text stringlengths 9 3.62k | document_url stringclasses 458
values | source_url stringclasses 458
values | country stringclasses 154
values |
|---|---|---|---|
The report is timely as it is now that the world needs to move from concepts and commitments to the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022–2031 (United Nations, 2022).
Moreover, recently there has been a renewed emphasis on the role of finance and debt in i... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Examples include the United Nations SDG Stimulus package (United Nations, 2023c) and the Policy Brief on Reforms to the International Financial Architecture prepared for the Summit of the Future (scheduled to take place in 2024) (United Nations, 2023a), the Bridgetown Initiative, as well as efforts by the international... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
These initiatives, along with deliberations at other multilateral forums,2 are further evidence that the restoration of fiscal space in LDCs through a lasting resolution of the debt crisis, reform of the IFA and mobilization of climate finance are issues at the centre of global efforts to safeguard the realization of t... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition, 2023 is a crucial year for global climate finance, given that a key agenda item of the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held towards the end of the year is the operationalization of the Loss and Damage... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
With LDCs falling behind on the path towards the Goals, and as the world approaches the mid-point of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the messages and recommendations 1 The IFA can be defined as the governance arrangements that safeguard the stability and functioning of the global mone... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The IFA comprises an intricate structure of international organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regional development banks, international, multinational and national financial institutions, as well as regulatory bodies. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
2 For example, the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, April 2023; the 13th UNCTAD Debt Management Conference, December 2022; and the 30th Global Forum on Public Debt Management, OECD, May 2023. presented in this report are as opportune as they are urgent.
There is a growing realization that the prevailing IFA is ill-... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The period of successive crises since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings of the present IFA, and prompted several initiatives and proposals to improve it.
These range from short-term, stopgap measures, such as the Debt Services Suspension Initiative, to discussions on longer-term so... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The latter include debt restructuring rules and mechanisms, as well as the functioning, governance and resources of multilateral development banks (United Nations, 2023a). | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The existing international financial architecture is unable to mobilize sufficient finance for sustainable development in LDCs LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC LDC INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
These deliberations directly affect LDCs, given their dependence on external financing and their need for integration into the global economy through trade and financial flows.
However, the LDCs exert little, if any, influence on the decision-making processes that shape the IFA.
One reason for this The Least Develope... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
They jointly accounted for only 1–2 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), international trade, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2021–2022.
In addition to their minor weight in the global economy, the voice of LDCs in international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For instance, due to their small share of quotas in the IMF, the 46 LDCs jointly received only just over 2 per cent of the general allocation of 456 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (equivalent to about $650 billion) agreed in August 2021 to provide additional liquidity in response to the global economic crisis.3 ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For example, LDCs account for more than 60 per cent of regional members of the African Development Bank (AfDB), but jointly hold only 13 per cent of voting rights – less than those of the United States, Japan and Germany combined.5 Needless to mention, the LDCs are not part of the Group of Seven or the Group of 20. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Such power imbalances lead to a situation where the LDCs are frequently mentioned in international discussions on issues essential for their development prospects – such as financing for development and climate finance – but the subsequent outcomes and 3 Based on IMF data, available at https://www.imf.org/ en/Topics/sp... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
worldbank.org/en/doc/a16374a6cee037e274c5e932bf 9f88c6-0330032021/original/IBRDCountryVotingTable.pdf (accessed 23 June 2023).
5 Voting rights as of 22 December 2023, see: https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/afdb-statement- subscription-and-voting-powers-31-december-2022 (accessed 23 June 2023).
decisions often do not ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Therefore, there is an urgent need for the international community to move beyond rhetoric and implement solutions that cater to the financing needs of LDCs.
B.
Larger financing needs of the least developed countries in the context of an increasingly complex international financial architecture 1.
Growing financing ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In a study predating the COVID-19 pandemic, Kharas and McArthur (2019) show that the financing needs for the SDGs exceed the spending projected for 2025 in the vast majority of LDCs (figure 1.1).
