Employment growth and basic needs

Abstract

Development attempts in most poor countries have been inadequate and ineffective. Even when growth has been achieved, progress toward achieving access to productive employment for all needing it and toward meeting the human needs of the poor majority of the people have never been adequate, usually negligible, after negative. These results flow in large measure from a false equation of national development with more output, an illusory supposition that growth would autocratically trickle down to benefit all social and economic formations and a failure to relate national development strategy to the need to alter the international economic patterns resulting from the dependent integration of peripheral economies into the capitalist world economic system. Its draft background paper Employment growth and basic needs, seeks to relate to that recognition. views of member governments of employers and of unions are sought for its revision and strengthening. This conference is seen by the ILO as one forum for participating in that process of preparation for the World Employment Conference.