No Poverty

L’Afrique est dotée d’une profusion de ressources naturelles diverses, comme des sols et de l’eau pour l’agriculture, des forêts pour la production de bois et de produits forestiers non ligneux, ainsi que des ressources minérales, du pétrole et du gaz. L’exploitation directe de ces ressources domine l’activité économique du continent, mais les avantages ne vont malheureusement qu’à quelques privilégiés. La stratégie la plus répandue consistant à exporter des produits de base sous une forme brute, sans création de valeur ajoutée, a donné des résultats décevants qu’on voit dans une croissance économique ni viable ni solidaire, des améliorations mineures du bien-être de la population ou de faibles niveaux de diversification et de transformation des économies. Ce résultat médiocre sur le plan du développement est le signe des problèmes qui perdurent dans la gouvernance des ressources naturelles. La cinquième édition du Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique, intitulée « La gouvernance des ressources naturelles et la mobilisation des recettes publiques pour la transformation structurelle », s’appuie sur les thèmes et recommandations des précédentes éditions. Elle examine les efforts visant à améliorer la gouvernance des abondantes ressources naturelles de l’Afrique, en mettant l’accent sur la nécessité de renforcer les institutions et les cadres de gouvernance pour l’amélioration de la mobilisation des recettes intérieures, la promotion de la diversification économique et, à terme, la transformation structurelle. Le rapport utilise une combinaison de sources de données primaires et secondaires, notamment des preuves empiriques tirées de huit études de cas de pays répartis sur tout le continent (Botswana, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Égypte, Madagascar, Nigéria, Ouganda et République-Unie de Tanzanie). Il aborde quatre grandes questions : i) l’incapacité des pays africains riches en ressources à transformer leur économie ; ii) les institutions chargées d’améliorer l’impact des ressources naturelles africaines sur le développement ; iii) la planification du développement et les résultats des politiques africaines ; et iv) l’augmentation des recettes intérieures en Afrique. Le rapport présente un certain nombre de messages clés et de recommandations de politiques destinés à contribuer aux efforts en cours visant à renforcer le secteur des ressources naturelles en tant que partie prenante et catalyseur du développement sur le continent.

The UNCITRAL Practice Guide to the Model Law on Secured Transactions provides practical guidance to parties involved in secured transactions in States that enact the Model Law. The Practice Guide explains key features and benefits of the Model Law, illustrates the types of secured transactions that can be undertaken under the Model Law, and provides step-by-step explanations of how to engage in the most common and commercially important secured transactions. The Practice Guide is for readers who wish to understand transactions governed by, and in many cases made possible by, the Model Law. It provides guidance to creditors and debtors on how to engage in several common types of secured transactions, to others whose rights may be affected by a secured transaction, and to regulated financial institutions and prudential regulatory authorities.

The main objective of this study is to shed light on the critical situation in Gaza and estimate the costs of the Israeli blockade and military operations to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip; with a particular focus on the socioeconomic conditions at the household level. The first part of the study uses two counterfactual growth paths for Gaza, to give some indication on the range of the unrealized potential economic growth that could have been realized had Gaza blockade and military operations had not occurred during the period 2007-2018. The second part of the study applies quantitative methods to estimate poverty headcount and poverty gap. this allows for an assessment of the impact of the blockade and military operations on the welfare of households in Gaza. The study also contains a set of recommendations for the occupying power, Palestinian policy makers, the international community and development agencies on the need to end the blockade on Gaza and mitigate its heavy impact.

Produced in connection with the global midterm review of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs 2014-2024, this publication explores structural transformation for poverty reduction in Asia’s landlocked developing countrites (LLDCs), including related policy making and financial mobilization. To accelerate structural transformation in line with achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, Asia’s LLDCs must focus on economic diversification and reduced dependency on extractive industries. These priorities require active policies to incentivize both the development of manufacturing and high-productivity services and the integration of the private sector into regional value chains. This report thus aims to address policy gaps and development challenges and to equip policy makers of Asia's LLDCs – including those least developed countries (LDCs) – with relevant sectoral knowledge and expertise.

