State, individuals and private sector

The theme of the Latvia Human Development Report 1998 is promoting people-centered development, in other words, development whose purpose and point of reference is human welfare. The report analyzes the connection between economic and social processes, raises issues concerning Latvia’s human development priorities and provides concrete policy recommendations. It acknowledges that reforms associated with transition have not only broadened people’s opportunities, but also led to such negative results as poverty, unemployment, and the stratification of society, thus retarding human development. The report pays special attention to co-operative mechanisms that could limit these negative results and instill greater dynamism in the process of human development. Therefore, the report examines “the main players” — the individual, the state, and the private sector – and analyzes how to promote their harmonious interaction and joint efforts to achieve the goals of human development. Thus the concept of a partnership between the individual, the state, and the private sector is at the center of the report.