UN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2021
On 15 September, the UN Conference on Trade and Development published the 2021 Trade and Development Report, which finds that in 2021, the global economy will bounce back with growth of 5.3%, the fastest in nearly 50 years. The rebound is, however, highly uneven along regional, sectoral and income lines.
The UNCTAD notes that the growth deceleration next year could prove sharper than expected if policymakers lose their nerve or heed misguided calls for deregulation and austerity. Policymakers in advanced economies have not yet woken up to the size of the shock caused by the pandemic to developing countries or its persistence. Many countries in the South have been hit much harder than during the global financial crisis, while their now-heavier debt burden reduces their room for fiscal policy.
The UN reports that the pandemic response in developed countries has activated a resurgent state and suspended fiscal constraints, but international rules and practices lock developing countries into pre-pandemic responses and a semi-permanent state of economic stress. “Without bolder policies that reflect reinvigorated multilateralism, the post-pandemic recovery will lack equity, and fail to meet the challenges of our time,” said Rebeca Grynspan, the secretary-general of UNCTAD.
Source: UNCTAD