All on Board: Making Inclusive Growth Happen
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ALL ON BOARD MAKING INCLUSIVE GROWTH HAPPEN This report was prepared by the OECD Secretariat, with support from the Ford Foundation, as a contribution to the OECD Inclusive Growth Initiative. The OECD Initiative on Inclusive Growth is a multidimensional project which aims to identify and better understand policies that can deliver improvements in living standards and in outcomes that matter for people’s quality of life (e.g. good health, jobs and skills, clean environment, efficient institutions). It contributes to the OECD initiative on “New Approaches to Economic Challenges” (NAEC), an organisation-wide reflection process that was launched at the 2012 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) with the objective to catalyse a process of continuous improvement of the organisation’s analytical frameworks and advice. www.oecd.org/inclusive-growth FOREWORD This report could not have come at a more crucial moment. A hesitant recovery from the financial and economic crisis, widening income gaps between rich and poor, and high unemployment in the mature economies have raised awareness about the need to restore growth and at the same time make sure that the dividends of greater prosperity are shared more evenly across society. In many emerging- market economies and developing countries, robust growth and the increased affluence that comes with it often have not delivered inclusive prosperity, economic opportunity, and better social indicators for all. It is important to make clear that when we talk about inequality, we must talk about more than income. Employment prospects, job quality, health outcomes, education, and opportunities to build wealth over time matter for people’s well-being and are heavily determined by their socio-economic status. Those who are shut out of opportunity often live shorter lives and find it difficult to break away from a vicious confluence of poor educational opportunities, low skills and limited employment prospects. They also are far more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards and violence, both of which can impair brain functioning in powerful, long-lasting ways, making it harder to succeed. The result is an uneven economic patchwork, where regions within countries and neighbourhoods within cities prosper while others fall farther behind. Moreover, there is growing evidence that inequality is harmful to everyone in society and that greater social and economic inclusion is strongly associated with longer and stronger periods of sustained economic growth. Against this background the OECD and the Ford Foundation have joined forces to contribute to the policy debate about Inclusive Growth. The OECD’s work on well-being (How is Life?), income inequality (Growing Unequal? and Divided we Stand), structural policy reform (Going for Growth), development (Perspectives on Global Development: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World) and institutions (Governance at a Glance) all provide a solid foundation for understanding the relationship between growth and inclusiveness. All on Board: Making Inclusive Growth Happen takes a comprehensive approach to examining growth, looking beyond traditional monetary indicators to dimensions that reflect the quality of life of all participants in an economy. Indeed, the report begins by detailing the various dimensions of inequality that affect people’s well-being. It goes on to formalise the notion of multidimensional living standards in an analytical tool based on the OECD Framework for Inclusive Growth that allows policy makers to measure growth in ways that incorporate these important factors that affect people’s lives and well-being. The report goes on to discuss win-win policies that can deliver stronger growth and greater inclusiveness in areas such as macroeconomic policies, labour market policies, education and skills, competition and product market regulation, innovation and entrepreneurship, financial markets, infrastructure and public services, and development and urban policies. One clear-cut lesson from the report is that investing in the education and skills of people at the bottom of the distribution will pay long-term dividends for the economy and enhance individual well-being. Moreover, complementing structural policies with place-based approaches to tackling inequalities will help advance both equity and growth objectives on the ground in cities and metropolitan regions. It is our hope that the report will provide a foundation for further exploration of circumstances where inclusion enhances economic growth. 1 The political economy of Inclusive Growth also features prominently in the report. Socio- economic inequalities often carry over to the policy-making and political arenas. It is therefore important to ensure that all social groups have a voice in the policy-making process, to help shape policies that reflect their realities and aspirations and those of the communities they represent. Pursuing decentralisation, developing new forms of collaborative and participatory governance, and exploiting new technologies with open data and transparency can help governments actively engage with stakeholders and foster more inclusive policy design and implementation. Our hope is that the analysis and the policy lessons contained in this report will help change the conversation on growth and find practical application in the policies adopted by governments around the world. Together they are a first step toward building a new approach to economic growth, one that encompasses the many different factors that shape the lives of real people. The OECD and the Ford Foundation will continue to work to promote better policies and their effective implementation to achieve Inclusive Growth. Angel Gurria Darren Walker OECD Secretary General President of the Ford Foundation 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................................. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 1. THE MANY DIMENSIONS OF INEQUALITYAND POVERTY ...................................... 17 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 17 1.1. Income inequalities and poverty ......................................................................................................... 17 Widening income inequalities: a global trend? ...................................................................................... 17 GDP growth and income inequality ....................................................................................................... 22 What about the middle-class? ................................................................................................................ 22 Inequality and poverty ........................................................................................................................... 23 1.2. The jobs divide: inequality in labour market outcomes ...................................................................... 28 Trends in the labour markets matter for inclusiveness ........................................................................... 28 Out of jobs: who are affected? ............................................................................................................... 28 Jobs do not always expand horizons ...................................................................................................... 33 Deterioration in job quality ................................................................................................................ 33 The working poor ............................................................................................................................... 34 1.3. Education and skills ...........................................................................................................................