Commodity dependence is a trap: once a country is commodity dependent, it is difficult to develop a productive sector out of commodities and export non-commodity products. This publication argues that without strong action at the highest political level in Commodity-dependent Developing Countries (CDDCs), these countries will remain trapped for centuries. It demonstrates how technology and innovation could lead the way to economic and structural transformation in CDDCs, helping to diversify economies and lessen dependence on the commodity sector and, in turn, strengthen productivity growth. Enabling CDDCs to escape from the commodity dependence trap requires stronger cooperation between CDDCs and their trading and development partners with regard to technological acquisition and domestication. Indeed, a conducive framework for technology accessibility and its transfer to CDDCs is ultimately needed at the international level.

Le présent Guide entend fournir des orientations pratiques aux parties à des opérations assorties de sûretés dans les États qui ont adopté la Loi type de la CNUDC I sur les sûretés mobilières (2016) en: expliquant les grandes caractéristiques et les avantages principaux de la Loi type; Décrivant les types d’opérations assorties de sûretés que les créanciers et autres entreprises peuvent réaliser en vertu de la Loi type ; et Fournissant des explications étape par étape sur la manière de réaliser les opérations les plus courantes et les plus importantes sur le plan commercial. Le présent Guide a vocation à aider les personnes qui connaissent mal la Loi type. Il en explique le fonctionnement en termes simples et généraux. Le chapitre II est principalement destiné aux bailleurs de fonds et aux entreprises qui procèdent ou envisagent de procéder à des opérations assorties de sûretés, ainsi qu ’à leurs conseillers.

MSMEs are an important engine of economic growth and development due to their large share in total employment and their participation in production value chains and trade. However, they are often disadvantaged due to their small operational size and lack of financial resources, skills/knowledge, and outreach. These disadvantages are associated with: poor access to markets; low bargaining power with customers and suppliers leading to low product prices, high costs and lower profits; weak organizational capacities and low-skilled human resources; inadequate institutional support and networking; and difficulty accessing finance. With regard to the last point, governments and related agencies have devised mechanisms in recent decades to facilitate improved flows of finance to MSMEs, but many challenges remain. As this publication addresses, MSMEs are particularly vulnerable to the socio-economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the policy responses enacted, and they require supportive policy measures from state agencies to cope. Indeed, the virus has helped expose those vulnerabilities, as MSMEs typically lack the additional resilience that comes from operating at scale, nor do they have diversified business models that make it easier to pivot. Yet the virus itself did not actually cause the unprecedented economic downturn; rather, governments strategically shut down their economies in order to battle the virus more effectively, rightly placing public health above economic well-being. The resulting economic crisis has thus been deliberately induced by policy-makers – a somewhat new phenomenon.

Asia-Pacific’s recovery from its weakest economic performance in recent history remains fragile and can be “K-shaped” due to the likely unevenness of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, policy space and structural weaknesses across the region. Asia-Pacific is no stranger to crises that leave behind a severe social and economic impact. But a better understanding of the complex risk landscape and a comprehensive approach to building resilience have become imperative in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Building resilience into policy frameworks and institutions requires aligning fiscal and monetary policies and structural reforms with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2021 proposes an illustrative ‘build forward better’ policy package for resilient post-COVID-19 economies. It aims to ensure universal access to healthcare and social protection, close the digital divide, and strengthen climate and clean energy actions. Estimated to reduce the number of poor in the region by almost 180 million people and cut carbon emissions by about 30 percent in the long run, the proposed policy actions would likely add minimal fiscal burden for most, with the exception of some less developed Asia-Pacific countries. Policy options to meet immediate and medium-term financing needs for building resilience are also examined herein — including debt service suspensions, debt swaps for development, sovereign bond financing, public debt management, emergency financing mechanisms, and sustainable investing by public institutional investors.

