Millennium Development Goals: Tool or token of global social governance?
Mueid Al Raee, Elvis Amoateng, Elvis Avenyo, Youssef Beshay, Mira Bierbaum, Charlotte Keijser & Rashmi Sinha
#2014-024
In this paper we argue that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
experience suggests that Global Social Governance (GSG) exists and that
the MDGs have been an effective tool in creating a global accountability
framework despite shortcomings mainly arising in the formulation
process. The paper first discusses the historical emergence of the MDGs,
leading to questions of ownership and responsibilities of developing and
developed countries respectively. Subsequently, we assess whether the
MDGs comprehensively reflect development concepts and address the
question whether the MDGs had an impact on national policies, and
ultimately on people's lives. Eventually, these questions and their
answers are intended to stimulate and inform discussions on the
post-2015 development agenda as a - potentially improved - GSG tool.
JEL Classification: F53, I38
Keywords: Millennium Development Goals, Global Social Governance,
post-2015 development agenda