Suitable economic, trade, labour, employment and health policies are called for along with educational reform in the World Declaration. While educational reform was dealt with in several thematic roundtables and in the illustrative country plans of Morocco, Nigeria, China, the Philippines and Jordan, broader social and economic policies and their attendant relationship to education policies were not as vigorously discussed at the roundtables.

Although the roundtables on improving primary education and financing education for all discussed the need to protect the social sectors from economic adjustment programmes, there was little consensus reached on specific measures to relieve the debt burden. However, as a result of the debate, the final text of the World Declaration calls greater attention to the undue burden of structural adjustment policies on overall financial requirements for achieving Education for All.