For the past four decades MSS has been conducting original research and designing implementation projects to accelerate employment generation in different countries and regions of the world. The following is a summary of some of the major employment studies conducted.

Strategy for Full Employment in India

In 1991, MSS conducted a study of the commercial potentials of Indian agriculture in collaboration with the International Commission on Peace and Food (ICPF) in order to evolve a strategy to generate full employment in India during the succeeding ten years. The study examined the technological and commercial potentials of cash crops and animal husbandry and identified missing organizational linkages needed to full exploit India’s capacities. The study concluded that 100 million new jobs could be created within a ten year period by accelerated development of commercial agriculture, agro-industry and agro-exports.

In December 1991 and early 1992, the strategy was presented to the Indian Prime Minister, the Planning Commission of the Government of India, and Secretaries of 20 departments of the Government. It was approved and incorporated in the financial budget for 1992. A special organization was established by GOI to implement the programme and district level studies were initiated by the Government in 12 districts around the country.    

In 1994, Society staff worked with Agriculture Finance Corporation to apply the strategy in Pune District, Maharashtra. The study focused on the potentials for stimulating development of commercial agriculture in areas such as flower cultivation, vegetable and fruit production and processing, inland fish culture, mushrooms, etc. The study concluded that this strategy could generate additional employment of 750,000 in the district. In 1996, the Society organized a national conference on India’s economic potentials in Chennai to discuss strategies to stimulate employment generation and economic growth. In 1997, the Society applied the Prosperity 2000 strategy to identify opportunities for stimulating employment generation in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. This study identified potentials for increasing total job creation in the state by 15%.

In the national parliamentary elections conducted in the Spring of 2004, the issue of employment was raised to the top of the agenda and the winning coalition led by the Indian National Congress (I) Party was elected on a platform the included a commitment to introduce legislation to guarantee a minimum level of employment to all job seekers in the country. It is noteworthy that the goal of creating 10 million jobs a year was revived at this time. In the summer of 2004, MSS conducted a review of the original strategy and found that a number of the potentials it had identified had been successfully exploited and employment growth had outstripped growth of the labor market, leading to a tighter labor market and rapid wage escalation in many parts of the country.  

Global Employment Prospects

In 1992-94, MSS chaired a task force of the International Commission on Peace & Food to examine the prospects and strategies for accelerating employment generation in both industrialized and developing countries and at the global level. Our findings formed the basis for the chapter on employment in Uncommon Opportunities: Agenda for Peace & Equitable Development, ICPF’s report to the United Nations which was submitted to the Secretary General and all members of the UN. The report was heralded as an original contribution to meeting the global employment challenge.

Employment in the Middle East

In 1995, MSS collaborated with the International Commission on Peace & Food and the Noor al Hussein Foundation of Jordan to organize an international symposium on employment strategies in the countries of the Middle East.

Development Potentials for Okinawa, Japan

In 1997, MSS began a study of development strategies for the island community of Okinawa, Japan. Society researchers participated in a joint mission to Okinawa to gather information and present recommendations to officials of the prefecture and municipal governments and to leading public individuals on the island. The society’s recommendations focused on the potentials for generating employment in multimedia computer-based software and in high-tech agriculture.

World Youth Summit on Employment

At the request of the World Youth Summit, in 2002 MSS prepared a background discussion paper on strategies to generate sufficient jobs for the world’s youth which was circulated to 10,000 organizations and individuals around the world for review and commentary. The responses to this paper were used by the summit secretariat to prepare the documentation for the summit.

Employment in a Global Society

In 2005, MSS conducted research on the potential for generating full employment in the emerging global economy and co-chaired a session at the General Assembly of the World Academy of Art & Science in Zagreb, Croatia on this subject. The study concluded that the rate of employment growth has exceeded the rate of population growth over the last decade. Demographic trends indicate an increasing shortage of labor in industrialized countries and a worldwide shortage of skilled workers over the last few decades. While technological development and globalization do result in elimination of some jobs, overall, their impact is to create far more jobs than they destroy. The quadrupling of employment in the USA over the past 100 years, the world’s most open and technologically advanced economy supports this view. MSS is now working on the outlines of a global employment model incorporating demographic, economic, technological, educational, social, political and commercial factors.

Employment in Europe

In 1997, MSS prepared a strategy for eliminating the high level of unemployment in Germany. In 2007, MSS participated in a workshop conducted by the South East Asian Division of the World Academy of Art & Science in Zagreb, Croatia on strategies to promote employment generation in SEE countries. Subsequently, MSS prepared a paper on employment strategies for Europe.

Internet-Based Employment Generation

In 2007-08, the Society launched a pilot initiative to generate internet-based self-employment opportunities. MSS researchers identified hundreds of self-employment opportunities for publication on www.seekluck.com. More than 50,000 Indian youth have registered with the site in order to benefit from this research project. In addition, the Society sponsored several new websites by internet-based entrepreneurs.  More than 100 articles on the subject were published in New Indian Express.

Conference on Global Employment Challenge

In 2009-10, MSS collaborated with the World Academy of Art & Science to conduct a six month e-conference on the Global Employment Challenge in which more than fifty experts participated.

Global Prospects for Full Employment

In 2011 MSS co-authored a research paper on Global Prospects for Full Employment summarizing the Society’s approach to achieving full employment in developing and industrially advanced nations. The paper was also published as a discussion paper of the Club of Rome and in abridged form by the Geneva Association. MSS also made a presentation at an international conference in Bern on Employment organized by Club of Rome in October 2011.

United Nations in Geneva

In 2013 MSS research on the global employment challenge focused on formulation of suitable strategies to reduce the rising levels of unemployment at the global level. Emphasis was placed on understanding the impact of international factors on national employment markets. MSS presented papers on this subject for an international conference at the United Nations in Geneva on June 3, 2013 and at a conference of the Club of Rome in Ottawa on September 19-20, 2013.

Employment in Bosnia

In 2014 MSS co-sponsored a conference in Sarajevo in collaboration with the Government of Bosnia Herzegovina and the World Academy of Art & Science on strategies for full employment.