It is generally agreed that the trigger for the turmoil was a myriad of problems associated with the US housing market correction. However, the sharpness and speed of the contagion to unrelated market segments has made it clear that there were significant vulnerabilities present in the system, the nature and complexity of which was not always well understood.
The slow recovery from the global crisis forces us to revisit our growth strategies and take a closer look at their impact on the whole of the societies we are expected to serve, not just the prosperous, but also the poor and the excluded – who are showing increasing signs of impatience as they wait for the elusive magic of trickle-down to improve their lot.