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In Memoriam: Benno NduluIt was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of Professor Benno Ndulu, Chair of the WIDER Board , and long-time collaborator and friend of the Institute. To celebrate his life, his many achievements, his kindness and good-will...
In memoriamBlog
Using tax data to inform economic policy in South AfricaCountries need data and evidence to create, amend, and evaluate policy. Indeed, one of the key mandates of policy makers in South Africa is to make evidence-based policy decisions which improve the policy landscape of the country...
Blog
From the editor's desk: Focus on data
This month, a partnership between UNU-WIDER and the Groningen Growth and Development Center (GGDC) brings a new database on economic transformation public...
Data Economic Transformation Database Income inequalityBlog
A ‘data revolution’ for sustainable development leaves gaps on inequality
Among the many things said about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the description by the President of the UN General Assembly’s 70 th session, Mogens Lykketoft, that the SDGs represented ‘an unprecedented statistical challenge&...
Inequality Quantitative research methodology Qualitative research methodologyDatabase
ETD – Economic Transformation DatabaseOpen and free to use, the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database (ETD) provides comprehensive, long-term, and internationally comparable sectoral data on employment and productivity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The ETD covers:...
Economic transformation Employment Productivity
News
Press Release: New data reveals developing economies are bucking trend of de-industrialization
Economic Transformation Database Deindustrialization Economic transformation Working Paper
A manufacturing renaissance? Industrialization trends in the developing worldThis paper examines industrialization trends in developing countries...
Industrialization Economic Transformation Database ManufacturingWorking Paper
The labour market impact of COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from GhanaIn this paper, we provide causal evidence of the impact of stringent lockdown policies on labour market outcomes at both the extensive and intensive margins, using Ghana as a case study...
COVID-19 Lockdown EmploymentRequest for research proposals
Detecting and countering illicit financial flowsUnited Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) together with Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen invite proposals for papers examining the challenge of illicit financial flows. The...
Blog
The Nordic Model — lessons for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, like the Nordic countries, is a social democratic nation with a strong welfare state...
Social protection Economic growth Labour marketBlog
Clientelism – another reason to worry about US democracy The last several months have given us many reasons to worry about US democracy – not least the riot at the US Capitol and the president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election, with Republican support. Rachel Gisselquist ...
Clientelism United States CorruptionJournal Article
Health-system equity, egalitarian democracy and COVID-19 outcomes: An empirical analysisTHIS ARTICLE IS ON EARLY VIEW. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spate of studies showing a close connection between inequitable access to health care, welfare services and adverse outcomes from the pandemic...
COVID-19 Healthcare Healthcare accessBlog
35 years of research for change – what's next?: Building just societiesTo celebrate its 35 th birthday, UNU-WIDER has looked back at some of its greatest achievements...
Structural transformation Economic inequality Economic developmentNews
UNU-WIDER joins major new research consortium analysing African citiesA partnership of urban development experts – including UNU-WIDER – has been awarded a contract of £32 million to establish the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC).
Urban economics Informal sector Partnerships for Development
Vacancies
Web DeveloperUNU-WIDER is looking for an outstanding individual with strong web and systems development skills to join the institute’s ICT Team.
Journal Article
Duration of pre-university education and labour market outcomes: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in GhanaTHIS ARTICLE IS ON EARLY VIEW. This study provides new evidence on the effect of shortening the duration of pre‐university education on long‐term labour market outcomes in Ghana, exploiting the education reform of 1987 as a natural experiment...
Years of education Labour market Labour market outcomesResearch Brief
Extreme inequalities: The distribution of household wealth in South AfricaSouth Africa is, by most contemporary measures, the most unequal country in the world. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to country’s wealth inequality...
Administrative data Households balance sheets income capitalizationBlog
The developer’s dilemma in India – the role of politics and economic ideologyPolicy makers seeking inclusive growth frequently face the developer’s dilemma between prioritizing structural transformation, which is potentially inequitable, and keeping a check on rising economic inequality...
Structural transformation Economic inequality Economic developmentNews
Call for participation: Life with Corona survey round 2Life with Corona, a global survey tracking the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 around the world has just been released with updated questions.
COVID-19 Trust Pandemic
Blog
Coronavirus: five ways some states have used the pandemic to curtail human rights and democracyIn the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, at least 95 countries declared a national emergency, empowering governments to act in ways they would not normally to protect citizens...
Blog
The world needs a people’s vaccineThe world needs a people’s vaccine for COVID-19 — one provided universally, and accessible to the entire world population. A patent-protected vaccine could ultimately exclude many people from being vaccinated and protected...
COVID-19 COVID-19 vaccineBlog
Studying COVID-19 through the lens of microsimulation: The role of tax and benefit policies in alleviating poverty and inequalityAs the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, developing nations are struggling to deliver economic assistance and public services to their citizens, under pressures of fiscal constraints and tax revenue losses...
Tax-benefit microsimulation Tax-benefit policy Individual povertyBlog
Headline data suggests low-income states are coping better with the pandemic than high-income states. But is this true?States with fragile state health systems have been commended for effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic...
COVID-19 Capable states State capacityWorking Paper
Vulnerable employment of Egyptian, Jordanian, and Tunisian youth: Trends and determinantsYouths in the Middle East and North Africa face the highest unemployment rates in the world. Those who are employed are pushed to accept informal sector jobs that are insecure, unsafe, and lack non-wage benefits...
Vulnerable employment Informality Youth unemploymentWorking Paper
Horizontal inequality, COVID-19, and lockdown readiness: Evidence from IndiaA growing body of research shows that COVID-19 both reflects and exacerbates existing inequalities...
Horizontal inequality Ethnic inequality CasteWorking Paper
Transparency in extractive industry commodities tradingThe paper reviews the debate about transparency in extractive industry commodities trade. It examines the obstacles to improved transparency...
Transparency Commodity trading Extractive industriesSeminar
SA-TIED seminar on climate change and central banking
Article
UNU-WIDER ongoing work on the effect of COVID-19 on the economies, states, and societies of the Global SouthIt is clear that COVID-19 will have serious implications for economies, states, and societies of the Global South. At UNU-WIDER we are reorienting our work to think through what those implications are and possible mitigation and adaptation measures...
Blog
Technology and supermarket chains can help strengthen southern Africa’s food systemsAgriculture and agro-processing value chains have been under pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been particularly marked where they remain underdeveloped, as is the case in South Africa and the rest of the region...