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Journal Article
Revisiting the trends in global inequalityThe study analyses trends in global income distribution since 1950 using a new companion WIID dataset with standardized country income percentiles. It investigate the robustness of these trends with respect to key data choices, as well as the degree...
Working Paper
Extractive industries: addressing transparency, corruption, and theftThis paper analyses the roles that states, civil society, and international actors can play in tackling the weak governance that sometimes leads to resources being used for private rather than public benefit. It discusses the corruption that bedevils...
Blog
Securing a future for the next generations – navigating today’s global challenges
In an era frequently described as ‘unprecedented’, the global landscape often seems daunting. Countries classified as democracies are increasingly...
Blog
Uganda’s tax system isn’t bringing in enough revenue, but is targeting small business the answer?
Uganda, with a fiscal deficit of 5.6% in 2023, has increasingly turned to local resources to make up for its revenue shortfall since the World Bank...
Book
COVID-19 and the Informal EconomyA key challenge for the post-COVID global economy is whether the disproportionate impact of the crisis on informal workers, who form the majority of the world’s workforce, will be acknowledged. Or whether harmful and negative stereotypes will persist...
Working Paper
Extractive industries: transforming companies for better development outcomesCompanies in the oil, gas, and mining sectors face ever intensifying scrutiny over their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and impacts: from civil society but also from investment funds and other stakeholders with ESG mandates...
Blog
How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi
More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the world’s biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata...
Journal Special Issue
Clientelist Politics and DevelopmentPolitical clientelism — which reflects strategic, discretionary, and targeted exchange of private goods and services for political support to the incumbent — has characterised distributive politics in the Global South for decades. The conditional...
Working Paper
Market power and merger control in South AfricaWe estimate structural, materials, and labour markups for the South African economy at the three-digit industry level for 2012–19. The fall in structural labour and materials markups found for the numerical majority of industries are generally...
Blog
Affirmative action in Brazil’s higher education systemEvidence from Brazil shows how affirmative action students in the higher education system adjust their behaviour to catch up with initially higher...
Blog
Decoding development – insights from UNU-WIDER's synthesis process and beyond
At UNU-WIDER, we undertake our work explicitly within the context of an emergent strategy designed to maximize the impact of our research findings. We...
Policy Brief
How to create decent work for womenDespite advancements for gender equality in some spheres, labour market outcomes for women continue to be worse than for men. Gender gaps in pay, labour force participation rates, and measures of job quality are stubbornly persistent and continue to...
Blog
Rethinking change – three stories of real-world impactUNU-WIDER operates at the intersection of research, capacity development, and policy engagement, with a mission to improve the lives of the world’s...
Working Paper
Extractive industries: transforming states and improving economic managementWhile market mechanisms and private initiatives can deliver much for development, public action is also necessary to: maximize the economic benefits of the extractive industries; manage potentially large capital and revenues flows; minimize adverse...
Blog
Research in focus – country profiles: Indonesia and Ecuador
Our Institute’s expansive international research contributions, consisting of over 800 WIDER Working Papers in the 2019–23 work programme, delve deep...
Book
Chilean Economic Development under NeoliberalismThis publication examines the process of economic development of the last 50 years or so under the neoliberal model in terms of impacts on growth, inflation, income and wealth distribution and structural change. The analysis includes a historical...
Blog
Decoding development – insights from UNU-WIDER's synthesis process and beyond
At UNU-WIDER, we undertake our work explicitly within the context of an emergent strategy designed to maximize the impact of our research findings. We...
Journal Article
Is the era of declining global income inequality over?This study examines the trajectory of global income inequality since 1981. Commonly used (relative) definitions indicate a decline in global inequality since the late 1980s. Looking ahead, it has been intuited that the influence of China's economic...
Blog
Chile under neoliberalismIn our book, we examine Chile's economic, social, and development policies over the past six decades. The focal point is the enduring influence of the...
Journal Article
Bridging the gapAffirmative action in higher education can lead to mismatch, where students admitted through preferential treatment struggle academically due to inadequate preparation before college. Although some students may face initial challenges, by providing...