Global Prosperity

Theme Leaders:   Fariborz Moshirian, Elise Payzan and Kingsley Fong

Among various definitions of "global prosperity, " one can observe a definition as follows: "True prosperity occurs when all people have the opportunity to thrive by fulfilling their unique potential and contributing to the strengthening of their communities and nations.” (Merriam-Webster.com).

Global Prosperity is one of the four objectives of the Institute of Global Finance ( IGF). The other three overarching objectives of the IGF are namely: the “Interconnectedness” of various aspects of life, including the protection of the environment, global peace, and security; universal access to an effective primary health care system, ensuring that all people around the world can access quality health services; and “Global Financial Stability and Resilience” and “Global Governance”- to contribute to the process of global prosperity. At the same time, certain core forces play a vital role in fostering this prosperity. One such core element is the role of Science and Technology, which has proven its ability to transform the lives of billions by improving living standards, economic growth, and employment opportunities. Another crucial aspect is the contribution of entrepreneurs, investment, and the leadership of the global business community in leveraging the advantages of technological advancements and creative destruction to ensure greater levels of employment, productivity, access to consumer Products and organic economic growth should benefit individuals and communities. Another essential component of global prosperity involves establishing an effective local-to-global mechanism that empowers individuals, guarantees universal quality education across all nations, ensures access to quality health services, supports fair distribution of wealth and resources, facilitates effective contractual agreements between employees and employers, provides equal development opportunities for all individuals worldwide over time, upholds the principles of human rights and dignity, ensures sufficient employment opportunities, and creates a system for fair profit distribution for those who generate revenues and wealth. The significance of local-to-global governance cannot be underestimated, as historical evidence indicates that some nations have thrived significantly more due to strong national governments, robust business-government partnerships, and the empowerment of individuals as active citizens and foundational members of their communities nations. 

The IGF has been at the forefront of promoting core elements, as well as local to global structures and mechanisms that could initiate policies and measures to tackle the underlying causes of the lack of inclusive global prosperity, the absence of interconnectivity among various core forces, and the essential policies and measures for addressing the root causes of the current ineffective process that will lead to the emergence of global inclusive prosperity for all people and nations over time.

As part of the globalisation process, the availability of financing- or the lack thereof- for initiatives related to environmental concerns—such as climate finance and the challenges of implementing ESG principles—and achieving the UN’s 17 SDG objectives by 2030- will directly and/or indirectly impact national, regional, and global financial stability, as well as individual and overall financial security and dignity and access to quality of health services. This will further contribute to advancing the process of global inclusive prosperity over time. The IGF has been collaborating with the Asian Development Bank on these issues.  

At the same time, the IGF has published several high-impact research works and organised a number of international policy forums in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank that address the aforementioned issues, including climate change and climate finance. The IGF, alongside the Asian Development Bank, has promoted policies aimed at developing a more effective financial architecture for developing countries, as well as financial policies designed to accelerate the achievement of the UN SDGs by 2030. In September 2023, prior to COP28, the IGF jointly published a book with the Asian Development Bank titled "Climate Change and Climate Finance: Current Experience and Future Directions." The IGF has also published a major special issue of the Journal of Banking and Finance on the impact of COVID-19 on the financial well-being of billions of people around the world and the factors that create greater financial resilience against future global pandemics.

The IGF’s engagement and policy research with eminent researchers, policymakers, like-minded think tanks, and its collaboration with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, are part of its overall objective to provide global leadership in the factors that contribute to global inclusive prosperity.