The Least Developed Countries Report 2021 (UNCTAD, 2021) employed an innovative methodology to estimate the SDG financing n... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Eradicating extreme poverty (SDG target 1.1) would require annual investments of $485 billion until 2030.
These estimates assume a 50–60 per cent increase in investment relative to actual investments in 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Achieving a more ambitious development goal – structural transformation – wo... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The LDCs would have to spend an estimated $1,051 billion annually to double the share of manufacturing in GDP (SDG target 9.2), used as a proxy for structural transformation.
This would require their economies to grow at an unrealistic annual rate of 20 per cent during the 2020s (UNCTAD, 2021).
SDG investment and spe... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For instance, the Government of Bangladesh projected the annual average costs of achieving the SDGs to be $66.3 billion at 2015 constant prices (Bangladesh Planning Commission, 2017).
A study on Cambodia estimated that the country would need to invest 5.4 per cent of its GDP annually to end poverty (Alisjahbana, 2019)... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The Government of Nepal estimated an annual spending need of Rs.2,025 billion ($18 billion) to achieve the SDGs by 2030 (National Planning Structural transformation in LDCs requires significantly expanded fiscal space FISCAL SPACE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CHAPTER 1: Making the international financial architecture work for t... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The costs of achieving the 49 SDG targets prioritized by Benin have been estimated at more than $74.5 billion, equivalent to $5.7 billion, on average, per year, or 60.8 per cent of its GDP in 2017 (DGCS-ODD, 2018).
With annual domestic fiscal resources of about $1.66 billion, or 18 per cent of GDP in 2017, Benin depen... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Other country-level assessments are currently being prepared as part of the Integrated National Financing Frameworks initiative in which 28 LDCs participate.
LDCs’ financing needs have further expanded as a result of the multiple crises.
The OECD (2022) estimates that in 2020, the SDG financing gap in all developing ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The World Investment Report 2023 estimates that the gap is now about $4 trillion per year – up from $2.5 trillion in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted (UNCTAD, 2023).
Afghanistan Angola Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Central African Republic Chad Comoros Dem.
Rep. of the Congo Djibouti Eritrea Et... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Rep. Lesotho Liberia Malawi Mali Mauritania Mozambique Myanmar Nepal Niger Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Somalia South Sudan Sudan Timor-Leste Togo Tuvalu Uganda United Rep. of Tanzania Yemen Zambia 1 600 1 400 1 200 1 000 600 400 200 0 800 Financing needs Projected spending Dollars ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Note: When the financing needs bar does not appear, it means that their value is the same as that of the projected spending.
LDCs have a marginal influence on decisions over the international financial system OTHER COUNTRIES LDCs Decision-Making Power The climate finance needs of LDCs are also growing as countries’ co... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
According to the UNFCCC’s Standing Committee on Finance (2021), the cost of implementing the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of developing countries amounts to $6 trillion through 2030, a far cry from the $100 billion annual climate finance target of the Copenhagen Accord and the $21 billion–$83 billion of a... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The LDCs have made ambitious plans to address climate change in their NDCs, but implementation depends on external finance, technology transfer and capacity-building (UNCTAD, 2022).
As the LDCs are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, they urgently need more finance for adaptation. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
However, more climate finance is directed towards mitigation instead, because it focuses on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which is easier to define and fund.6 On the other hand, most adaptation initiatives 6 See OECD (2022), Aggregate Trends of Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The Least Developed Countries Report 2023 8 focus on building long-term resilience.
Adaptation projects are often public goods, characterized by high upfront costs, long investment timelines, the lack of a clearly identifiable revenue stream or unattractive risk and return profiles (e.g.
climate-resilient bridges or ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
solar and wind power, electric vehicle manufacturing etc.)
is already mature, and costs and returns on investment are relatively stable and predictable.7 Furthermore, carbon markets which incentivize investment in mitigation do not exist for adaptation.
The contribution of LDCs, as a group, to the climate crisis is a... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
However, more than a third of climate finance flows to these countries is delivered through loans, and thus adds to their mounting debt burdens.
In order to avoid a climate debt trap, LDCs need grants, rather than loans, to finance climate action.