Given the urgency of the SDG Stimulus and that public debt distress is likely to remain a major macroeconomic policy challenge for Asia and the Pacific in coming years, the Survey 2024 will continue to focus on fiscal and public debt challenges and policy options. After outlining the changing economic, financial and development context and its medium-term fiscal implications, the Survey 2024 will dive deeper into policy options that developing Asia-Pacific economies, as debtors and as part of the international community, can explore to boost affordable and long-term financing for essential public spending on sustainable development and reduce the associated sovereign credit risks and costs. In addition to identifying ‘what’ policy actions should be taken, the Survey 2024 will also give emphasis on ‘how to’ implement the needed policy actions. Insights from approaches such as political economy, behavioural science, and country case studies will be used.

This report was prepared as part of the Botswana Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy review process and should be read in conjunction with the Botswana STI Policy Review. It documents the STI Foresight exercise designed and undertaken by UNCTAD in 2022 to explore the future role of science, technology and innovation and STI policy in Botswana and to stimulate a process aimed at creating a consensus on the future priorities for national investments in R&D, technology and innovation. It responds to a key finding of UNCTAD's Botswana STI Policy Review that the lack of clearly defined national priorities contributes to fragmentation in the national system of innovation in Botswana and undermines its innovation performance and capacity for technology upgrading. These in turn constrain the ability of Botswana to use STI for sustainable development and reach the sustainable development goals. The STI foresight exercise aimed to provide a future dimension to strategic planning for STI in the country. It sought to involve the STI community of policymakers and practitioners in Botswana in a discussion about what the STI future could be for Botswana and what a preferred STI future is for the country. The exercise and the report are based on an understanding that foresight can help to shape the future of Botswana by looking forward into the future to see what could be possible through selective policy interventions undertaken in the present starting from today.

The Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development Report is a recurrent ESCAP annual publication that discusses issues of interest for Asia-Pacific least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), collectively referred to as countries with special needs (CSN). The 2024 edition will explore the nexus between digitalization and automation and the two important parameters of productivity and decent employment in countries in special situations. This report examines the transformative role of digitalization and automation in enhancing the productive capacities of these countries. It zeroes in on the services sector and the digitalization of agricultural and industrial activities, which has the potential to enhance productivity and job creation. However, it also cautions against potential risks, including job displacement and cybersecurity threats. To navigate these challenges, the report discusses policy options for enhanced connectivity and infrastructure, education and training tailored to the digital economy, and regional cooperation to foster a conducive environment for digital trade and investment.

The purpose of this statistical report is to promote UNCTAD statistics and UNCTAD's engagement with Agenda 2030. Small island developing States (SIDS) face an uphill battle as they strive to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis amid vulnerabilities worsened by the pandemic. The 2021 edition of UNCTAD’s Development and Globalization: Facts and Figures report, highlights the numerous strengths and challenges facing these economically vulnerable countries.

The publication provides a snapshot of disability statistics and information in the region, particularly with regards to the population of persons with disabilities, the definition of disability, and national policy, programmes and institutional mechanisms on disability matters. The compilation serves as a point of reference whereby Governments, researchers, organizations of persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders are encouraged to take further action to enhance their data collection efforts and create an inclusive, barrier-free, and rights-based society.

Decision-makers in the field of land administration need a broad understanding of emerging issues and developments that are expected to shape the future of the sector. To this end, the UNECE Working Party on Land Administration agreed to elaborate scenarios for future land administration and land management solutions. This study discusses the future scenarios for the land administration sector, based on the relative importance and anticipated impacts of global megatrends and drivers specifically related to the sector.

The present publication examines the potential, opportunities and challenges facing selected LLDCs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America (in particular, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Nepal) in making the best of their biodiversity and biogenetic resources where they have comparative advantages and prospects for export diversification, value addition and structural transformation. In this context, the study explores the potential and constraints to fully harnessing health foods and nutraceuticals to enhance export diversification and improve socioeconomic conditions. It also analyses product and sector-specific challenges and opportunities and proposes a series of country-specific policy recommendations to harness the potential of nutraceutical products for socioeconomic transformation in the selected countries.

