Let the Markets Decide A Conclusion or a Question Mark ?

1. Let the Markets DecideA Conclusion or a Question Mark ? Dr Mahesha Ranasoma

2. Assumptions about market led growth • Rapid and broad based economic growth reduces poverty • Trade, investment, access to information and rapid technology change provide expanded economic opportunities • Equity, wealth creation, innovation and technological learning will come from market led structural reforms • Opening the economy foster domestic competition and inflows of technology, innovation and technological learning • Globalization and current market dynamics offer new opportunities • Supportive macro-economic environments are important but countries also must encourage private enterprise led-growth.

3. Let the Markets Decide ? • Markets alone will not take the benefits of technological progress to the poor and poor countries (Director of UNDP HD Report 2001) • Rich nations spend $600bln on defence, $300bln on agricultural subsidies. “We need a new global equilibrium, a new balance in the relationship between rich and poor nations” (World Bank President, 2003: Local newspaper) • “After a decade of unprecedented economic growth, fuelled in large by new technologies, the American poverty rate is still 12% essentially where it was before the computer revolution began in the mid-1970’s”. “If it is possible for technology to act as a major catalyst in eradicating poverty, as some claim, it is fair to ask why this has not happened in the US under the best economic conditions” (Finacial Daily from The Hindu, 2001) • ICT offers an exciting possibility for overcoming poverty, but this potential will remain vastly unexplored if left to market forces (Senior Education Specialist)

4. Brochure on Asian Summit on Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment29-30th October 2003-New Delhi • Asia has 300 million unemployed youth in the 18-35 age group • Youth unemployment and under-employment in South Asia is as high as 50-60% • Millions of young Asians work for less than a dollar a day • Though 20% of all young people have the potential to become entrepreneurs, only 5% do. In motivating the other 15% to take to entrepreneurship and create employment, lies the challenge of change.

5. Brochure on The Youth Employment Summit on 11th October 2003, New Delhi • There are a billion youth (14-24 yrs) and of this 850mln live in developing countries with low infrastructure for education, skills training, and services for promoting employment. • In India, the unemployment rate among the youth is 59% (the general unemployment rate is 13%). • 25% of Indians live below the poverty line, over 50% of them are below the age of 20 years.

6. Let the Markets Decide ? • Can we regard markets as an efficient mechanism that will deliver technological solutions to poverty reduction ? • Governments are the largest developmental agencies and the biggest stakeholder, but is there a balance needed between the level of government intervention and free market forces in the context of technology for poverty reduction? • Does youth unemployment ring a bell about the future poverty ? • How can we address the emerging new dimension of future poverty, namely, the digital divide or ICT poverty ?