Inclusive growth under a COVID-19 recovery

By Dr Richard Crisp, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, and Dr David Waite, Policy Scotland at University of Glasgow

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic poses challenges of an unprecedented nature to communities across the UK. We are yet to see the full depth and magnitude of its impacts but evidence is emerging that people and places with the least resilience to economic vicissitudes are suffering most.

In this blog we argue that the case for a policy reset oriented around inclusive growth is compelling and provides the basis for “building back better”. This reset would have two dimensions.

First, it would avoid a ‘growth at all costs’ approach to economic development that has done little in the past to address longstanding inequalities.

Second, it could also provide an opportunity to acknowledge and address the limitations of inclusive growth as a concept fraught with complexity and vagueness. A more radical conceptualisation of inclusive growth – built around asking what kind of economy we want to create as we emerge from the pandemic – could play a central role in recovery approaches.

Read Inclusive growth under a COVID-19 recovery (PDF) on the Sheffield Hallam University website