In this context, the new Loss and Damage Fund could play a pivotal rol... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
This includes especially the LDCs and the small island developing States (SIDS) (see chapter 2).
Seven of the LDCs are SIDS.
2.
An increasingly complex international financial architecture In addition to higher financing requirements to compensate crisis-related development losses, the external financing conditions ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The number of actors has multiplied to include philanthropists, development finance 7 See: https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ ciimem4d25_en_0.pdf.
institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), alongside traditional donors.
Furthermore, other developing countries such as B... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition, there has been fragmentation and proliferation in the international climate finance architecture (see chapter 2).
While the emergence of new partners and funding vehicles broadens the landscape of development finance, it also raises the associated transaction costs, and exerts further pressure on LDCs’ li... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Each fund and development partner has its own administrative and bureaucratic requirements, including access to financing, disbursement modalities, and systems of monitoring and reporting.
Such high administrative burdens and transaction costs limit the LDCs’ ability to access financing by the various institutions, an... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition to the rise in transaction costs, the proliferation of the international aid architecture makes alignment with national priorities and coordination between donors more burdensome, while maintaining overall debt sustainability has become more complex.
Furthermore, the target space of official financing has ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
These expanded goals include “traditional” development finance objectives, climate finance and humanitarian aid in a context of extreme weather events that increase in frequency, along with geopolitical tensions that have intensified refugee and migratory flows.
In this regard, there has been a blurring of the boundar... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
This blurring of boundaries is especially blatant in the context of blended finance.
There it is often difficult to distinguish between development finance and purely commercial private investments that are backed by official support (UNCTAD, 2019). | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Also, the distinction between development finance and climate finance, which is critical for purposes of monitoring and ensuring additionality (box 1.2), is becoming 8 Vertical fund refers to a specialized development finance vehicle that focuses on a specific sector or thematic area such as climate change, health or e... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Examples include the Green Climate Fund, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the recently established Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
As the LDCs are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, they urgently need more finance for ad... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition, an increasing share of official development assistance (ODA) by donor countries is spent on refugees in-country, without triggering any financial flows to developing countries.
Preliminary ODA figures suggest that this represents a diversion of ODA flows away from developing countries, including LDCs (see... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Such decisions are typically taken in the main financial centres by private agents or donor governments, where a strong LDC voice is conspicuous by its absence.
This leads to difficulties for LDC governments to retain ownership of their development agendas and coordinate financial flows that have major impacts on thei... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Furthermore, decisions taken in developed countries can have ripple effects on the ability of LDCs to meet their development finance needs.
A case in point may be the implementation of net-zero requirements in the banking sectors of developed countries (chapter 4).
Also, the costs of external borrowing for LDCs have ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition, rising geopolitical tensions make it difficult for LDCs to create synergies between the activities of different development partners and different sources of external finance. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The importance of this consideration is illustrated by paragraph 14 of the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022–2031 (DPoA), which underscores both the ambition of this new Programme of Action, as well as the need for “a reinvigorated global partnership for sustainable developm... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Recent individual initiatives, such as the Summit for a New Global Financing Compact in Paris, signify progress in some areas but remain below the level of ambition needed to address the acute financing challenges LDCs face (chapter 5).
For instance, the World Bank announced its intention to introduce clauses in loan ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Both aim to promote sustainable development, address global challenges and improve the well-being of people and the planet.
While development finance focuses on broad-based objectives, such as poverty reduction and eradicating hunger, climate finance specifically targets activities related to climate change mitigation... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
However, there are some conceptual, programmatic and institutional overlaps between these two forms of finance.
Since climate change poses a major threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in development planning it is important to take an integrated and holistic view that includes climate change... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In tandem, climate policies need to take into consideration potential co-benefits and negative side effects across traditional development areas.
This interrelationship is reflected in the framework of the Goals, which includes Goal 13 – the climate change Goal – that calls for “urgent action to combat climate change ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Furthermore, both development finance and climate finance can be provided through grants, loans and technical assistance.
