Green transition - the adoption of more environmentally sustainable growth patterns - should leave no one behind. That means that policy strategies to shift to low-carbon economies and protect the environment must also aim to better protect people, create quality jobs and bridge gaps across socioeconomic groups, geographical areas and generations. To chart their own paths towards sustainability, economies in Africa, Asia and Latin America thus need multisectoral approaches.
Global and regional development trends
The OECD analyses fast-changing global and regional development trends, to help countries of all income levels design innovative policies that meet their needs and improve their populations’ lives.
Key messages
Following two decades of convergence with high-income economies, most low- and middle-income countries have seen their progress halt or recede due to a succession of crises in the early 2020s, including the COVID-19 pandemic and strong global inflationary pressures. These countries’ paths to economic and social recovery are mired with risks, for example of more frequent natural disasters, growing technological gaps with richer economies or new obstacles to their participation in global value chains, but they also offer fresh opportunities to adopt new, more sustainable growth patterns.
Digitalisation, or the use of digital technologies, data and interconnection to change existing activities or create new ones, is transforming lives, altering business models and reshaping relations between governments and citizens. To make it a positive force for sustainable development, policy makers must ensure technologies are accessible and affordable by all, regardless of place, gender or income. They must also counter their misuses, such as online mis- and disinformation. This entails a wide array of actions, from investment in physical infrastructure to regulation, legal reforms, international co-operation or skills development.
Context
The rise of digital labour platforms does not always encourage formal employment
New forms of employment, largely spurred by changes in technology, have created more challenges for social contracts. In particular, although digital labour platforms offer new opportunities for formalisation – by providing better traceability, transparency and accountability in economic activities – they remain largely associated with high shares of informality.
Gender equality in times of crises: a mixed picture of progress and setbacks
Discriminatory social institutions are at the heart of gender inequality. They curtail women’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. They also limit women’s participation in the global response to climate change – even though on a global level they are among the most affected. Policy makers have been paying increasing attention to the various hidden and deep-rooted barriers to female empowerment. However, progress is slow and major environmental, economic, and social challenges threaten to reverse the trend, underlining the need for countries to step up efforts to reform laws and address biases.