La dépendance aux produits de base est un piège: une fois qu'un pays dépend des produits de base, il est difficile de développer un secteur productif en dehors du secteur des produits de base et d'exporter des produits non liés à ce secteur. Sur la base d'une analyse empirique, ce rapport soutient que, à moins d'une action forte au plus haut niveau politique dans les pays en développement tributaires des produits de base (CDDC), ils resteront pris dans ce piège pendant des siècles. La technologie et l'innovation pourraient aider les pays en développement tributaires des produits de base à diversifier leurs économies et à devenir moins dépendants du secteur des produits de base. Cela pourrait renforcer la croissance de la productivité, qui a été ralentie dans ces pays. La technologie et l'innovation pourraient ouvrir la voie à une transformation économique et structurelle dans ce groupe de pays. Une analyse minutieuse de l'espace produit montre certains produits autres que les produits de base que les pays tributaires des produits de base pourraient effectivement commencer à produire, de manière compétitive, contribuant ainsi à diversifier leur panier d'exportation. L'analyse montre qu'il existe des technologies disponibles des troisième et quatrième révolutions industrielles, ainsi que la numérisation, qui pourraient aider ces pays à sortir du piège du secteur des produits de base. Produire des biens plus avancés sur le plan technologique impliquerait l'accès et l'adoption de nouvelles technologies, ainsi que l'adoption de l'innovation. Pour permettre à ce groupe de pays d'échapper au piège de la dépendance aux produits de base, il faut une coopération plus étroite entre eux et leurs partenaires commerciaux ainsi que leurs partenaires au développement en termes d'acquisition technologique et de domestication. Par conséquent, un cadre propice à l'accessibilité de la technologie et à son transfert est nécessaire au niveau international.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA, 2002), the report provides an overview of the key developments in ageing-related policy in the UNECE region, progress made over the past 20 years, gaps and challenges that remain, and directions for the way forward.

The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative measures poverty by considering various deprivations experienced by people in their daily lives, including poor health, insufficient education and a low standard of living. This report examines the level and composition of multidimensional poverty across 109 countries covering 5.9 billion people and presents an ethnicity/race/caste disaggregation for 41 countries with available information.

Arab Society: Demographic and Social Trends, Issue No. 16 is the latest in a series published biennially by the Statistics, Information Society and Technology Cluster of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). Focusing on population dynamics, household composition, family formation, housing conditions, health, labour, poverty and inequality, education, culture and social participation, and the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Arab society, showing how society is changing across countries in the ESCWA region and identifying a number of the factors that may be behind those trends. Data have been drawn primarily from the national statistical offices of ESCWA member States, supplemented by data from a wide range of international organizations. Arab Society: Demographic and Social Trends is produced with a wide audience in mind, including policy makers, service providers, researchers and teachers at academic institutions, journalists, staff at national statistical offices, and the public at large.

This report contributes to improving consumer protection in the provision of health services by exploring the scope for both operational and conceptual exchange. It covers representation and redress for consumers to improvement mechanisms for treating consumer grievances. It also addresses the interplay of different national agencies and the international legal and institutional frameworks. The result has been a reproduction in the health sector of the ‘poor pay more syndrome’ identified in consumer policy research during the 1960s and 1970s in retail markets in high income countries and to which attention was drawn by UNCTAD in its 2017 Consumer Protection Manual. This is reflected today in the low-income countries by high levels of ‘out of pocket’ payments by low-income consumers outside social protection systems and thus with lower levels of access. This syndrome has been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report is an evidence-based assessment of the economic and social situation in Afghanistan, two years after the power shift in August 2021. The report shows that the Afghan economy and people are still in crisis, with high levels of multidimensional deprivation, low growth, and urgent humanitarian needs. The report also highlights the impact of the crisis on women and girls, who face severe restrictions on their rights and freedoms. The report calls for urgent action to address the humanitarian and basic needs of the Afghan people by stimulating economic recovery, revitalising the financial sector, and investing in community development and local economic resilience, including women’s economic enterprises. The report aims to inform and influence the policy discourse and decision-making on the future of Afghanistan, and to contribute to the efforts of building an increasingly stable, prosperous, and resilient nation.

