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This Report offers new insights into the nature and magnitude of the pressing social problems and the national and international policies required to address them. It examines the core social issues...

The 2013 report examines key drivers of inequality that have emerged in the recent past and the impact of rising inequality. It examines trends in social, economic and spatial inequalities and...

Standards and regulations are an integral, if easily overlooked, part of our daily life. They determine whether a plug fits into a socket, whether food is safe for human consumption or whether a bank...

In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders committed themselves to leaving no one behind in pursuit of the eradication of extreme poverty and protection of the planet...

This report looks at the missing link to inclusive growth for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are less productive relative to large firms in the developing world than in the developed world...

This report discusses the contribution of social protection to social inclusion focusing, in particular, on the extent to which such groups are effectively covered by existing social protection...

This year’s report focuses on regional trade, the most common form of trade for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It contains 50 country profiles, featuring detailed SME competitiveness...

This SME Competitiveness Outlook assesses the impact of conflict and fragility on business performance. It unveils a Fragility Exposure Index, and shows that fragility, as experienced by firms, can be...

Our services sectors are key to an economic transformation. This report calls them ‘connected services. Transport and logistics, financial services, information and communication technologies, and...

The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2021 analyses how small businesses can rebuild from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic so they are better prepared to face the looming crisis of climate change. It...

Increasing annual investments in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries by $1 trilling would yield disproportionate dividends in terms of progress towards the Sustainable...

The Report on the World Social Situation 2003 examines the issue of social vulnerability. It identifies the sources of social vulnerabilities and explores strategies to reduce them within selected...

New technologies like advanced robotics, 3-D printing, big data and the internet of things are rapidly changing the way in which firms do business. A strong business ecosystem is necessary to manage...

The 2010 issue of the Report on the World Social Situation focuses on the challenge of achieving poverty reduction. The Millennium Development Goals seek to halve, by 2015, the level of extreme...

The 2005 Report on the World Social Situation focuses on the international aspects of inequality. As emphasized by the ten-year review of the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme...

A comprehensive study that provides the reader with a real understanding of the social forces which have been shaping the world over the last decade. It points out emerging situations and discusses a...

Core issues discussed in this report concern the balance between economic efficiency and social justice; the interaction between the social function of the State; market responses to social demands...

This publication is released at a time where the world is carefully moving out of the 'great lockdown' stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, a partial or complete lockdown of the majority of...

This report explores the social impact of the great recession and warns of the possibility of continuing global social crisis in the face of increasing fiscal consolidation and austerity measures...

The 2007 issue of the Report on the World Social Situation focuses on the key role of productive employment and decent work in reducing poverty and promoting social development. It surveys the global...