New global trends such as jobless growth, a rising youth population and resource scarcity threaten to undo much of the progress of recent decades in securing people’s ability to make a living, according to a new report.

The ‘Securing Livelihoods For All: Foresight for Action’ report released by OECD Development Centre in Paris at the OECD Global Forum on Development, uses a foresight approach to develop five possible livelihood landscapes for the world in 2030.

It showed that vulnerability and the risk of falling back into extreme poverty remain high in the face of a changing global context.

In most developing regions, about 80 per cent of people feel they are struggling or even suffering in their daily lives, rather than thriving.

Furthermore, emerging trends in the economy, technology, demography, environment and security could negatively impact livelihoods – defined as the ability to support oneself and thrive now and in the future – in the next decades.

Carl Dahlman, head of Global Development Research at the Development Centre, said: “The outlook for livelihoods is fragile. Emerging global trends are creating a lot of uncertainty, and we need to find innovative ways to ensure resilience of livelihoods.

“Still, in all middle and low-income countries, people generally think that the future will be better than the past or the present. The greatest optimism is in the East Asia-Pacific region” he added.

The report also noted that the increasing inequality as the benefits of economic growth are not shared equally. About 66 per cent of the poorest of the world’s population are estimated to receive less than 13 per cent of world income, while the richest one per cent receive nearly 15 per cent. Around 70 per cent of the world’s undernourished live in middle-income countries.

Other trends include jobless growth both in emerging and developing economies, jobs further challenged by rapid technical change and automation, persisting financial fragilities, growing youth population in sub-Saharan Africa, environment and resource challenges, and new security concerns such as cybercrime and terrorism.

Despite these challenges, the report is optimistic that livelihoods can be secured if innovative initiatives are taken.

It makes a call for action at all relevant levels - global, national and local - to seize these opportunities. - TradeArabia News Service