The complex relationship between policy and economy has been a subject of numerous studies. A general consensus is that policies have dramatic effects on countries’ social and economic development. Even the most advanced states face obstacles to effective and continuous growth. Misbalanced policy mechanisms and lack of attention to the most urgent policy issues make it particularly difficult for the developing world to meet its ambitious goals.
The Eight Millennium Goals were set by the United Nations to unite committed countries around the fundamental development goals to foster their evolution from the developing to a developed status. These goals range from eradicating extreme poverty to promoting environmental sustainability and the equality and integrity of human rights. However, countries’ successes in pursuing these millennium goals have been highly uneven. Numerous factors keep them from achieving a higher level of policy and economic advancement.
Countries are unique in their policies. They also display different patterns of economic development. The challenges these countries face on their way to the millennium goals are also unique. Still, it is possible to outline some of the most prominent issues that impede their growth. Firstly, it is failure to create a sustainable, positive business climate that keeps countries at a distance from their millennium goals. Not all countries have been equally effective in creating a climate of openness to foreign investments. This is the case of Latin American countries and Africa, where national government policies were put in place to protect domestic businesses from unfair business competition (Cavusgil & Kardes, 2013; Cohen, 2013). Poor business climate does not allow for the effective industrial and organizational development, which limits macroeconomic opportunities and may slow down the progression of poverty-reducing initiatives.
Secondly, environmental issues have considerable implications for the development of policies to achieve millennium goals. China is a perfect example of environmental pollution and the effects it has on its economy and policy. In 2006, China became the world’s biggest CO2 emitter, making the United States second in this list (Dent, 2015). Although the country is one of the world’s leaders in developing and implementing renewable energy technologies, it is still far from achieving the established environmental goals. The levels of fossil fuel consumption continue to increase (Dent, 2015). Besides, the growing dependence on imported energy resources undermines the country’s energy security, leaving it behind other developing giants (Dent, 2015).
Thirdly, human rights issues are still on the political and policy agenda of the countries struggling to meet their millennium goals. According to Darrow (2014), most countries display a strong commitment to human rights, but commitment alone can never improve the current socioeconomic and policy situation. Much more important are the resources these countries are willing to leverage in their striving to improve the living and working conditions for their citizens (Darrow, 2015). Together, these issues form a unique cluster of policy deficiencies, which slow down their progress towards the key millennium goals.
To conclude, millennium goals can inform the direction of policy and economic initiatives in the developing world. However, numerous factors keep developing countries from achieving their millennium goals. Poor business climate is one of the most problematic aspects of modern governance, as national governments impose restrictions on foreign businesses to promote fair competition across domestic markets. Environmental pollution and failure to promote and defend human rights create another cluster of factors that impair the transition of the developing world to a developed one. Effective governance means that countries are able to locate and use quality resources to achieve their policy goals, but many of them will keep struggling to improve their results in the nearest future.