The same bilateral donors and international financial institutions fund development projects with and without climate objectives.
There can also be overlaps at the project level.
For instance, a ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
There are also differences, as not all development projects target climate change objectives, and not all climate change projects serve broader development objectives.
Accordingly, a share of climate finance is delivered through specialized climate funds that mobilize resources specifically for climate-related project... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In addition, a critical factor for climate finance is that it should constitute new, dedicated financial resources to address the unique and additional challenges posed by climate change in line with the principle of additionality.
Accordingly, climate finance should not divert resources from existing development fina... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
By adhering to the principle of additionality, climate finance can ensure that resources are channeled towards climate-related activities that would not be covered by traditional development finance, as stressed throughout this report.
Box 1.2 Development finance or climate finance? | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Box 1.2 Development finance or climate finance?
The Least Developed Countries Report 2023 10 times of crisis.9 Although a step in the right direction, these clauses will only apply to new loans, and thus do not help to address the existing, unsustainable debt burdens of many LDCs. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Similarly, the announcement by the IMF that the target of making $100 billion available to vulnerable countries by rechannelling SDRs had been achieved10 is good news, but it should be seen as a first, rather than the final, step.
In this sense, as the following chapters of this report highlight, the international com... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Hence, this report reinforces calls for progress on the reform of the international financial architecture, including across the development financing landscape, which encompasses ODA, climate finance and the international debt architecture.
It has become a matter of urgency for the international financial architectur... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Chapter 2 highlights the critical need for fiscal space to boost growth and resilience in the LDCs.
It shows that in the short to medium term, ODA grants are a major factor for enhancing fiscal space in LDCs, while, over the medium term, domestic resource mobilization can play a larger role. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Recent trends in ODA flows to the LDCs are presented, pointing to the crucial need to bring ODA flows to the LDCs up to levels committed by developed countries as fast as possible in order to provide them with the resources 9 See https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/ 2023/06/22/comprehensive-toolkit-to-support-c... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
needed for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The chapter presents the latest figures on climate vulnerability and climate finance flows to the LDCs, which demonstrate the inadequacy of currently available funds.
Chapter 3 considers the evolving and worsening dynamics of the external debt of LDCs. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
It also assesses several initiatives that have been implemented or proposed by the international community, including debt relief initiatives and debt restructuring proposals to provide relief to indebted countries.
It highlights the insufficiencies and inefficiencies of such initiatives to systematically deal with th... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Chapter 4 examines the role that central banks could play in supporting green structural transformation in LDCs.
While the underlying mechanics and the ecosystem imperatives for central banks to successfully fulfil a net zero mandate in developed-country contexts have been discussed for some time, the chapter presents... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Crucially, it considers the implications of climate central banking for the availability of financing for broad-based structural transformation in their countries.
It highlights the constraints on central banks’ climate action due to their typically limited reach in domestic financial sectors, and how the underdevelop... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Critically, it discusses potential conflicts between climate central banking with their existing legal mandates.
It concludes by proposing a framework to guide the central banks of LDCs in engaging in climate central banking with the view of prioritizing their actions that are developmental and support low-carbon stru... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Chapter 5 draws on the analysis and conclusions of the preceding chapters, and presents policy options and recommendations for consideration at different levels (multilateral, regional, domestic) by different actors, including LDC governments, development partners and international financial institutions. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The international financial architecture needs urgent reforms to provide a global safety net and foster development in LDCs CHAPTER 1: Making the international financial architecture work for the least developed countries 11 References UNCTAD (2021).
The Least Developed Countries Report 2021: The Least Developed Count... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
E.21.II.D.4.
New York and Geneva.
UNCTAD (2022).
The Least Developed Countries Report 2022: The Low Carbon Transition and Its Daunting Implications for Structural Transformation.
United Nations publication.
Sales No.
E.22.II.D.40.
Geneva.
UNCTAD (2023).
World Investment Report 2023: Investing in Sustainable En... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance (2021).
First report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement.
Technical Report.
UNFCCC.
United Nations (2022).
Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries.
