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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PISA 2025 results (Volume I): Future-ready students
The PISA 2025 results highlight a significant decline in global student performance, particularly in reading and mathematics. This volume examines the proficiency of 15-year-olds across 91 systems, exploring how digitalisation, socio-economic factors, and attitudes towards learning and the environment shape student readiness for an AI-integrated future.
Expanding social security coverage in the informal economy: China’s experience and lessons
This report analyses strategies for extending social security to informal workers, comparing China’s transition to near-universal coverage with evolving systems in Kenya and Lao PDR. It highlights the role of digital transformation, fiscal subsidies, and pilot programmes in overcoming barriers to inclusive, sustainable social protection systems.
Migrant integration statistics - housing
This report analyses housing indicators for migrants in the EU for 2025, focusing on home ownership, overcrowding, and housing cost overburden. It reveals significant disparities, with nationals maintaining higher ownership rates and lower overcrowding levels compared to non-EU citizens, supported by data from the EU-SILC framework.
The gender pay gap in Bangladesh: Trends, causes and policy options
This report analyses the gender pay gap in Bangladesh, finding women earn 22 to 25 per cent less than men. Driven by structural discrimination and unequal care burdens, the gap persists despite legal frameworks. Recommendations include objective job evaluations, cost-sharing for maternity benefits, and strengthened labour inspection.
Poverty and public finance: A primer
This report provides a foundational guide for public finance professionals on defining, measuring, and addressing poverty. It explains the relationship between fiscal policy and household well-being, highlighting the use of fiscal incidence analysis and micro-simulation. The primer aims to integrate poverty reduction strategies into core financial planning.
Access to Medicine Foundation Research Hub
The Research Hub is a repository of reports and data on how pharmaceutical companies address global health equity. It offers company profiles, benchmarks, and thematic research to help investors assess ESG performance and access-related risks in the healthcare sector.
The true cost of impact-first investing: A comparative analysis of the economics and subsidy structure of impact-first investing
This research by the Miller Center and partners analyses 362 deals to illuminate the true costs of impact-first investing. It finds these funds are operationally efficient but face a structurally underfunded 'premium for inclusion'. The study argues fund-level subsidies are essential for bridging the enterprise-level Valley of Death.
From green to clean to eco-social: How to put wellbeing back onto the EU’s sustainability agenda
This policy brief examines the shift in EU sustainability discourse from the European Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal. It argues for re-anchoring wellbeing in the agenda through the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing framework, suggesting eco-social conditionalities and alternative economic modelling to move beyond GDP-focused competitiveness.
Good practice for credible verification of living wages
This guidance establishes a tool-agnostic framework for the credible verification of living wage gaps. It details good practices for assessing remuneration data, in-kind benefits via the ARI 2025 approach, and living wage estimates. Key requirements include methodological rigour, triangulation, and independent oversight to ensure accurate, comparable outcomes.
Lifelong learning and skills for the future: Insights for Latin America and the Caribbean
This research brief explores lifelong learning and future skill requirements in Latin America and the Caribbean. It addresses structural challenges like high informality and rapid population ageing. Utilising big-data analytics and institutional surveys, the report provides recommendations for building inclusive, flexible learning systems aligned with technological and green transitions.
Key figures on European living conditions series
This benchmark series provides a comprehensive overview of European living conditions using statistical indicators. Produced by Eurostat, it covers income distribution, inequality, household characteristics, health, and disability across EU and EFTA countries. The series supports socio-economic analysis and policy development through clear visualisations and factual data.
AI Tailwinds, Energy Headwinds
This benchmark series examines economic growth and development across the East Asia and Pacific region. It explores the impact of artificial intelligence on industrial sectors and supply chains, alongside the challenges posed by energy costs and environmental factors for small states and emerging market economies.
Deconstructing AI hype: A playbook for resistance
This research provides a materialist deconstruction of AI hype, arguing it facilitates power concentration rather than just misrepresenting technology. It details how "hypers" manufacture urgency and capture credibility. The paper offers a playbook for resistance through contestation, undermining legitimacy and building collective agency to challenge AI entrenchment.
More critical than ever: Strengthening growth and resilience through the multilateral development banks
This report examines the critical role of Multilateral Development Banks in driving growth and resilience. It highlights challenges from declining official aid and geopolitical fragmentation, while proposing reforms to scale financing, accelerate project delivery, and target concessional resources toward the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations.
Poverty in Scotland 2026
This report analyses poverty in Scotland, revealing that 17% of people live in poverty. It highlights missed reduction targets, particularly for children, and argues for radical local government reform. The research emphasises the need for stable funding and improved public communication to effectively address deepening economic hardship.
Air pollution and learning
This NBER working paper examines the impact of air pollution on 10 million US high school students. It finds that moderate pollution levels reduce annual learning by 19 per cent. Disadvantaged students experience three times more harm, significantly widening racial and socio-economic achievement gaps.
