Call to make jobs for the young a priority

Global report highlights the need for programmes to curb unemployment, writes Hilary Joffe

ANEW report by an international panel of experts calls for countries to invest in youth guarantee programmes as a way to combat youth unemployment, which is estimated at 75-million young people globally.

The Oxford Martin Commission’s report, Now For The Long Term, which is to be launched today, urges countries to make young people a priority in policies aimed at fostering job-creating economic growth, citing the success of youth guarantee programmes in the Scandinavian countries and elsewhere in Europe. It comes at a time when South African government proposals for a youth wage incentive are being debated.

Youth guarantee programmes typically include a combination of education and training, job-search help and measures such as apprenticeships, all designed to smooth the transition from school to work and prevent long-term unemployment among young people.

The report draws attention to the extent to which the nature of work has been changed by globalisation and automation, and to the 30million net jobs that were lost across all age groups during the financial crisis, with young people worst hit in what has been called the “Baby Bust” generation. The report is also keen to see more countries implement conditional cash transfers to break the cycle of poverty and cites the success of social grants in Brazil and SA as examples.

But these are just a couple of the recommendations in a wide-ranging report that aims to look through the post-financial crisis environment to “examine the current gridlock in international and national attempts to deal with key global problems” and suggest some solutions, in areas that range from climate change, chronic disease and economic inequality to corporate behaviour, cyber-crime and taxation.

The Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations was set up by South African Ian Goldin, who is professor of globalisation and development at Oxford University but who was previously at the World Bank and CE of the Development Bank of SA. The commission, launched in September last year, is chaired by former World Trade Organisation director-general Pascal Lamy and includes a diverse group of 19 commissioners such as renowned economists Amartya Sen and Nicholas Stern, former president of Chile Michelle Bachelet, Huffington Post editor-in-chief Ariana Huffington, People’s Republic of China official Liu He and SA’s Planning Minister Trevor Manuel.

“We are all increasingly aware of the big issues which need to be resolved and equally aware that these require strong global and national actions, but the gap between knowledge and action is growing,” says Prof Goldin, citing the “gridlock” in the big global negotiations on climate change, trade, cyber-crime and other issues.

The commission attempted to look at the lessons of the crisis and identify why some actions succeeded and some failed, and to come up with principles for global action.

A new idea it recommends is the creation of CyberEx, an early cyber warning platform that could share information on global cyber security threats, suspicious internet traffic and malicious software, so as to benefit government, corporate and individual interests.

It also recommends that a voluntary world taxation and regulatory exchange be established, to help harmonise company taxation arrangements, promote information sharing between countries and enhance transparency. The exchange would encourage multinational corporations to disclose their tax planning arrangements and governments to disclose details of their preferential tax regimes.

Another proposal is to establish WorldStat, a specialist statistics agency that would improve the quality of statistics and data collection globally. It would, for example, assist statistical agencies in developing countries in particular and ensure better figures on inequality, employment, disease and other indicators.

The report also weighs in on the contest between emerging markets and developed nations over representation in global institutions, with a call for “sunset clauses” and regular reviews of global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and United Nations. Since the establishment of these institutions 60 years ago, global agencies have proliferated and there is now a “spaghetti bowl of overlapping mandates”, with the UN itself having more than 20 agencies and funds. The commission has identified areas where existing institutions must be reformed or new ones created to meet new demands.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the report yesterday, Dr Lamy said: “Twentieth century structures and institutions are poorly equipped for 21st century challenges.... Many significant emerging powers are effectively shut out of key decisions. This must change to better reflect current and future needs.”

He urged global leaders to establish shared values to protect prospects for future generations.

The report also raises questions about the World Health Organisation and its ability to tackle global pandemics. But it focuses on the need to cut the burden of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, proposing for example a “Fit Cities” network to fight the rise of such diseases and share practices to minimise the costs they inflict on health systems.