Following the rapid but uneven recovery from the Covid-19 shock, a series of supply-side shocks, waning consumer and investor confidence and the war in Ukraine have provoked a global slowdown and triggered inflationary pressures.
The world economy appears to be heading towards a global recession and prolonged stagnation unless we quickly change the current policy course of monetary and fiscal tightening in advanced economies.
All regions are affected, but alarm bells are ringing most for developing countries, many of which are facing serious debt distress and some edging closer to debt default. Climate stress is also intensifying, with mounting loss and damage in vulnerable countries who lack the fiscal space to deal with disasters, let alone invest in their own long-term development.
As 2022 comes to a close, the panel will discuss the immediate prospects for the global economy, the dangers of a lost decade for developing countries and what needs to be done to put the SDGs back on track.
Questions to be addressed:
- What are the risks of rising debt distress in developing economies?
- What does the recently concluded COP27 mean for developing economies seeking to undertake a green transition while being hit with increasingly damaging climate-linked natural disasters
- What more can be done at the national and international level to calm commodity markets and address price speculation?
- Are we heading for another round of austerity cuts, and what will be the impact of this?
- What changes in the multilateral architecture are needed to deliver on the SDGs?
Programme
Moderator:
- Richard Kozul-Wright, Director of the Globalization and Development Strategies Division, UNCTAD
Panelists:
- Jeffrey D. Sachs, University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
- Jose Antonio Ocampo, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Republic of Colombia
- Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
