WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

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The WIDERAngle publishes expert commentary and analysis of the latest research in global development. The WIDERAngle supports UNU-WIDER’s missions to undertake research and policy analysis on the most pressing concerns affecting humanity and provides a forum for knowledge sharing, discussion, and debate.

 

To see past newsletters, visit our WIDERAngle archive.

 

Write for the WIDERAngle

We accept submissions that represent sincere efforts to advance knowledge on topics related to the promotion of sustainable and equitable development for all. Although many of our writers are established in their fields, we particularly encourage submissions from early-career researchers, policy professionals, and writers who represent Global South countries and perspectives.

 

For guidelines on WIDERAngle submissions, please refer to our Guidelines for submissions.

 

Send submission queries to editorialteam@wider.unu.edu.

 

EDITORIAL TEAM

Executive Editor: Annett Victorero

Managing Editor: Timothy Shipp

Assistant Editor: Tristan Reid

 

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Two poems by Neide Sigaúque

by Neide Sigaúque
On 15 May, poet Neide Sigaúque was commissioned to perform two poems on the themes of the WIDER Development Conference The world at crossroads – securing the future generations held in Maputo, Mozambique.One cannot sleep here, let alone dream I am Neide Sigaúque,A womanfrom the southern side of the Third World,Mozambique, 'land of the good people'.I was born in an independent country —independently of my parents' liberation struggle,today dependent on external aid.A country with an economy...

Counting (on) the labour market to secure a just transition

by Haroon Bhorat, François Steenkamp
The climate stabilization imperative emerging from the Paris Agreement is, in so many ways, absolutely critical to securing the planet’s future for all. The Agreement necessitates a transition away from fossil fuel-based economic production, particularly the use of coal as a source of energy. In 2021, coal constituted 36% of global primary energy supply, while accounting for 40.3% of global CO2 emissions.Whilst the use of coal as a primary energy source varies across countries, South Africa is...

Quantifying the economic impact of conflict traps

by Joan Margalef
As we look towards securing a brighter future for coming generations, we must address the complex challenges that threaten sustainable development and global stability. Among these challenges, conflict stands out as a particularly destructive one. In our latest research, we find that a country that falls into conflict is expected to lose 20% of its GDP per capita after 30 years, compared to if it had always been at peace. Even for small countries, this represents a substantial economic loss...

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    Blog
    Studying food price dynamics in Mozambique – insights from the field

    In Mozambique, analysing how and why food prices change is crucial. Understanding the dynamics of price formation is fundamental to mitigate the...

    Blog
    The poorest countries attract few foreign investments
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    The share of the least developed countries (LDCs) in global foreign investments is less than one percent. But positive developments have taken place...

    Blog
    Chile under neoliberalism

    In 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...

    Research Brief
    Search image, calculator, pen, Ugandan currency, URA form. Image: Kalungi Kabuye / UNU-WIDER
    What is the impact of corporate tax incentives in Uganda?
    Blog
    Can agriculture be the key to Mozambican prosperity?: Report from the 2023 IGM Annual Conference
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    More than 70% of the Mozambican population depends on subsistence agriculture. As such, the agriculture sector is undoubtedly of fundamental...

    Blog
    Pinelopi Goldberg warns of the impact of deglobalization: Sobering insights from the 27th WIDER Annual Lecture
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    With several violent conflicts around the world weighing heavily on our minds, we attended the 27th WIDER Annual Lecture. Dr. Pinelopi Goldberg’s...

    Policy Brief
    WIDER Annual Lecture Brief | Globalization in crisis – confronting a new economic reality
    Blog
    Direct support to small scale farmers reduces poverty: What Zambia is doing right

    Over half of Zambia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture...

    Blog
    New global estimates on profits in tax havens suggest the tax loss continues to rise

    The world has been trying to curb profit shifting to tax havens for a decade, but consistent time series evaluating the impact of these reforms have...

    Blog
    Long-term research in Tanzania sheds light on the reasons rural households diversify their income
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    Researchers and policymakers have long asked whether rural households in Africa diversify their income to spread risk or by seizing opportunities to...

    Blog
    Infrastructure spend: insights from the effect of a bridge across the Zambezi on maize prices
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    Investments in infrastructure – such as roads – typically aim to reduce transport costs, stimulate trade, and make new production activities viable...

    Blog
    Technology and supermarket chains can help strengthen southern Africa’s food systems

    Agriculture and agro-processing value chains have been under pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been particularly marked where they...

    Blog
    Finding keys for development in Africa
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    Economics researcher Aimable Nsabimana shares the relevance and inspiration behind his recent work with UNU-WIDER on climate change and human...

    Research Brief
    Unlocking a regional plastics value chain between Mozambique and South Africa

    Plastics are universal and integrated into different sectors of the economy. Industrial policy requires countries to look at moving up the value chain and producing progressively more sophisticated products to contribute to improved economic...

    Research Brief
    Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa

    East 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. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa instituted SEZs in legal and institutional...

    Research Brief
    How can agro-processing value chains be developed to strengthen regional integration in Southern Africa?

    Regional integration in Africa has potential for increasing regional trade and contribute towards industrialization and economic development. Agro-processing trade offers numerous opportunities for southern Africa countries and is a potential area of...

    Blog
    UNU-WIDER at 35: Letter from the Director
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    2020 promised to be a big year for UNU-WIDER, with the celebration of our 35th anniversary, the 45th birthday of UNU, and 75 years of the UN. But as...

    Research Brief
    Developing a Malawi–South Africa value chain for industrial hemp

    Diversifying the agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa is important for the combat against poverty and climate change. In Malawi there are plans for legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp, which would at best bring possibilities for...

    Research Brief
    Turnin’ it up a notch

    Since the end of apartheid, South Africa’s economic challenges have disrupted efforts to establish a society of inclusive growth and prosperity. Understanding how South Africa can break the pattern of sluggish growth, high unemployment, inequality...

    Blog
    In Conversation with Deepak Nayyar on ‘Resurgent Asia’: FP2P Podcast and transcript
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    Duncan Green: I recently skyped Deepak Nayyar, Professor of Economics at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to discuss his new book, Resurgent...

    Blog
    How Asia transformed from the poorest continent in the world into a global economic powerhouse
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    In 1820, Asia accounted for two-thirds of the world’s population and more than one-half of global income. The subsequent decline of Asia was...

    Policy Brief
    Learning from a half-century of economic development in Asia

    When Gunnar Myrdal published his magnum opus, Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations, in 1968, he was deeply pessimistic about the development prospects in Asia. The fifty years since witnessed a remarkable economic transformation in...

    Blog
    Income generation and malaria in Uganda

    Several large-scale efforts have been made to combat malaria in the last decade under the Millennium Development Goals, and while these have led to a...

    Blog
    How are rural households in Viet Nam doing?
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    Viet Nam has seen major economic shifts which started in the 1980s and continue today. Many strides have been made as the country goes through...

    Research Brief
    Future climate scenarios for South Africa

    More intense climate changes are expected in South Africa if GHG emissions are not constrained. Increased GHG emissions are likely to result in increases in average annual surface temperatures and higher evaporation rates. Average precipitation...

    Research Brief
    Climate change effects on irrigation demand and crop yields in South Africa

    The demand for irrigation is likely to increase in South Africa as a result of increased temperatures and evaporation rates. Rain-fed agricultural crops are likely to experience a decline in average annual yields. This is particularly the case for...

    Research Brief
    Food production competitiveness and regional growth in southern Africa

    15-20% of local demand for poultry in South Africa is met by imports Evidence from Zambia suggests that capital investments in the value chain can increase local production Increased demand due to growing urban populations poses critical challenges...

    Research Brief
    Potential impacts of climate change on national water supply in South Africa

    Climate change risks for run-off and irrigation demand vary significantly across South Africa, with some regions expected to experience increased drying and others flooding Smaller impacts on water resources by 2050 are expected if global emissions...

    Blog
    Malawi's Farm Subsidy Benefits the Poor but Doesn't Come Cheap

    Malawi’s farm input subsidy benefits the poor and can be part of a viable national development strategy. Agriculture is Malawi’s main economic sector...

