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How regional social policy can support the 2030 SDGs

5 March 2018

In an issue brief produced for the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) Nicola Yeates, Professor of Social Policy, outlines the ways in which regional social policy could be further leveraged to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

In her paper, Beyond the Nation State, Professor Yeates explores the change in approach to social policy that can be seen around the world, with an increasingly stronger focus on the benefits of a regional – rather than overtly national – approach to policy and development. She also highlights how regional approaches to social policy have gone beyond the traditional focus on trade and finance to now, for example, considering health, medicines and disease control measures as part of international cooperation around public health threats. A diverse range of other social policy sectors are also involved, such as education, social protection, labour rights, trafficking, and food security, as governments initiate responses to a range of cross-border challenges resulting from greater inter-connectedness and inter-dependence

In this informative and detailed issue brief, Professor Yeates highlights the ways in which countries regionally contribute to the development and deployment of social policy, including: regional forum, social standard setting, resource mobilization and allocation, and regulation.

However, Professor Yeates argues that more could be done to leverage the key functions of regional social policy to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. For example:

  • Providing regional platforms for participating members to discuss context-specific responses to policies and events;
  • Fostering ownership of regionally-defined rules and standards by key individuals and bodies within regions;
  • Amplifying the voices of smaller and developing countries in global social and economic policy-making.

The paper, ‘Beyond the Nation State’, can be read and downloaded for free in its entirety on the UNRISD website.

Professor Yeates is an expert in social policy and is currently researching transnational policy in relation to a range of social sectors. You can find out more and view further publications by Professor Yeates on her Open University profile page.

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