This report discusses the general uses of industrial hemp and how they are reflected in international production and trade statistics. Based on current practical experiences and empirical expertise, it also defines the steps to be taken by developing countries where climate and agronomic characteristics would suit the cultivation of hemp, to exploit its economic and social potential. Industrial hemp is commonly known as not having intoxicant properties. Nonetheless, industrial hemp remains a controversial plant as it is still often mistakenly associated with an intoxicant use. A negative connotation still prevails despite several millennia of history of industrial and medicinal applications. Such connotation is due in part to confusion about the botanical characteristics and chemotype of the plant.

Cashew nuts enjoy increasing popularity all around the globe. The top three cashew-consuming countries – India, the United States of America and Germany - lie on three different continents. Cashews accounted for 17 per cent of world tree nut production in 2019/20, making it the third most popular tree nut after almonds and walnuts (INC 2020). Cashew nuts are consumed in a variety of forms including as salty or sweet snacks, ingredient of desserts and savory dishes, or further processed into cashew butter or ingredient of a variety of spreads, sauces, bars, and drinks. Rising demand for these products has led global cashew production to more than double between 2000 and 2018 (see Chapter 3). This report takes stock of the global cashew market and gives an overview of cashew production, trade patterns and policies. It also highlights opportunities for the cashew sector to foster value addition and diversification in cashew-growing countries, and its potential contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Review of Maritime Transport is an UNCTAD flagship publication, published annually since 1968. Around 80 per cent of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and the percentage is even higher for most developing countries. The Review of Maritime Transport provides an analysis of structural and cyclical changes affecting seaborne trade, ports and shipping, as well as an extensive collection of statistical information. The report calls for a “just and equitable transition” to a decarbonized shipping industry. The sector, whose greenhouse gas emissions have risen 20% over the last decade, operates an ageing fleet that runs almost exclusively on fossil fuels. As global leaders prepare for the next UN climate conference (COP28), UNCTAD advocates for system-wide collaboration, swift regulatory intervention and stronger investments in green technologies and fleets. Full decarbonization by 2050 will require massive investments and could lead to higher maritime logistics costs, raising concerns for vulnerable shipping-reliant nations like small island developing states. The report emphasizes the need to balance environmental goals with economic needs but underscores that the cost of inaction far outweighs the required investments. The report recommends policy actions to overcome supply chain hurdles African countries face, including poor logistics, low levels of technology, fragmented markets, limited capital sources, and weak institutions and regulations. Beyond cleaner fuels, the industry needs to move faster towards digital solutions like AI and blockchain to improve efficiency as well as sustainability. In its analysis of global maritime trends, the report highlights shipping’s resilience despite major challenges stemming from global crises, such as the war in Ukraine. Maritime trade is expected to grow 2.4% in 2023 and more than 3% between 2024 and 2028.

In addition to the usual review of the recent world food and agriculture situation, each issue of The State of Food and Agriculture from 1957 has included one or more special studies of problems of longer-term interest. This year’s edition focuses on the agroprocessing industry and economic development.

In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. Urbanization—the increase in the urban share of total population—is inevitable, but it can also be positive. This Report looks beyond current problems. It examines the implications of impending urban growth and discusses what needs to be done, with specific attention to poverty reduction and sustainability.

This year’s report explores the degree to which the global community has fulfilled pledges made to the world’s most impoverished and marginalized peoples. It tracks progress, exposes shortfalls and examines the links between poverty, gender equality, human rights, reproductive health, conflict and violence against women and girls. It also examines the relationship between gender discrimination and the scourge of HIV/AIDS. It identifies the vulnerabilities and strengths of history’s largest cohort of young people and highlights the critical role they play in development.

