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High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs

 

Members of HLAB participate in a series of key events during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July 2024

Contributing to the issues and processes of strategic importance for the UN and its key stakeholders

 

During its Sixth Advisory Board meeting on 13-14 July 2024, HLAB had an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on the global socioeconomic outlook and the path for the United Nations Member States to accelerate SDG progress. The meeting also delved into the issues of financing social protection, energy transition and use of critical minerals, as well as building capacities to cope with complex challenges and achieve transformation, looking ahead to the Summit of the Future, as well as the  (FFD4) and the in 2025. In addition, the HLAB members had an engaging conversation with the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed as well as the Permanent Representatives of Member States from the FFD4 Bureau, which laid important foundation for the discussion at the HLAB meeting and the series of high-level events during the HLPF.
 
On the margin of the , the HLAB also participated in the special edition of the UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues on 15 July 2024, for an interactive exchange to share their latest recommendations in addressing global challenges and accelerating
SDG implementation. A particular emphasis was placed on the SDGs in focus during the HLPF 2024, while also considering the role of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in the lead up to the Summit of the Future in September. The event was organized as one of the held during the HLPF. It was also broadcasted on Zoom, , and on and received a wide attendance globally.
 
In addition to the official HLAB events, several Board members actively engaged and supported Member States led processes during the July HLPF, including participation by Mr. Ibrahim Elbadawi at the HLPF official programme ¡°¡± and a keynote address at the HLPF Special Event ¡°¡±, as well as Ms. Mariana Mazzucato's keynote address for the UN Economist Network¡¯s virtual HLPF side-event "How can economists in UN system address the most pressing challenges of the day?". 
 
 
 

 

By Mariana Mazzucato
Special issue in collaboration with the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs
 
14 January 2025
 
The SDGs are dangerously off track. The prevailing ¡°gap-filling¡± approach to SDG financing has proven inadequate, failing to deliver the scale, impact or equity required. Global efforts remain fixated on mobilizing additional financing rather than embedding the SDGs at the core of economic and financial systems. Blended finance, often heralded as a silver bullet, has fallen short: public resources dominate blended deals, often de-risking private initiative in lower-risk, lower-impact projects. To redirect this trajectory, the international financing architecture must be reshaped around the SDGs. (See also: SDG Blog by Mariana Mazzucato - )
 
 

 

By Jos¨¦ Antonio Ocampo
 
1 March 2025
 
The preparations for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development are in full swing with the two major background documents already launched: the Zero Draft, which serves as the basis for the negotiations, and the proposals of the International Commission of Experts on Financing for Development. Reflecting on a high level of ambition and building on the landmark Addis Ababa Action Agenda, we must support the transformative role of the State in the developing countries ¨C a key driver of their structural transformation.
 
 
 

 

By Ibrahim Elbadawi
 
1 February 2025
 
The UN¡¯s capacity to shape international agendas and norms through consensus-building and partnerships demonstrates its unparalleled ability to wield soft power effectively. A striking example is the UN¡¯s role in advocating and advancing the SDGs.
 
 
 

 

About the High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs

The United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Economic and Social Affairs was established  in the context of United Nations development system reform, as a key part of efforts to enhance support to Member States of the United Nations in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is made possible through the United Nations Íæż½ã½ã and Development Trust Fund. 

The Board, convened by Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, has provided advice to the United Nations on broad economic and social issues, including near-term prospects and risks for the world economy, frontier technologies, inequality, migration, issues associated with countries in special situations.

In addition, the HLAB has provided guidance to the research and policy analysis work of UN DESA, and Board members have played an active role in strengthening the linkage between UN DESA and the global economic and social policy research community, and have promoted UN DESA publications and reports at national and global levels. The HLAB members also participate in the Department's Global Policy Dialogue Series, sharing their expertise with a wide online audience.

Since it was launched in 2018, the HLAB deliberations on many contemporary and cross-cutting issues and challenges have expanded our understanding of complex economic and social issues and inspired the United Nations to break new ground in policy research. In July 2020, the first HLAB produced the compilation "Recover Better"  with early reflections on leveraging the recovery from COVID-19 into a transformative period for attaining sustainable development.

In May 2022, the second HLAB launched the "Six Big Questions for the global economic recovery: The UN High-level Advisory Board Q&A Compendium", which draws on the Board¡¯s key messages and policy recommendations to recover from the crises and make progress towards sustainable development.

 

 

The third term (2025-2027)

Building on the accomplishments of the first and second HLAB, the third term of the Board (HLAB-III) will continue to strengthen, for the next two years, the United Nations thought leadership on sustainable development and to reinforce its impact at the forefront of sustainable development policy at global, regional and local levels.

HLAB-III aims to provide strategic and focused guidance and recommendations to accelerate action towards sustainable development for all. Consisting of 22 globally renowned experts in the economic and social policy fields, including former Heads of State, a Nobel Laureate, former Senior Government Officials and intellectual leaders, the Board harnesses its collective insight to provide strategic guidance to the United Nations development system on urgent economic and social issues.

 

Board members 

The following experts have been appointed to serve on the third term of the UN High-level Advisory Board (HLAB-III) on Economic and Social Affairs (2025-2027) in their personal capacity:

  •     Eudine Barriteau, Former Cave Hill Campus Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Emerita, University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus
  •     Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum, Egypt
  •     Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Professor of Global Development and Brooks School of Policy, Cornell University
  •     Alex Ezeh, Professor at Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health; Former Director of African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
  •     Xiaolan Fu, Professor of Technology and International Development, University of Oxford
  •     Anastasia Gage, Professor at the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University
  •     Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
  •     Stephany Griffith-Jones, Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Chile; Professor Emeritus at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
  •     Fadhel Kaboub, President, Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity; Associate Professor of Economics, Denison University
  •     Martin Kimani, CEO of the Africa Center, New York
  •     Nyovani Madise, President of the Union for the African Population Studies
  •     Ibrahim Mayaki, African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems; former Prime Minister of Niger
  •     Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL) and Founder/Director of UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  •     Raya Muttarak, Professor of Demography, University of Bologna
  •     Jos¨¦ Antonio Ocampo, Professor, Columbia University
  •     ?sa Persson, Research Director and Deputy Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute
  •     Elisabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
  •     David Christopher Smith, Director, Centre for Environmental Management, The University of the West Indies; Coordinator, Institute for Sustainable Development, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
  •     Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of New Economics Foundation, former Chief Executive of Oxfam, former Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS
  •     Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University
  •     Izabella M?nica Vieira Teixeira, Former Minister of Environment, Brazil
  •     Kori Udovi?ki, Head of Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES)

Click here for short bios of HLAB-III members.

 

Emeritus Board members (2018-2024)

Click here for short bios of Emeritus Board members.

 

 

 

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