Promoting sustainable development c.2

The developmental pathways adopted by most countries after World War II have been associated with three serious shortcomings. The first relates to the growing rich-poor divide. For example, UNDP's Human Development Report of 1994 points out that 20% of the global population enjoys 84% of the income, while another 20% struggles for survival on a mere 1.4% of the world's income. In 1962, the richest 20% of the world's population had 30 times the income of the poorest 20%. Today, the gap has grown to over 60 fold. Obviously, such a wide disparity which is growing day by day can never provide a secure and sustainable way of life for humankind.

A second important shortcoming relates to the phenomenon now referred to as jobless growth. Under such a growth pattern, the GDP grows at a faster rate than the growth rate in employment. This is particularly unfortunate for developing countries where a majority of the population is young. Today, job creation is occupying a very high place in the international political agenda.