Inclusive Economic Growth: Increasing Connectivity, Expanding Opportunity, and Reducing Vulnerability

As the global population continues to expand and 40 million more people enter the global labor force every year, our task—through the post-2015 development agenda—should be to embrace the bold but practical steps that must be taken to help ensure that every person has the opportunity to be healthy, to work, and to be counted, and that everyone has access or “connectivity” to the infrastructure, social services, and fundamental rights they need to contribute to development and improve their own lives.

To ensure that our efforts truly stimulate inclusive economic growth, we must increase GDP. But we must also deliberately focus on breaking down the barriers that prohibit individuals, families, and entire communities from connecting to opportunities within their countries. Isolation comes in many forms—whether through geography, ethnicity, gender discrimination, or conflict—and our task should be to factor these hurdles into proposed growth strategies.

Here are three actions we should consider that can propel increased growth and ensure a level of inclusivity that would enable us to target—and put an end to—extreme poverty

Article by John Podesta, Chair of the Center for American Progress.