By Laura Parry-Davies, Digital Communications Officer, OECD Development Centre
From climate change to COVID-19 to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the world is weathering a series of multiple, cascading crises. How can we – the international community – scale-up our response?
Continue reading “How to build global resilience in a multi-crisis world”
Par Guy Mehou, Économiste Macro-Financier & Charles Millogo, Responsable de l‘Économie Numérique, La Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD)
On entend souvent dire qu’avec Internet, l’accès au savoir est simplifié. Les possibilités données aujourd’hui au plus grand nombre de faire des recherches sur Internet ou de se former via des MOOC (cours en ligne ouverts et massifs) ont significativement accru l’accès à des contenus. Avec Internet, la connaissance n’est plus réservée à une élite mais est dorénavant l’affaire de tous. De plus, une part accrue de ce savoir est disponible gratuitement, pour peu que l’on dispose d’une connexion Internet, et donc à la portée de chacun. Pour un enseignant, donner un cours en ligne permet d’avoir une audience décuplée et pour un étudiant, suivre un cours en ligne permet de choisir le moment privilégié pour s’instruire.
Continue reading “Le numérique au service de l’éducation en Afrique de l’Ouest”
By Welby Leaman, Senior Director Global Policy Strategy, Walmart, Ana Valero, Director of Public Affairs and Regulatory for Latin America, Telefónica and Amy Alvarez, AVP, International External and Regulatory Affairs, AT&T [1]
Accelerated digital transformation has boosted e-commerce and digital service offerings. Across 13 African countries, more than 1 in 5 firms started using or expanded their use of digital technology in response to the shock of the pandemic. Decades of investment in connectivity, public-private collaboration and greater adoption of digital technologies by the public sector, including for public services, further accelerated digital transformation across emerging markets. Now, as countries struggle to return to growth, digital transformation can accelerate productivity and global trade. A 10% increase in digital connectivity between countries has been shown to increase trade in goods by nearly 2% on average, trade of parcels by 4%, and trade in services by over 3%.
Continue reading “Can digitalisation spur growth and close gaps?”
By Koki Hirota, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University and Visiting Fellow, JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development
According to the principles adopted by the G20, quality infrastructure investment consists of six key components: maximising sustainable growth, economic efficiency throughout the life cycle, environmental considerations, resilience, social considerations and governance.
Continue reading “Why do we need to invest in quality infrastructure?”
By Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, PhD, Assistant Director of the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and Sara Jane Ahmed is the founder of the Financial Futures Center and Finance Advisor to the V20 Group of Finance Ministers
With a third of Pakistan under water, millions displaced and commodities like cotton at the heart of Pakistan’s economy destroyed, the existential impact of climate change on vulnerable economies could not be clearer.
Continue reading “Why Multilateral Development Banks Must Step Up on Debt Relief“
By Jessica Voorhees, Digital Communications Officer, OECD
We live in an age of crises. Some places are better able to manage and absorb these shocks than others: countries and territories that are exposed to economic, environmental, political and societal risks, but lack the capacity to cope with them, are considered “fragile” by the OECD. This article explores how development actors can support these populations in addressing not only the impact of crises but also the root causes of fragility.
Continue reading “How can we improve development co-operation in fragile contexts?”
By Paul Akiwumi, Director, Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programme, UNCTAD and Ratnakar Adhikari, Executive Director, Enhanced Integrated Framework
Over the past two decades, the 46 least developed countries (LDCs) have recorded relatively robust economic growth, averaging an annual rate of 5.7% from 2001 to 2019. However, this growth has not necessarily translated into improved development outcomes: many LDCs are still plagued by poverty, food insecurity and inequality.
Continue reading “It’s time to put productive capacities at the heart of every development strategy”
By Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh
In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) called for a data revolution. Five years on, data scarcity became a major concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores if public-private partnerships can be an effective means of addressing data gaps in developing countries and helping them to build back better.
Continue reading “Tackling data scarcity in developing countries through public-private partnerships”
By Michele Delera, UNU-MERIT, Carlo Pietrobelli, UNU-MERIT and University Roma Tre, and Elisa Calza and Alejandro Lavopa, UNIDO[1]
There are many controversies among economists but one fact is undisputed: long-run productivity growth depends on the absorption and deployment of new technologies. Some estimates indicate that differences in technology diffusion account for a quarter of cross-country differences in per capita income. In the midst of a new Industrial Revolution driven by artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine communication, cloud computing and additive manufacturing, countries’ capacity to catch-up will likely depend on the speed with which they absorb these technologies. The implications for emerging economies are profound. New technologies may undermine the viability of labour-intensive development. Yet they may also open up new ways for developing countries to integrate in the global economy.
Continue reading “Are emerging economies already engaging with Industry 4.0 technologies?”
By Steven M. Radil, U.S. Air Force Academy, Olivier Walther, University of Florida, Nicholas Dorward, University of Bristol, Matthew Pflaum, University of Florida and Marie Trémolières, Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC), OECD
Political violence is moving away from cities in North and West Africa, even as urban populations continue to grow at an unprecedented pace in the region. More than half of the violent events observed in 2021 took place in rural areas, against 20% a decade ago. The emergence of Jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel and its southern peripheries explains this ruralisation of conflict that affects a growing number of civilians and border regions.
Continue reading “Conflicts are becoming increasingly rural in North and West Africa”