Social Policies for Development in a Globalizing World 12 November, Kellokoski, Finland

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Social Policies for Development in a Globalizing
World1-2 November, Kellokoski, Finland

• Dorothy Rosenberg
• Senior Policy Advisor for MDGs and Civil Society,
  Poverty Group, Bureau for Development Policy,
  United Nations Development Program

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The KEY to equitable and sustainable development

• integrated social and economic development,
  neither of which can succeed without the other
• Finlands historical experience indicates that
  poverty can rather be reduced through
  appropriate, comprehensive social policies that
  cover also the non-poor (emphasis added)

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The problem Social Policy regarded as secondary,
which undermines the effectiveness of economic
development initiatives

• (Wiman) the domination of economic values in
  the policy dialogue
• demand for less taxation and (less) public
  spending
• emphasis on economic efficiency
• efficiency effective targeting
• social agenda splintered among agencies
• privatization of social dimension to voluntary
  domain donors and NGOs
• MDGs exact, but narrow

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Placing the issue

• Does society exist within the economy or does the
  economy exist within society? (Can there be an
  economy without a society? obviously not)
• Capable States vs
• Delegitimization
• unfunded decentralization
• privatisation/voluntarisation of social policy

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Strategic response How to recapture a captured
discourse?

• - Foundational provision of essential public
  goods required for economy to function (e.g.
  social trust, public education, public health,
  etc.)
• - Pragmatic essential counterbalance to market
  not optional buffer

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Strategic response How to recapture a captured
discourse?

• Arguments based on example history of
  successful post-war development to draw attention
  to/legitimise the centrality of social policy to
  social stability and development
• Arguments based on ethical conviction equity of
  opportunity and outcome
• Social inclusion agenda/countering social
  exclusion (also pragmatic, see below)
• Arguments based on legal obligation
  international conventions and agreements
• Human Rights based, social, economic, and
  cultural as well and civil and political rights
  anchored in the UDHR

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Strategic response How to recapture a captured
discourse?

• Arguments based on pragmatic self-interest
  effects of non-provision
• Migration flows reduction of brain drain
  emigration and excessive immigration.
• Security reduction of intra- and inter-state
  conflict, radicalization and increasing role of
  non-state asymmetric actors legitimized by social
  provision (e.g. Muslim Brotherhood model)
• Economic stable economic and trade relations
  based on broad and increasing demand
  (rehabilitate Keynes and the role of the state in
  guiding investment and promoting domestic demand
  in all successful post-war development cases)

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Tactical response Human Development with a
Human Face

• Multiple social exclusion analysis and
  counter-efforts
• Human Rights-based approach to poverty reduction
• The broad MDGs vs the narrow MDGs
• narrow setting a global minimum agenda
• broad - National adaptation
• Create an inclusive, consensual, evidence-based
  mechanism to measure gt set targets gt implement gt
  monitor gt report gt revise policy

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The good news

• A major push is now underway within UNDP and with
  UNDG to improve coordination and increase joint
  programming at the country level to focus
  planning and resources on the MDGs.

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The not-so-good news

• On the UNDP side, this effort is led by a strong
  focus on (and commitment of resources to)
  mainstream macro-economic modeling and budget
  frameworks, and mobilization of ODA for donor-
  led development (Sachs approach), with
  perfunctory nods to pro-poor, social protection
  (CCTs), civil society engagement.

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Voice, Votes, and Resources

• A strong and clear response on the part of
  Global South and Global North development
  partners expressing their views on the need for
  an integrated social and economic policy approach
  is urgently needed.