The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017

The World Economic Forum's 2017 report argues that traditional GDP-focused growth models are insufficient for ensuring broad-based prosperity. It introduces a policy framework consisting of seven pillars—Education and Skills, Basic Services and Infrastructure, Corruption and Rents, Financial Intermediation, Asset Building and Entrepreneurship, Employment and Labor Compensation, and Fiscal Transfers—to create a 'virtuous circle' where social inclusion and sustainable growth reinforce each other. The report introduces the Inclusive Development Index (IDI) to rank 109 countries based on growth, inclusion, and intergenerational equity, noting that many advanced economies, including the United States, underperform on inclusivity relative to their GDP per capita. It calls for a coordinated global effort to reform structural policies, increase institution-building assistance for developing nations, and scale public-private financing for sustainable infrastructure to meet the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

• The report argues that inclusive growth is a strategy to ensure that a country's 'top-line' economic performance (GDP growth) is translated into 'bottom-line' results, defined as "broad-based expansion of economic opportunity and prosperity."
• The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) provides a more integrated measure of economic development than GDP per capita alone, incorporating growth, inclusion, and intergenerational equity. In the 109 countries analyzed, 51% saw their IDI scores decline over the previous five years.
• There is a significant divergence between GDP rankings and IDI rankings. For example, the United States ranks 9th in GDP per capita but 23rd on the IDI, while countries like the Czech Republic and New Zealand rank significantly higher on the IDI than their GDP per capita would suggest.
• The report identifies a 'virtuous circle' where social inclusion and economic growth reinforce each other, but warns that many advanced countries have seen their institutional ecosystems deteriorate due to technological change, global integration, deregulation, and immigration.
• To prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the report recommends that countries invest in five specific areas of human capital: active labor-market policies, equity of access to quality basic education, gender parity, non-standard work benefits and protections, and effective school-to-work transitions.
• The report suggests that high levels of social protection and the associated tax burdens are not necessarily incompatible with long-term competitiveness, as evidenced by many of the world's most competitive economies.
• The report advocates for a shift in Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) from direct sovereign lending to catalyzing private investment through co-investment, risk mitigation, and project development to support the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The report argues that inequality is an 'endogenous' challenge for policymakers, meaning it can be addressed through the deliberate cultivation of institutional strength rather than being an inevitable result of capitalism.

APA

Samans, R., Blanke, J., Hanouz, M. D., & Corrigan, G. (2017). The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2017.pdf

Chicago

Samans, Richard, Jennifer Blanke, Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, and Gemma Corrigan. The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017. World Economic Forum, 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Samans |first1=Richard |last2=Blanke |first2=Jennifer |last3=Hanouz |first3=Margareta Drzeniek |last4=Corrigan |first4=Gemma |title=The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017 |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=January 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{samans2017inclusive, author = {Samans, Richard and Blanke, Jennifer and Hanouz, Margareta Drzeniek and Corrigan, Gemma}, title = {{The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Forum_IncGrwth_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }