Is it time to phase out UNDESA’s regional criterion of development?

International migration to developing countries has attracted increasing attention because of its growing volume in absolute terms and its potential contribution to development. However, conclusions about what is happening in these countries depend crucially on the way migration and development are measured and analysed. This article shows that whether migrant stocks appear to be increasing or decreasing in developing countries depends on three factors: whether a regional or an economic criterion of “development” is used, whether volume is expressed in absolute numbers or as a percentage of total population, and whether the data include refugees and asylum seekers. The policy implications of these findings, which – due to the shortcomings of available data – can only be regarded as provisional, are then discussed. Better quality migration data and analysis informed by the limitations of the data are needed to provide a sound evidence base for current debates about migration policy

Synergy Solutions for a World in Crisis: Tackling Climate and SDG Action Together

We must change course. Without synergies, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate objectives remain out of reach. The evidence is clear: addressing climate change and achieving the SDGs are inextricably intertwined. Co-benefits far outweigh trade-offs. By maximizing these synergies, we can also bridge investment gaps worth trillions of dollars. Synergistic action should be a required component of national commitments, reporting and financing for climate and development goals. We must act on the climate emergency and sustainable development together now, or we risk not solving them at all. In May 2023 UNDESA and UNFCCC Secretariat co-convened the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergy. The Group consists of 14 renowned experts from diverse thematic and geographic backgrounds who were given the task of developing the First Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies. This report demonstrates that aggressively acting on climate and development in an integrated and synergistic way is an important opportunity to achieve the course correction the UN Secretary- General has called for. It highlights some of the challenges but also the opportunities if the international community is seriously committed to enhancing these synergies and thereby addressing these challenges. The report is designed to provide a broad overview of available data and evidence, insights from experts on the frontlines, and recommendations for enhancing synergistic action across the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This first edition will form the basis for future iterations, which will entail a wider scope of sectors, and thematic areas and deep dives on specific issues pertaining to strengthening and operationalizing synergic climate and SDG actions at all levels

What is preventing India from developing an inclusive national framework for older people?

Despite having the second largest population of people over age 60, India has yet to generate an effective national framework for confronting the exigencies of later life, especially those that are derived from a lifetime of poverty. This article demonstrates that this lack of interest in 'past' generations is driven by the unfortunate coincidence of externally endorsed concerns and concepts, and internal politics. Foundational assumptions on the economy and development and on old-age capacities and inter-generational relations, push for evidence collation which disincentivises more empirically relevant analyses, creating the fiction of dependency ratios and preventing the generation of evidence-based knowledge on later life. The consequence is that India prioitises current and future generations over ‘past’ generations. Policies on older people, who are treated as 'other' at international and national levels, are tied to competition for votes at national and state elections. Currently, policy is not designed around the concept of older people's rights, nor of meeting need. The first outcome of external and internal drivers is that national and state governments are not interested in, nor know, how many older people qualify for a pension; instead they fix budget ceilings and, at a local level, allocate and manage pensions in a random fashion. The second outcome is that pension values are allowed to wither on the vine, waiting on the political context in which one or more parties places a pension uplift at the centre of their manifest

Monitoring the sustainability of the Greek energy system

A concise set of energy indicators is proposed to assess the sustainability of the Greek energy system from 1960 onwards. Three generalized indices, each corresponding to one of the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, environmental and economic) are defined, estimated and presented in the form of a ternary plot. Results are used to analyze whether the energy system developed in a sustainable way, and to identify its weaknesses and deficiencies. The analysis further demonstrates the representativeness of the chosen set of indicators, and its ability to describe the most significant changes that occurred during the studied period. The analysis spans a period of 47 years, during which significant political, social and economic events took place in Greece. Results show that the development of the energy system has been mainly driven by social aspects. Environmental performance improvements are particularly evident during the last decade; however, a lot remains to be done to achieve national and European policy objectives. With regard to the social dimension, accessibility has substantially improved and disparities between low and high income households have narrowed. Nevertheless, energy prices have been continuously increasing at a rate higher than income. On economic terms, the initially observed improvement in productivity is misleading, as it was mostly caused by the increase of the Gross Domestic Product rather than energy efficiency improvements, while energy security has been worsening during the last decade

Effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing

This paper evaluates the effects of thermal insulation on thermal comfort in low-income tropical housing in Uganda. Dynamic thermal simulations are conducted to assess the effects of wall, roof and floor insulation strategies. 96 combination scenarios are simulated for various geometries, insulation and construction methods. Adaptive approach is used to evaluate the conditions within the case study buildings. The results indicate that external wall insulation improves thermal comfort in all conditions whereas internal wall and floor insulation may deteriorate the conditions. Roof insulation is the most effective strategy to reduce the risk of overheating. Due to the effectiveness of roof insulation and marginal improvements of external wall insulation, especially for brick walls, wall insulation may be disregarded when used in conjunction with roof insulation

