Join the network35 years of research for change – what's next?
The developer’s dilemma in India – the role of politics and economic ideology
Late development, early adoption – how new technology is reshaping the future of structural change
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Research Brief
Does exchange rate volatility amplify existing inequalities in South Africa? December 2020Even though poverty and inequality have been of overriding concern in South Africa’s development policies and programmes since its democratization in 1994, measures of poverty, inequality, and related phenomena in the country do not show a clea...
Functional distribution Income distribution Economic inequalityResearch Brief
Job duration in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa December 2020The two primary features of a job are its wage and how long it lasts. Today, there is an extensive literature on wages in the developing world thanks to the expansion of national household survey data...
apartheid Labour market dynamics job durationResearch Brief
Unlocking a regional plastics value chain between Mozambique and South Africa: Natural gas as a key December 2020Plastics are universal and integrated into different sectors of the economy...
feedstocks polymers plasticResearch Brief
Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa: Blueprint, experiences and outcomes December 2020East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa...
Special Economic Zones Agglomeration IndustrializationResearch Brief
Technology, tourism, malls and metros: Promises and pitfalls of tradable services in Africa December 2020There is growing recognition around the world that tradable services can play a valuable role in economic development. Africa is no exception, with the need for multiple routes to growth, particularly vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic...
Africa International trade South AfricaResearch Brief
Extreme inequalities: The distribution of household wealth in South Africa December 2020South 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
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
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 developmentBlog
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 developmentBlog
Late development, early adoption – how new technology is reshaping the future of structural change
Technological catch-up is bringing new asynchronies to development pathways. What does this mean for employment, globalization, and inequality?...
Structural transformation Technology developer's dilemmaBlog
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
Evidence matters for inclusive growth policy: Reflections from the annual conference of the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme
Like many developing countries, Mozambique is struggling with problems of poverty, inequality, low productivity, unemployment, and low institutional capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic is now adding to these challenges...
Inclusive growth MozambiqueBlog
Slow death or new direction for the UN?
For most of its 75-year existence, the United Nations has struggled to strike a balance between its lofty founding aspirations and realities on the ground...
United Nations Annual lectureBlog
Promoting industrialization in Africa: Global versus regional value chainsAs COVID-19 ravages international trade and production, policy-makers are shifting their sights from global value chains (GVCs) to regional value chains (RVCs) as pathways to industrialization...
value chain directionality textiles apparelBlog
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 capacityBlog
Changing the lives of very young children: Evidence from RwandaGlobally, around 250 million children under the age of five do not meet key development milestones, which reduces their ability to reach their full potential...
Social mobility Human capital Cognitive ability