Seoul Development Consensus
Encyclopedia
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
. It was endorsed by the leaders of G20 nations at the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit
2010 G-20 Seoul summit
The 2010 G20 Seoul Summit was the fifth meeting of the G-20 heads of government, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place in Seoul, South Korea on November 11–12, 2010...
, with a multi year action plan drafted for the delivery of tangible results.
In contrast with the older Washington Consensus
Washington Consensus
The term Washington Consensus was coined in 1989 by the economist John Williamson to describe a set of ten relatively specific economic policy prescriptions that he considered constituted the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries...
, the Seoul Consensus allows a larger role for state intervention. Rather than seeking to impose a uniform "top down" solution, it postulates that solutions should be tailored to the requirements of individual developing nations, with the developing countries themselves taking the lead in designing packages of reforms and policies best suited to their needs.
The Washington Consensus as originally defined was a set of ten key principles. The new Consensus is based on six core principles and has nine "key pillars".
Core Principles
The six core principles of the Seoul consensus are:- Focus on economic growth The G20 suggest that economic growth is closely linked with low income countries' (LICs) ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. They state that measures to promote inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth should take precedence over business as usual.
- Global development partnership. LICs should be treated as equal partners, with national ownership for their own development. Partnerships should be transparent and accountable.
- Global or regional systemic issues. The G20 should prioritise regional or systemic issues where their collective action is best placed to deliver beneficial changes.
- Private sector participation. The G20 recognise the importance of private actors in contributing to growth and suggest that policies should be business friendly.
- Complementarity. The G20 will try to avoid duplicating the efforts of other global actors, focussing their efforts on areas where they have a comparative advantage.
- Outcome orientation. The G20 will focus on tangible practical measures to address significant problems.
Key Pillars
The nine key pillars are areas believed to be most in need of attention within developing countries. These are 1) infrastructure, 2) private investment and job creation, 3) human resource development, 4) trade, 5) financial inclusion, 6) resilient growth , 7) food security, 8) domestic resource mobilization 9) knowledge sharing.History of the Seoul consensus
Creation
Development issues have been discussed at G20 leader level since the 2009 London summit2009 G-20 London summit
The 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...
. After the 2010 Toronto summit
2010 G-20 Toronto summit
The 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G-20 heads of government, in discussion of the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 26–27, 2010...
the G20 issued a statement saying that "narrowing the development gap and reducing poverty are integral" to their broader goals. . Shortly after it was announced the next summit would be in Seoul, civil society actors including Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
began advocating for what they called a "Seoul Development Consensus". The G20's original draft document for the consensus had included provisions to allow the poorest countries unrestricted access to the markets of G20 economies, something which NGOs and even religious leaders such as the Pope had strongly advocated for in his 2009 social encyclical
Caritas in Veritate
Caritas in Veritate is the third encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI and his first social encyclical. It was signed on June 29, 2009, and was published on July 7, 2009...
. The provision was dropped from the final declaration as not all members could agree.
Implementation
After their 2011 April meeting of Finance ministers the G20 released a communique where they emphasised the importance of implementing the Consensus, saying they were anticipating concrete recommendations to be released by their high level panel in September.Reactions
Initial reactions on the Seoul consensus have been mixed. An editorial in The Financial Times described its "pragmatic and pluralistic view of development" as appealing, but also suggested it might "do little more than drive another nail into the coffin of a long-deceased Washington consensus"An article published by The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
was somewhat more positive, noting that a concrete step already taken was to create a new panel of 12 countries that would work on infrastructure financing.
The Korean Daily News
The Chosun Ilbo
The Chosun Ilbo is one of the major newspapers in South Korea. With a daily circulation of over 2,200,000, the Chosun Ilbo has undertaken annual inspections since Audit Bureau of Circulations was established in 1993...
published an article suggesting the Consensus may turn out to be the only durable achievement of the Seoul Summit.
British charity CAFOD
CAFOD
The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, previously known as the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, is a United Kingdom-based international aid agency working to alleviate poverty and suffering in developing. It is funded by the Catholic community in England and Wales, the UK government...
said the new consensus was "eerily familiar" compared to the earlier Washington version, and were not pleased with the emphases on involving the private sector, especially with infrastructure. Oxfam's Avinash Kumar was disappointed by the whole focus on physical infrastructure, suggesting a clearer commitment to improving social infrastructure in less developed countries would have been better.