06/23/2026
Levy Institute President Pavlina Tcherneva R. Tcherneva is among over 350 distinguished signatories endorsing the new United Nations “Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth.” This ambitious plan, spearheaded by UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, offers a concrete policy toolkit for building economies centered on human rights, ecological justice, and participatory governance, moving beyond the narrow pursuit of GDP growth.
The Roadmap is the result of an 18-month collaborative process involving more than 400 participants from UN agencies, national governments, academia, civil society, and grassroots movements across the globe. This comprehensive framework was featured in a recent Guardian op-ed co-authored by Olivier De Schutter, Joseph Stiglitz, Jayati Ghosh, Thomas Piketty, Kate Raworth, and Jason Hickel. As the authors state, “it is not a blueprint shaped by a handful of experts,” but a collective answer to a critical question: “how can we end poverty and reduce inequalities without treating GDP growth as the primary condition for progress?”
“We do not agree on every policy detail. But we are united in the conviction that our economies must be redesigned around the fulfilment of rights and collective wellbeing within planetary boundaries, rather than maximising output at any cost. Human rights here are not an afterthought; they are the organising principle for how we measure progress, set priorities and resolve trade‑offs. Social protection and public services are essential, but they cannot indefinitely compensate for economies that by design generate poverty wages, insecure jobs and unaffordable housing.”
Professor Tcherneva’s contribution to this global effort builds on her long-standing expertise and previous collaboration with Special Rapporteur De Schutter on a 2023 UN report that centered the job guarantee as a powerful anti-poverty strategy.
The Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth will be formally presented to the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on June 25, 2026. This contribution reflects the Levy Institute’s ongoing engagement with policy research and practical applications addressing poverty and inequality.
UN Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth: https://www.neep-poverty.org/roadmap-for-eradicating-poverty-beyond-growth/
Guardian Op-Ed “We economists have done the maths: ‘growth’ is a doomed strategy – there is a better way”: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/economists-maths-growth-doomed-strategy-un-agencies-political-leaders
2023 UN Job Guarantee Report: https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g23/071/64/pdf/g2307164.pdf?OpenElement
Learn more at https://www.levyinstitute.org/news_items/levy-institute-president-contributes-to-landmark-un-roadmap-for-eradicating-poverty/
