sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

61
A policy of promoting a structural shift towards more technology-intensive goods could help to
decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. Energy intensity (see section C) is one area
in which productive structure and sustainability (and particularly its environmental pillar) must be
reconciled. But all the challenges mentioned earlier will have to be tackled together in order to advance
towards a green economy in the context of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> and poverty eradication, one of the
themes set for Rio+<strong>20</strong> in General Assembly resolution 64/236. This calls for more investment in research
and <strong>development</strong> in the region as well as the transfer of funds, technologies and capacity-building.
3. Employment
As noted earlier, between the early 1990s and <strong>20</strong>10, the employment rate was on the rise (see figure I.2).
The trend in employment indicators has not been linear, however, but has instead followed the course
plotted out by economic dynamics in the broad sense of the term and public policy, with employment
levels moving closely in step with fluctuations in economic growth (Weller, <strong>20</strong>00). 13 The deterioration in
the occupational structure that occurred during the 1990s was reflected in a downturn in job quality
indicators (social security coverage, the right to paid time off, pay levels, etc.). These indicators showed
an improvement during much of the <strong>20</strong>00s, however, as job creation in sectors with middle-to-high levels
of productivity strengthened. In some cases, contributing factors included efforts to expand the coverage
of pension and health-care systems, ramp up workplace inspections, offer new incentives for entry into
the formal sector of the economy and other policy measures (Weller and Roethlisberger, <strong>20</strong>11).
Employment levels also bounced back quickly following the <strong>20</strong>08 economic crisis (ILO, <strong>20</strong>10).
Job quality and the problem of unequal access for men and women and adults and young people
to jobs that offer employment benefits now pose serious challenges for the region (ILO, <strong>20</strong>10). Statistics
compiled by the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicate that:
(i) In 13 countries for which information is available, the unemployment rate for women is 1.4
times higher than the rate for men;
(ii) The youth unemployment rate for <strong>20</strong>10 was three times as high as the total unemployment rate;
(iii) The labour-income gap between men and women has been gradually narrowing during the
past decade, but this improvement is primarily attributable to the increase in the level of
education of women in the workforce. Yet women who work the same number of hours and
who have the same level of education still earn three quarters less than their male
counterparts; and
(iv) Nearly half of all employed persons are not covered by any pension system. On average, in
the case of 36% of households, none of the household members are registered under the
social security system, or receive public welfare transfers or any type of pension or benefit
(ECLAC, <strong>20</strong>11b).
The transition to “a green economy in the context of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> and poverty
eradication”, as defined in General Assembly resolution 64/236, has significant job creation potential and
can help to bridge the social divide. The experiences of a number of countries, as well as various studies
conducted, indicate that this transition can result in net employment gains and can be of particular benefit
13
The employment rate is calculated as the number of employed persons as a percentage of the working-age
population.