WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

Securing a future for the next generations – navigating today’s global challenges

by Frederik Matthys
In an era frequently described as ‘unprecedented’, the global landscape often seems daunting. Countries classified as democracies are increasingly outnumbered by those classified as autocracies, interstate conflicts have escalated, and the multifaceted impacts of climate change—from health crises to forced displacement—continue to intensify. Meanwhile, gender inequality persists, progress in poverty and inequality reduction has stalled, or even reversed in some contexts, and multilateral co...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the world’s biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third term in office. And the polls suggest it will achieve this objective.If one was to go by economic growth figures alone, the Modi government’s performance has been impressive. When Modi came to power in 2014, economic growth was sluggish. A series of high-profile corruption...

What are foresight methods and how can they secure our common futures?

by Aicha Robei
Future tools and foresight thinking are crucial instruments to improve decision-making for a common future. As a Youth Foresight Fellow with UNICEF, I firmly believe that utilizing foresight, a sophisticated approach for anticipation and strategic planning, is essential in tackling and lessening the impacts of climate change, conflict, and inequality.Foresight allows us to think about the speculated future based on models and data to solve problems and chart a path to a prosperous and nurturing...

363 Blogpost

Blog
Affirmative action in Brazil’s higher education system

Evidence from Brazil shows how affirmative action students in the higher education system adjust their behaviour to catch up with initially higher...

Policy Brief
How to create decent work for women

Despite advancements for gender equality in some spheres, labour market outcomes for women continue to be worse than for men. Gender gaps in pay, labour force participation rates, and measures of job quality are stubbornly persistent and continue to...

Blog
Affirmative action policies to increase diversity are successful, but controversial, around the world

In a landmark judgment in June 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled against the use of race-conscious admissions in colleges and universities. This...

Blog
Gender pay gaps on the rise in South Africa

New analysis of income data in South Africa shows the gender pay gap—how much more men earn than women—has increased. According to findings from a...

Blog
High wage inequality in South Africa – are employers to blame?
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South Africa ranks as the world’s most unequal country by income. This is largely due to high wage inequality, given that wages are the main income...

Blog
Improving early child development outcomes in low-income settings

Improving early child development outcomes in low-income settings requires affordable, sustainable, and easily scalable solutions. The “First Steps”...

Blog
WIDER Alumni Amadou Boly shares wisdom for next generation
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Amadou Boly is Special Assistant in the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex at the African Development Bank (ADB). Before that, he...

Policy Brief
Tasks, skills, and institutions

Concerns about widening income inequality within countries continue to gain prominence in public debate worldwide. In the last decade, attention to the concentration of income at the very top of the distribution (top 1%) has increased. This...

Blog
On the road to fairer societies in Asia and the Pacific region: Four focus areas on center stage

A recent panel discussion at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok set out to identify policy...

Blog
The COVID-19 TERS policy saved at least 2 million jobs: But not without some unintended results

About three years have passed since the South African government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) in response...

Blog
Stuck at the bottom of the job ladder in Africa: The stumbling block to resilient growth and prosperity
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When the question of creating good jobs and decent work in Africa arises, policymakers and development partners often focus on formalization. For...

Blog
My journey from research assistant to the World Bank and Yale: How SA-TIED transformed my career
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When I began my role as a research assistant for the SA-TIED programme in January 2020, I didn’t know that it would lead me to such prestigious...

Blog
Addressing poverty and unemployment in South Africa’s townships
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Nearly half the working-age population and nearly two-thirds of the unemployed live in areas designated as townships under apartheid spatial laws...

Blog
SOUTHMOD family extended: Welcome to the three new Latin American teams

How would progressive income taxation affect income inequality in Bolivia? What are the costs and benefits of implementing a state pension in Colombia...

Displaying 16 of 363 results