WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

Two poems by Neide Sigaúque

by Neide Sigaúque
On 15 May, poet Neide Sigaúque was commissioned to perform two poems on the themes of the WIDER Development Conference The world at crossroads – securing the future generations held in Maputo, Mozambique.One cannot sleep here, let alone dream I am Neide Sigaúque,A womanfrom the southern side of the Third World,Mozambique, 'land of the good people'.I was born in an independent country —independently of my parents' liberation struggle,today dependent on external aid.A country with an economy...

Counting (on) the labour market to secure a just transition

by Haroon Bhorat, François Steenkamp
The climate stabilization imperative emerging from the Paris Agreement is, in so many ways, absolutely critical to securing the planet’s future for all. The Agreement necessitates a transition away from fossil fuel-based economic production, particularly the use of coal as a source of energy. In 2021, coal constituted 36% of global primary energy supply, while accounting for 40.3% of global CO2 emissions.Whilst the use of coal as a primary energy source varies across countries, South Africa is...

Quantifying the economic impact of conflict traps

by Joan Margalef
As we look towards securing a brighter future for coming generations, we must address the complex challenges that threaten sustainable development and global stability. Among these challenges, conflict stands out as a particularly destructive one. In our latest research, we find that a country that falls into conflict is expected to lose 20% of its GDP per capita after 30 years, compared to if it had always been at peace. Even for small countries, this represents a substantial economic loss...

216 Blogpost

Blog
Studying food price dynamics in Mozambique – insights from the field

In Mozambique, analysing how and why food prices change is crucial. Understanding the dynamics of price formation is fundamental to mitigate the...

Blog
Time to rethink theory on the role of finance in development: The new structural financial economics framework

The primary role of finance is to serve the ‘real economy’¬—the part of the economy that produces goods and services. Yet in practice, the financial...

Blog
The poorest countries attract few foreign investments
Placeholder

The share of the least developed countries (LDCs) in global foreign investments is less than one percent. But positive developments have taken place...

Blog
Research in focus – country profiles: Indonesia and Ecuador
Placeholder

Our Institute’s expansive international research contributions, consisting of over 800 WIDER Working Papers in the 2019–23 work programme, delve deep...

Blog
Cash Plus: Towards poverty reduction in Zambia
Placeholder

The Zambian government wants to reduce poverty by 20% by 2030. To make this happen, the government reformed their national cash transfer programmes...

Blog
Can agriculture be the key to Mozambican prosperity?: Report from the 2023 IGM Annual Conference
Placeholder

More than 70% of the Mozambican population depends on subsistence agriculture. As such, the agriculture sector is undoubtedly of fundamental...

Blog
Modelling to influence poverty and inequality in Zanzibar: Latest addition to the SOUTHMOD programme
Placeholder

ZANMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Zanzibar, was launched in November 2023. The model will aid local authorities and researchers in...

Blog
On the road to fairer societies in Asia and the Pacific region: Four focus areas on center stage

A recent panel discussion at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok set out to identify policy...

Blog
The COVID-19 TERS policy saved at least 2 million jobs: But not without some unintended results

About three years have passed since the South African government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) in response...

Blog
SOUTHMOD family extended: Welcome to the three new Latin American teams

How would progressive income taxation affect income inequality in Bolivia? What are the costs and benefits of implementing a state pension in Colombia...

Blog
Partnerships with Global South governments improve development policy and support achieving the Global Goals
Placeholder

In Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, and elsewhere, UNU-WIDER is on the ground to support national development plans, collect and create...

Blog
$1 trillion in the shade: The annual profits multinational corporations shift to tax havens continues to climb and climb

About a decade ago, the world’s biggest economies agreed to crack down on multinational corporations’ abusive use of tax havens. This resulted in a 15...

Blog
From Monterrey to Addis Ababa, and what has happened since?
Placeholder

The importance of domestic revenue mobilization and taxation for sustainable development is widely acknowledged in global development discussions, but...

Blog
Direct support to small scale farmers reduces poverty: What Zambia is doing right

Over half of Zambia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture...

Blog
Not too long and not too short: Introducing the new UNU-WIDER and Cambridge University Press series in Development Economics

Simon Kuznets’ pipe dream was to have economic inequality data that rarely existed when he was writing. What are the pipe dreams of today’s...

Displaying 16 of 216 results