The Global Development Agenda after the Great Recession of 2008-2009: Revisiting the Seoul Development Consensus - Employment Policy Department Knowledge-Sharing Conference

The Employment Policy Department’s Knowledge-Sharing Conference was held on 21 November 2011 at ILO headquarters in Geneva. Its goal was to provide a forum for distinguished external experts to share their knowledge on the evolution of the global development agenda after the great recession of 2008-2009. By revisiting the framework of the Seoul Development Consensus, the conference sought to assess whether it should and could be implemented with greater vigour in the current economic context of the G20 countries. It was also a great opportunity to discuss how to build a new development framework by sharing different country case studies.

Programme

Approximately 60 ILO representatives and external experts conducted discussions in the course of two interrelated but distinct sessions.

The first session of the conference revisited the Seoul Development Consensus (SDC) that was unveiled by G20 members in the Republic of Korea in 2010. It also reviewed the rationale behind the SDC, explored its current status, reflected on future prospects and invited a more critical examination by asking experts to assess whether another “development consensus” was really needed.

The afternoon session was devoted to the theme of ‘job creation and development,’ a theme that is at the core of ILO’s mandate as well as of the SDC. The speakers explored pathways to job creation that went beyond the customary focus on manufacturing as a vehicle for rapid development and job creation. Case studies from Africa were used to enrich the proceedings. The proceedings and the knowledge generated during the conference are summarized in the papers and proceedings of the conference.

Welcome and Opening

Chair: José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director, Employment Sector, ILO

Opening Remarks

  • Azita Berar Awad, Director, Employment Policy Department, ILO
  • Sang-ki Park, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea
  • Keynote Speech

G20 Development Governance, 1999-2011: Increase, Institutionalization, Impact

  • John Kirton, Director, G8 Research Group, University of Toronto

Session 1: Revisiting the Seoul Development Consensus

Chair: Mariangels Fortuny, Employment Policy Department, ILO

Seoul Development Consensus: Rationale, Current Status and Future Prospects

  • Jai-Joon Hur, Senior Research Fellow, Korea Labour Institute
  • Discussant: Sangheon Lee, Labour Protection Department, ILO

Session 2: Job Creation and Global Development

Chair: Makiko Matsumoto, Employment Policy Department, ILO

The Role of the Services Sector as a Major Vehicle for Job Creation

  • Ejaz Ghani, Senior Economic Advisor, World Bank
  • Discussant: David Kucera, Policy Integration Department, ILO

Meeting the Job Creation Challenge in Africa

  • Paul Cook, Engagement Manager, McKinsey and Company
  • Discussant: Lawrence Egulu, Policy Integration Department, ILO

Job Creation and Growth in the Ethiopian Cut Flowers Industry

  • Yukichi Mano, Assistant Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
  • Discussant: Frédéric Lapeyre, Employment Policy Department, ILO