The Commission on Growth & Development recently issued their report on global economic development: “The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development“. The report concluded that there is no fast and easy answer. It takes long-term commitment and patience to create sustainable growth in an economy.
Key conclusions of the report include:
— Growth is a crucial part of poverty reduction and the improvement of people’s lives. It is impossible for poor countries to lift large populations out of poverty without growth. Equality of opportunity and a focus on individuals and families, gender inequalities, and economic security, however, is critical to maintaining the support for growth oriented policies. Open access to free markets is key.
— That growth is a long-term challenge that requires leadership, persistence, stamina, pragmatism, transparency and the support of the population. In an age of quick fixes and sound bites this will be a challenge.
— That growth requires engagement with the global economy to import knowledge and technology, to access markets, and to generate a strong export sector – critical in the early stages of growth. The global nature of our economy is unavoidable.
— That resources, especially labor, must be mobile. The Report also recommends a bridging of the divide between the formal and informal labor sectors by allowing export-oriented industries to recruit workers on easier terms than prevail in the formal sector but with the same essential worker protection in the areas of health and safety, working hours and child labor. It highlights the need to better manage the migration challenge and the results of changing demographics.
— Access to capital is fundamentally important.