Social cohesion: making it happen

Today’s post originally appeared on the OECD Insights Blog and is from Anne-Lise Prigent, editor in charge of development publications at OECD Publishing

A famous Deng Xiaoping quote goes : “Let some people get rich first”. Yet, in Spring 2011, the Beijing city authorities banned all outdoor advertisement of luxury goods on the grounds that they might contribute to a “politically unhealthy environment”.

The trouble with growth is that inequalities tend to rise with it. Growth does not necessarily translate into better life satisfaction – far from it, as the experience of Thailand or Tunisia shows. What happens when the fruits of growth are not shared, when people feel that income inequalities are rising and food prices soaring? Well, that’s when the so-called “politically unhealthy environment” sets in.

Millions voiced their frustration during the Arab Spring. From Tahrir square to the streets of Tunis, a huge emerging middle class showed that it has a tremendous capacity to mobilize people. It demands governments that are open and transparent, as well as more and better services. How can governments answer these demands? How can they go about redistributing the fruits of growth?

A new policy agenda is needed: one that focuses not only on growth but also on openness, fairness and inclusion. Social cohesion needs to be at the centre of policy making. Failing this, we may (re)enter a vicious circle where inequalities create a sense of injustice, which in turn can lead to (mass) protest and sometimes violence. As a result, social peace and stability, as well as long-term growth, may be jeopardized.

How can governments foster social cohesion? Perspectives on Global Development: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World from the OECD Development Centre, answers this. With this latest report, the Development Centre again proves that it is engaged with the world we live in, whether discussing tax revenues or the merits of football as a factor of social cohesion: having a sense of community can make a difference. That, along with equality of opportunities is what social cohesion is all about.

The report first shows how the world has undergone a shift of historical significance over the past decade, with the centre of economic gravity moving towards the East and South. The figures speak for themselves: in 2000, OECD countries represented around 60% of global GDP but by 2010 this was down to 51%, and it will be only 43% by 2030. In fast-growing economies, per capita growth rate was more than double that of high-income OECD countries over the last decade.

It is precisely this shifting wealth that opens a window of opportunity for development and social cohesion. In fast-growing economies, fiscal revenues rose from 20% of GDP on average in 2000 to 27% in 2008. These countries now have the (fiscal) resources to finance social policies that can make the difference – or, can they?

This report argues that public policies can make a difference. OECD countries with initially high income inequalities manage to redistribute income through taxes and transfers. The challenge is to leave no one behind. A cohesive society reduces inequality between groups and ensures that all citizens – the poor, the middle-earners, and the rich – are socially included.

Over the last decade, hundreds of millions of people were lifted out of poverty. This report argues that the emerging middle class should not be ignored either. Today, nearly 1 billion out of the 2 billion people living on 10 to 100 dollars a day in the world – the global middle class – live in fast-growing countries. This number is projected to exceed 3 billion in 2030.

The emerging middle class is a critical economic and social actor because of its potential as an engine of growth, particularly in the largest developing countries such as China and India. Its contribution to social cohesion can be high, and its expectations are sharply rising. What is needed is a social contract between citizens and the state, which entails more and better services in exchange for paying taxes. This would foster a virtuous circle that boosts social cohesion as well as growth. Citizens are more willing to pay taxes in societies where they feel a sense of belonging. Fiscal policy is thus a good place to start.

As the report highlights, fiscal, social and employment policies should go hand in hand. With recent innovations in social protection, the poorest are covered by social assistance and the wealthy by either contribution-based or private alternatives. Yet, a considerable number of (informal) middle-class workers are stuck in the uncomfortable “missing middle” of coverage. More comprehensive social protection systems should protect all sections of the population.

Stronger labour market institutions are also needed. They should aim to create more “good” jobs and reduce the duality in labour markets – between standard and non-standard contracts or between formal and informal workers. This will be critical in reducing inequalities and fostering social cohesion.

A series of cross-cutting issues have to be addressed coherently as well, including education, gender equality, food policy, the integration of immigrants, and institutions.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one”. Ignoring people’s desires and the reality in which they live is perilous. Technocratically good policies that do that just won’t work and giving space to dissenting voices is essential to the creation of a sustainable, socially cohesive society.

Social cohesion is a means for development as well as an end in itself. What if social cohesion were the 21^st century’s holy grail? A holy grail that can only be attained with some long-term vision and commitment – and a smile. Failing that, there might be rough times ahead.

Useful links

Social cohesion on Wikiprogress

OECD Development Centre

2012 年全球发展前景：转变中世界的社会凝聚力

The Arab Spring: a Booster for Women’s Emancipation!?

Many Arab countries are on their way to reduce gender inequalities. The Arab Spring reinforced this movement in several regions. Yet, the battle for an expansion of women’s rights has just begun and continuous progress cannot be taken for granted.
In the 1950s, Tunisia undertook as first country in the Arab world steps to eliminate early marriage by setting a minimum age and was among the first Arab countries to assign women the right to vote. Since then, Tunisia has long had the most progressive and liberal stance towards women in the Arab region. In recent years successive steps have been taken to further improve women’s rights. Domestic violence has been criminalised, contraceptives have been made available, and regulated abortion has become legal. Recently, Tunisia ruled that parties are required to have equal numbers of men and women in electoral lists.

