UNU-WIDER : UNU-WIDER

Journal Article: How polarized is the global income distribution?

The interest in the level of global inequality has surged in recent years. This paper complements existing estimates of global inequality by providing the first estimates of the level of bipolarization of the global income distribution.

Policy Brief: The business environment of Mozambican manufacturing firms

The 2017 Survey of Mozambican Manufacturing Firms builds on data collected in 2012 from surviving firms to trace how changing economic conditions have affected the development of firms over five years.

Inclusive growth in Mozambique – scaling-up research and capacity

The central goal of the project is to support inclusive growth, growth that substantially improves the living standards of the Mozambican population.

Journal Special Issue: Fiscal Policy, State Building and Economic Development

This journal presents a synopsis of the contextual conditions, factors and challenges under which the recent evolution of tax systems has taken place. The journal, as the studies in this collection, gives special emphasis to the role natural endowments, p

United Nations University Annual Report 2017

UNU Annual Report 2017

Explore the “who” and “what” of UNU’s work in 2017 and learn how our ideas generate solutions to improve the lives of people everywhere

Research and policy briefs

Evidence-based policymaking is crucial. Use our publications search to browse nearly 200 briefs which highlight the findings and policy implications of our research.

Sustainable Development Explorer

UNU has launched its Sustainable Development Explorer, a new campaign highlighting ongoing work to support each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Visit our YouTube channel

Want to catch up on our recent events? Find out what Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz think about the SDGs? Click here to visit us on YouTube.

895 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...

Working Paper

Simulating the effect on households’ real consumption and poverty of the increase in prices that followed the 2015–16 economic crisis in Mozambique

Poverty declined substantially in Mozambique between 1996/97 and 2014/15. However, the recent economic crisis, characterized by a significant increase in domestic prices, may have dragged several households into poverty...

price increase Economic crisis Poverty

Journal Article

Optimal taxation and public provision for poverty reduction

The existing literature on optimal taxation typically assumes there exists a capacity to implement complex tax schemes, which is not necessarily the case for many developing countries...

Income tax Poverty Public goods

Working Paper

A role for universal pension? Simulating universal pensions in Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa

We use four novel, cross-country comparable tax-benefit microsimulation models for Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa to evaluate ex ante the expansion of a universal old-age pension in a static setting...

Old-age benefit Poverty SOUTHMOD

Policy Brief

Measuring poverty and wellbeing in developing countries Poverty Poverty measurement Poverty assessment

Journal Article

Welfare dynamics measurement: Two definitions of a vulnerability line and their empirical application

Part of Journal Special Issue Inequality

Welfare dynamics Poverty Vulnerability

Journal Article

Inequality: Measurement, trends, impacts and policies

Part of Journal Special Issue Inequality

Developing countries Inequality Poverty

Journal Special Issue

Inequality: Measurement, trends, impacts and policies

Many low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, while high inequality remains a priority concern...

Inequality Economic growth Poverty

Working Paper

Educational inequality in Mozambique

In very poor countries, inequality often means that a small part of the population maintains living standards far above the rest...

Education Economic development Inequality

Working Paper

Inequality and fiscal redistribution in Mexico: 1992–2015

This paper uses income and expenditure surveys from 1992 to 2014 and public tax and spending accounts to estimate the redistributive impact of Mexico’s fiscal system over this period...

Fiscal incidence Taxation Social spending

Working Paper

Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?

Over the last 35 years, microfinance has been generally regarded as an effective policy tool in the fight against poverty. Yet, the question of whether access to credit leads to poverty reduction and improved wellbeing remains open...

Microfinance Poverty Well being

Working Paper

The resettlement of Vietnamese refugees across Canada over three decades

Welcoming 60,000 Southeast Asian refugees in the 1979–80 period has become a celebrated part of Canada’s history, but the eventual integration of these refugees into Canadian society has received insufficient attention...

Canada Earnings Economic integration