 million) and those living in indigent conditions at 13.4 per cent (71 million); during 2007, these figures are likely to drop to 190 million and 69 million, respectively. For the first time since 1990, the total number of people living in poverty in the region has dropped below 200 million.

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