development (Kanbur and Lustig 1999, van der Hoeven et al. 2001).
While exclusively focusing on distribution can lead to stagnation
and leave populations worse-off, which has been the fate of
countries under some “populist” governments, exclusively focusing
on growth can lead to large inequalities, as many countries have
experienced in recent decades (Cornia and Court 2001, Cornia
2005, United Nations 2005, Jomo and Baudot 2007).
6.B. Mainstreaming equity in the development agenda
Achieving the equity/growth balance requires a major overhaul of
current decision-making. Economic choices at both international
and national levels have often been taken without adequate
consideration of their distributional impacts; if there are negative
social impacts, these may be mitigated, but equity and social
progress cannot be achieved by this approach alone. As an
alternative, the United Nations development agenda has been
proposing the combination of social and economic policies in a
complementary and mutually reinforcing manner.
The United Nations development agenda consists of a
comprehensive set of goals agreed by global consensus in different
United Nations conferences and summits over the last two decades.
The agenda encompasses issues ranging from social inclusion and
decent employment to sustainable development and finance. The
UN agenda focuses on country ownership of national development
strategies, integrating social, economic and environmental policy,
and enabling frameworks for peace/conflict prevention, good
governance and human rights, as well as addresses systemic issues,
such as the differential impact of globalization and inequalities
among and within countries. The United Nations development
agenda has been shaped by a fundamental concern for equity and
for equality of all persons, as human beings and as citizens (United
Nations 2007 and 2008). United Nations agencies and other
organizations have operationalized this agenda in recent years. An
indicative summary of selected sector interventions is presented
below in Table 15.