Perspectives on Global Development 2012

Abstract

The year 2011 has seen various forms of social upheaval affect economies and politics not only in the Middle East and North Africa, but in all regions of the world.Events in 2010 and 2011were not the purview of countries feeling most acutely the bite of the financial crisis.In fact, many of these countries weathered the crisis well, rapidly returning to strong and fast growth.Demonstrations and social unrest seem rather to be linked to a perception that the fruits of growth are not being shared equally, and to a limited scope for participation in the policy making process.Good macroeconomic management and social expenditure, while necessary, have proven insufficient if pursued in contexts where social cohesion is low or deteriorating. Perspectives on GlobalDevelopment 2012 argues that social cohesion is a means for development as well as an end in itself.A cohesive society is one where citizens feel they can trust their neighbours and state institutions.One where individuals can seize opportunities for improving their own well-being and the well-being of their children.It is a society where individuals feel protected when facing illness, unemployment or old age.This report looks at different policy principles which are essential to a social cohesion development agenda.This report focuses on countries where growth performance in the past ten years has more than doubled that of rich countries.While the shifting centre of economic gravity brings new opportunities for these countries in the form of larger export revenues and the promise of greater fiscal space, it also comes with new challenges: rising inequalities, the movement of people, a difficult adjustment of jobs to different sectors of the economy and a need to meet citizens' rising expectations of living standards and access to opportunity.Social Cohesion in a Shifting World draws on both analysis and policy dialogue.Regional seminars focusing on social cohesion in Africa and Southeast Asia were held, respectively, in Rabat (Morocco) and Bangkok (Thailand) and lessons learned at these events permeate the report.It further builds on a body of work undertaken at the Development Centre which explores the multi-faceted challenges for fiscal and social policy in a changing world.The African Economic Outlook 2010 and the Latin American Economic Outlook 2009 focused on fiscal challenges in these regions.The new geography of economic growth and its associated changes affect multiple policy domains.The role of the state in managing structural transformations and the distributional pattern of development is thus crucial.To cope effectively, countries will need strong, long term development strategies, as well as a greater focus on co-ordination across different levels of government.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 152 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.