Empowering Youth Employment through European Digital Bootcamps (EDIBO)

PurposeThis paper argues that through information and communication technology (ICT) adoption, the youth will be engaged in all nodes of the agricultural value chains, thereby improving the level of employment and reducing post-harvest losses. The study examines the determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. In addition, it estimates the impact of ICT adoption on youth employment in agriculture towards the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-8, to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all.Design/methodology/approachThe study engages data from Wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). The logit regression, the propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment are used as the estimation techniques.FindingsThe study underscores that educational level, access to electricity, location, age and income are significant determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. The findings also show that the youth's average weekly engagement in agricultural activities is about 24 h. In addition, the result reveals that ICT adoption can increase youth agricultural employment by approximately 21%. The mean difference indicates that those with access to ICT participate in agricultural activities more than their counterparts without ICT access by 29.46%.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of the study is that some of the variables such as insecurity, social protection/safety nets, that may have a significant influence on youth agricultural participation where not included in the model due to data constraint. As a recommendation for further studies, given data availability, such variables should be considered when examining youth-agricultural employment nexus.Practical implicationsSince ICT adoption has a significant impact on agricultural employment, this study proposes improved infrastructure facilities such as reliable power supply, lowering the cost of mobile and data subscriptions and better education facilities should be prioritised at all localities. This will enable the youth to embrace agriculture and help improve their socioeconomic welfare and livelihood.Originality/valueUsing Wave 4 of the LSMS-ISA, logit regression, propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment, makes this study one of the very few to examine the impact of ICT adoption on agricultural employment among the youth in Nigeria. It implies that this study has provided empirical evidence and expanded the frontiers of knowledge on the extent to which ICT adoption influences youth agricultural employment in Nigeria.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted on 25th September, 2015 aimed to end hunger, assure gender equity, and build a life of dignity for all over the world. It gave a clarion call of a new framework of “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The SDGs composed of 17 goals and 169 targets to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years. The SDGs are indeed visionary in character and an ideal framework in which all nations need to work out its actionable plans. Because of varying inter-country deficit on actionable areas of sovereign nations, SDGs have not gone into country-specific road-map for action. It is for this reason that SDGs did not mention any constraints in its overall approach to realise its visionary goals. However, constraints do exist in achieving SDGs just as it had existed under MDGs. Two of the top most goals under SDGs is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere (Goal 1) and end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition (Goal 2). SDGs also aim at promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (Goal 8). An under-populated country can proceed to reach these goals easily; a country having stable population or optimum population can also move in that direction rather comfortably. But for a country, like India, where TFR is less than replacement level, where there is alarming high order density of population and high quotient of BPL population, where there exits shocking levels of unemployment, under-employment and adverse nutritional standard and relatively poor HDI, the quantum jump at on go to a SDGs level destination is rather a very difficult task. The huge size population and its incremental addition is responsible for this sordid state of affairs. It will be a gigantic task to implement the Goal 12 to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns for a runaway population of more than 1.21 billion population for such over-populated country.

Die neue UN-Resolution „Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development“ – die neue UN-Ziele verankern klare Vorgaben für nachhaltige Entwicklung und verstehen sich als konzeptionelle, normative Antwort auf das global fließende Muster der wirtschaftlichen Transformation, kurz: die Globalisierung. Der neue KommentarDer Kommentar von Huck reagiert hierauf mit einer umfassenden Auslegung für die praktische Arbeit. Er deckt den gesamten Regelungsbereich der einzelnen Sustainable Development Goals, kurz SDGs ab. Ausführlich werden die insgesamt 169 Zielvorgaben erläutert und eingeordnet. Dabei werden immer auch Fragen zur Verbindlichkeit für wen, zum konkreten Anwendungsbereich und zu Rechtsschutzmöglichkeiten geklärt.The UN Resolution Transforming our world: “the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” set in forth at 1 January 2016 enshrines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including 169 targets and seems a conceptual, normative answer to the global fluid pattern of economic transformation, shortly: the globalisation. Against this background, the SDGs are embarking to the multileveled legal order, following different horizontal and vertical ways. The significance of the SDGs for the application of the law in the context of regulations of the international level within the UN and autonomous International Organisations appears to be clearly visible. On the vertical level regional cooperation such as the EU, ASEAN, CARICOM, are integrating the SDGs in different legal agreements and similar currently happens on the national level and not to forget the transnational level as well. This new Commentary covers the whole field of SDG law.

