On November 8, 2011, Hernando de Soto, author of “The Mystery of Capital,” wrote in the Financial Times about meeting the brother of Tarek Mohamed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian who immolated himself last December in a marketplace. Twenty-six year old Bouazizi was overwhelmed with frustration when his goods were confiscated by police, leaving him without a livelihood or a way out of his predicament. The incident set off a string of events that has toppled three autocratic governments. In his article, de Soto notes that while “experts busily debate the challenges for the future of the Arab revolution …the quest for democracy, fidelity to Islam, with secularism and tribal power,” they should take note of Bouazizi’s younger brother’s words that were relayed to him. Accordingly, Salem, the younger Bouazizi, said, “That the poor also have the right to buy and sell.” These simple words speak to an urgent issue of our times that of providing meaningful livelihoods for an ever aspiring wave of youth.
This week, Creative magazine talked with the firm’s Director of the Livelihoods Practice Area, Thoric Cederström, to discuss the subject of livelihoods and its relevance to us today. Cederström is an established food security specialist and international agricultural economist; he says his decision to join Creative is due to the opportunity it offers to develop a stellar livelihoods approach, especially since the dimensions of the problem are getting larger and more complex. “The world is changing exponentially and while there are some good activities going on, others are missing the mark. A hallmark of Creative is its comprehensive approach – inclusive, participatory, efficient and equitable.” As Cederström pursues further developments in Creative’s livelihoods practice area, he says that the goal is not necessarily to be the biggest as it is to be the brightest in providing for those in need. “Over the long-term, we [Creative] want to influence that narrative on a large scale.
Q: Livelihoods is a vague term, how do you define it?
I define livelihoods as an individual, household or community having the tools and access to resources to pursue a sustainable living. The term is necessarily vague. The vagueness of the term allows for its use in different context – food security, economic security, environmental security, physical security – though in meaningful ways.
Q: What are some critical elements for earning a sustainable living?
Education is critical. Development of land, technology, entrepreneurship can all be enhanced by education which can produce behavior change on basic levels, such as understanding the dynamics of land erosion. Understanding land erosion and developing solutions to dealing with the problem might impact an entire community’s livelihood. Also, education, using the optic of education, provides concrete metric outcomes. So, the training of teachers will improve the quality of education and down the road, one can assume that the children who attend their classes will be better educated which can improve their quality of life and help them to better negotiate the global economy.
Q: Is livelihoods the issue of our times?
Yes, undoubtedly. It is the issue in our own country where the tremendous upheaval in the ways the global economy runs is perplexing and affecting us directly. And, we’re supposed to have the most developed economy that stimulates growth and gives us a sense of sustainability. In other countries, however, with less robust financial institutions, lack of livelihoods is a principal driver of conflict. There is a high level of frustration among the young, they look before them and see no chance to live their dreams. What you had in Tunisia was the story of a young man who felt confined, restricted and, added to that, he feared the security forces. He was overwhelmed. His frustration has resonated across the Middle East and North Africa region where you have a demographic of youth who have put in the effort to study, acquire knowledge and skills that have no outlet in the economy. The region has government structures that are quite repressive and the benefits of earning a livelihood is slanted towards certain groups. These are closed systems. There, the public sector tends to be the primary employer of the newly educated. Yet, the public sector cannot sustain the number of youth who are coming of age and need employment. There has been no tradeoff between economic growth and equity. Also, nowadays, you have commercial and social media and therefore the young understand what is going on in the world, they know the living standards in other parts of the world are higher than theirs – realistically, or not they aspire to the same. These youth want livelihoods that are meaningful and that are socially recognized as such.
Q: Is the need to address livelihoods more urgent now than it has been?
Well, the other day, the seventh billion child was born. There is an urgency to build livelihoods on all levels. We need government structures that promote inclusive economic growth. After the Cold War there was a lot of talk about a peace dividend that would limit military spending and direct the excess funds towards the global economy. But that window was very quickly closed. What happened, instead, is that power structures held in place by force just imploded feeding regional and local conflict.
Q: How do government structures impact livelihoods?
An enabling environment is needed that provides basic law and order, regulations that make sense and are not a risk to businesses and therefore investments. Economic growth in a post-conflict environment requires trust and confidence so that individuals are able to trade, borrow, have access to credit, the basic elements for a thriving business environment. Take for instance a local farmer in any developing world community. He gives his crop to another to take to market and when the other comes back he pays him a portion of the crop sold. But without trust that farmer would have asked for cash up front, which the other guy probably won’t have until he sells the crop. So, no exchange has occurred and all involved have lost out. What you need is a good local governance system that creates a sense of fairness and equitability. The rule of law is critically important to inclusive economic growth. Inclusive economic growth is an ideal to strive towards and not only in the public sector, but also the private sector which can thrive and provide employment. Creative is a for-profit company, but I have heard it from Charito we have to conduct business in the right way and adhere to values of a moral economy.
Q: Is livelihoods a human rights issue?
I think that you can make a clear case that if people had secure livelihoods then other human rights issues would fall in place. For instance, take women’s rights or the absence of it, a lot of it stems from a lack of livelihood options. Otherwise, you have the young venturing toward illicit livelihood options. These activities may be high risk but they provide a high return that unemployment or a poor paying job does not. I believe that governments are responsible for creating an enabling environment for economic growth. And, I’m not saying the government should provide for peoples’ livelihoods, but to create the circumstances where a robust economy can flourish, provide options, reduce barriers to entry that keep people from investing and pursuing livelihoods.
Q: What are some crosscutting livelihoods issues?
From the Creative perspective which specializes in transitioning communities where some shock has happened or is happening, the shock offers opportunities to restructure, recreate, a system that is pro-growth, inclusive and equitable. These are critical interventions. From the gender perspective the conditions before such a shock could have left women constricted without options. But, in the new ‘world’ that is being created after the shock there is opportunity to empower women and enable them to have a constructive role in society. This is true for ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups. What is needed is a multi-stakeholder process that helps to create a more balanced society and with fewer grievances by any one group. Otherwise, there will be resentment and that at its extreme can fuel instability.
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