The Weekly Tradecast by UNCTAD unctadonline

The Weekly Tradecast looks at the importance of science, technology and innovation for global development – and our future – with Virginia Dignum, Director of the AI Policy Lab at Umea University.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is very much in the news but it’s just one of many emerging technologies with huge implications for our economies, our societies and the environment.
How do we create benefits that are inclusive and sustainable? How do we plan for a future that’s evolving so rapidly? 
Tune in to Virginia Dignum, a member of the UN’s AI Advisory Board, to explore the disruptions, opportunities and innovations that are transforming our world and our lives.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at a new report by the United Nations on trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) with Bruno Casella, a senior economist at UN Trade and Development.
By tracking 20 years of FDI, the report says global flows are slowing down in the long term. Services are still growing quickly but manufacturing activity has suffered the most. 
The stagnation was already happening but the report says recent shocks – ranging from the pandemic to geopolitical tensions – have highlighted how the global economy is becoming more fractured.
All of these factors, it says, will reshape investment decisions, international production and global value chains.
Tune in to Bruno Casella, who led the new FDI report, to find out the implications for developing countries industrializing their economies.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the rare metals and minerals used in mobile phones, laptops and electric car batteries with Clovis Freire, chief of the commodity research and analysis section at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Electric vehicles are seen as clean because they don’t belch out exhaust fumes that fuel climate change. But some of the materials that go into them – especially the minerals and rare elements in their batteries – have large carbon footprints. 
The environmental impact of extracting materials like cobalt, copper, lithium and graphite is a major concern. 
In countries where much of the mining is done, there can be issues over human rights and the benefits to communities. With demand high and supplies limited, these materials also drive concerns about market domination by just a few producers. 
Tune in to UN Trade and Development’s Clovis Freire to find out more about these rare metals and minerals and how to make them greener.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the update to the UN’s Trade and Development Report with UNCTAD director Richard Kozul-Wright.
On the positive side – despite high inflation, high interest rates and gloomy forecasts – the global economy grew 2.7% last year.
The bad news – the update says – is that the positive momentum is going to waste and that growth looks set to be slower this year at 2.6%.
Tune in to UN Trade and Development’s Richard Kozul-Wright to find out how we address not only rising interest rates and inflation but also the urgent challenges of climate change, underinvestment and inequality before it’s too late.

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at the connection between food, health and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with Bojan Nastav, a statistician with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 
UN Trade and Development has teamed up with the World Health Organization to study the global trade of healthy and less healthy food. 
At least 10% of the world’s people live in hunger. At the same time, more than 40% of all adults are overweight.  
So, it’s not just a matter of quantity – or getting enough to eat. It’s also about quality by ensuring people have access to safe and nutritious food to help them stay healthy. 
Greater insights into the trade flows of food offer new ways for the WHO and others to analyse and address diseases that are linked to nutrition. 
Tune in to Bojan Nastav, one of the authors of the report, to find out how this research can help governments better understand food markets and develop nutrition-related trade policies. 

This episode of the Weekly Tradecast looks at Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom that measures its success in "Gross National Happiness" with UNCTAD director Paul Akiwumi. 
Bhutan and its 800,000 people now have an extra reason to be happy – after graduating from the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) into full developing country status. It's only the seventh nation in 50 years to make that jump.   
Bhutan was included in the first group of LDCs in 1971. Over the last few decades, it has made remarkable progress on various social and economic metrics, including big improvements in poverty levels, education and life expectancy. 
Tune in to UNCTAD’s Paul Akiwumi to find out how Bhutan achieved this feat and what the 45 countries still classified as LDCs can learn from its development path.