In 2015, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards 2030 were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Goal 8 of this agenda addresses the issues of ‘Economic Growth’ and ‘Decent Work’ under the banner of ‘Sustainable Development.’ The goal is aspirational; it aims to uphold sustainable development through “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” (UNGA, Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development, 2015, p. 14). This goal is, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), a key to sustainable development as it is a critical driver of multiple other goals in SDGs (ILO, Decent work and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, 2017).

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) elaborately promote “sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all” (Goal 8: SDGs). Considering that there has not been any cross-country comparison of the role of intellectual capital in career success, this study examines the nexus between intellectual capital and career success through the channels of income inequality, information, and communication technology from 1997 to 2018 for six European Economic Area (EEA) countries with high human development index (HDI). Using the Pooled Mean Group Autoregressive distributive lag model, results show that there is a positive and linear relationship between intellectual capital, income inequality, information and communication technology, and career success in the long run. Findings from the causality test reveal there is one-way causality running from information and communication technology and career success as well as intellectual capital to career success. These findings suggest that intellectual capital is important for career success; therefore, policymakers need to invest in developing and improving intellectual capital to ensure objective career success among the nationals.

This study investigated the impact of the people category of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on sustainable and conventional economic growth in Asia and the Pacific region, using a sample of 52 selected countries between 2000 and 2023. Employing two distinct models, model A1 for conventional economic growth and model A2 for sustainable economic growth, we explained the relationships between five SDG indicators: employed poverty rate, stunted children, expenditure on health, expenditure of education, and % of women MNAs on economic growth. This study employed a fixed-effect model and random-effect model to investigate the impact of the people category SDGs on traditional and sustainable economic growth. The comparative analysis of each SDG in both models revealed valuable insights. SDG 1, “employed poverty rate”, has a positive impact on economic growth in both models, while SDG 2, “percentage of stunted child”, did not significantly influence economic growth in either model. Moreover, SDG 3 and SDG 4, relating to “government’s health expenditure per capita” and “government’s Education education expenditure per capita”, respectively, exhibited a positive impact on traditional and sustainable economic growth. Conversely, SDG 5, “percentage of women members of national parliament”, displayed an insignificant impact on traditional and sustainable economic growth models. In conclusion, this study suggests that policymakers should prioritize targeted interventions to alleviate employed poverty, enhance healthcare, and boost education spending. Moreover, promoting women’s representation in national parliaments should be approached with context-specific strategies to maximize its impact on economic growth.

Purpose of the study: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 comprising a universally acceptable worldwide development agenda which each country of the world has to achieve till 2030. The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic and political transformational challenges confronted to South Asian Countries (SA) i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, in achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methodology: The study uses different statistics of World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Health Organizations (WHO), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to give a comprehensive picture of South Asian economies and the challenges which they are currently facing for achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In our preliminary analysis, the methodology highlighted the issues of South Asian Countries such as poverty (SDG 1), healthy lives and well-being (SDG 3), inclusive and equitable quality education (SDG 4), sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (SDG 8)". Principal Findings: The statistics presented regarding South Asian economies exhibit a dismal picture. At present, the attainment of these stipulated goals seems impossible and remains elusive if some serious measures have not been taken. The role of DCs and the world community as a whole is significant in this regard. To save the planet from extreme poverty, hunger, malnutrition, equitable access to modern technology, improved education and health for all human beings, the developed countries should give at least one percent of their GNP in the form of development assistance to poor countries. The study suggests that good governance that could undertake and implement structural reforms is necessary to deal with the challenges confronting to South Asian countries in achieving the targets of these stipulated goals. More importantly, the Developed Countries (DCs) started to implement their strategies to view SDGs' targets. Now it is a dire need that DCs should assist the Under Developed Countries (UDCs) and help them from their experience in identifying the transformational challenges which they possibly have to face in achieving SDGs' targets. Otherwise, it looks impossible for the UDCs to come up with these targets till 2030. Applications of this study: The study highlighted some key challenges that South Asian countries face to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study outcomes can prove very much helpful for South Asian countries for achieving these targets and devising thriving economic policies generous to attaining their targets till 2030. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study gives a brief picture of the current position of the South Asian countries where they stand regard to Sustainable Development Goals' targets. Moreover, the results and policy recommendations presented at the end of the study provides help to deal with the challenges that are big hindrances in achieving the targets of these SDGs.

