Library | ESG issues
Inequality
Inequality refers to disparities in income, wealth, and access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. While some progress has been made, inequalities persist and deepen for vulnerable populations, including refugees, migrants, Indigenous peoples, older persons, people with disabilities, and children. These disparities hinder sustainable development, threaten social stability, and limit economic growth. Addressing inequality requires inclusive policies, equitable access to resources, and protections against discrimination and social exclusion.
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Trust, financial literacy, and financial behaviors: Shaping retirement security
This NBER working paper examines how trust in financial institutions and government programmes, and financial literacy, shape retirement security for Americans aged 50+. Using 2020 Health and Retirement Study data, it finds trust in financial institutions supports retirement saving, while trust in government programmes reduces private saving, with notable racial disparities.
The criticality of gender equality in the race for critical minerals
This report explores how the rising demand for critical minerals risks exacerbating long-standing gender inequalities within the mining sector. It provides factual recommendations for governments and organisations to implement gender-responsive impact assessments, inclusive consultation, and equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms to safeguard women's rights globally.
Employment and social trends: May 2026 update: Growing labour market risks of the Middle East crisis
This report analyses the global labour market risks of the Middle East crisis. It estimates significant potential declines in working hours and real labour incomes, highlighting heightened vulnerabilities in the Arab States and the Asia-Pacific region due to disrupted energy markets, supply chains, and transport routes.
Counting what counts: A compass of progress for people and planet
This report presents a new framework and a dashboard of 31 indicators proposed by the UN High-Level Expert Group to measure societal progress beyond GDP. It emphasises equitable, inclusive and sustainable well-being, offering actionable recommendations for global adoption and enhanced statistical capacity by 2027.
CARE for women: Investing in care delivery to improve women’s lives and livelihoods
This report examines the 34% of the global women's health gap caused by care delivery failures. Focusing on cardiovascular risk and perinatal depression, it outlines the CARE framework to standardise screening and referral pathways, demonstrating that preventative care investments yield a three- to six-fold return.
Flood risk, insurance, and housing in the United States
This research provides household-level estimates of flood risk exposure across socioeconomic groups in the US. It reveals that high-income households own a disproportionate share of floodplain property wealth, whilst a vulnerable subset of low-income, uninsured homeowners faces severe financial risks from flood damage and rising insurance premiums.
Off the books: Inside Australia's hidden system of migrant worker exploitation
This report analyses the systemic underpayment of temporary migrant workers in Australia. Surveying almost 10,000 individuals, it reveals two-thirds receive less than their legal entitlements. Employers frequently utilise insecure structures, such as misclassified independent contracting and casual work, to evade their responsibilities under the Fair Work Act.
Acceleration is not a strategy: A framework for directing AI towards public value before it's too late
This report outlines a framework for European governments to steer artificial intelligence towards public value rather than just accelerating sector growth. It recommends implementing AI directionism by targeting high-impact uses, preparing priority sectors for adoption, curbing big tech monopolies, and ensuring the economic benefits are broadly shared.
Closing the rural Credit divide: Pathways to increase PRONAF access for smallholders
This report analyses regional disparities in Brazilian smallholders' access to the PRONAF credit programme. Expanding technical assistance and co-operative membership are critical complementary policies to improve financial inclusion and climate resilience.
How poverty fell
Global extreme poverty fell mainly within cohorts, with substantial household churn and varied exit pathways. Sector shifts, migration, occupation changes and women’s labour force participation contributed unevenly; most households exited poverty without these changes.
Equity in principle, misalignment in practice: Adaptation finance governance in the adaptation fund and green climate fund
The report argues that adaptation finance through the Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund formally prioritises equity, vulnerability and country ownership, but remains constrained by voluntary funding, access barriers and project-based delivery, limiting alignment with Global South priorities.
SAIL: Systems Aware Investing Launchpad
SAIL (Systems Aware Investing Launchpad) is an AI-enhanced platform developed by TIIP to support institutional investors in implementing system-level investing strategies. It provides tools for strategy development, benchmarking, reporting and collaboration, helping users assess and manage systemic environmental, social and financial risks.
2026 Living Wage Dataset
The 2026 Living Wage Dataset by Valuing Impact is a free global database covering 217 countries and eight household scenarios. It uses the Anker and Anker methodology with updated cost-of-living data to estimate living wages for urban and rural households, supporting sustainability, labour practice and supply chain analysis.
Tackling governance and financing for sustainability transitions
The report argues current financial systems misallocate capital towards resource-intensive activities, hindering sustainability transitions. It recommends policy, governance and financial reforms to redirect investment towards resource efficiency, low-carbon development and equitable transition pathways, particularly in resource-dependent economies.
Indigenous wisdom and co-creation towards decolonisation: A review of Indigenous inclusion in management education
This review finds Western business schools have often excluded Indigenous knowledge, and argues decolonising management education requires Indigenous self-determination, truth-telling, trust-building, co-created curricula and relational pedagogies grounded in Indigenous wisdom and communities.
Free to be exploited: The abuse of platform-based food delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Report finds migrant delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and UAE face systemic exploitation via third-party logistics, including coercive employment, wage abuses, unsafe conditions, and restricted mobility. Weak enforcement and outsourcing obscure accountability. Recommends stronger regulation, corporate oversight, and international labour standards.
