GENEVA / TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT
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STORY: GENEVA / TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT
TRT: 2.31
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
10 SEPTEMBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, Richard Kozul-Wright at his desk
3. Close up, hands on keyboard tilt up to his face
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Kozul-Wright, Director, UNCTAD's Division on Globalization and Development Strategies:
“I think for us a world of happy bankers, footloose corporations and stressed households is a world that can neither be sustainable or inclusive. And if we continue with the kinds of policies that we've seen particularly in the advanced countries over the last few years, then that is the world that will continue and it is a world that will produce booms and busts. It is a world that will be very vulnerable to financial crises on the scale that we saw in 2008 and 2009 and in that world, the people that will lose out the most end to be the most vulnerable, and that's true of the most vulnerable countries and it's true of the most vulnerable populations within countries, so a business as usual strategy will not produce the sustainable growth that we need, and it will be a very unequal and ultimately, a rather volatile world.”
5. Close up, UNCTAD poster
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Kozul-Wright, Director, UNCTAD's Division on Globalization and Development Strategies:
“We need to see governments spending more. We need to see wages rising in wealthy countries. People have money in their pockets and they can buy the goods and services that drive the economy and we need efforts to redistribute the income in the advanced countries. Inequality is a blight across the developed world and it needs to be addressed.”
7. Med shot, Richard Kozul-Wright at his desk
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Kozul-Wright, Director, UNCTAD's Division on Globalization and Development Strategies:
“In the developing countries, we need to see a greater emphasis on changing the structure of their economies, diversifying their economies away from dependence either on commodities or on low skilled manufactured goods. A richer economy, a more diverse economy is required and that requires industrial policies.”
9. Close up, zoom out from hands typing on keyboard
A new UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report said six years after the onset of the global economic and financial crisis, the world economy has still not found a sustainable growth path.
The study, released today (10 Sept), called for major changes in the way the global economy is governed and managed.
In an interview in Geneva, UNCTAD's Director for Globalization and Development Strategies Richard Kozul-Wright said a world of "happy bankers, footloose corporations and stressed households" can neither be sustainable or inclusive.
He added “if we continue with the kinds of policies that we've seen particularly in the advanced countries over the last few years, then that is the world that will continue and it is a world that will produce booms and busts.”
The expert also said “it is a world that will be very vulnerable to financial crises on the scale that we saw in 2008 and 2009 and in that world, the people that will lose out the most end to be the most vulnerable, and that's true of the most vulnerable countries and it's true of the most vulnerable populations within countries, so a business as usual strategy will not produce the sustainable growth that we need, and it will be a very unequal and ultimately, a rather volatile world.”
UNCTAD’s report noted that with expected growth of 2.5 to 3 per cent in 2014, the global recovery remains weak, while the policies supporting it are not only inadequate but often inconsistent, adding that getting back to business as usual has failed to address the root causes of the crisis.
In its annual Trade and Development report, the agency urges rich and poor countries to change their economic policies to stimulate growth and prevent a resurgence of the problems that caused the recent financial crisis.
Kozul-Wright stressed “we need to see governments spending more. We need to see wages rising in wealthy countries. People have money in their pockets and they can buy the goods and services that drive the economy and we need efforts to redistribute the income in the advanced countries. Inequality is a blight across the developed world and it needs to be addressed.”
In its report, UNCTAD economists identify funds lost through use of tax avoidance by multinational companies and tax havens by wealthy individuals as a possible source of revenue to finance these policies.
The publication forecasted that developing economies as a whole are likely to repeat the performance of previous years, growing at between 4.5 and 5 per cent. In this group, growth will exceed 5.5 per cent in Asian and sub-Saharan countries, but will remain subdued at around 2 per cent in North Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, transition economies are expected to further dip to around 1 per cent, from an already weak performance in 2013.
Kozul-Wright added “in the developing countries, we need to see a greater emphasis on changing the structure of their economies, diversifying their economies away from dependence either on commodities or on low skilled manufactured goods. A richer economy, a more diverse economy is required and that requires industrial policies.”