Two major publications will be released starting with the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012 on 2 July, followed by the World Economic and Social Survey 2012 on 5 July. A wealth of additional publications and reports are also available online.
Launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012 on 2 July
The Millennium Development Goals agreed to by world leaders over a decade ago have achieved important results. Working together, governments, the United Nations family, the private sector and civil society have succeeded in saving many lives and improving conditions for many more.
The world has met some important targets — ahead of the deadline, including the ones presented below:
- Extreme poverty is falling in every region
- The poverty reduction target was met
- The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water
- Improvements in the lives of slum dwellers in urban areas
- The world has achieved parity in primary education between girls and boys
- Many countries facing the greatest challenges have made significant progress towards universal primary education
- Child survival progress is gaining momentum
- Access to treatment for people living with HIV increased in all regions
- The world is on track to achieve the target of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of tuberculosis
- Global malaria deaths have declined
For more information: http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Default.aspx
Launch of the World Economic and Social Survey 2012 on 5 July
The World Economic and Social Survey (WESS) to be launched on 5 July provides objective analysis of pressing long-term social and economic development issues, and discusses the positive and negative impact of corresponding policies.
The report analyses current and proposed mechanisms for innovative development finance and highlights mechanisms that can 1) increase the scale of development financing available and 2) provide stable and predictable financing to enhance sustainable development.
The Survey confirms the potential of innovative development financing to mobilize substantial resources for international priorities, but concludes that realizing this potential requires strong political will to follow through on available proposals as well as transparency in the allocation and management of those resources.
To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/index.shtml
Live webcast from official launch of the WESS 2012 on 5 July at 11 am EST
Other technical reports
Global Economic Outlook (GEO) Report
This report presents short-term prospects for the global economy in 2012-2013, highlighting major risks and uncertainties.
The report draws on inputs from the experts of Project LINK, and analysis of staff in the Global Economic Monitoring Unit (GEMU) of the Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD) of UN DESA.
To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/proj_link/documents/geo201206.pdf
Statistical compilations
Monthly Bulletin of Statistics and MBS Online
The Monthly Bulletin of Statistics presents current economic and social statistics for more than 200 countries and territories of the world. It contains over 50 tables of monthly and/or bimonthly, quarterly and annual data on a variety of subjects illustrating important economic trends and developments, including population, prices, employment and earnings, energy, manufacturing, transport, construction, international merchandise trade and finance.
Vol. LXVI – No. 5, May 2012
This month, the following tables, which are featured in the MBS on a quarterly or bimonthly basis, are presented along with the regular recurrent monthly tables: Earnings in manufacturing, by sex and Total exports and imports by regions: volume and unit value indices and terms of trade.
For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mbs
Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 (MSITS 2010) ST/ESA/STAT/SER.m/86 Rev.110.XVII.14
The Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 (MSITS 2010) addresses the needs of a variety of producers and users of such statistics. While it is primarily a guide for statistical compilers, it is also a useful tool for governments and international organizations that use statistical information in connection with international negotiations on trade in services. Furthermore, it can aid enterprises and others that need to monitor developments in international services markets.
The revised Manual provides a more detailed classification of services delivered through conventional trade between residents and non-residents than is contained in BPM6. This Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBOPS 2010) classification has been revised in line with existing statistical frameworks.
The most significant change was the introduction of ‘Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others’ and ‘Maintenance and repair services, n.i.e.’ as two new components and the removal of ‘Merchanting’ from ‘Other business services’. The Manual includes a treatment of local delivery of services through foreign commercial presence and takes a further step towards linking these two systems.
The Manual provides clarifications on inward and outward FATS, and also describes the links between FATS and the international supply of services. It includes a new chapter discussing “modes of supply” described in GATS through which services can be delivered, and elaborates recommendations for a statistical treatment of these modes.
Correspondence tables will be provided as online documents between EBOPS 2010 and the Central Product Classification version 2.0, (CPC Ver. 2.0); and the GATS Services Sectoral Classification List (W120). The annex presenting the nature and purpose of the Tourism Satellite Account has also been updated. A new analytical annex will be provided online.
