The Main Topics of the September 2024 Issue of the World Economic Journal

The announced winners of the first stage of the Global Awards “Angel for Sustainable Development” #SDGAction40297 are posted on the official website of the UN SDG Action Campaign, established by the Secretary General of the United Nations, in order to stimulate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Corruption everywhere inhibits economic growth and hinders the development of the private sector. Research conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that 67 of 144 states have named corruption as one of the three major obstacles to doing business in their countries. In developing economies, the level of corruption is generally higher than in developed countries, and this prevents the former from effectively implementing strategies to reduce poverty and leads to an increase in social inequality. In addition, corruption repels investors and reduces the investment attractiveness of the country, which generally has a negative impact on the economy. It is estimated that the cost of corruption (in other words, losses caused by the spread of corruption) amounts to more than 5% of world GDP (or $2.6 trillion, according to WEF data).

On June 27 the EU signed an Association Agreement with three post-Soviet states: Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Traditionally, the EU uses Association Agreements to strengthen economic ties with countries outside the Union. The EU simplifies trade and harmonizes certain standards, including technical and legal ones, by creating a more favorable environment for economic cooperation. But in the cases of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, the Agreement has obvious political significance.

The South Stream project is a very topical issue, as it determines Europe′s prospects for energy security. Not so long ago, the project was subjected to considerable criticism from the heads of some European countries, largely due to the political crisis in Ukraine and the role that Russia plays in it. WEJ tried to find out how the South Stream project impacts Europe and the reason why certain European leaders wish that it would fail.

According to a recent study by Standard & Poor′s, China ranked first in the world in terms of the size of its corporate debt, which by the end of 2013 amounted to $14.2 trillion. Together with excess production capacity, the increasing size of the shadow banking sector, the credit crisis, and noticeable signs of a real estate bubble, the growing debt clearly shows that everything is not that rosy in the Middle Kingdom. In order to save the Chinese economy from a possible financial crisis and find new incentives for economic growth, China′s leadership in November 2013 announced a program of large-scale transformation.