Image source: http://thepathans.blogspot.com/

Since the 2000s, many other countries have followed Tunisia on some points. Egypt, Libya and Morocco have introduced reforms to give women greater rights to pass on citizenship to children. In Algeria, Iraq and Morocco, sexual harassment in the workplace is banned legally.
There is justified hope that the Arab spring will further boost the emancipation process in the Arab world, as women’s participation in the Arab Spring has been significant. Many women have been participating in sit-ins and marches and have become politically engaged.
However, the expansion of women’s rights in Arab countries cannot be taken for granted, as gender norms are very rigid and change, if at all, very slowly. In some regions, one can even observe a rising conservatism going hand in hand with the Arab spring. Women have been criticized by some male protestors for their public involvement in the Arab Spring, as women being active in the public sphere are considered as acting against religious norms. Moreover, in times of high unemployment and uncertain economic conditions, some voices are advocating that women should be banned from the workplace as a way to solve male unemployment.
This call is done in disregard of the fact that the female share of the labour force is relatively small. On average, female employment rates account only for one third of male employment rates in the Arab region. Restrictions from working the same hours and from taking up the same jobs as men significantly limit women’s job opportunities and therewith their income and career perspectives. Moreover, due to a strong adherence to traditional gender roles, there is little concept of sharing household or childcare responsibilities among spouses, which urges many women to renounce their chances of a career.
However, in most Arab countries, women do not only face discrimination when it comes to labour market activities.  One of the most discriminatory aspects for women concerns their physical integrity. In Libya, gender-based violence continues to escalate as a weapon of war. In Egypt, female genital mutilation is still widespread even though illegal since 2008.
Another problem concerns women’s personal law status, which governs things such as marriage, divorce and child custody. Sometimes, Muslim women are not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man, although a Muslim man can be married to a non-Muslim woman. It is also common that divorce proceedings initiated by women are cumbersome and difficult. Indeed, in most Arab countries there is progress concerning women’s legal situation.  However, women often lack the economic resources to petition courts and cultural norms dissuade them from filing complaints in court. Hence, there is a strong need to ensure that laws, once created, are applied regardless of people’s sex, their geographical location or their socio-economic condition.
To further increase women’s participation in the economy, in the public sphere and in society, it is necessary that women continue to make their voices heard in the Arab world. Therefore, women need moral and financial support, provided not only by national governments but also by the international community. The progress of the feminist movement in the Arab world is actually highly dependent on a successful democratisation. To date, the overall representation of women in parliaments is still very low in the Arab region, ranging around 10% on average. However, in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, considerable efforts have been made over the last 10 years to increase women’s share in parliaments. This raises hope that the emancipation progress, which has just been starting in many Arab countries, will step up over the next years.
By Angela Luci from Gender Debate
Sources: blog author’s own contribution, Gulfnews, Masterpeace, USIP

The Scent of Jasmine All Over My Desk

In the blogsphere these days, everyone is talking about the Jasmine Revolution. Where Arab men and women are rising up against their governments and demanding reform in the Arab world .

In the Economist this week one of their daily charts is visualising a statistical hub for key indicators in the Arab region.


http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/02/arab_league_map

To accompany this map is a very interesting November 2010 report that landed on my desk recently. "The Silatech Index: Voices of Young Arabs" is a project which partners Gallup and Silatech to poll youth in Arab states to focus on their outlook and that of society on job creation, access to necessary resources to find a job and the obstacles therein. The report reveals that more than 100 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29 now represent 30% of the Arab world’s total population. With two-thirds of the MENA region’s population under the age of 24, the region faces an unprecedented “youth bulge.” The largest ever in the region’s history to enter the labor market. The model relies on four main constructs mindset, policy, access and decent work with these being the main drivers for social change. Tunisia topped the Access and Policy indexes and came in second to Algeria on the Mindset index. Interesting...

Another report that landed on my desk is the 2009-2010 State of Reform in the Arab World based on the Arab Democracy Index. According to their website, "data gathered for the Arab Democracy Index cover three different dimensions: the legal aspect, public opinion, and practices of regimes. Measurement is therefore based on monitoring performance and behavior rather than just examining intentions and structures, since intentions may be good but performance poor". They set themselves apart from other indexes like the Human Development Index by stating that they take into consideration both impressions and patterns of behavior and measures the impact on the citizens daily lives.

On a scale of 0 to 1,000 points, Jordan topped the list of the countries covered in the Index, with a score of 620 points, followed by Morocco with 601 points and Egypt with 596 points. Lebanon was ranked fourth with 583 points, followed by Algeria with 570 points and Kuwait with 553 points. Palestine was placed seventh with 506 points, followed by Syria with 461 points, then Yemen with 457 points, and finally Saudi Arabia with 402 points.

Interesting to see the more subjective measures like opinions and perception of citizens being taken into account in all three of these very different reports from the Arab region. GDP alone just doesn't get this picture. However, I wonder what will happen with Egypt/Libya/Tunisia and others on the Arab Democracy Index when 2011 numbers are reported. Will there be a note which says that "there wasn't a smooth transition" and violence broke out over 2011? I think it will take a rather long time before the Silatech index will be able to report that the youth in Egypt are working in decent jobs and/or have their dreams of owning a business or even a corner government office (most say this is the real dream). But, worth the wait and I am really looking forward to watching progress unfold. The prolific Economist paper will certainly be visualising corruption, democracy and press freedom in their regular communication of various indexes. Though, on this one, it would be nice to see a visualisation over time. So, Economist, if you are reading...

I (along with some other prog bloggers!) am currently taking Arabic classes in hopes that I may someday understand the culture better. Apparently it takes 2 years of full-time study to be able to order bread live. But there is reason to be optimistic. Inshallah.

Angela Hariche