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...

167 Blogpost

Blog
Affirmative action policies to increase diversity are successful, but controversial, around the world

In a landmark judgment in June 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled against the use of race-conscious admissions in colleges and universities. This...

Blog
Improving early child development outcomes in low-income settings

Improving early child development outcomes in low-income settings requires affordable, sustainable, and easily scalable solutions. The “First Steps”...

Blog
WIDER Alumni Amadou Boly shares wisdom for next generation
Placeholder

Amadou Boly is Special Assistant in the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex at the African Development Bank (ADB). Before that, he...

Research Brief
The prolonged effects of terrorism

Terrorist violence has a profound influence on social attitudes, including trust in governmental institutions and attitudes towards migration and civil freedoms. Acts of terrorism cause citizens to experience a complex range of negative emotions...

Blog
Development aid cuts will hit fragile countries hard, could fuel violent conflict

Fragile and least developed countries have had their development assistance cut drastically, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

Blog
Why are frontiers and borderlands more conflict prone—and what have institutions got to do with this?

According to a recent OECD Report, borderlands experience a greater intensity of violence, especially violence targeted against the state. While there...

Blog
My journey from research assistant to the World Bank and Yale: How SA-TIED transformed my career
Placeholder

When I began my role as a research assistant for the SA-TIED programme in January 2020, I didn’t know that it would lead me to such prestigious...

Blog
Voices from the ground – protracted displacement economies
Placeholder

Many displaced people around the world are in limbo—unable to return home or go anywhere else. Our surveys show that displaced people have lived in...

Blog
After the war – thinking about reconstruction in Ukraine
Placeholder

Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine began in March 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, but it wasn’t until February 2022 that Russia shocked the...

Blog
Four global problems that will be aggravated by the UK’s recent cuts to international aid

UK economic forecasts have improved markedly since the September 2022 mini-budget. The economic recession may now be more shallow and public borrowing...

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...

Blog
The inheritance of human capital: Rethinking how much parents’ influence children’s human capital in low- and middle-income countries
Placeholder

The measure of human capital —the economic value of one’s skills and experience— acknowledges that investments in people’s cognitive and emotional...

Blog
The 1918-20 influenza pandemic: A retrospective in the time of COVID-19

The influenza pandemic of 1918 (the Spanish Flu) is by far the greatest humanitarian disaster caused by an infectious disease in modern history. It...

Blog
Digital platforms and job search: Experimental evidence from Mozambique

Digital technologies can be deployed to improve job search, but their effectiveness in practice is disrupted. This column uses experimental data to...

Blog
Putting it all together: Highlights from The puzzle of peace
Placeholder

‘Understanding how to sustain peace means understanding conflict itself. Yet conflict and peacebuilding are often addressed separately’ – Patricia...

Blog
Solving the puzzle of peace: Overcoming the curse of Finland
Placeholder

At The puzzle of peace conference in Helsinki, Adnan Khan, Chief Economist at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, lamented what he...

Displaying 16 of 167 results