{ "title": "The Helen Alexander Lecture: The Case for the Sustainable Development Goals", "publication": "IMF News, September 17, 2018", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/index.md", "summary": "IMF actions and analysis - IMF is estimating spending needs for five key sectors—education, health, water and sanitation, roads, and electricity—for both emerging markets and low-income countries, and is exploring financing solutions. - Meeting additional spending needs in low-income countries will ", "authors": [ "Christine Lagarde" ], "publishDate": "2018-09-17", "sections": [ { "heading": "Framing and purpose", "content": "- Delivered by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, September 17, 2018.\n- Focus: overlap between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the IMF mandate for global economic stability and inclusive, sustainable prosperity.\n- Four dimensions addressed: (i) economic (low-income countries), (ii) social (inclusion and equity), (iii) environmental (climate change), (iv) governance (strong institutions)." }, { "heading": "1. Economic dimension — meeting SDG needs in low-income countries", "content": "Findings and context\n- The SDGs were endorsed in 2015 as a policy roadmap through 2030.\n- Over a billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty since 1990.\n- Almost 800 million people remain mired in extreme poverty today.\n- Child mortality has fallen by half since 1990, yet almost 6 million children still die each year before their fifth birthday.\n- In sub-Saharan Africa, about a fifth of primary age children are not attending school.\n- Across the world, 58 percent of students in primary and lower secondary school—617 million children—do not have basic proficiency in reading and mathematics.\n- According to UNESCO, world poverty would be cut in half if all completed secondary education.\n\nIMF actions and analysis\n- IMF is estimating spending needs for five key sectors—education, health, water and sanitation, roads, and electricity—for both emerging markets and low-income countries, and is exploring financing solutions.\n- Meeting additional spending needs in low-income countries will require partnerships among countries, official donors, philanthropy, and private finance.\n\nRisks and constraints\n- Debt in low-income countries is increasingly precarious: 40 percent of them now face high risk of debt distress or are unable to service their debt fully, up from 21 percent five years ago.\n- Low-income countries are borrowing more on non-concessional terms, increasing interest service costs.\n\nPolicy implications (bulleted)\n- Strengthen global partnerships and co-responsibility among stakeholders to finance SDG spending needs.\n- Mobilize a blend of official development assistance, philanthropic funds, and private finance while ensuring debt sustainability.\n- Prioritize public investment in human-capital-related sectors to enable long-term growth." }, { "heading": "2. Social dimension — inclusion, inequality, and gender equity", "content": "Key findings\n- Since 1980, the top one percent globally has seen twice as much of the gains from growth as the bottom 50 percent.\n- Income inequality has risen in most advanced economies; inequality has fallen between countries but not necessarily within countries.\n- IMF research finds reducing inequality is associated with stronger and more sustainable growth.\n\nRole of public policy and private sector\n- Public investment in health, education, and social protection systems plays an important role in reducing inequality.\n- The private sector should expand its economic and social responsibility, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.\n\nGender-specific findings and impacts\n- About 90 percent of countries have some legal restriction on women’s economic activity.\n- In the UK, eliminating gender gaps in labor force participation can boost GDP by 5 to 8 percent.\n- In sub-Saharan Africa, lowering gender inequality by 10 percentage points could boost growth by 2 percentage points over five years.\n- Adding one more woman in senior management or to a corporate board raises the return on assets by 8-13 basis points (cited study).\n- Across the globe, less than a fifth of bank board members and only two percent of bank CEOs are women.\n- The Hampton-Alexander Review recommended raising the share of women on executive committees of FTSE 100 companies to 33 percent by 2020, up from 26 percent.\n\nPolicy recommendations (bulleted)\n- Reduce gender gaps in health and education and support financial inclusion, infrastructure, and access to clean water and sanitation in low-income countries.\n- In advanced economies, implement policies such as parental leave and affordable, high-quality childcare to raise female labor force participation.\n- Promote female leadership in corporate governance to improve decision-making, financial resilience, and long-term sustainability." }, { "heading": "3. Environmental dimension — climate change and the SDGs", "content": "Findings and context\n- Climate change is intensifying: more frequent and ferocious storms and habitual heatwaves threaten well-being, particularly for children.\n- The Paris Agreement commits nations to reduce carbon emissions with the goal of stopping global temperatures rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.