Part I reviews the background and relevant theories of the quality growth approach, clarifies the concept, and examines the policy frameworks and approaches to measurement required for its realization. This chapter emphasizes the importance of quality growth, highlighting trends in global growth and inequality to lay a foundation for the discussions in subsequent chapters. Japan and APEC have declared quality growth—which considers inclusiveness, sustainability, and resilience as integral parts of growth—to be a key objective. Thus, the background of this proposal lies in changes in the global social and economic situation, aligning it with the SDGs and international discussions on indicators of prosperity. Japan has also increasingly emphasized policies that prioritize the elements of quality growth. After discussing how growth can reduce poverty overall, global growth trends are reviewed. These trends suggest that differences in countries’ characteristics—such as resources, geography, institutions, and governance—may lead to variations in growth rates. The view that differences in growth patterns are due to the foundations for growth, economic and trade policies, and responses to external shocks is also introduced. Finally, the chapter reviews global income trends, including the relationship between growth performance and inequality over the past few decades.