More and Better Work for All

Abstract

Work is relevant for incomes, productivity, and dignity. It is one of the most important business contributions for development, with businesses creating over 90 per cent of all jobs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, unemployment, underemployment, precarity, and a lack of decent jobs remain a major development challenge, often disproportionally affecting the livelihoods of marginalised groups, such as women, people with disabilities, and migrant workers. ‘Do more business’ approaches, policies that emphasise growth and assume trickle down, aim to improve employment and livelihood outcomes. Yet evidence has shown that the market does not automatically deliver more and better jobs. A critical understanding is therefore needed of the ways that markets and business development relate to better and more secure jobs.