\n- Moving toward a zero-carbon global economy over coming decades is necessary and challenging.\n\nPolicy tools and IMF role\n- The IMF advocates putting a price on carbon:\n - Carbon pricing is administratively feasible by integrating carbon charges into fuel tax systems.\n - Carbon taxes provide incentives for energy efficiency, shifting from fossil fuels, and electrification.\n - Carbon taxes can reduce air pollution and raise revenue of about 1-2 percent of GDP a year, revenue that could be devoted to SDG priorities.\n- Even after China’s emissions trading system comes into force in 2020, 80 percent of global emissions will remain unpriced.\n- Adaptation measures needed in vulnerable countries include coastal protection, resilient infrastructure, resilient agriculture, regional pooling schemes, contingency funds, and catastrophe bonds.\n\nIMF engagement\n- IMF Climate Change Policy Assessments have evaluated climate strategies in vulnerable countries, including Belize, Seychelles, and St. Lucia.\n- IMF provides fast and flexible emergency funding to countries hit by severe climatic shocks and supports building resilient policy frameworks." }, { "heading": "4. Governance dimension — institutions, corruption, and tax issues", "content": "Findings and risks\n- SDG success depends on “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”\n- Corruption undermines trust, delegitimizes institutions, reduces tax compliance, and can divert spending toward low-social-value projects that generate kickbacks.\n- IMF research finds corruption and weak governance are associated with lower growth, investment, and tax revenue collection—and with high inequality and social exclusion.\n- One estimate cited: the wealth in offshore financial centers reaches 10 percent of global GDP, complicating efforts to finance SDG priorities.\n\nPolicy approach and IMF stance\n- Criminal enforcement against corruption is essential but insufficient on its own.\n- Successful anti-corruption initiatives are built on institutional reforms emphasizing transparency and accountability—for example, greater transparency across government budgets.\n- The IMF is stepping up engagement on governance and corruption, focusing on strong economic institutions, and will call out corruption when it is macroeconomic in magnitude." }, { "heading": "Conclusion — legacy, generations, and the imperative", "content": "- Success with the SDGs will define this generation’s legacy; the lecture invoked the image of planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.\n- Partnership, practicality, decency, and strong institutions are emphasized as essential to achieving the SDGs.\n- The lecture honored the memory and values of Dame Helen Alexander—her pragmatism, commitment to education, business leadership, and integrity—as a model for pursuing the SDGs.\n\nBy Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. September 17, 2018.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Christine Lagarde\n- Staff Discussion Note: Women in Finance: A Case for Closing Gaps\n- St. Lucia and the IMF\n- The IMF and Good Governance -- A Factsheet\n- IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries -- A Factsheet\n- Speeches\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Christine Lagarde", "Published: September 17, 2018", "Delivered by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, September 17, 2018.", "Focus: overlap between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the IMF mandate for global economic stability and inclusive, sustainable prosperity.", "Four dimensions addressed: (i) economic (low-income countries), (ii) social (inclusion and equity), (iii) environmental (climate change), (iv) governance (strong institutions).", "The SDGs were endorsed in 2015 as a policy roadmap through 2030.", "Over a billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty since 1990.", "Almost 800 million people remain mired in extreme poverty today.", "Child mortality has fallen by half since 1990, yet almost 6 million children still die each year before their fifth birthday.", "In sub-Saharan Africa, about a fifth of primary age children are not attending school.", "Across the world, 58 percent of students in primary and lower secondary school—617 million children—do not have basic proficiency in reading and mathematics.", "According to UNESCO, world poverty would be cut in half if all completed secondary education.", "IMF is estimating spending needs for five key sectors—education, health, water and sanitation, roads, and electricity—for both emerging markets and low-income countries, and is exploring financing solutions.", "Meeting additional spending needs in low-income countries will require partnerships among countries, official donors, philanthropy, and private finance.", "Debt in low-income countries is increasingly precarious: 40 percent of them now face high risk of debt distress or are unable to service their debt fully, up from 21 percent five years ago.", "Low-income countries are borrowing more on non-concessional terms, increasing interest service costs.", "Strengthen global partnerships and co-responsibility among stakeholders to finance SDG spending needs.", "Mobilize a blend of official