This study examines the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and the green economy on sustainable economic growth in the regencies/cities of Maluku Province using multiple regression analysis. The main objective of this research is to identify the extent to which ICT and green economy initiatives contribute to improving regional economic performance while maintaining environmental sustainability. The data used are aggregated from various ICT indicators, green economy indices using the environmental quality index, and economic growth over the past few years, processed with appropriate statistical methods to obtain accurate and reliable results. Based on the results of the panel data regression analysis using the Common Effect Model (CEM), it is shown that ICT has a positive and significant impact on sustainable economic growth in the regencies/cities of Maluku. Furthermore, the green economy, such as investments in renewable energy and environmentally friendly business practices, also shows a significantly positive contribution to sustainable economic growth. These findings highlight the importance of investments and policies supporting the integration of ICT and the green economy to achieve balanced and sustainable economic development. The local government in Maluku is expected to continue promoting the adoption of ICT and the implementation of green economy strategies to create an environment conducive to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The purpose of this research is to provide information about circular solutions for decent work economic growth which includes lessons from SDG 8. However, the circular economy is a promising approach to achieving sustainable development, by decoupling ecomonic growth from resource depletion and environmental degradation. The circular economy can support the achievement of multiple SDGs, by promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, reducing waste and pollution, and fostering innovation and resilience. The circular economy has the potential to contribute to SDG 8 by creating new job opportunities, promoting skills development and innovation, also it can fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth. By adopting circular practices, businesses and governments can create new value and reduce their environmental impact, while promoting social and economic development. Highlights: The circular economy offers a promising approach to achieving sustainable development by decoupling economic growth from resource depletion and environmental degradation. Circular practices can contribute to SDG 8 by creating new job opportunities, promoting skills development, and fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth. By adopting circular solutions, businesses and governments can create new value, reduce environmental impact, and drive social and economic development. Keywords: Circular solutions, Decent work, Economic growth, Sustainable development goals (SDGs), Resource efficiency

SDG 8’s goal is to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth; full and productive employment; and decent work for all. This chapter examines the experiences of East Asian developing countries in achieving rapid and inclusive economic growth by focusing on the role of international tradeand foreign direct investmentnexus created through global value chains (GVCs)by multinational corporations (MNCs). GVCs enabled participating companies and countries to improve productivity, contributing to economic growth. The factors attributable to the participation in GVCs include high competitiveness of local companies and open business environment created by the Asian government. Moreover, construction and maintaining well-functioning soft (e.g., education and legal systems) and hard (e.g., transportation and communication systems) infrastructure by the government and international donors contributed to the creation of business-friendly environment. Faced with growing protectionism and the threats of growing US-China rivalry, infectious diseases, climate change, etc., maintaining an open and transparent rules-based business environment is crucially important to further achieving sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. In the light of absence of effective global economic order, exemplified by ineffectiveness of the World Trade Organizationin trade liberalization as well as dispute settlement, regional economic frameworks such as the CPTPP and RCEP in the Asia and Pacific region would be proven to be effective to achieve the goal.

