Trade and Development Report, 2014

The Trade and Development Report 2014: Global Governance and Policy Space for Development examines recent trends in the global economy, with a focus on growth, trade and commodity prices.The Report highlights that, six years after the onset of the global economic and financial crisis, the world economy has not yet established a new sustainable growth regime. With an expected growth between 2.5 and 3 per cent in 2014, the recovery of global output remains weak. Furthermore, the policies supporting the recovery are frequently inadequate, as they do not address the rise of income inequality, the steady erosion of policy space along with the diminishing economic role of governments and the primacy of the financial sector of the economy, which are the root causes of the crisis of 2008. Putting the world economy on the path of sustainable growth requires strengthening domestic and regional demand, with a reliance on better income distribution rather than new financial bubbles.The Report then takes a long-term perspective in analysing the evolution of the debate on global governance and policy space.