No.
A/RES/76/258.
... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
New York.
United Nations (2023b).
Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2023: Financing Sustainable Transformations.
United Nations, Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development.
New York.
United Nations (2023c).
United Nations Secretary General’s SDG Stimulus to deliver Agenda 2030.
United Nation... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
New York.
United Nations (2023d).
Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet − Report of the Secretary-General (Special Edition) [Advanced unedited version].
General Assembly Seventy-eighth session No.
A/78/XX-E/2023/XX.
United Nations.
New York.
Alisjahbana A... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
ESCAP Op-Ed.
Available at https://www.
unescap.org/op-ed/sustainable-development- 2030-achievable-cambodia-and-asia-and-pacific.
Bangladesh Planning Commission (2017).
SDGs Financing Strategy: Bangladesh perspective.
SDGs Publications No.
7.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Dhaka.
DESA (2022)... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
New York.
DGCS-ODD (2018).
Plan biennal 2017–2018 de la mise en œuvre des Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) au Bénin.
Direction Générale de la Coordination et du Suivi des ODD (DGCS-ODD).
Cotonou.
IMF (2023).
World Economic Outlook: A Rocky Recovery.
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Washington, D.C. Kh... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Global Economy & Development Working Paper No.
131.
Brookings Institution.
Washington, D.C. National Planning Commission − Nepal (2018).
Needs Assessment, Costing and Financing Strategy for Nepal’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Government of Nepal.
Kathmandu.
OECD (2022).
Global Outlook on Financing for Sustai... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Paris.
UNCTAD (2019).
The Least Developed Countries Report 2019: The Present and Future of External Development Finance – Old Dependence, New Challenges.
United Nations publication.
Sales No.
E.20.II.D.2.
Geneva.
UNCTAD (2020).
The Least Developed Countries Report 2020: Productive Capacities for the New Decade.... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Introduction 15 B.The need for fiscal space in least developed countries in the context of multiple crises 15 C. The development finance landscape in the least developed countries 18 1.
The role of domestic resource mobilization 18 2.
The role of external financial flows to least developed countries 22 3.
How do off... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The role of regional and subregional development banks 28 D. Climate finance in the least developed countries 30 1.
The least developed countries and climate change 30 2.
Climate finance flows to the least developed countries 31 3.
The Loss and Damage Fund: A game changer for least developed countries?
35 E. Summar... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Introduction Fiscal space refers to the extent to which a government can increase its spending or sustain a reduction in revenues without compromising its long-term fiscal or financial stability.
In other words, it concerns the capacity of a government to implement its fiscal policy objectives while ensuring that its ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In this sense, fiscal space is a crucial factor determining the resilience of the growth and development paths of the least developed countries (LDCs) in an increasingly complex and volatile global environment. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
This chapter highlights recent trends in key indicators of fiscal space, such as debt volumes and composition, as well as LDC governments’ fiscal balances, and takes stock of the ability of LDCs to meet their development finance needs at a time when they are suffering from the impacts of numerous crises worldwide. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
It shows that external financial flows remain a critical factor for fiscal space in LDCs, while, over the medium term, domestic resource mobilization may play a larger role in some of these countries.
Despite the critical role of external finance, official development assistance (ODA) flows to LDCs are substantially l... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In this regard, the chapter presents and discusses recent trends in ODA flows to the LDCs, including their volume, composition and target sectors.
The Least Developed Countries Report 2022 (UNCTAD, 2022a) documented that, although the LDCs have contributed only marginally to the climate crisis, they are among the wors... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
This chapter reinforces this assessment by presenting the latest data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate vulnerability.
As countries’ commitments fall far short of the target of the Paris Agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5–2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (IPCC, 2022; WMO... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
In this context, the chapter discusses recent trends in climate finance flows and the importance of the new Loss and Damage Fund for Vulnerable Countries agreed in 2022 at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The analyses presented ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Without an increase in “fiscal breathing space”, their mounting debt burdens and widening fiscal deficits threaten to divert their policy focus from their structural transformation agendas and undermine progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this regard, the large gap between ODA flows... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Non-debt- generating funding is what LDCs need now more than ever in order to safeguard their growth and development prospects.