Previous studies have confirmed the position that higher education is a sine-qua-non for human capital development and economic growth. The 2014 rebasing of Gross Domestic Product made Nigeria the 26 th largest economy in the world and the biggest in Africa. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pronounced Nigeria again as having the largest economy in Africa. Yet Africa’s largest economy faces a myriad of challenges, such as high prevalence of poverty, unemployment, underemployment, youth unemployment, huge infrastructure deficits, income and social inequalities. However, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has its goal 8 as “promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” by 2030. Based on this background, this paper proceeds to examine how human development can translate to inclusive economic growth. It focuses mainly on enhancement of human capabilities which is one of the key drivers of inclusive growth. It assesses the status and performance of the indicators of human development in Nigeria and compares the outcomes with that of the emerging and developed nations. Utilizing secondary data and descriptive statistical analytical tools, the paper finds out that the indices of human development and the knowledge economy recorded higher values in the emerging and developed countries than what exists in the developing countries. The paper therefore recommends the urgent need for policy makers to formulate appropriate policy mix that will ensure increase in investment in human capital and all indices of human development and knowledge economy. This is expected to be via improvement in quantity and quality of education in general and higher education in particular for individuals to contribute to and benefit from economic growth. Key Words: Human Development, Human Development Indices, Inclusive Growth and Knowledge Economy Indices.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) call for an end to all poverty and marked improvements in health for all. The linkages of health to poverty reduction and to long-term economic growth have been shown to be much stronger than has been generally understood. The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health elucidated the close connexions between conditions of poverty and maladies which include several non-communicable diseases (NCDs), associated with these conditions. Strong evidence links poverty, poor employment and working conditions (exposure to occupational risks), lack of education, and other social determinants to NCDs, creating a vicious cycle, whereby worsen poverty through their impact, while poverty results in rising rates of such diseases. At the same time, because of the magnitude of illness, disabilities and premature deaths they cause and the long-term care required, they reduce productivity and increase healthcare costs, thereby weakening national economic development. Decent work is now at the forefront of the new sustainable development agenda, which for the first time explicitly refers to full and productive employment and decent work for all as a means of achieving sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth (SDG 8), and include goals relating to protecting labour rights and promoting safe and secure working environments of all workers, including migrant workers, women workers, and those in precarious employment. The SDGs also include a number of additional targets and goals, which have implications for health safety and wellbeing (e.g. SDG3, 4, 5, 10 and 12). The SGDs recognise that inclusive and sustainable economic growth is not only linked to the number of economically active people and economic output, but also to the conditions in which they work. However, much still needs to be done to improve working conditions and promote decent work and, consequently, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Dar es Salaam Tumaini University (DarTU), formerly known as Tumaini University, Dar es Salaam College (TUDARCo), in its strategic plan 2020/21 – 2024/25 focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship in the growth of developing nations like Tanzania, especially in creating an informed and responsible citizen by preparing students for personally rewarding and socially helpful jobs. This focus is rooted in its understanding on how entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial forces behind economic expansion. In achieving this, DarTU, through the School of Business Studies (SoBS), Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, established two courses; MGMT 225 Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development; and MGMT 311 Harnessing Entrepreneurship and an Innovators Mindset. These two modules are taught to students in all Schools at the University. One of the focus of this course is to enable students to come up with business proposals that promote environmentally-friendly business, to address the sustainable development goal (SDG) 8; Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Special focus was on target 8.1 Sustainable economic growth, and target 8.6 Promote youth employment, education and training. This paper presents the top five businesses that adequately focused on environmentally-friendly business. The paper employs a descriptive research design, and selects the top five, out of 205 business model canvases which focused on environmental sustainability. Businesses were rated according the Canadian Youth Innovation Fund (YIF) criteria for environmental inclusion in a business model canvas. A discussion follows the presentation, where it shows that these businesses, among other things, innovative ways of cleaning plastic waste, restore health to water ecosystem, create businesses that add value to waste and re-use paper instead of throwing it away after use. The study recommends other higher learning institutions to adapt the methods of teaching and including environmental aspects in teaching innovation and entrepreneurship courses to their students.

ABSTRACTThis article examines SDG 8 ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’. It critically examines the goal from two perspectives, the business approach advocated by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the human right to full employment and decent work advocated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and human rights NGOs. While full employment and decent work are indeed prominent in SDG 8, the 2030 Agenda embraces market-centred institutional arrangements that may present obstacles to achieving the goal. Specifically, grafting the human rights to full employment and decent work onto a business-oriented economic growth agenda in SDG 8 calls into question whether the 2030 Agenda enshrines full employment and decent work as human rights obligations of states or merely as benefits of economic growth. The article concludes that the ambiguity in SDG 8 presents both opportunities for human rights monitoring and accountability but also enhanced legitimacy for the business approach.

Axiomatically, advances in education, higher education, and information and communication technology are considered to be great achievements of human endeavor. Such advances are expected to enhance aspirations essential to meet a number of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, in particular SDG4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. Needless to say, education is a fundamental goal that contributes to fulfillment of several other goals of equal importance. As such, higher education is a major factor in poverty alleviation, SDG1: “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”, through enhancing job opportunities, SDG8: “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that illiteracy and poverty are two major factors that produce poor health and poor social development, SDG3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. It is also known that low literacy impacts on mortality and quality of life.