Growth or equity: which comes first?

In any discussion of development, one dilemma invariably comes to the forefront: which should come first, growth or equity? Nowhere is this debate more pressing than in transitioning Arab countries, where a new social contract is in the making. It is a dilemma that must be resolved if the lives of these Arab citizens are to see any real improvement.

The debate took place on December 10^th, 2014 in Cairo at 4.00 pm; and organized in collaboration with IDRC. To advance this public policy debate, two teams of debaters  argued for and against the motion: The Economics of Growth is a More Urgent Priority than the Politics of Equity.

Our four debaters are Shantayanan Devarajan –World Bank-, Hoda Selim –Economic Research Forum-,  Ahmed Galal –Economic Research Forum– and Ravi Kanbur – Cornell University-; it was moderated by Khaled Ezzelarab –Aswat Masreya-.

The debate was preceded by brief remarks by Bruce Currie-Alder, Regional Director of the IDRC office in Cairo.

The crowd voted at the end of the debate; 53.9% were convinced that equity is more important than growth; while 33.3% voted for growth over equity.

You can now watch the debate online