Local Economic Opportunities and Resilience

G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality

This landmark report on inequality can help you to better understand the “inequality emergency.” Authored by the 2025 G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, led by Joseph E. Stiglitz, the report highlights how the world’s top 1% captured 41% of all new wealth between 2000 and 2024, while just 1% of new wealth went to the bottom 50%. It explains the scale of the inequality emergency and why inequality matters; explores the drivers of high levels of inequality; and provides a blueprint to reduce inequality. The report also calls for the creation of a permanent institutional mechanism at the global level to address inequality in income, wealth, and opportunities.

Related, the 2025 G20 summit declaration acknowledged deepening inequality and the disproportionate effects that disasters are having on vulnerable people, and that global inequality poses significant threats to global economic growth, development, and social and economic stability.

Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting freedoms from billionaire power

The fortune of billionaires is rapidly accelerating. The actions of the Trump presidency - including the championing of deregulation and undermining agreements to increase corporate taxation - have resulted in explosive growth for the billionaire class, both in the US and around the world. The growing wealth of oligarchs is undermining political freedom and eroding the rights of communities globally, with the super-rich using their wealth to secure political power to shape the rules that define economies, govern nations, and provide and protect civil and political rights of the many.

This report from Oxfam can help you to understand how extreme inequality, billionaires, and government enablers are eroding political freedom and human rights for the majority. The report is divided into four chapters, which explain the growing divide in equality; the disproportionate power and influence wielded by the oligarchy; the political inequality at the bottom, including repression over and resistance against equitable redistribution; and key actions that governments can take - and which businesses can support - to reverse these unsustainable trends and radically reduce economic and political inequality, end oligarchy, and create enabling environments that enshrine and advance the political power of the many. This resource will be especially beneficial to sustainability practitioners.

Sustainable Development Goal #8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals that outline the path to creating a better and more sustainable future for all. This is a good hub for information, resources, and news on SDG #8, which focuses on sustainable economic development and decent work. It provides an overview with helpful infographics; information on targets, indicators, and progress; and features relevant publications and events.

Worker Debt and Inequality

This brief from Re:Structure Lab can help you to better understand how worker debt has become a critical, consistent element of business models configured around forced labour and human trafficking. The brief explains how supply chain workers are routinely paid at or below the minimum wage, oftentimes owing to wage theft, fraudulent deductions, predatory fees, and inadequate legal protection. It also explores solutions for addressing worker debt and inequality, such as alternative forms of corporate accountability mechanisms; reparations for historical injustice; debt relief; and more.

Exploring Youth Entrepreneurship

This report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs can help you to better understand youth entrepreneurship as a mechanism for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It explains the challenges of youth in the Global South, as well as the importance of context and the role of the informal economy. It also features good practices to promote youth entrepreneurship as a way to maintain global employment rates and provide sustained livelihood opportunities to vulnerable groups.

Although specifically aimed at policymakers, this resource will be of benefit to professionals who want to advance local economic resilience and promote decent work in the regions they - or their value chain partners - operate.

Tackling inequality: The need and opportunity for business action

This short report is a good introduction to inequality, and can help you to better understand the responsibility and opportunity that your business has to support positive change. Developed by the Business Commission to Tack Inequality, the report explains how inequality is an urgent systemic risk for business, highlights the case for business action, and presents a six-part agenda for action.

The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth

The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth has created a range of resource to help make local economic growth policy more cost effective. These resources include an 8-step guide for improving the evaluation of policies and their impacts on local growth; topic pages that summarise what the evidence says about the impacts of different policies and activities on local growth; and a comprehensive guide and checklist that provides step-by-step advice, tips, and questions to support developing a logic model for a policy, programme or project.

Although primarily aimed at the public sector, these resources present evidence-based lessons and practical questions that will support decision makers looking to collaborate in advancing local economic growth.

A Guide for Corporate Leaders on Paid Leave Policies

This short guide from Just Capital provides evidence-based leading practices on paid leave that can help you to improve worker well-being, resilience, and performance. It summarises the business case for paid leave, provides an overview of paid leave offerings from among Russell 1000 companies, provides industry insights into paid leave benefits, and showcases examples of leading practice. This guide will be especially beneficial for HR, sustainability, and strategy professionals, as well as managers, and senior leaders.

Local Economic Development in Practice

This resource from UN Habitat can help you to kickstart and scale local economic development (LED) ideas in the communities in which you operate. It is comprised of 5 primers, or tools, that are intended to provide targeted, technical information on specific LED topics, such as conducting a basic situation assessment and involving youth in LED. The tools are practical and process-based and feature specific tasks, key questions, samples, and case studies. This tool will be especially beneficial to strategy, sustainability, and community-facing professionals.

Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2024: The Geography of Generative AI

This comprehensive report from the OECD can help you to better understand the impact of Generative AI on jobs. The report examines which places within countries and what types of workers are most exposed to Generative AI and contrasts this with the labour market impact of past waves of technologies that drove automation. It also discusses local and place-based actions and policies for seizing the benefits of Generative AI, such as boosting productivity, mitigating labour shortages and demographic change, and mitigating risks of job displacement. This report will be most beneficial to policy analysts - particularly those in multi-national corporate environments.

The Future of Jobs Report 2025

This comprehensive insight report from the World Economic Forum can help you to understand how key macrotrends are expected to impact jobs and skills in the near future, as well as the workforce transformation strategies that employers plan to implement in response. Bringing together the perspective of over 1,000 leading global employers, the report examines the global labour market landscape in 2025; drivers of labour-market transformation, including technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, and the green transition; the jobs outlook, including total job growth and loss and the expected impact of macrotrends on employment; the skills outlook, including expected disruptions to skills, drivers of skill disruption, and reskilling and upskilling strategies; workforce strategies; and region, economy, and industry insights.

Multistakeholder approaches to socio-economic transitions in mining

This comprehensive handbook from the International Council on Metals and Mining presents nine multi-stakeholder approaches that mining companies and external stakeholders can apply to support socio-economic transitions (especially to a post-mining economy) and build community resilience. The handbook explores the core factors that influence the success of socio-economic transitions; the value of multi-stakeholder approaches, the roles mining companies can play, and what makes these approaches effective; nine distinct types of multi-stakeholder approaches, including post-mining joint ventures, collaborative regional planning processes, regeneration/development coalitions, and monitoring committees; illustrative cast studies; and eleven practical tools to support the application of these approaches in real-world settings.

Four Futures for Jobs in the New Economy: AI and Talent in 2030

This white paper from the World Economic Forum can help you to better understand the potential futures arising from the interaction and intersection of AI advancement and talent development. Consolidating the views and insights from chief strategy officers and other experts around cross-cutting risks and opportunities, the paper provides four potential scenarios: Supercharged Progress, The Age of Displacement, Co-Pilot Economy, and Stalled Progress. This resource will be especially beneficial to sustainability practitioners, risk and strategy professionals, and senior leaders.