Firm belief in economic growth as the motor to reduce poverty underlies the reiterated priority granted by Spanish Cooperation, in its successive Master Plans, to issues related to economic growth and to supporting the productive fabric of the countries in which it operates, in whatever form.

Despite its priority status in Spanish Cooperation Master Plans, however, there is no universally accepted definition of the limits or content of this concept. In this respect, international experience is of no assistance, either, since different donors have widely varying priorities and strategies, and the OECD Development Assistance Committee has not published a guide to facilitate unargued identification of the sector.

Under the Third Master Plan, economic growth as the path to reduce poverty is considered a suitable sector for intervention, in which our overall aim is to support and promote inclusive economic growth. This growth should be fair, sustainable and environmentally friendly, and based on creating an economic, business and associative fabric within partner countries, on the principle of decent work and on economic policies conducive to poverty reduction and social cohesion.

To help achieve these aims, the Strategy for Economic Growth and the Promotion of Business Fabric addresses four areas of intervention:

• Promotion of the financial and business fabric in partner countries in order to generate economic growth with a broad social base.
• Support for an institutional framework for market development, to encourage initiative within societies and its transformation into income-generating enterprises and quality jobs.
• Achieving the participation of the poorest sectors of society in generating economic growth and in enjoying the benefits of greater wealth, promoting productive enterprises or obtaining quality employment.
• Achieving spaces for dialogue, coordination and joint action between public and private sectors and from there to civil society organizations in partner countries, both in generating transformative initiatives and in promoting, monitoring and evaluating public policies.
   

From these concerns, the following Priorities have been established:

Spanish Cooperation supports a growth model that is favourable to the least favoured and which has a broad social base. To achieve such a model, the following elements should be taken into account:

• Growth should, as far as possible, involve all regions and territories, promoting geographically widespread business structures, thus enabling the entire population opportunities for productive advancement
• Growth should impact on a variety of sectors and activities, promoting a solid economic foundation through the strengthening of local capacities
• Growth should provide for the fullest possible integration of women into working life and entrepreneurship
• Growth should take into account the dimension of environmental sustainability

The sectoral approach in AECID