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A Comparative Review of Living Wage and Living Income Benchmarking Approaches

A guide in selecting the appropriate methodology for each use case

This paper offers a systematic review of leading living wage (LW) and living income (LI) benchmarking methodologies to help users select the most appropriate approach for their specific context and purpose.

Drawing on criteria developed by the Living Income Community of Practice—such as data quality, local adaptability, and stakeholder ownership—the review highlights the strengths and limitations of each method without ranking their quality. A practical example illustrates how different methodologies align with diverse objectives. The paper concludes with a guidance tool to support decision-making across various use cases.

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  • EnRoute – To Reduce the Living Income Gap and Child Labour

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    Low incomes continue to be a root cause of some of the most persistent problems in many agricultural commodity sectors. To find practical, innovative, and cost-effective ways to support cocoa farming households towards Living Income, the Netherlands-based commodity trading company Export Trading Group (ETG) and its sustainability office, the Beyond Beans Foundation (BBF), in partnership with Oxfam Novib […]

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