Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) Director Ingo Ritz is among more than 360 economists, academics, policymakers, civil society leaders and social movement representatives who have endorsed a global call for a fundamental rethink of economic systems, arguing that ending poverty requires moving beyond a growth-first development model.

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, the signatories unveiled a “Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth”, a collaborative initiative developed over 18 months through consultations involving more than 400 participants from UN agencies, governments, academia, trade unions, grassroots organisations and civil society across the Global North and South.

Read the opinion piece originally published in The Guardian on 10 June 2026 here.

Full List of signatories here.

The roadmap challenges the long-standing assumption that economic growth alone can eliminate poverty, contending that rising GDP has often failed to translate into better wages, stronger public services or reduced inequality. Instead, it argues that poverty and inequality are the result of policy choices and can be addressed by redesigning economic systems around human rights, collective wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

Among the signatories are Ingo Ritz, Director of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, economist Jayati Ghosh, political economist Thomas Piketty, economist Kate Raworth and political economist Jason Hickel.

The roadmap calls for policies that strengthen decent work, guarantee living wages, expand universal public services, support social and solidarity economies, and place greater democratic control over strategic sectors of the economy. It also advocates stronger labour rights, recognition of unpaid care work and greater public investment in housing, health, education and transport.

Addressing global inequalities, the signatories argue that low-income countries face structural barriers created by debt burdens, unequal trade relations and historical patterns of extraction. They call for debt justice, reparative climate finance, increased South-South cooperation and universal social protection floors to enable countries to pursue equitable and sustainable development pathways.

The opinion piece also stresses the importance of including people experiencing poverty in policymaking, arguing that anti-poverty strategies should be shaped by those directly affected rather than imposed from above.

The signatories describe poverty as a “manufactured” outcome of current economic systems and maintain that governments have the power to dismantle and replace these structures with policies that prioritise social justice, human rights and ecological sustainability.

The roadmap is presented as a practical guide for governments and multilateral institutions seeking alternatives to conventional growth-centred economic models amid rising inequality and escalating climate impacts.