The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021, the UN鈥檚 flagship report produced by DESA, looks at the performance of the world economy since the start of the pandemic as well as the impacts of global policy responses and post-crisis recovery scenarios. Set against a backdrop of prolonged economic uncertainty, the report highlights areas hardest hit by the pandemic and the subsequent global response, including challenges and opportunities that will determine the sustainability, resilience and fairness of the global recovery efforts. The report launch starts at 11:00 am, watch it .
Economic Development
Although global economic output is recovering from its COVID-19 collapse, the shows it will remain below pre-pandemic trends for a prolonged period.
2020 has been a tumultuous year. This year, the number of people living in extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in two decades. This makes recovery from the pandemic even more precarious. As we reflect on the year, let鈥檚 look at how and rural communities responded to the COVID-19 crisis and what we鈥檝e learned for the coming year. For example, the impacts of COVID-19 have shown us that, in times of crisis, resilience at the local level is essential for survival. It is increasingly clear that rural development solutions have to be nature-friendly.
As COVID-19 restrictions drove down prices, a family of dairy farmers has seen their income fall. Many dairy farming families are in a similarly difficult position. Customers who would usually come to their house to buy milk and cheese are no longer visiting, and local agro-tourism establishments aren鈥檛 buying. There are around 113,000 unregistered farms across Serbia, and they have been left particularly vulnerable during the crisis. These farms are not eligible for government support, and even the ones who are, do not receive enough money for subsidies from the municipality and the state to help ease the financial pain. in Serbia worked on the accelerated development of new solutions and organized help where it was needed most.
The (HDR) doubles down on the belief that people鈥檚 agency and empowerment can bring about the action we need if we are to live in balance with the planet in a fairer world. It shows that we are at an unprecedented moment in history, in which human activity has become a dominant force shaping the planet. These impacts interact with existing inequalities, threatening significant development reversals. Nothing short of a great transformation is needed to change the path we are on. The Report explores how to jumpstart that transformation.
As the second most planted crop in the country, maize has an important bearing on welfare in a land where almost a quarter of people live in poverty, and where the poverty rate is four times higher in rural communities than in urban areas. The study, , highlights measures that could help the country鈥檚 farmers capture a larger share of value from maize exports, and support poverty reduction efforts.
Global markets and spirits are up with the news that two COVID-19 vaccines have shown to be more than 90% effective in late-stage clinical trials. But while there is growing confidence that an end to the health pandemic is in sight, an published today warns that a viable vaccine will not halt the spread of economic damage, which will be felt long into the future, especially by the poorest and most vulnerable.
The economic and societal disruption caused by COVID-19 is worsening. Huge job losses, bankruptcies, shrinking GDP, widespread failure of small businesses, fundamental shifts in consumer and public behaviour will become more apparent as the pandemic drags on. We can no longer play by the old rules, and there are hard choices ahead. But also opportunities. The next phase of 鈥檚 response is a quantum leap鈥攖o help decision-makers enact fundamental changes to ensure a just and fair transition to a clean economy by overhauling governance and social protection and fostering digital disruption.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis continues to spread, the amount of money migrant workers send home is projected to decline 14 percent by 2021 compared to the pre COVID-19 levels in 2019, according to the latest estimates published in the World Bank鈥檚 Migration and Development Brief. The foremost factors driving the decline in remittances include weak economic growth and employment levels in migrant-hosting countries, weak oil prices; and depreciation of the currencies of remittance-source countries against the US dollar.
Every two years, the (UNDRR) works with thinkers, practitioners, experts and innovators to investigate the state of risk across the globe: highlighting what鈥檚 new, spotting emerging trends, revealing disturbing patterns, examining behaviour, and presenting progress in reducing risk. The findings make up the .
Cities are the front lines in dealing with disasters and are a major emphasis of the . They are particularly vulnerable to increasingly frequent and extreme weather hazards, such as storms, climate change impacts, including water shortages, environmental degradation and unsafe construction in seismic zones. the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient.
The industrialized countries, making up less than 20 per cent of the global population, produce over half of the world鈥檚 manufactured goods. Emerging economy China churns out a further 30 per cent. Developing countries together produce less than 3 per cent. There is now a risk that, as a result of the ongoing economic shockwaves from the COVID-19 pandemic, the gap could widen even further.
In the face of a deep global recession amid a still unchecked pandemic, the world needs a global recovery plan that can return even the most vulnerable countries to a stronger position than they were in before COVID-19, says UNCTAD`s . According to the report, key to success will be tackling a series of pre-existing conditions that were threatening the health of the global economy even before the pandemic hit.
This World Tourism Day (27 September) is celebrated at a critical moment, according to the last UN brief about the impact of COVID-19 on the industry. Communities around the world look to tourism to drive recovery, especially rural communities where the sector is a leading employer, most notably for women and youth. These rural communities are usually much less prepared to deal with the short and longer-term impacts of crisis. Tourism can offer solutions to all these challenges. Help us the role of tourism with the theme 2020: 鈥
celebrates 鈥淭ourism and Rural Development鈥 as this year鈥檚 World Tourism Day theme, as countries around the world look to tourism, as a leading employer, to drive recovery.