Giving Compass' Take:

• Brookings identifies three big global tasks for 2019: Re-couple overall economic progress with gains in living standards,  de-couple economic progress from environmental degradation and end marginalization.

• The scope of these tasks is fairly large, but there are incremental steps we can take in addressing them. One place to start is to identify the organizations doing the most impactful work in each area.

• Here's why impact investments could help unlock opportunity in global development.

2018 will go down in the record books as one of seemingly incessant geopolitical acrimony. For many policymakers, the imminent turn of the calendar offers brief respite — a moment to clear one’s head and take stock of the most salient challenges on the horizon.

What core problems need to be solved amid fast-shifting strategic alliances and the cacophony of public debates? Ultimately, most societies are grappling with a common triple task, even if local manifestations differ.

The first big task confronting many countries is to re-couple overall economic progress with gains in living standards. Twenty years ago, it was a basic tenet that if the economy was growing then most people’s life outcomes were improving. Ongoing economic progress remains crucial for most societies, and is certainly helping to expand the global middle class.

Read the full article about societal problems to fix in 2019 by John McArthur at Brookings.