99 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...
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Working Paper
Employment effects of joining global production networks: Does domestic value added matter?Is the emphasis placed in trade and industry policy-making in developing countries on the share of domestic value-added (‘value-added ratio’) in exports consistent with the objective of achieving economic development through an export-ori...
global production networks value added ExportsBlog
Ghana's lockdown hit vulnerable workers hard: What needs to happen next timeCoronavirus lockdowns brought the world to a standstill. Rules on hygiene and social distancing have reshaped daily life, schools and businesses had been closed, and gatherings banned...
COVID-19 Lockdown EmploymentReport
How COVID-19 is affecting workers and their livelihoods in urban Ghana: Results from the GSPS-COVID panel surveyThis survey is a collaborative project conducted by researchers of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghan...
COVID-19 Survey data EmploymentWorking Paper
Trade liberalization, employment, and gender in EthiopiaThis paper analyses the impact of trade liberalization on local labour markets in Ethiopia, with a focus on the gender dimension of employment...
Tariffs Employment Structural transformationWorking Paper
Ban on female migrant workers: Skills-differentiated evidence from Sri LankaThis study examines the skills-differentiated impact of a restrictive female labour migration policy in Sri Lanka using monthly departure data from 2012 to 2018 in a difference-in-difference model...
Labour migration Employment WomenWorking 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 EmploymentTechnical Note
The Economic Transformation Database (ETD): content, sources, and methodsThis note introduces the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database (ETD), which provides time series of employment and real and nominal value added by 12 sectors in 51 countries for the period 1990–2018...
Database Employment value addedPresentation
GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database presented at STEG conferenceOn 13 January 2021, Gaaitzen de Vries , researcher at the Groningen Growth and Development Centre (GGDC) and UNU-WIDER, presented new research findings on industrialization patterns in developing economies at the online annual conference of the...
Working Paper
Premature deindustrialization and income inequality in middle-income countriesThis paper examines the income inequality implications of a ‘premature deindustrialization’ trend in middle-income countries...
Deindustrialization Income inequality Middle-income countriesWorking Paper
Does connectivity reduce gender gaps in off-farm employment?: Evidence from 12 low- and middle-income countriesGender gaps in labour force participation in developing countries persist despite income growth or structural change. We assess this persistence across economic geographies within countries, focusing on youth employment in off-farm wage jobs...
Gender gap Youth EmploymentSeminar

Working 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
Informal–formal workers' transition in Nigeria: A livelihood analysisThis study evaluates the effects of the informal sector on Nigerian workers’ livelihoods and analyses workers’ transitions within the informal sector and between informal and formal employment...
Regression analysis Employment Formal and informalResearch Brief
Finding optimal solutions for efficient youth labour policies: What kind of firms employ young people in South Africa?According to South Africa’s National Development Plan Vision 2030, serious action needs to be taken to reduce poverty and encourage economic growth...
Tax administration data Firm-level analysis Firm behaviourJournal Article
COVID-19 and employment: Insights from the sub-Saharan Africa experienceThe COVID-19 pandemic poses risks not only for people’s health but also economic wellbeing. While the full socio-economic consequences remain uncertain, its impact on the labour market has become a key issue of global concern...
COVID-19 Employment Informal poor