development assistance, philanthropic funds, and private finance while ensuring debt sustainability.", "Prioritize public investment in human-capital-related sectors to enable long-term growth.", "Since 1980, the top one percent globally has seen twice as much of the gains from growth as the bottom 50 percent.", "Income inequality has risen in most advanced economies; inequality has fallen between countries but not necessarily within countries.", "IMF research finds reducing inequality is associated with stronger and more sustainable growth.", "Public investment in health, education, and social protection systems plays an important role in reducing inequality.", "The private sector should expand its economic and social responsibility, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.", "About 90 percent of countries have some legal restriction on women’s economic activity.", "In the UK, eliminating gender gaps in labor force participation can boost GDP by 5 to 8 percent.", "In sub-Saharan Africa, lowering gender inequality by 10 percentage points could boost growth by 2 percentage points over five years.", "Adding one more woman in senior management or to a corporate board raises the return on assets by 8-13 basis points (cited study).", "Across the globe, less than a fifth of bank board members and only two percent of bank CEOs are women.", "The Hampton-Alexander Review recommended raising the share of women on executive committees of FTSE 100 companies to 33 percent by 2020, up from 26 percent.", "Reduce gender gaps in health and education and support financial inclusion, infrastructure, and access to clean water and sanitation in low-income countries.", "In advanced economies, implement policies such as parental leave and affordable, high-quality childcare to raise female labor force participation.", "Promote female leadership in corporate governance to improve decision-making, financial resilience, and long-term sustainability.", "Climate change is intensifying: more frequent and ferocious storms and habitual heatwaves threaten well-being, particularly for children.", "The Paris Agreement commits nations to reduce carbon emissions with the goal of stopping global temperatures rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.", "Moving toward a zero-carbon global economy over coming decades is necessary and challenging.", "The IMF advocates putting a price on carbon:", "Even after China’s emissions trading system comes into force in 2020, 80 percent of global emissions will remain unpriced.", "Adaptation measures needed in vulnerable countries include coastal protection, resilient infrastructure, resilient agriculture, regional pooling schemes, contingency funds, and catastrophe bonds.", "IMF Climate Change Policy Assessments have evaluated climate strategies in vulnerable countries, including Belize, Seychelles, and St. Lucia.", "IMF provides fast and flexible emergency funding to countries hit by severe climatic shocks and supports building resilient policy frameworks.", "SDG success depends on “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”", "Corruption undermines trust, delegitimizes institutions, reduces tax compliance, and can divert spending toward low-social-value projects that generate kickbacks.", "IMF research finds corruption and weak governance are associated with lower growth, investment, and tax revenue collection—and with high inequality and social exclusion.", "One estimate cited: the wealth in offshore financial centers reaches 10 percent of global GDP, complicating efforts to finance SDG priorities.", "Criminal enforcement against corruption is essential but insufficient on its own.", "Successful anti-corruption initiatives are built on institutional reforms emphasizing transparency and accountability—for example, greater transparency across government budgets.", "The IMF is stepping up engagement on governance and corruption, focusing on strong economic institutions, and will call out corruption when it is macroeconomic in magnitude.", "Success with the SDGs will define this generation’s legacy; the lecture invoked the image of planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.", "Partnership, practicality, decency, and strong institutions are emphasized as essential to achieving the SDGs.", "The lecture honored the memory and values of Dame Helen Alexander—her pragmatism, commitment to education, business leadership, and integrity—as a model for pursuing the SDGs.", "[Christine Lagarde](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/christine-lagarde)", "[Staff Discussion Note: Women in Finance: A Case for Closing Gaps](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/staff-discussion-notes/issues/2018/09/17/women-in-finance-a-case-for-closing-gaps-45136)", "[St. Lucia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/LCA/index.htm)", "[The IMF and Good Governance -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/the-imf-and-good-governance)", "[IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/imf-world-bank-debt-sustainability-framework-for-low-income-countries)", "[Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2018/09/17/sp09172018-the-case-for-the-sustainable-development-goals/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T22:11:05.957Z" }