Global Agenda Outlook 2013

The Global Agenda Outlook 2013 synthesizes insights from 1,500 global experts to identify critical trends and risks for the coming year. Key themes include the economic rise of China, the challenges of sustainable growth, the risks of hyperconnectivity and cyberattacks, and the need for a post-2015 development agenda that balances economic progress with environmental sustainability. The report emphasizes a pervasive lack of global leadership and a growing disconnect between rapid technological advancement and the ability of national political systems to govern effectively.

• Experts identify chronic fiscal imbalances, natural resource scarcity, and economic-driven social unrest as the most urgent issues to address, with climate change adaptation also ranking highly.
• Globalization is viewed as a primary driver of poverty reduction, but it has simultaneously increased relative inequality within and among countries, which may trigger populist or isolationist reactions.
• There is a significant disconnect between the scale of global activity requiring regulation and the capacity of national political systems to agree on global governance frameworks.
• The rise of China is identified as a fundamental geopolitical issue that dwarfs other challenges in size, though its impact depends on internal market reforms and external diplomatic decisions.
• Advanced economies may have exhausted the potential of industrialization, but a process of 're-industrialization' focused on greener production could provide a new source of growth.
• Hyperconnectivity offers opportunities for 'smart cities' and economic growth through big data, but it introduces severe risks regarding data privacy, public trust, and cyber resilience.
• The post-2015 development agenda faces a 'Christmas tree syndrome' where various stakeholders attempt to add numerous diverse goals to the framework, complicating the integration of sustainability.
• There is a perceived global leadership vacuum, with a consensus that current leaders were trained for a world that no longer exists and are unable to manage the complexities of the 21st century.
• Cyber risk is highlighted as a low-probability but high-damage threat that is not sufficiently acknowledged or managed by governments and corporate boards.

APA

Elliott, A., & Roberts, D. (2013). Global Agenda Outlook 2013. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_GlobalAgendaOutlook_2013.pdf

Chicago

Elliott, Alex, and David Roberts. Global Agenda Outlook 2013. World Economic Forum, 2013. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_GlobalAgendaOutlook_2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Elliott |first1=Alex |last2=Roberts |first2=David |title=Global Agenda Outlook 2013 |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=2013 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_GlobalAgendaOutlook_2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elliott2013global, author = {Elliott, Alex and Roberts, David}, title = {{Global Agenda Outlook 2013}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2013}, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC_GlobalAgendaOutlook_2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }