Perhaps impact would be a better metric for assessing whether or not these 1000s of person-hours are well-spent. I suspect the conclusion would be same.
> it's best to think about them as a sort of parallel academic system
Doesn't this demonstrate the impotence of the current academic system (which is also very bureaucratic), as it shows that it isn't fit for purpose.
> some of it ... will be used by governments when developing their policy response
And therein lies the rub - gov'ts don't actually read them in order to learn, but to formulate responses that suit any and all biases that are currently in vogue. "Can you make the numbers say we need another coal plant" or "we found the recommendation to not reflect the wider social needs of the population" and so-on and so-forth
> Doesn't this demonstrate the impotence of the current academic system (which is also very bureaucratic), as it shows that it isn't fit for purpose.
I wouldn't necessarily say it _demonstrates issues_ with the academic system, but there are definitely big problems with academia it shares. Lots of overlap in terms of its function and dysfunction for sure.
> gov'ts don't actually read them in order to learn, but to formulate responses that suit any and all biases that are currently in vogue
This is where the devil is in the details. So yes, absolutely, governments will chase fads/funding and cherry pick to suit their agenda, but "good" policy transfer does happen via the UN more often than some might think.
I live in a non-OECD country that's the target of a lot of recommendations via "the system". Here are a bunch of things I've seen happen here that I agree with that have been supported by this huge volume of reporting:
- maternity pay,
- permanent housing for internally displaced persons,
- an indoor smoking ban,
- proper driving tests and improved road safety laws,
- minimum standards in education (think, schools should have windows and functioning toilets),
- a land-ownership registry that vastly exceeds what's available in my (European) home country.
That's off the top of my head. It's a mixed bag, over many years, but it don't do nothing.