Our task, as policy-makers, is to make them work for and with each other. Social policy as economic policy 2. The simple truth is that social exclusion imposes costs which an inclusive society can avoid. Firstly, and most obviously, those directly affected pay a heavy individual price in personal, social and economic terms. But the costs do not stop there.
Social exclusion has obvious effects on welfare spending and tax revenues.
To avoid those costs we will have to address the divisions that already exist and prevent new ones from arising as a result of economic and social change. Transition to a knowledge-based economy 3. In an environment where knowledge is increasingly becoming the raw material of work, those who do not have access to information technology and who lack information-processing skills will be placed at a distinct economic disadvantage. Internet use Already, a correlation is emerging between income level and use of the Internet. Without action, the skills shortage will worsen as the size of the younger workforce, aged 20 to 29, decreases by 11 million in the next twenty years.