Margaret McMillan, John Page, David Booth and Dirk Willem te Velde, March 2017
DOWNLOAD: WHY ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
DOWNLOAD: A NEW APPROACH TO INCLUSIVE GROWTH
As continuous and sometimes remarkably fast economic growth has become more usual in much of the developing world over recent decades, attention has shifted to the pattern and quality of that growth. Issues of concern include the persistence of extreme poverty in many countries, despite growth in gross domestic product, and the weak capacity of many sectors to produce sustained increases in employment. Much of recent growth in sub-Saharan African economies has been due to factors like buoyant urbanisation, and an expansion in the service economy that serves only the middle- and upper-classes. This pattern of growth is both highly skewed and non-inclusive. Another way to express this is that these economies are achieving growth without depth, or economic growth without economic transformation.
Launched alongside Supporting Economic Transformation: An Approach Paper, these briefings summarise the central tenets of SET’s approach to the challenge of promoting economic transformation and explore its importance for driving sustainable, inclusive development in the world’s poorest countries.
Photo credit: ILO/Sarah-Jane Saltmarsh, 2010