Equity and Growth in a Globalizing World : Commission on Growth and Development
The commission on growth and development was established in April 2006 in response to two insights: people do not talk about growth enough, and when they do, they speak with unearned conviction. The workshops turned out to be intense, lively affairs, lasting up to three days. It became clear that experts do not always agree, even on issues that are central to growth. But the Commission had no wish to disguise or gloss over these uncertainties and differences. And it did not want to present a false confidence in its conclusions beyond that justified by the evidence. While researchers will continue to improve people's understanding of the world, policy makers cannot wait for scholars to satisfy all of their doubts or resolve their differences. Decisions must be made with only partial knowledge of the world. One consequence is that most policy decisions, however well informed, take on the character of experiments, which yield useful information about the way the world works, even if they do not always turn out the way policy makers had hoped. It is good to recognize this fact, if only so that policy makers can be quick to spot failures and learn from mistakes. In principle, a commission on growth could have confined its attention to income per person, setting aside the question of how income is distributed. But this commission chose otherwise. It recognized that growth is not synonymous with development. To contribute significantly to social progress, growth must lift everyone's sights and improve the living standards of a broad swath of society. The Commission has no truck with the view that growth only enriches the few, leaving poverty undisturbed and social ills untouched.
| Summary: | The commission on growth and development
was established in April 2006 in response to two insights:
people do not talk about growth enough, and when they do,
they speak with unearned conviction. The workshops turned
out to be intense, lively affairs, lasting up to three days.
It became clear that experts do not always agree, even on
issues that are central to growth. But the Commission had no
wish to disguise or gloss over these uncertainties and
differences. And it did not want to present a false
confidence in its conclusions beyond that justified by the
evidence. While researchers will continue to improve
people's understanding of the world, policy makers
cannot wait for scholars to satisfy all of their doubts or
resolve their differences. Decisions must be made with only
partial knowledge of the world. One consequence is that most
policy decisions, however well informed, take on the
character of experiments, which yield useful information
about the way the world works, even if they do not always
turn out the way policy makers had hoped. It is good to
recognize this fact, if only so that policy makers can be
quick to spot failures and learn from mistakes. In
principle, a commission on growth could have confined its
attention to income per person, setting aside the question
of how income is distributed. But this commission chose
otherwise. It recognized that growth is not synonymous with
development. To contribute significantly to social progress,
growth must lift everyone's sights and improve the
living standards of a broad swath of society. The Commission
has no truck with the view that growth only enriches the
few, leaving poverty undisturbed and social ills untouched. |
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