The global economy is still struggling to emerge from the worst financial crisis and global recession since the Second World War. In this context, TUAC, ETUI, GURN and ITUC created a Task Force to define the parameters of a new growth model. This publication which is the initial result of its work, takes up the challenge of developing progressive alternatives to the failed neo-liberal model that has dominated economic policy for over three decades. It consists of contributions by more than 30 authors, all with links to the global labour movement, and a preface by Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz.

The different chapters analyse the causes and implications of the crisis and propose alternative ways toward more equitable and sustainable models of growth. A comprehensive approach is taken and the topics addressed include: the need for a new approach to macroeconomic policy to promote strong and stable growth and high employment; developing alternative welfare measures to GDP; how to re-regulate financial markets so that they serve the real economy; a development model for the global South; a new approach to labour markets that ensures that they deliver decent jobs and promote greater equality; the need for a comprehensive set of policies to make economic activity ecologically sustainable.