One consequence of the pandemic was to reveal the fragility of countries that depend heavily on imports and supplier countries. We seek to draw the lessons, to understand and outline the policies that can strengthen regional and domestic manufacturing capabilities. Looking beyond value chains, we explore the priorities in infrastructure development for a sustainable, inclusive and green recovery at the national and regional levels. At the international level, we discuss ways to mobilise investment for developing countries to increase productivity, and how the multilateral system can promote a fairer international trading system.

 

 

Artificial Intelligence powered healthcare in developing countries: Game-changer or premature dream?

Monday, 19th of April 2021

 

Ann Aerts, Head of the Novartis Foundation
François Candelon, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Global Director of the BCG Henderson Institute Paris
Bernardo Mariano Jr, Chief Information Officer at the World Health Organization
Ibtissam Abnane, Assistant Professor, École normale supérieure d’informatique et d’analyses des systèmes - ENSIAS

Moderated by Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Development.

 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the physical world has come to a stop, the digital world has boomed. Concerted efforts to trace, search for a vaccine, and treat the virus at the regional, national and international levels have demonstrated how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery, and relieve overburdened health systems. 

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Quality for equality: Making quality infrastructures work for gender equality

Friday, 26th March 2021

Mary Chege, Founding Member of AUC’s African Network for Women in Infrastructure (ANWIN)
Eiji Yamada, Research Fellow, JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development
Pierre de Boisséson, Economist, OECD Development Centre

Moderated by Ayumi Yuasa, Deputy Director of the OECD Development Centre

 

Lack of access to quality infrastructure disproportionately affects women and girls, hampering education, employment and many other opportunities. Women and men use infrastructure services for different needs and responsibilities. In Tanzania, for instance, the time women spend on transportation-related tasks is four times higher than men. In Africa, women do 90% of the work of collecting water and fuelwood. Globally, women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. Women are also the most exposed to household pollution due to the use of fuelwood for cooking. Additionally, women face a large gender gap in access to digital infrastructure.

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A decade in review: What next for emerging market multinationals?

Thursday, 18th February 2021

Lourdes Casanova, Director and Senior Lecturer, and Anne Miroux, Faculty Fellow, Cornell’s Emerging Markets Institute
Momina Aijazuddin, Global Head Microfinance, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Françoise Huang, Senior Economist for Asia-Pacific, Euler Hermes & Allianz
Paul Kavuma, Chief Executive Officer, Catalyst Principal Partners (TBC)
Jacobo Cohen, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Legal & Public Affairs, Mercado Libre

Moderated by Bathylle Missika, Head of the Networks, Partnerships and Gender Division, OECD Development Centre

Over the past few decades, the world’s economic centre of gravity has shifted, moving eastwards. According to recent calculations, from its virtual position in the Atlantic Ocean in the early 2000s, it is forecasted to be located somewhere between China, India and Pakistan by 2030. In this context, what role have emerging-market multinationals played in shaping the new economic geography? And how will COVID-19 impact their future prospects? 

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Avoiding another lost decade: why we need a new deal

Friday, 6th November 2020

Richard Kozul-Wright, Director of the Globalisation and Development Strategies Division, UNCTAD
Stephany Griffith-Jones, Financial market Director, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University
Enrique V. Iglesias, Economist, former President of the Inter-American Development Bank and former Secretary General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB)
Annalisa Primi, Head of Structural Policies and Innovation Unit, OECD Development Centre

Moderated by Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Development

The Trade and Development Report 2020 (TDR 2020) shows us that it is not only possible, but necessary to do things differently. This will require a major overhaul of the policy toolbox and existing strategies. First there needs to be a shift in policymaking, recognising that failures and “sub-optimal” performance levels cannot solely be attributed to government intervention. It needs to be acknowledged that markets need “a visible hand” to work properly and that austerity does not ignite growth, but instead preserves stagnation. In parallel, the global multilateral architecture needs to be redesigned.

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