Thread by Dr Olu Fasan @olu_fasan: @TLFPolicyTownhall

Macro responses to poverty. (1) Grow economy & boost productivity: Economic expansion creates jobs; higher productivity boosts people’s earnings. Govt must remove bureaucratic & structural obstacles to investment & innovation

Macro response 2: Mainstream anti-poverty policy into wider economy. Subject govt policies/projects to anti-poverty Impact Assessment (IA). How will this project reduce poverty, e.g. benefit SMEs (how many?). Publish the IA.

Macro response 3: CUT COST OF LIVING. Poverty deepens with high cost of living. Reduce inflation w/ fiscal discipline, small state etc. + FREE TRADE. Protectionism raises prices of goods (imported & local) & deepens poverty. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Macro response 4: Tackle “in-work poverty”. Too many Nigerians are working but can’t make ends meet! Raising productivity will increase earnings, but it’s time to introduce the LIVING wage or income support to make work pay. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Micro response 1. INVEST IN SKILLS: A big cause of unemployment is job-skill mismatch. Govt must collaborate w/ & incentivise industry, NGOs, universities etc to promote skills development through apprenticeship & traineeship. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Micro response 2: Adopt the NEET solution. The OECD introduced the NEET concept to address youth poverty. NEET means “Not in Education, Employment or Training”. Government must eliminate or drastically reduce number of NEETs. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Micro response 3: An entrepreneurial society. Self-employment is a key route out of poverty. Govt must actively support & incentive self-employment. Establish an annual National Entrepreneurship Week to celebrate this culture! #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Micro response 4: Promote a property/asset-owning culture. The property-owning democracy worked in the U.K. in the 1980s when govt incentivised/supported “poor” people to buy social houses and shares in privatised utilities. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

Micro response 5: Empower local governments. A coherent strategy involving all levels of government is essential, but, in general, poverty is best tackled at the local level by those closest to the people most in need. #TLFPolicyTownhall #PovertyToWealth

@threadreaderapp unroll