UNESCAP: Growing Together
The UNESCAP has published a report titled Growing Together:Economic Integration for an Inclusive and Sustainable Asia-Pacific Century.
Growing Together articulates a number of proposals that can help the region exploit its huge untapped potential for regional economic integration.
Though the economic rise of Asia and the Pacific may seem to be a modern phenomenon, it is in fact a re-emergence. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 56 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) up to 1820, but its share declined to 16 per cent by 1950.
Subsequently, it started to regain its position in the world economy, first through Japan’s rapid growth, later through the rise of East and South-East Asia’s newly industrializing economies, and more recently by the rise of its two most populous countries, China and India. As a result of this dynamism, long-term projections suggest that the region’s share in the global economy could exceed 50 per cent by 2050, as it was until 200 years ago.
IMF: Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa
The International Monetary Fund(IMF), has published a survey on the Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa:Sustaining Growth amid Global Uncertainty
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to record strong economic growth, despite the weaker global economic environment. Regional output rose by 5 percent in 2011, with growth set to increase slightly in 2012, helped by still-strong commodity prices, new resource exploitation, and the improved domestic conditions that have underpinned several years of solid trend growth in the region’s low-income countries.. But there is variation in performance across the region, with output in middle-income countries tracking more closely the global slowdown and with some sub-regions adversely affected, at least temporarily, by drought. Threats to the outlook include the risk of intensified financial stresses in the euro area spilling over into a further slowing of the global economy and the possibility of an oil price surge triggered by rising geopolitical tensions.
This survey is also available in Français.
Measuring Water use in a Green Economy
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), just released a new report titled, Measuring Water use in a Green Economy. The report analyses the different ways for quantifying and accounting for water flows and productivity within the economy (including environmental needs). Based on the data, the report is said to provide the current state of knowledge of the different indicators and tools for quantifying water productivity and highlights why this is important for developing robust allocation and management systems that preserve the natural capital.
The report focuses on the following main elements;
- The conceptual knowledge and background on how water use puts pressure on the environment.
- Methodologies to quantify water availability and use and how this influences the ecosystems.
China and Latin America and the Caribbean: Building a strategic economic and trade relationship
The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) released a new publication entitled China and Latin America and the Caribbean: Building a strategic economic and trade relationship.
This document argues that China and the Latin American and Caribbean region now enjoy a sufficiently mature relationship and are poised to make a qualitative leap towards a mutually beneficial strategic alliance. It is available in English and Spanish.
ECA: Economic Report on Africa 2012
The Economic Commission on Africa(ECA) has released the Economic Report on Africa 2012. The current report presents a more cautious and nuanced analysis of the continent’s growth trajectory.
The report situates the story of a rising Africa in a broader context, by pointing out the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as governments push forward a series of policies to achieve structural transformation in an environment of global uncertainty. The report identifies the key binding constraints for unleashing Africa’s productive capacity and proposes a series of bold measures that governments must implement to position the continent as the next pole of global growth and rebalancing.
Previous Reports:
World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs
The World of Work Report 2011 has been published. The ‘World of Work Report 2011’ shows that it will not be possible to recover successfully from the Great Recession unless social inequalities are addressed through well-designed policies. Growing youth unemployment, income inequalities made worse as a result of rising food and oil prices, and other social inequities undermine support for pro-growth policies. They also entail a risk of social unrest which has started to materialize in the Arab region, some Asian countries and the Euro area. And they deprive the world economy from the kind of income growth that is needed in order to ensure sustainable economic recovery.
High-level Meeting on Integrating Women Into Economic Recovery
The Peacebuilding Commission and the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) will hold a high-level meeting tomorrow, Friday, 18 November 2011, on “Integrating women into economic recovery”.
Related links
- UN News Centre: “UN official stresses need for empowerment and political participation of women” 10 June 2011
UN Resources
Photo: Women in Côte d’Ivoire Celebrate International Women’s Day. UN Photo/Ky Chung
General Assembly - Second Committee
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met on Monday, 3 October 2011, to begin its general debate. The Second Committee will continue to meet and discuss all issues relating to economic growth and development set before the General Assembly (A/C.2/66/1).
UN Resources
- Second Committee Documents
- Second Committee website
- 66th session meeting summaries
- Official meeting records
- 65th session 2nd Committee reports
*Photo: Assembly Hears Report of Second Commitee, 20 December 2010. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
