INCLUSIVE GROWTH: AN IMPORTANT COMPONTENT TO NIGERIA'S EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY FOR GROWTH BY RAI CHABANI.

Inclusive growth is about raising the pace of growth and enlarging the size of the economy, while levelling the playing field for investment and increasing productive employment opportunities.

With Nigeria unemployment rate recorded at 12.1 percent and inflation rate at 15.6 percent as at May, 2016. Fuel price hike, the sky rocketing price of goods and services across the country.
A long term growth approach like inclusive growth is needed. This is necessary because of the emphasis on improving the productive capacity of individuals and creating conducive environment for employment, rather than on income redistribution as a means of increasing incomes for excluded groups.

Nigeria need a clear-cut program on inclusive growth has a distinct character focusing on both the pace and pattern of growth. Rapid pace of growth is unquestionably necessary for substantial poverty reduction but for this growth to be sustainable in the long run, it should be increasingly broad-based across sectors and inclusive of the large part of Nigeria's labour force.

Policies for inclusive growth are an important component of any employment strategy for growth. This main instrument for a sustainable and inclusive growth is assumed to be productive employment. Employment growth generates new jobs and income for individuals from wages in all types in firms or from self employment. Productivity growth has the potential to lift the wages of those employed and the returns to the self-employed. The ability of individuals to be productively employed depends on the opportunities to make full use of available resources as the economy evolves over time.

Inclusive growth approach takes a longer term perspective. With the this longer term perspectives, it is important for Nigeria as a nation to recognise the time lag between reforms and outcomes. Inclusive growth is about policies that should be implemented in the short run but for sustainable inclusive growth in the future.