Madhavi Venkatesan is Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Economics at Northeastern University. Her present academic interests focus on sustainability education, sustainable economic development and the role of women in fostering sustainability.  Giuliano Luongo is Acting Director at the EU-China Economics and Politics Institute, and Contract Professor at the Niccolò Cusano University. His current academic interests focus on sustainability education, public health and innovation policies.

• Introduction to SDG 8 Economic Growth and Decent Work for All Chapter 1. Sustainable Development Goal 8 in Context Chapter 2. Economic Growth Chapter 3. Decent Work Chapter 4. Future Prospects: Issues to be Addressed Conclusion

This guide details the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, economic growth and decent work for all, through an economic perspective, and it discusses limitations in the assessment of the objectives, focusing on the potential inconsistency between the implementation of the goal and the measurements used to determine its attainment. It also addresses the role of data and the significance of cultural sensitivity, as well as explicit inclusion of cultural protection in economic development in the context of the goal. After an overview of the Sustainable Development Goals in terms of the millennium development goals they replaced, chapters address the relationship between economic growth and sustainability; the definition of decent work and the role of corporate social responsibility, the inclusion of decent work within trade agreements, gender and working conditions, and the relationship between decent work and poverty alleviation; and GDP and employment from the perspective of future prospects and issues, focusing on the role of women in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 8.