WP168/2012

Brave new world: global development goals after 2015

David Hulme and Rorden Wilkinson

This paper evaluates the major options for reformulating the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Our purpose is to add weight and direction to emerging thinking on MDG reformulation in a way that: (i) reaffirms the importance of global efforts to reduce extreme poverty; (ii) overcomes the problems endemic in the existing MDGs; (iii) accelerates the reduction of extreme poverty globally; (iv) builds the foundations of a more comprehensive global development programme; (v) tailors poverty reduction efforts to local conditions and strengthens national-level poverty eradication policies; and (iv) offers a realizable prospect for maintaining momentum in UN development efforts.