WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

Research in focus – country profiles: Indonesia and Ecuador

by Tristan Reid
flashcom-indonesia-unsplash
Our Institute’s expansive international research contributions, consisting of over 800 WIDER Working Papers in the 2019–23 work programme, delve deep into the development challenges the world faces. In the following country profiles, we pivot our focus towards Ecuador and Indonesia, serving as examples of our unique collaborative approach to development.Utilizing our vast network of researchers, policymakers, and institutions, we not only assess pressing development issues, but actively work...

Nigeria: botched economic reforms plunge the country into crisis

by Kunal Sen, Chisom Ubabukoh
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is facing an economic crisis. From a botched currency redesign to the removal of fuel subsidies and a currency float, the nation has been plunged into spiralling inflation and a currency crisis with far-reaching consequences. The question now is: how long before the inferno consumes everything?On October 26, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a bold move – that it had redesigned the country’s highest denomination notes (₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000) and would...

Are Sovereign Wealth Funds fit for purpose in Africa?

by Tony Addison, Amir Lebdioui
Tanzanian coins. Image: Imani Nsamila / UNU-WIDER
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a symbol of national success and a means for global, commercial and geopolitical influence. But how well do they contribute to national development goals? Furthermore, global decarbonization threatens the future of many fossil fuel-financed SWFs. Here, we report research evidence to assess the state of SWFs in Africa and how to maximise their impact.Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)are at the core of considerable policy and academic debate. Once heralded as...

202 Blogpost

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Taking localisation beyond labels and lip service

Donors increasingly speak of locally led aid response, but often do not walk the walk. Case in point is the United States Agency for International...

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Development aid cuts will hit fragile countries hard, could fuel violent conflict

Fragile and least developed countries have had their development assistance cut drastically, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

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Will growth be enough to end poverty?: New Projections of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Today, October 17th is the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (you already knew that, right?). In new analysis for UNU-WIDER, we...

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Oslo conference turns the spotlight on sustainable development financing
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With the deadline for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals just seven years away, there is an increasing sense of urgency over the...

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Why the Aid Effectiveness Principles are important for development

Demonstrating empirically the Aid Effectiveness Principles' global impact on development is a challenge. But according to Rachel M. Gisselquist...

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91% of sub-Saharan African workers don’t save for old age: Why that’s a problem and how to fix it
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Less than 10% of the workers in sub-Saharan Africa save for old age, the lowest rate for any region in the world. That implies most of the...

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Four global problems that will be aggravated by the UK’s recent cuts to international aid

UK economic forecasts have improved markedly since the September 2022 mini-budget. The economic recession may now be more shallow and public borrowing...

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From Monterrey to Addis Ababa, and what has happened since?
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The importance of domestic revenue mobilization and taxation for sustainable development is widely acknowledged in global development discussions, but...

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What is next for development effectiveness in a post-aid world?
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Improving the effectiveness of global development spending may seem like a fool's errand given the state of the world today. Yet this is precisely the...

Policy Brief
Building evidence around the effectiveness principles

This policy brief draws on the studies presented at the International Research Conference on the Effectiveness of Development Cooperation on 17–18 November 2022, in Brussels, Belgium and jointly organized by UNU-WIDER and the European Commission (DG...

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Putting it all together: Highlights from The puzzle of peace
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‘Understanding how to sustain peace means understanding conflict itself. Yet conflict and peacebuilding are often addressed separately’ – Patricia...

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Solving the puzzle of peace: Overcoming the curse of Finland
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At The puzzle of peace conference in Helsinki, Adnan Khan, Chief Economist at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, lamented what he...

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Foreign aid can help stem the decline of democracy, if used in the right way

Democracy is having a hard time. In India, once the world’s largest democracy, the pandemic has hastened the country’s slide toward authoritarianism...

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What does COVID-19 mean for Africa?: Challenges, but also opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exceptional social and economic crisis all over the world, with Africa among the hardest-hit regions. What are the...

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Slow death or new direction for the UN?
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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...

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