Curaçao was once an extraction economy. Its economic system was heavily reliant on the extraction and export of natural resources, with minimal processing, leading to a focus on resource extraction and export for profit. Local sources of wealth and resources were exploited, rather than investing in local economic development.
Now an inclusive economy is required. An inclusive economy is one where economic growth leads to shared prosperity, benefiting all members of society rather than just a select few. This means that everyone has access to opportunities, resources, and the ability to participate fully in the economy, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Now with the global digital society advancing rapidly, locally the inclusive society is a must. Curacao must join the countries that are strategically measuring digital performance and policy with tools that has been developed to support countries in better understanding and monitoring the status of their digital transformation, with a view to helping them make it more inclusive.
To create an inclusive economy, Curaçao must measure the reality we are living in now. Factors that help us understand economic inclusion can be both quantitative (income, net assets) and qualitative (job quality, worker voice, community participation, and sense of belonging.
Institutions must be transformed into Inclusive institutions that allow a broad range of individuals to participate in the economy or the political process and access their benefits. Extractive institutions concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a small group of individuals, at the expense of the broader population must be eliminated.
Inclusive economic and political institutions are crucial for economic prosperity. Countries prosper when inclusive institutions allow for broad participation in decision-making and provide incentives for talent and creativity.
Countries rise when they put in place the right pro-growth political institutions and clear integrity systems and private-sector-lead economic growth institutions to guide the growth and to increase broad participation. They fail, often spectacularly, when those institutions ossify or fail to adapt because of powerful people who grab complete control over government, undermining broader social progress for their own greed.