Looking Back to Look Ahead

To commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) premiered a video entitled, “The State of our World”, featuring UN Chief Economist Elliott Harris. Harris discusses 2019’s core challenges including environmental disasters, climate change, unemployment, and inequality. DESA has two forthcoming publications (“The World Economic Situation” and “Inequality in a Rapidly Changing World”) which will explore these themes in greater detail. [For 2019 reports: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/document_gem/global-economic-monitoring-unit/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-wesp-report/]

Elliott Harris delivered the Earth Day lecture at the Center for Governance and Sustainability at UMass Boston in 2015 on “Environmental Leadership Across Scales and Geographies: A Perspective from the United Nations.” Harris heralds the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, political will, and equality as the keys to social and economic success, even in the face of automation, division, and mass protests. Visit UN.org/DESA to discover DESA’s forecasts, analysis, and trends for the decade ahead.