Economic development and job creation

What this session covered

This was an international webinar on economic development and job creation, hosted by the institute and attended by participants from a number of countries. It opened with remarks from the institute's president, was moderated by its chairman, and featured three invited speakers — an economist, a figure associated with the private security industry, and an official from the government body responsible for micro, small and medium enterprises — followed by a moderated question-and-answer session.

One speaker argued that economic growth does not by itself generate employment, and that the nature and sector of growth are decisive for job creation. This speaker set out a framework in which technology, ecology and human capital are balanced and bound together by accounting and finance to produce sustainable development and well-being, and drew on a survey of past pandemics to suggest that economies have historically recovered from such shocks, with new sectors already emerging. The role of digital tools in reaching smaller producers was discussed, along with a proposal to treat labour hours as a form of tradeable wealth, and a call for government to act as a facilitator rather than as a regulator that constrains industry.

A second speaker, describing himself as a practitioner rather than an economist, placed greater emphasis on the immediate scale of job losses, citing a figure of 27 million losses associated with the pandemic, and warned of the risk of social unrest should employment not be addressed; this speaker also stressed the importance of sound governance alongside economic theory. A third speaker outlined government support for small and medium enterprises — described as contributing nearly 30 per cent of GDP — including training, credit and self-employment schemes and a public procurement requirement that government bodies source a minimum of 25 per cent of their needs from micro and small enterprises. The question-and-answer session considered whether India's demographic profile might become a liability rather than a dividend, the effect of automation on jobs, and the distinction between immediate relief and longer-term strategy. The closing remarks distinguished an optimistic outlook on recovery from the concern raised about immediate relief for those who had lost work, and characterised both regulatory and mental constraints as obstacles to growth.

Key points raised

• The webinar examined the relationship between economic growth and employment, with speakers drawn from economics, the private security industry and government.
• One speaker argued that growth does not automatically create jobs and that technology, ecology and human capital must be balanced, with government acting as a facilitator rather than a regulator.
• Another speaker emphasised the immediate scale of pandemic-related job losses, citing a figure of 27 million, and warned of possible social unrest.
• A government official outlined training, credit, self-employment and public-procurement measures intended to support micro, small and medium enterprises.
• The question-and-answer session addressed the demographic dividend, the effect of automation on jobs, and the balance between immediate relief and long-term strategy.