Design policies to ensure growth is socially inclusive, says OECD-World Bank report

Economic policy should be better designed to bring about more inclusive growth, ensuring that the benefits of increased prosperity are shared more evenly across society, according to a new report from the OECD and the World Bank. Promoting Inclusive Growth: Challenges and Policies assesses the options countries have as they seek to make growth not only stronger, but also more inclusive. Standard measures of economic expansion do not fully take into account how the benefits of growth are shared across society and affect affect poverty and income distribution. “Strong growth is not necessarily inclusive, in that all members of society usually don’t benefit to the same degree,” said OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan. “The challenge facing governments in the age of Occupy Wall Street is to do more to ensure that economic growth leads to positive change in living standards and well-being across all social groups,” Mr Padoan said. See full Press Release.