WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

About

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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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...

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...

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...

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    Policy Brief
    Man at a supermarket, with a female clerk, Tanzania. Image: Imani Nsamila / UNU-WIDER
    Keys for sustaining Tanzania’s economic development
    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
    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...

    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
    Not too long and not too short: Introducing the new UNU-WIDER and Cambridge University Press series in Development Economics

    Simon Kuznets’ pipe dream was to have economic inequality data that rarely existed when he was writing. What are the pipe dreams of today’s...

    Blog
    The inheritance of human capital: Rethinking how much parents’ influence children’s human capital in low- and middle-income countries
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    The measure of human capital —the economic value of one’s skills and experience— acknowledges that investments in people’s cognitive and emotional...

    Blog
    The 1918-20 influenza pandemic: A retrospective in the time of COVID-19

    The influenza pandemic of 1918 (the Spanish Flu) is by far the greatest humanitarian disaster caused by an infectious disease in modern history. It...

    Blog
    Digital platforms and job search: Experimental evidence from Mozambique

    Digital technologies can be deployed to improve job search, but their effectiveness in practice is disrupted. This column uses experimental data to...

    Blog
    Can access to finance spur entrepreneurship in Indian informal sector?

    Credit constraints, a consequence of the widespread failure of credit markets in developing countries, are widely regarded as a key constraint to...

    Blog
    Dual learning disadvantages in East Africa: And how to deal with them
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    Children from poorer families in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda face a double disadvantage in their opportunity to access learning: not only is the...

    Blog
    3 presentations, 9 takeaways on the long-term impact of COVID-19 on learning and how education systems can respond
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    On the third day of the annual UNU-WIDER Conference on 8 September, RISE presented findings from three studies on COVID-19's impact on education...

    Blog
    I was a visiting PhD fellow at UNU-WIDER — this is my experience
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    Virgi Agita Sari joined UNU-WIDER as a visiting PhD fellow in the summer of 2017. Coming from Indonesia, Virgi joined five other fellows from across...

    Research Brief
    Será o Ensino Técnico-Profissional (ETP) uma solução para o desemprego jovem?

    O Ensino Técnico-Profissional (ETP) é frequentemente visto como uma solução milagrosa que resolve questões que vão desde o desemprego juvenil até à mudança estrutural relacionada com o mercado de trabalho. Isto é particularmente verdade para os...

    Research Brief
    Is technical and vocational education and training a solution for youth unemployment?

    Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is often seen as a silver bullet resolving issues ranging from youth unemployment to labour market-related structural change. This is particularly true for developing countries with deficient...

    Blog
    Why countries best placed to handle the pandemic appear to have fared the worst

    During the first year of the pandemic, it was wealthier countries, with their comparatively stronger health systems, civil services, legal systems and...

    Policy Brief
    Better livelihoods through income diversification in Tanzania
    Blog
    Ghana's lockdown hit vulnerable workers hard: What needs to happen next time

    Coronavirus lockdowns brought the world to a standstill. Rules on hygiene and social distancing have reshaped daily life, schools and businesses had...

    Blog
    Ecuador’s social protection system failed during the pandemic: It needs a rethink

    Household incomes in Ecuador were badly hit by the pandemic, despite the government’s emergency grant to families. H Xavier Jara Tamayo (University of...

    Policy Brief
    Firm performance, trade linkages, and the growth of SMEs in Tanzania
    Blog
    Changing the lives of very young children: Evidence from Rwanda

    Globally, around 250 million children under the age of five do not meet key development milestones, which reduces their ability to reach their full...

    Research Brief
    Are credits or deductions better in public health spending?

    The impact of medical deductions and medical credits on income inequality is a subject of discussion in South Africa, as well as in many other countries, raising critical questions about the fairness of the medical tax system and the impact on...

    Research Brief
    Analysing the spread of education and healthcare in Asia
    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...

    Blog
    The debate around intellectual property rights and the COVID-19 vaccine
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    The most effective way to fight COVID-19 is by vaccinating against infection. But once the vaccine is developed, how can it be distributed across the...

    Blog
    Poverty and the pandemic in the Pacific
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    COVID-19 has had a far greater economic impact than health impact on Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Pacific. There has been extensive commentary about...

    Blog
    The end of poverty postponed?: Over a billion people living in poverty and a $500 million per day loss of income for the poorest people in the world could soon be reality

    The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate headlines as the death toll rises and economies falter. However, far too little attention is being given...

    Blog
    Is vocational education the fast track to employment in Mozambique?
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    Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is often put forward as the solution to youth unemployment — but to prove its worth, better...

    Blog
    The five criteria low income countries must have in place for lockdowns to work

    As the COVID-19 virus has spread across the globe, developing countries are starting to enact many of the same policies used in China, Europe, and...

    Blog
    Is Mozambique prepared for a lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic?

    We calculated a lockdown readiness index for Mozambique and the results don’t look good. If lockdown policies are needed to halt the spread of the...

    Blog
    COVID-19 and lockdowns: Are women more affected?
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    Globally, governments are using lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19. This has disproportionately affected the poor, the homeless, and the...

    Blog
    To die from hunger or the virus: An all too real dilemma for the poor in India (and elsewhere)
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    On March 24, in a speech to the nation, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, announced a 21-day lockdown. With only four hours’ notice, 1.3 billion...

    Displaying 32 of 160 results