International indicators of inclusive development: importance of healthcare factors

The global economy developing in the contemporary context may be characterized by ever-increasing national and international inequality. In an inherently unequal development setting, consistent economic growth is impossible; whereas inclusive development provides for a transition to less imbalances and financial benefits distributed to all population groups based on a more equitable principle of non-discrimination. This paper discusses approaches to assessing inclusive sustainable development currently used by some international organizations and the importance of healthcare factors in such methods. It focuses on reviews the approaches developed as part of the projects implemented by the United Nations, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Asian Development Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Eurasian Economic Union.

This work aimed to investigate the methods used by international organizations to assess the national inclusive development, and determine the importance of healthcare factors in the studied methods.

The methods used by international organizations to assess the national inclusive development were studied by analyzing the available publications, including scientific works (n = 11), regulations (n = 1), and policy documents (n = 14). The study was conducted in 2024 at the Institute of Social Sciences of Sechenov University.

Most international organizations describe possible approaches to economic inclusion assessment in their documents. Although the concept of inclusive development seems quite simple, international organizations and associations do not use a single definition of or generally accepted measurement methods. The analysis shows that, despite the differences in the interpretation of the inclusive development concept and the use of various methods to assess inclusion, access to healthcare services, with rare exceptions (e.g., the method used by the International Monetary Fund), is one of the most significant factor in the analyzed methods due to its direct influence on the general wellbeing of the nation.