WHEN GROWTH DOES NOT LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT

Until now, people have been convinced that economic growth automatically leads to social and human progress. But the growing poverty, social and economic inequality in modern society forced us to reconsider this point of view and develop a new, more balanced approach to development policy. To this end, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) conducted a study to identify new criteria for socio-economic development. Financial crises and economic downturns in many cases have a stronger impact on people’s lives than various programs aimed at improving their living standards. This realization prompted the UNDP to conduct a study on whether it is possible to develop macroeconomic policies that are more pro-poor, in other words, whether pro-poor economic growth, so to speak, is possible. The study carried out in Armenia is an integral part of this program. Armenia is ideal for such a study, as the transition to a market economy has seen a sharp decline in living standards, accompanied by income polarization. As a result, the share of the poor has increased significantly. If earlier poverty in the country was a rare occurrence, today it is much more common. Therefore, the main question that this study was supposed to answer is the following – why poverty has increased so catastrophically and what can be done to improve the situation? The study was conducted with the involvement of both local and foreign experts. The expert panel was led by University of California economics professor Keith Griffin. The results of the study were reflected in the report “Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Armenia”, which we want to present to the public. We hope that this will be an occasion to critically reflect on the path of economic reforms in our country, and the conclusions and proposals made in the report will help find the way to sustainable human development. We will be glad if the series of articles planned in the “Business Express” will become an occasion for discussion around the issues under discussion.