Shipping is the world’s oldest sharing economy and is conducted in a self-organizing manner. Shipping is capital, energy, and information intensive, and with the growing impact of digitalization and climate change, there is a need to rethink the management and operations of this critical global industry - assisted in no small way by maritime informatics. Building upon the recently published inaugural book Maritime Informatics by Springer, this book will address some of the most recent practical developments and experiences, particularly from a global perspective. The focus of the book is to address contemporary movements to tackle global concerns and to complement Maritime Informatics.

This publication assesses the impact of COVID-19 on e-commerce and digital trade. While the pandemic caused a sharp deceleration in economic activity, it also led to a rapid acceleration of e-commerce. With restrictions on movement and other public health interventions in place, digital solutions have become essential to continued delivery of economic and social activities. And, as the digital economy and e-commerce play an increased role in Sustainable Development, stakeholders at all levels have a responsibility to ensure that these technologies play a positive and powerful role in national and international recovery efforts. Indeed, those that can harness the potential of e-commerce will be better placed to benefit from global markets for their goods and services, while those that fail to do so risk falling behind. Thus, the critical global policy challenge that emerges from this study is that greater efforts are needed to help reduce inequalities in e-trade readiness that currently prevail amongst countries.

"This document is the eighth module in volume 1 of the teaching manual on trade and gender prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The teaching manual has been developed with the aim of enhancing the capacity of policymakers, civil society organizations, and academics to assess the gender implications of trade flows and trade policy and to formulate gender-sensitive policies on gender and trade"--page 2.

This publication is structured into two parts. The first part presents a short-term overview of the status of international trade using preliminary statistics on merchandise trade up to the third quarter of 2020. The second part provides illustrative statistics on international trade in goods and services covering the medium term. The second part is divided into two sections. Section 1 provides trade statistics at various levels of aggregation illustrating the evolution of trade across economic sectors and geographic regions. Section 2 presents some of the most used trade indicators at the country level, to illustrate trade performance across countries.

After the 2008–9 global financial crisis, reforms to promote stability, social inclusion, and sustainability were promised but not delivered. As a result, the global economic situation, marred by inequality, volatility, and climate breakdown, remains dysfunctional. Now, the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic offers us a second chance. Kevin Gallagher and Richard Kozul-Wright argue that we must grasp it by implementing sweeping reforms to how we govern global money, finance, and trade. Without global leaders prepared to boldly rewrite the rules to promote a prosperous, just, and sustainable post-Covid world economic order – a Bretton Woods moment for the twenty-first century – we risk being engulfed by climate chaos and political dysfunction. This book provides a blueprint for change that no one interested in the future of our planet can afford to miss.

This report of the United nations conference on trade and development examines current performances and prospects in this world economy.

Contains an updated comprehensive explanation of the criteria, procedures and methodology used in establishing which countries are eligible for inclusion in, or recommended for graduation from, the least developed country (LDC) category. It also provides an overview of the special support measures that can be derived from having least developed country status.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to be a game changer for development ambitions in Africa.

Commodity dependence is a trap: once a country is commodity dependent, it is difficult to develop a productive sector out of commodities and export non-commodity products. This publication argues that without strong action at the highest political level in Commodity-dependent Developing Countries (CDDCs), these countries will remain trapped for centuries. It demonstrates how technology and innovation could lead the way to economic and structural transformation in CDDCs, helping to diversify economies and lessen dependence on the commodity sector and, in turn, strengthen productivity growth. Enabling CDDCs to escape from the commodity dependence trap requires stronger cooperation between CDDCs and their trading and development partners with regard to technological acquisition and domestication. Indeed, a conducive framework for technology accessibility and its transfer to CDDCs is ultimately needed at the international level.