Advancing global economic growth and governance

Deloitte is an active member of the B20, which is a coalition of businesses and industry groups from around the world, representing G20 economies. The B20 is an important platform for business engagement to shape the direction for policymaking that impact issues related to growth, governance, trade, workforce and the like. Highlighting specific policy measures that matter most for the world’s shared prosperity and development, the B20 is focused on ways for business, government and civil society to work together for a common purpose.

This year’s G20 and B20 meetings, under China’s leadership, are focused on the common theme of "Towards an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy." The B20 working groups were broken down into five taskforces focused on: Financing Growth, Trade and Investment, Infrastructure, SME Development, and Employment; and one special forum on Anti-Corruption.

Several of Deloitte leaders and professionals supported Deloitte’s B20 engagement, including DTTL Chairman David Cruickshank. We focused on three key policy areas: employment, trade and anticorruption. All three of these areas featured heavily in the G20 Leader’s Communique.

Employment Taskforce

The four policy recommendations made by the B20 Employment Taskforce were:

• Implementing programs and reforms to encourage entrepreneurship
• Removing structural barriers and enact support mechanisms to increase youth employment participation
• Implement and encourage initiatives to increase female workforce participation
• Enact policies to assess and reduce the skills mismatch and workforce capability gap

Deloitte believes skills development and enhancing the diversity of the workforce are two of the most pressing issues for the G20.  As detailed in the Deloitte report ‘The Future of the Workforce,’ the nature of jobs and work itself is changing. This has led to a mismatch of skills and a workforce capability gap. Creating the right policy mix to facilitate the needed learning and career development for the future is not going to be easy. For this reason it is a positive development to see the B20 employment taskforce for 2017, under Germany’s leadership, adding education to its remit. Education is not only an economic issue for many countries but also a fundamental opportunity driver for women and men everywhere.

Experience has also shown that the right policy levers for engaging women in the workforce are complex. Deloitte has collaborated with BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to OECD) on the OECD gender project” releasing three joint reports that look at some of the policy challenges facing women– both within corporations and as entrepreneurs. Deloitte also develops its own insights to facilitate discussion to advance women in the workplace. For example its “Women in the Boardroom” report, outlines the efforts of 49 countries to increase the number of women occupying board seats.

In a world where technology and the gig economy are rapidly changing the work environment for men and women, it is right for the B20 to continue its focus on employment and education. Deloitte will continue to bring its insights to the B20 table.

Trade and Investment Taskforce

The three policy recommendations made by the B20 Trade and Investment Taskforce are centered on:

• Strengthening the multilateral trading system;
• Ratifying and implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA); and
• Taking steps toward a better global investment policy environment.

Deloitte believes that trade and investment – when underpinned by policies that support open markets and resist protectionism in all forms – are essential for economic growth and development. While the global trade and investment climate is facing difficult headwinds, there remains a spotlight on the opportunities a pro-growth trade and investment ecosystem can provide to stimulate competitiveness, productivity, innovation, and prosperity around the world.

Each of the three policy recommendations contributes a great deal to realizing this by 1) highlighting the importance for a rules based global trading system and the areas of trade policy that are most relevant for today’s services and digital economic demands; 2) underscoring the significance a trade agreement – TFA – has for enabling greater efficiencies and transparency when trading cross-border and 3) bringing greater attention to investment and an approach to better supporting investment facilitation around the world.

Trade and investment has been and should continue to be a permanent piece of the B20-G20 agenda, and Deloitte looks forward to continuing to provide ideas and insights on this important policy topic.