Goal-based development: Do they actually work? - Revisiting the UN goal-setting as a policy tool with Professor Jeffrey Sachs of SDSN

Goals are an essential part of any action agenda. Together with setting targets, indicators, and timetables, goals can help measure progress, keep different actors and stakeholders on track, and allow for the assessment of achievement of any action agenda. However, conceptual questions need to be asked about whether they really work, what kind of incentives they create, when they are most effective in achieving their policy goals, and what unintended consequences they lead to, if any.  In this episode, we revisit the UN goal-setting as a policy tool for development, which guided the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our guest speaker is Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the President of Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and also the host of the Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs, a monthly interview with renowned authors about their groundbreaking work in history, social justice, sustainable development in more. Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economist and Columbia University professor and author of books on economics. Want to learn more about sustainable development and learning? Subscribe to SDG Learncast. Visit UN SDG:Learn website at www.unsdglearn.org to get the latest learning offers on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The transcript of the podcast is available at https://www.unsdglearn.org/podcast/.  The opinions expressed in the SDG Learncast podcasts are solely those of the authors. They do not reflect the opinions or views of UN SDG:Learn, its Joint Secretariat, and partners.