Un Official Calls For ‘Global New Deal’ To Fix Broken Global Economy
New York, Feb 7 2012 1:05PM
The world needs “a global new deal” to break the mould of economic thought
that led to the international financial crisis, the head of the United
Nations agency tasked with promoting trade and development says today.
In a newly released report entitled
Development-led globalization: Towards sustainable and inclusive development paths, the
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) urges the international
community to take decisive steps towards reforming global finance into a
system allowing for more stable and inclusive economic progress.
“Finance needs to get back to the business of providing security for
people’s savings and mobilizing resources for productive investment,” writes
Supachai Panitchpakdi, the UNCTAD Secretary-General, in the report.
“Surveillance and regulation will need to be strengthened at all levels,” he
adds.
UNCTAD has long maintained that the current global economic and financial
system has allowed a lop-sided system to flourish, with some participants
reaping the benefits while global income inequality and financial imbalances
have also accumulated.
In an effort to counter the growing disparities, the agency has suggested
multiple policy measures and reforms to support living standards in
developing countries and build their resilience to external shocks.
“Financial markets and institutions have become the masters rather than the
servants of the real economy, distorting trade and investment, heightening
levels of inequality, and posing a systemic threat to economic stability,”
warns the report, which also defines the dominant pattern of international
economic relations during the past three decades as “finance-driven
globalization.”
Mr. Supachai instead calls for financial and other resources to be
channelled towards “the right kinds” of productive activities, ensuring that
measures to diversify economic development are consistent with job creation,
food and energy security, and tackling the threat of climate change.
“It is a basic truth that people everywhere want the same thing: a decent
job, a secure home, a safe environment, a better future for their children
and a government that listens to and response to their concerns,” writes Mr.
Supachai. “This time around, rebalancing will need a global new deal that
can ‘lift all boats’ in developed and developing countries alike.”
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news