Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

CHApTER TEn
A basic premise
of this Report is
that discussions
on a new
post-2015
development
framework
should not be
only about goals
but also about
instruments.
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‘structural change’ is required to sustain economic
growth and generate productive employment,
without which development cannot be realised
(chapter 8). In fact, chang (2010) described the
vision behind the mDGs as ‘development without
development’, since they overlooked the need to
transform a country’s productive capacity.
Decent and productive employment is at the
centre of these economic, social and political
transformations. Jobs are transformational, since it
shapes ‘what we earn, what we do, and even who we
are’ (World bank, 2012a). the incomes derived from
labour can help to reduce poverty and vulnerability,
while equitable access to productive employment
opportunities is vital to reduce inequality and thus
tackle economic and social exclusion. being in
employment is associated with greater social and
political participation. recent economic growth
patterns have not been sufficiently inclusive, partly
because they have failed to generate sufficient
productive employment. Indeed, many countries
have experienced a perverse trend, whereby people
move out of subsistence farming (usually a lowproductivity
activity) to engage in informal activities
in the urban sector that have even lower productivity
potential (mcmillan and rodrik, 2011). this
growth-reducing structural change undermines
the prospects of developing countries to sustainably
improve the wellbeing of their citizens.
Employment concerns are particularly acute
for young people. many african countries are
experiencing sizable demographic transitions, with
a large number of young people expected to enter the
labour force in the coming years. this so-called youth
bulge could generate an important demographic
dividend, which could trigger positive economic,
social and political transformations. However, this
will depend on certain basic preconditions being
met, in particular high-quality education and good
job opportunities. access to productive and decent
employment contributes both to raising the incomes
of the most vulnerable, and to improving other
EuropEan rEport on DEvElopmEnt 2013
dimensions of wellbeing (such as self-esteem) and
social cohesion. the failure to tackle these issues is
likely to fuel social and political unrest, and have
enduring consequences for future generations (see
box 10.2).
10.4 Beyond Aid: implementing
a new framework
a basic premise of this report is that discussions
on a new post-2015 development framework should
not be only about goals but also about instruments.
the mDGs came to be very closely associated with
oDa. While this is clearly important as a source
of development finance, making development
progress is not just about resources. It is also
about policies and public goods that create an
environment that is conducive to development.
the report has identified several ‘beyond aid’
instruments that might be applicable to any new
global development agenda, including financial,
trade and migration policies. this section focuses
on how each of these can contribute to inclusive
and sustainable development individually and how
different policy areas interact and complement
each other. the section also highlights challenges
to collective international action in coordinating
approaches and achieving policy coherence, and
considers new ways to organise global policies to
support inclusive and sustainable development.
the focus is primarily on the international level
because a post-2015 framework has the potential
to influence norms and standards for addressing
international collective action (Hulme and Fukudaparr,
2009). Such policies often set the context
in which national governments operate and
can be significant in determining development
progress. Global or regional standards, policies
and regulations can have a strong impact on
national development trajectories. trade policies,
international investment standards or the lack of
international regulations on financial flows might