This assessment considers the worldwide costs from 1900 to 2050 of continued gender inequality. The main cost is considered to be the inefficient underutilization of women in production.

The Copenhagen Consensus Center provides information on which targets will do the most social good, relative to their costs. More than 30 of the world’s top economists have assessed the 169 targets from the Final Outcome of the Open Working Group (OWG) document into one of five categories, based on evidence of the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits.