Equal Opportunities and Integration
Social participation is a pillar of democracy. As many citizens as possible should be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them by a market economy. This is one of the most important attributes of the social market economy. We need to understand which economic factors shape and change people’s opportunities for generating income. Technological change and globalization, alongside demographic change and reforms of the tax and transfer system, play a central role here. Equal opportunities arise mainly as a result of stimulating measures, the aim being to create the best possible conditions for inclusion, such as through investment in education, and to create incentives for investment in education and employment within the tax and transfer system. It is also important to limit economic disparities when integrating migrants and skilled workers into the labor market.
“Education policy must become a pillar of the social market economy in order to ensure equal opportunities for all in the future and thus safeguard the basis for our prosperity.”
Prof. Dr. Ludger Wößmann, Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education