Diverse social programmes —including conditional cash transfer programmes, labour and production inclusion programmes and social pensions—are being implemented in Latin American and Caribbean countries with the aim of ending poverty and reducing inequalities throughout the life cycle. This book offers an up-to-date analysis of these programmes and the way they relate to labour inclusion, and analyses ongoing debates regarding the possible incentives and disincentives they create in terms of the labour supply, formalization and child labour among the target population. Considering that poverty is a structural problem of highly unequal societies, the thesis that poverty is due to a lack of effort on the part of the poor is argued to be an expression of the strong prejudice against those living in poverty, the great majority of whom work or are actively seeking employment, but are hampered by the large decent work deficits existing in the region. From an integrated and rights-based perspective, public policies should simultaneously address the twofold challenge of social and labour inclusion in order to achieve basic thresholds of well-being by ensuring income, universal access to good-quality social services and opportunities for decent work.

Dans la continuité des Rapports sur le développement humain (RDH) 2019 et 2020, le RDH 2021/22 poursuit une conversation centrée sur les inégalités tout en intégrant d'autres thématiques importantes liées aux incertitudes de l'Anthropocène : transformations sociétales, impacts sur la santé mentale, polarisation politique , mais aussi, et surtout, une opportunité. Le rapport explore comment l'incertitude dans l'Anthropocène évolue, ce qui la motive, ce qu'elle signifie pour le développement humain et comment nous pouvons prospérer malgré cela. Le rapport soutient qu'en fin de compte, doubler le développement humain est essentiel à un avenir plus prospère pour tous.

This annual flagship publication seeks to both analyze routinely monitored economic and social variables in the Arab region in a global context as well as address debt sustainability and the macroeconomic implications. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic will have significant repercussions in 2021 and beyond, it is crucial to understand how Arab countries are dealing with the economic impact of the virus. The report sets out two scenarios: a baseline scenario projecting that the economy will rebound in the first quarter of 2021; and a pessimistic scenario in which the crisis will persist throughout the first quarter of 2021. However, given considerable advancements in research on COVID-19 vaccines, an economic rebound should be expected no later than the second quarter of 2021.

Continuando con el hilo de los Informes sobre Desarrollo Humano (IDH) de 2019 y 2020, el Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano 2021/22 lleva adelante una conversación centrada en las desigualdades al tiempo que integra otros temas importantes relacionados con las incertidumbres en el Antropoceno: transformaciones a nivel social, impactos en la salud mental, polarización política. , pero también, crucialmente, oportunidad. El Informe explora cómo está cambiando la incertidumbre en el Antropoceno, qué la impulsa, qué significa para el desarrollo humano y cómo podemos prosperar a pesar de ella. El Informe sostiene que, al final, duplicar el desarrollo humano es fundamental para un futuro más próspero para todos.

This annual report describes the activities, achievements and financial situation of the DMFAS Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at the end of 2017. It is intended for the Programme’s donors, development partners and beneficiary countries, and for all those interested in debt and development issues.

This annual report describes the activities, achievements and financial situation of the DMFAS Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at the end of 2021. It is intended for the Programme’s donors, development partners and beneficiary countries, and for all those interested in debt and development issues.

The 2023 Economic Report on Africa focuses on the impact of multiple and recurring global shocks on African economies and the extent to which these shocks impede Africa’s prospects for achieving the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals. The principal lessons are that shocks of various magnitude, duration and recurrence have played a major part in shaping economic performance in the last several decades, undermining Africa’s aspirations for sustained growth and rapid economic transformation that could benefit from demographic (youth bulge) and geographic (urbanization) trends. In addition, successive shocks have had scarring effects that have made it difficult for African economies to recover fully even after a short-lived shock such as the Global Financial Crisis. More important, the damages caused by shocks could morph into other domains such as political instability and conflict, undermining recovery and resilience to future shocks. The report also emphasizes the opportunities presented by the shocks to implement long overdue structural and public finance reforms that take full advantage of such regional initiatives as the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The private sector has a pivotal role to play in accelerating disability-inclusive sustainable development. Mainstreaming disability inclusion into every aspect of business presents opportunities for companies to improve workplace accessibility, strengthen performance, encourage innovation and expand to new consumer markets and untapped talent pools. Study findings have shown a positive correlation between the financial performance of companies and their status of disability inclusion, with higher sales, profit margins and shareholder returns for companies championing disability inclusion. Disability at a Glance 2023: Catalysts of Change: Disability Inclusion in Business in Asia and the Pacific provides an in-depth examination of the current business case for embracing disability inclusion. The publication has compiled data, policy developments and good practices adopted by governments, the private sector and civil society in the region. Based on the analysis of the current status and advancements, it recommends actions that Governments, businesses, and other stakeholders can undertake to advance the promotion of disability-inclusive business.

