POLICY INTEGRATION

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POLICY INTEGRATION
Virgilio Levaggi ILO Deputy Regional Director
(a.i.) International Labour Office for Latin
America and the Caribbean levaggi_at_oit.org.pe
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As J. Wolfensohn pointed out in 1998, the idea
that development implies an all-encompassing
efforta well-balanced economic and social
programmeis hardly a revolutionary one. And yet,
this is not the approach chosen by the
international community (...). Too often have we
focused on the economic dimension without an
adequate understanding of a societys social,
political, environmental and cultural aspects. We
have not given enough serious thought to the
overall structure a country requires for its
overall development to be possible.
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CONVERGENCE

• There is nothing terribly sophisticated or
  esoteric about this idea. Every ordinary citizen
  experiences life as a seamlessly integrated whole
  with political, economic and social dimensions.
  Hence, an approach systematically combining
  social, economic and political goals comes almost
  natural.
• ILO XV American Regional Meeting (Lima,
• December 2002)
• Salvador Declaration (Bahía, September 2003)
• Declaration of Nueva Leon (Monterrey, January
  2004)

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THOUGHT, MANAGEMENT AND CONSENSUS
Integrated thought helps us stop treating the
component variables of development as watertight
compartments. Today it is evident that
non-economic factors exert great influence on the
economy, and that the economy exerts significant
influence on democratic governance--whilst, in
turn, political choices condition economic growth
and social progress. For its part, social
stability is crucial to economic growth and
political governance.
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THE CATALYST

• The concept of decent work has four main
  dimensions
• Rights at work
• Work and employment as such
• Safety
• Representation and dialogue
• Each one of these dimensions has its own
  characteristic
• features. However, these are all interrelated
  whilst concurring
• to promote such societal goals as social
  integration, the
• elimination of poverty and personal fulfillment
  for the individual.