Jeffrey Sachs’ Prescription for Global Development
Economist and professor Jeffrey Sachs is one of the world’s leading experts on poverty alleviation, economic development, and sustainable development. He has served as Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals and is the author of numerous books on global development. Over the past several decades, he has worked on the ground in dozens of countries to advise on pressing economic and development challenges.
What makes Sachs’ approach to global development unique is his prescription for integrated, long-term planning on a global scale, as opposed to fragmented, short-term interventions. In this article, we will explore Jeffrey Sachs’ prescription for global development and the key principles underlying it.
The Sachs Plan for Global Development
At the heart of Jeffrey Sachs’ approach to global development is the basic principle that human-centered economic growth can eradicate extreme poverty and reduce economic inequality. This principle is expressed in Sachs’ comprehensive approach to global development, known as the Sachs Plan. The Sachs Plan is built around five main pillars:
- Accelerate economic growth
- Promote global public goods
- Enhance global trade and financial systems
- Advance human development
- Eradicate extreme poverty
These five pillars are interlinked, and all aim to achieve the fundamental goal of the Sachs Plan: to enable countries to rise out of abject poverty and onto a path of genuine development.
Accelerating Economic Growth
Sachs’ plan for economic growth is based on the idea that countries must invest heavily in infrastructure and human capital to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. To that end, Sachs advocates for massive investments in public goods such as basic healthcare, education, roads and bridges, and clean water systems. These investments, which are known as “hard infrastructure,” will provide immediate benefits for the poorest citizens, as well as laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth.
Sachs also prioritises investment in “soft infrastructure,” such as public financial management, public sector capacity-building, legal and regulatory reform, and improving government accountability. These investments help create the necessary frameworks for sustainable economic growth and improved governance. Furthermore, Sachs suggests devising a system of direct cash transfers to the poorest citizens as part of an effective poverty reduction system.
Promoting Global Public Goods
The Sachs Plan also emphasises the importance of providing global public goods, or collective resources that benefit everyone, regardless of nationality. These include clean air and water, health, stability, and knowledge. Sachs identifies global climate change, human health, and global organised crime networks as three key global public goods that should be prioritised. Reducing global poverty, tackling climate change, and improving public health require collective international action, and Sachs’ plan calls for deep and sustained investments in global public goods.
Enhancing Global Trade and Financial Systems
Sachs believes that economic growth and development can be improved upon if the global economic and financial system is structured in a way that enables access to markets and resources. To this end, he advocates for global financial and trade reforms. Specifically, Sachs has called for the introduction of an International Development Bank to serve as an intermediary between countries seeking to access international markets and finance. He has also called for the strengthening of international rules to ensure all countries have access to global trade and investment opportunities.
Advancing Human Development
Jeffrey Sachs calls for a wider emphasis on human development, as opposed to simply focusing on economic development. To this end, Sachs advocates for the expansion of access to basic healthcare, improved nutrition, and increased access to education. He also suggests reforms to stimulate private sector growth, including the liberalisation of labour markets and the advent of new business models such as social enterprises and start-up companies.
Eradicating Extreme Poverty
Finally, at the foundation of Sachs’ development plan is a commitment to eliminating extreme poverty. He calls for global aid, foreign debt relief, and targeted investments in infrastructure and human capital, as well as policy reforms to ensure the equitable distribution of resources. Sachs also promotes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and argues that global cooperation and collaboration is the only way to make sustained progress towards achieving the SDGs.
Jeffrey Sachs’ views on global development are groundbreaking in their ambition and scope. He is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject, having worked on the ground in dozens of countries and authored numerous books on development. By investing in hard and soft infrastructure, global public goods, global trade and financial systems, human development, and extreme poverty eradication, Sachs believes that we can make sustained progress on global development, bringing us closer to a world free of extreme poverty and inequality.