    Blog
    What Mozambique Can Do to Achieve Rapid Economic and Social Progress
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    In the more than two decades since democratic elections signalled a new era in Mozambique, a great deal has been accomplished. Nearly all development...

    Blog
    The Political Economy of Food Price Policy - An Interview with Per Pinstrup-Andersen
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    In this interview, Per Pinstrup-Andersen talks about the international project which has culminated in the book Food Price Policy in an Era of Market...

    Research Brief
    Children’s nutrition status in Mozambique

    Evidence obtained from detailed household surveys in Mozambique during the 2008-09 food price shock reveals just how pronounced the impact of food price inflation can be on children’s overall nutrition status. Moderate and severe underweight...

    Research Brief
    Burkina Faso – growth without poverty reduction

    Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, poor in natural resources, and with low levels of human development. Its economy remains agricultural and focused on food crops and cotton production. Over the last twenty years it has experienced...

    Blog
    How Can Governments Better Respond to Global Food Price Fluctuations?
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    Much of UNU-WIDER’s research in the last few years was initiated under the 2010-13 work programme on the triple crisis of finance, food, and climate...

    Research Brief
    The political economy of food price policy in Egypt

    The Egyptian food system has been affected by both global food markets and domestic factors. During the recent global food price crisis, an estimated 30–40 percent of the price fluctuations in the global food market were transmitted to Egypt’s food...

    Research Brief
    Policy processes and the global food price crisis 2007-08

    The recent food price crisis and the responses of the policy makers in developing countries provide an unprecedented opportunity to analyse the policy processes in these countries. Policy responses differed depending on the nature and magnitude of...

    Research Brief
    Food security in Bangladesh

    Global food price hikes during 2007-08 resulted in a sharp rise in staple food prices in Bangladesh, which in turn led to a significant rise in the number of households falling below the poverty line. On the political front, Bangladesh was run by an...

    Research Brief
    The political economy of food price policy in China

    The global food crisis in 2007–08 raised concerns everywhere, including in China. However, despite China’s highly-integrated domestic and international markets for many agricultural commodities, the effect of the crisis in China was only moderate...

    Research Brief
    The impact of the 2007-08 food price crisis in Brazil

    The impact of the 2007–08 food price crisis in Brazil was relatively subdued compared with what took place in many other developing countries. Because the crisis potentially undermined both social inclusion and price stability, both important...

    Blog
    UNU-WIDER @ 30

    2015 marks the 30th anniversary of UNU-WIDER. The Institute opened its doors in 1985. It has been quite a ride ever since. We have had thousands of...

    Policy Brief
    How do governments respond to food price volatility?
    Blog
    WIDER Annual Lecture 18: Managing Structural Transformation
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    18 December 2014 Roger Williamson At the UN headquarters in New York on 18 November 2014, Peter Timmer, emeritus professor from Harvard, showed how...

    Blog
    Economic Elites, Crises, and Austerity in 21st Century Capitalism
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    24 September 2014 Andrés Solimano The era of neoliberal capitalism starting by the late 1970s and early 1980s promotes free trade, capital mobility...

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    Multidimensional Poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo
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    25 June 2014 Malokele Nanivazo After a long series of conflicts and apparent macroeconomic mismanagement, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seems...

    Blog
    Transforming Economic Structures in Africa – An Interview with Margaret McMillan
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    25 June 2014In this interview Dr Margaret McMillan outlined the theory of structural transformation, which analyzes the underlying structure of the...

    Blog
    Illegal Fishing by Small-Scale Fishers in Ghana: Findings and Policy Suggestions
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    27 May 2014 Wisdom Akpalu The number of fishers and fishing vessels in the capture fishery sector, especially the artisanal marine fishery sub-sector...

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    UNU-WIDER in Ghana – An Interview with Wisdom Akpalu
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    23 April 2014 Wisdom Akpalu joined UNU-WIDER as a Research Fellow based in Ghana in the beginning of 2014. Prior to joining the Institute he was an...

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    Household Vulnerability and Resilience to Economic Shocks: Findings from Melanesia
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    9 December 2013 Simon Feeny Vulnerability and resilience are very closely related terms. Vulnerability is usually referred to as the likelihood of...

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