Social Drivers of Sustainable Development (Beyond 2015 Brief No. 4)

Persistent poverty, growing inequalities, shrinking environmental limits and market volatility threaten the social and economic gains made since the turn of the millennium. A new development agenda will need to look behind the symptoms to tackle the structural causes or drivers of poverty, inequality, social injustice and environmental degradation in order to create conditions for an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable future.

This brief was prepared by Esuna Dugarova with inputs from Peter Utting and Sarah Cook, drawing primarily on UNRISD research. It is based on a longer background note prepared by UNRISD as an input to the Note by the Secretariat, Emerging Issues: The Social Drivers of Sustainable Development (E/CN.5/2014/8, for the 52nd session of the Commission for Social Development) which includes a full bibliography.

UNRISD’s "Beyond 2015" Briefs contribute research-based insight and analysis to the dialogue around the post–MDG development agenda. They highlight key information in a concise format, with references to further in-depth reading, useful to policy makers, activists and academics alike.