The Commodities and Development Report 2012, released during the 13th session of UNCTAD, shows that developing countries suffer from high prices for commodities and food, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that are net importers of food. The report states that factors such as financial speculation in commodities and increasing diversion of agricultural land to biofuel crops have led to a period of sustained increases in commodity prices and increased price volatility, which in turn have increased the vulnerability of poor families in developing countries. The report recommends: investing in national and regional food reserves to help food-insecure countries; reconsidering the shift to "finance-driven globalization," as it applies to commodities; adjusting fiscal and taxation policies to help developing countries reap stable, long-term economic benefits from commodities exports; and measures to improve the situations of small farmers and other small commodity producers in poor countries.

The study focuses on the economic cost of the Israeli occupation of Area C, which accounts for about 60 per cent of the total area of the occupied West Bank. While the occupation also imposes significant restrictions on Palestinian economic activity in Areas A and B, it imposes more restrictions in Area C. This report estimates the cost of these additional restrictions on economic activities in Area C, outside the settlements. The economic cost is estimated by applying an innovative, well-established methodology that uses nighttime luminosity (NTL), captured by satellite sensors over a span of time, to estimate levels of economic activity. Occupation fragments the geography and economy of the West Bank, disfiguring Areas A and B and C and rendering them like a jigsaw the pieces of which no longer fit together. These areas, broken down by a complex multi-layered control system, are deprived of much more than their unity. How can the losses entailed by restrictions and territorial fragmentation be assessed? And what is the economic cost of depriving Palestinian producers of Area C, the only contiguous part of the West Bank? This study aims to answer both questions by estimating part of this cost.

Latin America and the Caribbean is a region of great contrasts, where wealth and prosperity coexist with vulnerability and extreme poverty. The list of contrasts is long and familiar. The region is also characterized by very volatile and low average growth, explained by low productivity. This Regional Human Development Report argues that the region is caught in a double trap of high inequality and low growth. These two phenomena interact in a vicious circle that limits the ability to advance on all fronts of human development. Understanding the nature of the trap is critical to breaking free from it.

The Annual Report chronicles the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s achievements and future goals, against a backdrop of major global shifts sweeping across the economic, social and environmental landscape. UN ESCAP promotes rigorous analysis and peer learning through its seven core areas of work: macroeconomic policy and development, trade and investment, social development, transport, statistics, environment and development, information communications technology and disaster risk reduction.

Subjective measures are increasingly included among the set of assessment tools for poverty used by countries. Objective poverty measures alone are not sufficient to understand the complexity of poverty. Subjective measures can therefore complement them in important ways, especially with regard to reaching the poorest and making their voices heard. Statistical analyses related to the use of subjective and quasi-subjective measures on living conditions, equality, and environmental sustainability can be used to construct measures of an objective nature, for example, deprivation indices, and to verify other measures, such as equivalence scales and price indexes. Subjective measures can further add value in considering quantitative approaches to measuring poverty which rather than asking for a specific monetary value (levels of income, expenditures, consumption, or wealth), consider respondents’ perceptions about theirs (or a hypothetical household’s) material, financial, or economic situation. This publication explores the conceptual basis and provides approaches to the measurement and analysis of subjective poverty. The document consolidates country examples, reviews methodological challenges in data collection, and offers practical solutions from specific question wordings to ready-to-use R computer code for subjective poverty lines estimation. Building on existing international work, it recommends subjective poverty indicators for international comparison.

