A spatial approach

Some changes come about easily, some only with other structural changes-such as changes in technology, endowments, and values. Changes in labor market conditions, combined with public and government action, have contributed to phase out slavery and elevate women's status. And women with more voice, clout, and knowledge have delivered fertility declines and better-educated children. Economic growth, better transport, and the successful growth of cities give poor people a broader choice of employers, neighborhoods, and service providers. Today, perhaps the most significant structural change is the information revolution, with the potential not only to increase knowledge and the use of knowledge but also to improve accountability.

Dynamic development is sustainable when it is forward looking and responsible. Therefore it must be assessed not only by such indicators as poverty, natural resources, forest coverage, and ocean temperatures but also by the institutional environment that helps this information emerge, gives it weight, and ensures that it is acted on. This chapter proposes a checklist of functions for the institutional environment: to pick up signals, to balance alternatives and interests, and to execute decisions. It also highlights some barriers to institutional development: dispersed interests and commitment problems. These barriers are more easily overcome by fostering inclusiveness.

The main messages of this Report are that sustained development requires that a broad portfolio of assets thrives in order for people to thrive, and that managing this broad portfolio well requires better institutions.⁵¹ In this chapter it has been argued that the quality of institutions themselves influence, and are influenced by, the distribution of assets. As a result, more inclusive access to assets and more inclusive authorizing institutions allow implementing institutions to better protect assets and people, and to facilitate well-being. In short, the more people that are heard and the more diverse interests that are voiced, the fewer assets that are wasted.

Inclusiveness can be increased in a number of ways. With greater access to education, agricultural land, and security of tenure, people are better-endowed citizens. They have something to lose, and something that can grow-they can be more forward looking, trusting, and see greater value in creating and supporting good institutions. In such a setting they can better accumulate, manage, and protect a variety of assets, including environmental and social assets. As stakeholders they can become more cooperative, creative, and willing to take risks-all necessary for the transformations described in the rest of this Report.

In the next few chapters (chapters 4, 5, and 6), these ideas are applied in spatial arenas-marginal rural, commercial rural, and urban areas-where people live, enjoy life, and engage locally, before the ideas are applied at the national and global levels.