Global Disability Inclusion Report: Accelerating Disability Inclusion in a Changing and Diverse World
Multi-stakeholder report led by UNICEF with ILO, WHO, LSHTM, IDA and others for the Global Disability Summit 2025. It finds that underemployment of persons with disabilities costs up to 7% of GDP in low- and middle-income countries, and that higher-income countries spend on average at least 1.5% of GDP supporting persons with disabilities while most low- and middle-income countries remain below 0.5%.
From Unpaid Care to Shared Prosperity: Investing in Disability Inclusion to Unlock Growth
A World Bank feature story citing International Labour Organization estimates that unpaid care work, much of it for people with disabilities and older persons, would equate to 9 percent of global GDP, or $11 trillion, if compensated. It argues that when governments invest in care systems, they unlock new sources of employment and productivity.
From Recession to Pandemic: Displacement Among Workers with Disabilities from 2007 through 2021
Using six waves of the CPS Displaced Worker Supplement (N = 344,729), Maroto and Pettinicchio find people with disabilities were approximately twice as likely as those without disabilities to experience job displacement. The gap peaked at 6.5 percentage points during the Great Recession, and the pandemic increased it to 5.8 percentage points.
The Economic Costs of Exclusion and Gains of Inclusion of People with Disabilities: Evidence from Low and Middle Income Countries
2014 LSHTM study commissioned by CBM (Banks & Polack): a systematic review of 97 studies from low- and middle-income countries found 80% reported a link between disability and poverty. The report maps how exclusion from education, work and health creates economic costs, and how inclusion can bring gains such as higher wages and tax revenue.