13 July 2017: The UN Department of Economic Affairs released a review that finds that the UN’s economic analysis over the past 70 years has proven to be “accurate and prescient” and can help countries to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2017 Survey highlights the role of coordinated global actions, development planning, a stable global economy, well-functioning international trade and monetary systems, and respect for national policy space in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The review, titled ‘World Economic and Social Survey 2017: Reflecting on seventy years of development policy analysis,’ is the oldest annual economic and social report of its kind. The 2017 review reflects on the publication’s 70 years of systematically analyzing the global economy and its implications for development. The 2017 review finds that the Survey’s advice on free trade and development-friendly, country-specific advice has proven accurate over time and should continue to help countries in implementing the SDGs.

Throughout its history, the Survey has called for development to achieve large-scale institutional and structural change and has promoted full employment, high living standards and social progress. In the 1960s, the Survey provided an analytical basis for establishing the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The 2017 review highlights a number of other predictions that came true, including cautions about: large fiscal and trade deficits of developing countries before the debt crisis in developing countries emerged in the 1990s; and factors contributing to the financial crisis in the late 2000s.

The 2017 Survey argues that “greater and deeper” international coordination is necessary to achieve the SDGs.

The 2017 Survey argues that “greater and deeper” international coordination in key areas, including fiscal, monetary and trade, are necessary to achieve the SDGs. The report highlights the role of development planning and state capacity in achieving sustainable development, further emphasizing the importance of policy coordination across policy areas. The Survey argues that development progress will require “robust global economic growth, solid expansion of trade and steady access to financial resources for development.” The Survey advocates for giving countries adequate policy space to develop nationally appropriate policies that can accelerate development and for promoting international solidarity, which the report says can help in building the political will and mobilizing international support to implement the 2030 Agenda. [UN Press Release] [Publication Website] [Publication: World Economic and Social Survey 2017]