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 mDebateust be resolved if the lives of these Arab citizens are to see any real improvement. The debate took place on December 10th, 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 DevarajanWorld Bank-, Hoda SelimEconomic Research Forum-,  Ahmed GalalEconomic Research Forum– and Ravi KanburCornell University-; it was moderated by Khaled EzzelarabAswat Masreya-.results_debate 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 watch the debate here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E_7fbeDlIs  
Initiatives & Partnerships

Data Portal

http://www.erfdataportal.com/index.php/catalog

The Forum

ERF Policy Brief