29 November 2013: The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has launched a series of policy briefs containing recommendations for the post-2015 development agenda. The first two issues of the Post-2015 Policy Brief call for structural reforms to the global economic and financial system, and a greater level of ambition in tackling poverty.

The first policy brief, titled ‘UNCTAD and the Post-2015 Agenda,’ says that post-2015 discussions have focused mainly on social deprivation, while little attention has been given to addressing resource mobilization and the systemic constraints on inclusive growth and development. It argues for a broader, developmental concept of sustainability that goes beyond minimizing environmental impacts to ensuring that development can be sustained economically, socially and politically.

The brief suggests measures such as sovereign debt structuring and access to long-term multilateral finance to help developing countries build up their productive capacity and become less vulnerable to boom-and-bust cycles in financial markets. Proposed goals include establishing, by 2030, an international trade system that supports sustainable development.

The second policy brief, titled ‘Growth and Poverty Eradication: Why Addressing Inequality Matters,’ argues that the goal of halving extreme poverty globally has been met largely due to China’s economic performance, masking a lack of progress elsewhere. The authors propose setting a poverty line of US$5 a day. They recommend prioritizing job creation and decent wages to promote domestic demand as a component of sustainable growth. They suggest possible targets of reducing the ratio of average wage to average chief executive remuneration, and monitoring functional income distribution, for example by measuring the share of wages in national income.

The policy briefs were launched on the occasion of the first Geneva Dialogue on the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, hosted by UNCTAD on 29 November, to address the role of trade and development in the post-2015 agenda as an input to the processes taking place at UN Headquarters. At the event, UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should include sufficient emphasis on development. Amina J. Mohammed, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning, highlighted the role of economic forces such as trade, investment and technology transfer in improving living standards and environmental conditions. [UNCTAD Press Release on Policy Briefs] [UNCTAD Press Release on Geneva Dialogue] [Publication: UNCTAD and the Post-2015 Agenda] [Publication: Growth and Poverty Eradication: Why Addressing Inequality Matters] [Geneva Dialogue Webpage]