A variety of controls imposed under occupation constrain economic development in Areas A and B of the West Bank. These include the ban on the importation of certain technology and inputs under the dual-use list system and a myriad of mobility and other restrictions that inflate the cost of production and undermine the competitiveness of Palestinian producers in domestic and foreign markets. While special economic zones in China and other countries have contributed significantly to their economies and are thought to be positive, the classification of portions of the West Bank as part of Area C exerts the opposite effect: instead of openness, it entails restrictions, and instead of contributing to the economy it hampers and suppresses its potential. Area C thus plays a role kin to an “adverse economic zone” that thwarts investment instead of promoting greater economic activity. This study quantifies the impact of the relative share of Area C in Palestinian localities on household welfare, measured by expenditure. The estimation exercise uses two cross-sectional data sets on 457 localities in 10 governorates. The exercise reveals that the greater the share of Area C in a locality, the stronger the negative impact on total household expenditure. The extent of this negative effect, however, is heterogeneous and varies across West Bank governorates. The study complements previous studies and concludes that reducing restrictions in Area C to levels similar to Areas A and B, as a necessary, but not sufficient, step towards ending the occupation, in line with relevant United Nations resolutions, and could boost total Palestinian household expenditure substantially, by up to 200 per cent in some localities, and help to reduce poverty substantially across much of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The 2023 edition of Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean examines the behavior of the region’s economies over the current year and updates estimates for growth and other economic indicators. Specifically, this annual report presents new gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the region and all its countries in 2023 as well as projections for 2024. The document analyzes the economic and social dynamics of the year that is about to end and discusses the policy risks and challenges that the region will face in 2024 for fostering a transformative recovery.

En su edición 2023, el Balance Preliminar de las Economías de América Latina y el Caribe examina el comportamiento de las economías de la región durante el presente año y actualiza las estimaciones de crecimiento y otros indicadores económicos. En particular, este informe anual presenta nuevas estimaciones del producto interno bruto (PIB) para la región y todos sus países en 2023 y proyecciones para 2024. El documento analiza la dinámica económica y social del año que recién termina, y discute los riesgos y desafíos de política que enfrentará la región en 2024 para impulsar una recuperación transformadora.

En esta edición del Panorama Social de América Latina y el Caribe, 2024 se abordan los desafíos de la protección social no contributiva para avanzar hacia el desarrollo social inclusivo en la región. Enfrentar la crisis del desarrollo, las brechas del desarrollo social inclusivo y la estructura de riesgos en reconfiguración, exige avanzar hacia sistemas de protección social universales, integrales, sostenibles y resilientes. Las políticas de protección social no contributivas son esenciales en la consecución de los objetivos y funciones de los sistemas de protección social: la protección de los ingresos, el acceso a los servicios sociales y la inclusión laboral. Uno de cada tres hogares en el quintil de menores ingresos carece de acceso a la protección social y los montos de los programas suelen ser insuficientes para superar la pobreza. La región enfrenta una persistente desigualdad de género y una crisis de cuidados que se verá exacerbada por el envejecimiento acelerado. Para avanzar en la erradicación de la pobreza son precisas políticas integrales, así como avanzar en el establecimiento de un estándar de inversión social de la protección social no contributiva.

Le manuel sur la catégorie des pays les moins avancés (PMA) est préparé par le secrétariat du Comité des politiques de développement. Il répond au besoin de faire connaitre les méthodes et les approches utilisées dans l’identification des PMA, ainsi que les mesures de soutien international dont ils disposent, à un vaste ensemble de différentes parties intéressées. Cette 4ème édition s’appuie sur l’édition de 2018 et a été mise à jour afin de refléter de récents développements concernant les PMA, notamment les progrès de sortie de la catégorie effectués par plusieurs pays lors de la pandémie de COVID-19. Cette édition contient des informations supplémentaires concernant des mesures internationales de soutien, en particulier sur les dispositions de la « transition en douceur » pour les pays sortants de la catégorie PMA.