Inclusion Matters: The Foundation for Shared Prosperity

by World Bank

Overview

This report tries to put boundaries around the abstraction that is “social inclusion”. It is intended for policy makers, academics, activists and development partners – indeed anyone who is curious about how to address inclusion in a world that is witness to intense demographic, spatial, economic and technological transitions. Placing the discussion of social inclusion within such global transitions and transformations, it argues that social inclusion is an evolving agenda. While it does not purport to provide definitive answers as to how to achieve social inclusion in any given context, the report offers an easy-to-use definition and a framework to assist practitioners in asking, outlining and developing some of the right questions that can help advance the agenda of inclusion in different contexts. There are seven main messages in this report: 1. Excluded groups exist in all countries. 2. Excluded groups are consistently denied opportunities. 3. Intense global transitions are leading to social transformations that create new opportunities for inclusion as well as exacerbating existing forms of exclusion. 4. People take part in society through markets, services, and spaces. 5. Social and economic transformations affect the attitudes and perceptions of people. As people act on the basis of how they feel, it is important to pay attention to their attitudes and perceptions. 6. Exclusion is not immutable. Abundant evidence demonstrates that social inclusion can be planned and achieved. 7. Moving ahead will require a broader and deeper knowledge of exclusion and its impacts as well as taking concerted action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781464800108
Publisher:	World Bank Publications
Publication date:	10/25/2013
Series:	New Frontiers of Social Policy
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword xv

Acknowledgments xix

Abbreviations xxii

Overview 1

Clarifying Concepts 3

Who Gets Excluded and How? 5

Inclusion in What and How? 8

Enhancing Social Inclusion by Improving Ability, Opportunity, and Dignity 13

The Changing Context for Social Inclusion 18

Attention to Attitudes and Perceptions Is Important in Addressing Social Inclusion 22

Social Inclusion Can Be Achieved 25

What Can Policies and Programs Do to Enhance Social Inclusion? 26

The Right Question 31

Concluding Reflections 33

References 34

Introduction 39

The Issue and the Idea 39

What Does This Report Intend to Do? 41

Roadmap of the Report 43

Notes 44

References 44

I Framing the Issue

Chapter 1 What Do We Mean by Social Inclusion? 49

Where Does the Usage Come From? 49

Contours around an Abstraction 50

Social Inclusion Matters for Itself and Because Exclusion Is Too Costly 53

Measure What You Value: The Challenge of Quantifying Social Inclusion 56

Notes 61

References 61

Chapter 2 Who Gets Excluded and Why? 67

Individuals, Groups, and Their Identities 67

How Exclusion Plays Out 77

Concluding Reflections 85

References 86

Chapter 3 Inclusion in What? Through What Channels? 91

What Do Individuals and Groups Take Part In? 91

What Influences the Terms on Which Individuals and Groups Take Part in Society? 100

Concluding Reflections 110

References 112

II Transitions, Transformations, and Perceptions

Chapter 4 Transitions, Transformations, and the Changing Context of Inclusion 119

Complex Demographic Transitions 120

Spatial Transitions 132

Economic Transitions 138

Not Just Transitions but Revolutions in Knowledge, Information, and Citizen Action 146

Concluding Reflections 150

Notes 151

References 152

Chapter 5 Attitudes and Perceptions of Inclusion 157

Subjective Assessments of Individuals and Groups 159

Attitudes toward Excluded Groups 162

Perceptions of Inequality and Fairness 179

Concluding Reflections 185

Notes 185

References 186

III Change is Possible

Chapter 6 Change toward Social Inclusion 193

Change in What? 194

The Propellers of Change toward Social Inclusion 200

The Importance of Shared Goals and Strong Institutions 202

Reflecting on the Trajectory of Change 209

References 210

Chapter 7 Propelling Social Inclusion 213

Intervening for Social Inclusion through Markets 215

Intervening for Social Inclusion through Services 219

Intervening for Social Inclusion through Spaces 223

Cross-Cutting Approaches Spanning Many Domains 229

What Can Social Inclusion Mean in Practice? 234

Notes 242

References 242

Chapter 8 Concluding Reflections 249

What Does This Report Mean for Practitioners of Development? 251

References 253

Appendix A Usage of Terms Social Inclusion and Social Exclusion 255

References 258

Appendix B Recent Measures of Weil-Being 261

Appendix C Illustrative Examples of Policies and Programs That Address Social Inclusion 267