This book brings together knowledge on how to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8, to bring societal change through sustainable economic growth and decent work for all by 2030. At its core is the great challenge of achieving economic growth without compromising the environment, while ensuring respect for fundamental human rights, and in particular the right to employment with equal and safe work conditions. This book provides a critical analysis of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 in the 2030 Agenda, its targets and indicators, to reveal biases, tensions and contradictions that need to be addressed to achieve this goal and to guide policymaking. The role and potential of academia to contribute to achieving this SDG is scrutinized. Chapters examine and assess specific targets for SDG 8, which includes policies, resource efficiency, youth employment, child labour and sustainable tourism. Higher education institutions’ tools for capacity building are presented, examining how education and academic research can play a role in achieving the SDG 8 targets. Overall, this book offers a synthesis of how research and higher education can make a difference in achieving a complex SDG This book will be of great interest to academics and professionals working on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and can be used as a policymaking guide for 2030 and beyond. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.