For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradeserv/TFSITS/manual.htm
Statistical Yearbook, Fifty-fifth issue
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.S/31, B.12.XVII.1
The Statistical Yearbook is an annual compilation of a wide range of international economic, social and environmental statistics on over 200 countries and areas, compiled from sources including UN agencies and other international, national and specialized organizations.
The 55th edition contains data available to the Statistics Division as of 31 December 2011 and presents them in 60 tables on topics such as: agriculture, forestry and fishing; communication; development assistance; education; energy; environment; finance; gender; international merchandise trade; international tourism; labour force; manufacturing; national accounts; population; prices; and science and technology.
The number of years of data shown in the tables varies from one to ten, with most tables covering the period up to 2009 or 2010. Accompanying the tables are technical notes providing brief descriptions of major statistical concepts, definitions and classifications.
For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/syb/
2010 International Trade Statistics Yearbook, Vol. II
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.G/59, E.12.XVII.3
The 2010 International Trade Statistics Yearbook (2010 ITSY), Volume II – Trade by Commodity, contains detailed tables showing international trade for 258 individual commodities (3-digit SITC groups) and eleven world trade tables covering trade values and indices up to the year 2010.
The information contained in Volume II is based on data provided by 141 countries (areas), representing 97.3% of world trade of 2010. Volume II has been compiled approximately six months after the submission of Volume I (in November 2011) as the preparation of these tables requires and benefits from the additional country data which, normally, become available later in the year.
Volume I – Trade by Country, has been compiled and made available in May 2011 to allow for an advanced release of an overview of international merchandise trade in 2010 and for a much earlier publication of the available 2010 country (area) data. All tables of Volume II are made available electronically shortly after the completion of the manuscript. Volume II contains updated versions of the two world trade tables A and D published in Volume I.
Beginning with the 2008 edition, the International Trade Statistics Yearbook is published in a redesigned format in respect to the presentation of data for individual countries (Volume I) as well as trade in a particular commodity (Volume II). For more detailed data, users are requested to go directly to UN Comtrade (http://comtrade.un.org/) which is the source of the information presented in the yearbook and which is continuously updated.
For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/trade/default.htm
2009 Energy Statistics Yearbook
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.J/53, B.12.XVII.10
The 2009 Energy Statistics Yearbook is the fifty-third issue in a series of annual compilations of internationally comparable statistics summarizing world energy trends. Annual data for 224 countries and areas for the period 2006 to 2009 are presented on production, trade and consumption of energy: solids, liquids, gaseous fuels and electricity.
In addition, per capita consumption series are also provided for all energy products. Graphs are included to illustrate historic trends and/or changes in composition of production and/or consumption of major energy products. Special tables of interest include international trade tables for coal, crude petroleum and natural gas by partner countries – providing information on direction of trade, selected series of statistics on renewables and wastes, refinery distillation capacity and a table on selected energy resources.
For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/pubs/gesgrid.asp?id=460
Population Facts 2012/3 “Migrants by origin and destination: The role of South-South migration”
Knowing where international migrants originate from is essential to understanding the international migration and development nexus: in particular, information about the country of birth of international migrants is necessary to assess the impact of international migration on the sending countries. The fact-sheet aims to provide comprehensive evidence on this subject, based on a new set of estimates of the international migrant stock for over 200 countries and territories for the years 1990, 2000 and 2010. These estimates are consistent with the estimates of the global migrant stock, which are regularly updated by the United Nations Population Division.
The fact-sheet highlights the fact that international migration between developing countries (“South-South migration”) constitutes about one-third of global migration, about the same proportion as international migration from developing to developed countries (“South-North migration”). A further finding is that the increase in the migrant stock in the developed countries from 1990 to 2010 was largely fuelled by international migrants from the South.
To download: www.unpopulation.org
Meeting records
Report of the Committee for Development Policy on its fourteenth session (E/2012/33)
The report is now available in all six official UN languages. In the report, the Committee addressed the following themes: productive capacity and employment; the international development strategy beyond 2015; the triennial review of the list of least developed countries; and strengthening the process of smooth transition of countries graduating from the category of least developed countries.
