Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Effective governance for better resource mobilization: UN ESCAP

Kathmandu, May 8: Effective governance and improved fiscal management are essential to sustaining robust economic growth and improving its quality, said the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in its annual flagship report launched Monday.

The 'Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017' report highlighted that despite a broadly positive economic outlook for the current year, Asia-Pacific economies are vulnerable to rising global uncertainty and trade protectionism.

According to the survey, region's developing economies are projected to grow at 5.0 and 5.1 per cent in 2017 and 2018, up from 4.9 per cent last year.

"The continued softening of economic growth in china, projected at 6.5 per cent this year against 6.7 per cent in 2016, reflects ongoing deleveraging and restructuring efforts to boost output in the medium term. Growth in India is forecast at 7.1 per cent this year as re-monetisation restores consumption, and infrastructure spending increases," read a press statement issues by the UN ESCAP.

Launching the report in Bangkok, Thailand, UN under secretary-general and executive secretary of ESCAP Dr. Shamshad Akhtar emphasized that better governance for effective mobilization and use of fiscal resources was critical to advancing 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"Sustained productivity gains, in turn, will require effective institutions and better governance in both public and private spheres. IN addition to ensuring sustained and robust economic growth, policy makers will need to address social and environmental challenges in order to improve the quality of this growth," she said.

Launching the report in Lalitpur on Sunday along with executive chairman of the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, Dr. Andrzej Bolesta of UN ESCAP's Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division said that well-being of people depends on much more than just economic growth, there was a need in the region to pay more attention to social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability.

He called for a proactive fiscal policy as it had vital role in governance to mobilize resources and use them effectively.

Dr. Pandey said that quality of governance was required for effective resource mobilization, particularly at the time when the country was in the process of budget formulation.

According to him, failure of government would be as bad as the market failure.

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