Furthermore, climate finance flows, including through the new Loss and Damage Fund, need to be scaled up substantially without adding to LDCs’ debt burdens, increasing their transaction costs... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
B.
The need for fiscal space in least developed countries in the context of multiple crises Fiscal space is an important factor in determining the growth and development prospects of LDCs.
It is particularly important for LDCs in times of heightened economic stress, when governments need to respond quickly to crises ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Economic downturns or recessions and 1 Under Target 17.2, ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to LDCs. | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
LDCs need greater support to reduce vulnerability to external shocks, enhance green transformation and achieve SDG progress The Least Developed Countries Report 2023 16 The Least Developed Countries Report 20 natural disasters are examples of when fiscal space is necessary to provide fiscal stimulus, expand social spen... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Furthermore, for LDCs that depend on commodity exports, a slump in commodity prices can cause a revenue shortfall that needs to be compensated.
Similarly, for net-commodity-importing LDCs, price hikes for food, fuels and other essential commodities – as experienced in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war i... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
LDCs also require fiscal space to enable their implementation of structural reforms and long-term investments aimed at building productive capacities.
There are various approaches to measuring fiscal space, each with its own data requirements, advantages and drawbacks (IMF, 2016; Cheng and Pitterle, 2018). | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
However, ultimately, the fiscal space of LDC governments can be enhanced by generating A further source of fiscal stress for many net-commodity-importing LDCs was a depreciation of their currencies against the United States dollar.
As the dollar is the main invoicing currency in international trade (Boz et al., 2022),... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
a UNCTAD secretariat calculations, based on UNCTADStat database.
Fuels corresponds to Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) section 3; basic food to SITC sections 0 and 4 less division 07 and including division 22; and fertilizers to SITC group 562. b Available at https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publica... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Box figure 2.1 Net food import bill of the least developed countries, 2016–2021 Source: UNCTAD secretariat calculations, based on data from UNCTADStat (accessed 10 May 2023).
Notes: Food refers to basic food items excluding tea, coffee and spices.
In the period 2019–2021, 35 of 46 LDCs were classified as commodity-de... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
At the same time, the majority of LDCs are also net importers of basic commodities.
For instance, in the period 2019–2021, 37 LDCs were net importers of fuels, 39 of basic food items and 44 of fertilizers;a and 31 LDCs were net importers of all three commodity groups.
As a consequence, commodity price shocks and vola... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For net commodity exporters, particularly oil exporters, higher prices typically contribute to increased government revenue through taxes and royalties.
However, commodity windfalls can also create pressure to increase government spending through subsidies, transfers and higher public sector wages.
As a consequence, ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For net importers of commodities, commodity price hikes can fuel inflation and increase the costs of social programmes and safety nets designed to protect the poor and vulnerable from rising prices, as they spend a disproportionately high share of their incomes on food and other basic goods.
Commodity prices started o... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
The rising trend persisted through mid-2022, with prices of several commodities, such as wheat and sunflower oil, reaching historic peak levels after the start of the war in Ukraine.
As a consequence, net-commodity-importing LDCs saw a rise in their import bills for basic commodities.
For instance, in 2021, the value... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
This increase was equivalent to about 8 per cent of gross ODA disbursements to LDCs in 2021 (see section C.2).
While food and fuel prices have moderated from their peak levels in 2022, they remain well above their pre-pandemic (2015–2019) average.
In response to food and fuel price hikes, many governments, including ... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
For example, the IMF’s Database of Energy and Food Price Actions (DEFPA)b lists 97 measures announced in 27 LDCs.
Of these, 41 implied increased government spending, such as for subsidies and in-kind or cash transfers; 38 measures affected government revenue, such as through the reduction of value-added taxes, excises... | https://transfered-docs-lawep.s3.amazonaws.com/thematic1e/pw_1/1725638404927.pdf | http://data.mofcom.gov.cn/report/ldc2023_en.pdf | China |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.