Sustainable growth for developing countries figures high at UN-backed meeting
The importance of so-called ‘public goods,’ such as market efficiency, knowledge for innovation and respect for the environment, in reaching sustainable economic development in developing countries, figures high on the agenda of a two-day conference ending today under United Nations co-sponsorship.
The meeting, organized at Harvard University in the United States by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCIA) at Harvard and the Complutense Institute for International Studies of Madrid, brings together high-level academics, policymakers and economic development specialists.
Economic growth, crucial in the fight against poverty and for sustainable development depends on the suitable provision of public goods, the shortage of which affects the speed and quality of economic development in developing countries.
The international public good concept has become central to the debate on how to address challenges arising from globalization and poverty in the context of reaching the Millennium Development Goals, which seek to eradicate a host of socioeconomic ills such as extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Despite research in the field, a significant gap still exists between the understanding of the role of international public goods in economic development and the need for their provision in the present global setting, and the Conference aims to help bridge this gap.
Among those attending are Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick T. Sumaye, former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, 1999 Nobel Laureate in Economics Robert Mundell and former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Eduardo Aninat.
The 171-member-state UNIDO is a specialized UN agency that focuses on relieving poverty by fostering productivity growth. It helps developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the fight against marginalization in today’s globalized world.