For more information: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/cdp/cdp_reports_ecosoc.shtml
Outreach material
Social Development Link Newsletter (SDLN)
The June issue of the newsletter, published by the Civil Society and Outreach Unit of DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), is now available. It aims at providing a sharp and synthetic summary of major activities carried out by DSPD and serve as a link between DSPD and its major partners, from civil society actors to social development practitioners and scholars. This issue highlights the high-level thematic debate that took place in May regarding the state of the world economy; Rio+20; the concluding session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and the job crisis affecting youth.
For more information: http://social.un.org/index/Newsletters/SDLNewsletter/June2012.aspx
Youth Flash Newsletter
The June issue is now available. The newsletter is a service of the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) Focal Point on Youth to help keep the public informed about the work of the UN on youth issues. It is prepared with input from UN offices, agencies, funds and programmes, and from youth organizations all over the world. This issue features news stories on the participation of around 3,000 young people from around the world at the Youth Blast – Youth Conference for Rio+20 on 7-12 June, as well as other Rio+20 related events.
For more information: http://social.un.org/index/Youth/YouthFlashNewsletter/2012/June.aspx
Enable Newsletter
The May issue of the newsletter is now available. It is prepared by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities (SCRPD) within UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, with input from UN offices, agencies, funds and programmes, and civil society. It presents the status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (SCRPD), informing about the number of countries which have ratified [115 countries]. It also provides a heads-up prior to the Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties, which takes place in New York on 12-14 September and for which a provisional agenda is now available.
For more information: http://www.un.org/disabilities/latest.asp?id=169
Working papers
Learning from the past: Which of the past/current development strategies are best suited to deal with the ‘quadruple crisis’?
During the last decade, the world economy has experienced a worsening in financial stability, food prices, income inequality and environmental conditions. Seven development strategies are evaluated to determine which could help solve ‘quadruple crisis’.
These strategies are assessed using a common methodology which first documents the economic, social, environmental and food security policies adopted, and then assesses their outcomes using 11 performance indicators. The strategies are then ranked on the basis of their overall success score. While all strategies produced some positive results, the East Asian Miracle and the new Latin American development approach generated the greatest number of favourable outcomes.
To download: http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2012/wp116_2012.pdf
Reason, Empathy, and Fair Play: The Climate Policy Gap
To achieve the greatest possible human welfare, the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Climate and Regional Economics of Development (CRED) model calls for rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to keep cumulative 21st century carbon dioxide emissions below 2,000 Gt.
It is explained why as some other models claim very slow emission reductions are best. Three changes are made to the basic assumptions of the well-known DICE model to include the most recent estimates of economic damages from climate change, express greater concern about the well-being of future generations, and expect rich countries to invest in emissions and poverty reduction in poorer countries.
To download: http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2012/wp113_2012.pdf
Discussion papers
June issue of the Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects
This issue presents the highlights of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012: Update as of Mid-2012 report. Despite some scattered signs of improvement in recent months, the world economic situation and prospects continue to be challenging. After a marked slowdown in the course of 2011, global economic growth will likely remain tepid in 2012, with most regions expanding at a pace below potential. The WESP Update per Mid-2012 projects that world gross product (WGP) will grow by 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.1 per cent in 2013, following growth of 2.7 per cent in 2011. This constitutes a slight downward revision from the forecasts presented in the WESP) 2012 in January. Downside risks for further weakening of global economic conditions remain unabatedly high.
To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_mb/wesp_mb44.pdf
May issue of the Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects
This issue covers recent events affecting the world economy such as the effects of major developed countries’ quantitative easing policies on the rest of the world, the $430 billion increase in IMF resources as well as the troubling situation in a number of other countries. The seigniorage effects of the quantitative easing policies of the United States, Europe and Japan have increased greatly over the course of the crisis and are estimated to be around $3 billion—at the expense of the countries holding dollars, euros and yen as reserves. Unemployment continued its upward drift in Europe, reaching almost 11 per cent.
To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_mb/wesp_mb43.pdf
Websites
Redesigned website of DESA’s Division for ECOSOC Support and Coodination (OESC)
The new and improved site includes news, events and exciting features, through which both existing users and new visitors can gain a greater understanding of the Division’s activities and achievements.
To browse: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/oesc/
