Social cohesion and the state

The wealth of our societies is typically described in terms of economic growth, production and income. Yet, people would probably name good health as their most important goal, particularly under the current pandemic circumstances. Economic prosperity is intrinsically dependent on public health. Investments in healthcare and R&D, as well as in other social and health-promoting ... Read more

Welfare states can buffer economic hardship – their primary function is to provide a public safety net in times of individual crisis and to enable people to overcome the crisis through activation. Thus, if done right, welfare states support solidarity and empowerment. In normal times, welfare states deal with individual volatility resulting from impacts of ... Read more

Election corruption, police brutality, political turmoil, tax breaks for the wealthy, unequal educational access, wage inequality, disinformation perpetrated by the media, and more. Events of the last few years have demonstrated that society’s institutions are in dire shape. Institutional failure is occurring because these institutions, from local to global, were made for a world that ... Read more

Our current measures of progress are primarily financial and short-term. Macro-level reporting has had a particular emphasis on GDP and corporate reporting has largely been focused on shareholder value. In the context of broader social objectives, our current approaches to reporting are neither sufficient nor effective. While there has been a proliferation of standards and ... Read more

Our economy should serve human needs. For that, it must not be entirely geared towards economic progress but has to improve social progress and environmental sustainability as well. This is the vision of a recoupled economy: where social, economic and environmental prosperity grow together and not apart. Achieving a recoupled economy requires complementary action in ... Read more

The economic transformation needed to recouple economic growth with social prosperity and environmental sustainability will require a significant amount of financial resources. These financial needs come against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has triggered massive fiscal spending for supporting the economy and improving public health. Central banks have created very large amounts of ... Read more

Global Solutions Summit 2021 – Opening Adress by Dennis J. Snower, President, Global Solutions Initiative

This article is a pre-publication from the next issue of the Global Solutions Journal, which will be published in January 2021 on the occasion of the beginning of the Italian G20 Presidency The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a new form of digital governance to support consumers around the world. Digital consumer policy ... Read more