UNCTAD Virtual Institute - UNCTAD Virtual Institute

From the Virtual Institute: Happy (belated) International Women’s Day!

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Details: Wednesday, 20 March 2019 15:22; Gül Unal

Here’s to a future where there will be no need to remind the public and policymakers to guarantee women’s rights but only a need to celebrate past victories toward gender equality.

Alas, such a future remains a distant prospect; and against a wider backdrop of persistent austerity and rising economic inequality the challenge of gender equality is getting harder still. Globally, labor’s share of total income has declined steadily in recent decades, while the share going to capital has risen (Figure 1) ; decent work has become increasingly hard to come by for many and job insecurity has become the norm in today’s global capitalism, a trend epitomized by the “gig economy.”

The Fall of Microcredit, and the Rise of Universal Basic Income - UNCTAD launches two new books

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Details: Friday, 16 November 2018 15:22; Gül Unal

The impetus for “microcredit”—the extension of very small business loans to impoverished borrowers who often lack collateral, steady employment, or a credit history—was mainstream finance’s unwillingness to deal with the poor, which, in turn, was widely believed to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. When Bangladesh was hit by famine in 1974, Mohammad Yunus, an economics professor, popularized the concept with the launch of his now-famous Grameen Bank. For his efforts, Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. But just how successful has microcredit been in breaking the poverty trap in developing countries?

Latest Vi online course trains 97 in 44 countries

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Details: Friday, 09 November 2018 11:10; System Administrator

The Virtual Institute online course on Economic Analysis of Non-Tariff Measures(NTMs), funded by the Government of Finland, was held September 3 - October 21. Ninety-seven academics, researchers and government officials from 44 countries successfully completed the course.

“The depth of the course in terms of fully explaining and illustrating concepts went beyond my expectations,” said Faith Melico Zimunya, of Botswana’s Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security.

Power, Platforms, and the Free-Trade Delusion: UNCTAD’s flagship report has arrived

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Details: Wednesday, 24 October 2018 13:43; Gül Unal

UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2018 Nothing is stronger, observed Victor Hugo, than an idea whose time has come. This may help explain why UNCTAD’s latest flagship study, “Trade and D evelopment Report 2018: Power, Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion” has received lots of media attention.

Grounded in pro-development analysis—intellectually and empirically—UNCTAD’s annual Trade and Development Reports (TDRs) have long been ahead of the curve in raising red flags for policymakers, as well as in proposing alternative ways forward for catch-up growth and inclusive development. This year’s report, launched on September 26, has proven especially prescient, given rising economic turmoil and the looming threat of another global downturn.

Trade wars are symptoms of deeper malaise, UNCTAD warns

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Details: Thursday, 27 September 2018 15:36; UNCTAD staff

The world economy remains on shaky ground a decade after the 2008 financial crisis, with trade wars a symptom of a deeper malaise, according to UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2018: Power, Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion.

While the economy has picked up since early 2017, growth remains spasmodic, and many countries are operating below potential, states the report. This year is unlikely to see a change of gear.

“The world economy is again under stress,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said. “The immediate pressures are building around escalating tariffs and volatile financial flows but behind these threats to global stability is a wider failure – since 2008 – to address the inequities and imbalances of our hyperglobalized world.”