Urban and river flooding: Comparison of flood risk management approaches in the UK and China and an assessment of future knowledge needs

Increased urbanisation, economic growth, and long-term climate variability have made both the UK and China more susceptible to urban and river flooding, putting people and property at increased risk. This paper presents a review of the current flooding challenges that are affecting the UK and China and the actions that each country is undertaking to tackle these problems. Particular emphases in this paper are laid on (1) learning from previous flooding events in the UK and China, and (2) which management methodologies are commonly used to reduce flood risk. The paper concludes with a strategic research plan suggested by the authors, together with proposed ways to overcome identified knowledge gaps in flood management. Recommendations briefly comprise the engagement of all stakeholders to ensure a proactive approach to land use planning, early warning systems, and water-sensitive urban design or redesign through more effective policy, multi-level flood models, and data driven models of water quantity and quality

Evaluating quality of contraceptive counseling: An analysis of the method information index

The Method Information Index (MII) is calculated from contraceptive users\u27 responses to questions regarding counseling content-whether they were informed about methods other than the one they received, told about method-specific side effects, and advised what to do if they experienced side effects. The MII is increasingly reported in national surveys and used to track program performance, but little is known about its properties. Using additional questions, we assessed the consistency between responses and the method received in a prospective, multicountry study. We employed two definitions of consistency: (1) presence of any concordant response, and (2) absence of discordant responses. Consistency was high when asking whether users were informed about other methods and what to do about side effects. Responses were least consistent when asking whether side effects were mentioned. Adjusting for inconsistency, scores were up to 50 percent and 30 percent lower in Pakistan and Uganda, respectively, compared to unadjusted MII scores. Additional questions facilitated better understanding of counseling quality

The evolution of private provision in urban drinking water: New geographies, institutional ambiguity and the need for political economy

Empirical research paints a dynamic picture of the evolution of private provision in urban drinking water. A second wave of privatisation is clustered in a key group of countries, distinguished by the rise of new domestic private and quasi-private providers. This is, however, taking place in the presence of a counter-dynamic of remunicipalisation. In response to the complexity in provision arrangements revealed, three case studies are used to illustrate how different power balance configurations in the state-society-capital complex inform particular institutional arrangements. In Germany, civil society pressure challenged private capital resulting in the reinstatement of municipal control in Berlin, but at high long-term costs. In Russia, disempowered civil society has watched as the ruling regime exploits the support of international public agencies and foreign investors, while carefully safeguarding the interests of domestic private capital. In China, different levels of the state have promoted quasi-state actors into global corporations, managing the entry of international capital in order to bolster domestic support for desired political reforms. Public responsibility, and equally the re-assertion of public control after a period of private provision, may not in itself secure net social benefit where the right of capital to profit is put before broader social considerations

Powering production. The case of the sisal fibre production in the Tanga region, Tanzania

Energy plays a crucial role in economic development. The article presents a framework for the analysis of alternative energy technology mixes in agricultural production and applies it in the context of sisal production in the Tanga region, Tanzania. Through scenario analysis, the paper presents both case-specific and generalizable insights. Case-specific insights show the key role that modern uses of energy and modern agricultural technologies could play in increasing productivity and revenues, in minimizing environmental degradation, and in promoting local development. Generalizable insights demonstrate the value of using sector-specific micro-structural frameworks and scenario analysis for assessing different technologies mixes in the energy and agriculture planning process

Poverty reduction during 1990-2013: did millennium development goals adoption and state capacity matter?

While poverty reduction remains central in the Post-2015 Agenda, its determinants remain debated in the literature, especially the role of structural conditions related to governance. This paper provides an assessment of two key dimensions: the global adoption of MDGs and state capacity. We do so by studying whether they facilitated convergence in income poverty measures, using cross-section and panel methods, with data on 89 developing economies for the period 1990–2013. We find that poverty headcount and gap measures tended to decrease faster in countries with initially higher income poverty. Such convergence accelerated after 2000, suggesting that MDGs adoption was instrumental to poverty reduction. However, this still leaves unexplained substantial variation in poverty reduction performance across countries. Such variation is explained by state capacity: countries with greater ability to administer their territories in 1990 experienced faster income poverty reduction and were more likely to have achieved the MDG target. This result is insensitive to robust regression methods and to a large set of controls (initial level of income, dependence on natural resources, education and health inputs, dependence on foreign aid, ethnic fractionalization, regional effects and a set of governance variables). As good governance and effective institutions are included in the Sustainable Development Goals, this result provides empirical justification for this move, suggesting that more effective states could be crucial to sustain the development progress achieved so far