The Employment-to-Population Ratio as an Indicator of Participation and Inclusiveness

Abstract

The concept of inclusive growth has been broadly used in the last decade to indicate a growth strategy or result that involves both sharing the benefits of and participation in the economic process (see Ranieri and Ramos, 2013). Despite the broad reference to this concept in policy analysis and policymaking, attempts to measure how inclusive a growth pattern is have been limited, largely owing to a lack of consensus on its concept, to problems in finding appropriate measures and the unavailability of data. Ramos, Ranieri and Lammens (2013) suggest a methodology for measuring the inclusiveness of economies and of the growth process seen over a time period using an index, the IG Index. This would be based on two dimensions: the sharing of benefits, as indicated by poverty and income inequality; and participation, with the employment-to-population ratio (EPR) as a proxy. (…)