Financing for development : trade, aid, tax

The United Nations has long led efforts to enhance financing for development, but has been denied the ability to make real progress. The declining prospects of concluding the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Round of trade negotiations in the face of lower primary commodity prices since 2014 have reversed the modest progress achieved earlier this century. Meanwhile, official development assistance is not only declining, but also changing to serve donor business interests. A strengthened role for the UN in enhancing tax revenues through greater international cooperation is the best hope available.