Economic and Financial Committe

St. Gallen is a university known worldwide for its business and economics faculties, so it comes as no surprise that this year’s SGMUN Conference hosts a committee specifically directed towards economic questions. A classic MUN experience is combined with a topic specific to the place you are visiting, merging into a debate which promises to be fascinating. In a world of increasing globalisation, economics are a central theme for politics and diplomacy, and this committee proposes to make you familiar with some of today’s most controversial topics.

Economic and Financial Committee

The Economic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN) is the Second Committee of the General Assembly. ECOFIN deals with issues related to economic development and growth such as macroeconomic policy questions, sustainable development, globalization and interdependence, or the eradication of poverty amongst others. In ECOFIN, all 193 member states of the United Nations are represented making it an alluring choice both for first-time and more experienced delegates with a flair for development, trade and the world economy in general.

Reshaping trade relations between developing and developed countries for fostering sustainable economic growth

 Trade is a main driver of economic growth and development. However, the total volume of world trade is shared very unevenly among developing and developed countries: The G7 alone are responsible for one third of the global trade volume while all African countries together do not even account for 5%. This topic will therefore focus on how trade between developed and developing countries as well as between developing countries could be fostered and on how the resulting economic advantages could be leveraged for sustainable economic growth

Creating measures to tackle gender-based income inequality

 Women continue to be underrepresented in higher positions on the career ladder and also  earn less in the same position than men, resulting in gender-based income inequality. This inequality is especially prevalent in developing economies. For all these reasons, the UN recognized gender equality, including its economic aspect, as one of the SDGs. This topic will require delegates to find ways to improve existing measures on all levels of governance, and to come up with the new avenues for tackling gender-based income inequality from an economic perspective.

Get further information: www.un.org/en/ga/second/