WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

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...

Affirmative action in Brazil’s higher education system

by Rodrigo Oliveira, Edson Severnini, Alei Santos
Evidence from Brazil shows how affirmative action students in the higher education system adjust their behaviour to catch up with initially higher-performing privileged students.Affirmative action (AA) policies, aiming to address historical inequalities and promote social justice, have sparked debates across the world. Brazil, in particular, grapples with the challenges and complexities of AA, notably through Law 12,711/2012, which introduced the quota policy mandating all federal universities...

Decoding development – insights from UNU-WIDER's synthesis process and beyond

loren-joseph-unsplash
At UNU-WIDER, we undertake our work explicitly within the context of an emergent strategy designed to maximize the impact of our research findings. We operate based on a theory of change that outlines how research eventually translates into improved development outcomes for the world’s most vulnerable populations.In 2023, we published the report Towards peace, decent work, and greater equality to guide policy efforts to achieve the United Nations Agenda 2030. This report synthesizes the key...

199 Blogpost

Blog
The poorest countries attract few foreign investments
Placeholder

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

Blog
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds fit for purpose in Africa?

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a symbol of national success and a means for global, commercial and geopolitical influence. But how well do...

Blog
How climate change increases vulnerability to human trafficking in the Philippines
Placeholder

As COP28 unfolds, I share new findings on the impact of climate change on human rights violations and, more specifically, on human trafficking as...

Blog
How institutions matter in Mozambique

Launched in 2015 and completed in 2022, the Institutional Diagnostic Project aimed at identifying institutional factors that affect development...

Blog
Stuck at the bottom of the job ladder in Africa: The stumbling block to resilient growth and prosperity
Placeholder

When the question of creating good jobs and decent work in Africa arises, policymakers and development partners often focus on formalization. For...

Blog
Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum: Cities have important role in mitigating climate threats
Placeholder

'Our window to avoid climate catastrophe is closing rapidly, and yet there are still many reasons for optimism.' This statement sums up a recent third...

Blog
How can cities create better jobs in sub-Saharan Africa?

Structural transformation involves the movement of workers from low-productivity sectors to high-productivity sectors. It has historically been...

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
Indonesia, the developer’s dilemma, and Vision 2045

According to the World Bank, Indonesia has reached the upper-middle income status in 2019 after spending almost two decades in the lower-middle income...

Blog
Putting it all together: Highlights from The puzzle of peace
Placeholder

‘Understanding how to sustain peace means understanding conflict itself. Yet conflict and peacebuilding are often addressed separately’ – Patricia...

Blog
From offshore oil to offshore finance: How tax havens facilitate corruption in the extractive industries

In many countries, news of an oil discovery or the award of an exploration license is rarely greeted with enthusiasm by the general public. Any hopes...

Blog
From summits to solutions: what success means at COP26
Placeholder

At the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders discussed the need to scale-up ambition to address key global challenges...

Blog
Reducing wasted gas emissions is an opportunity for clean air and climate

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is seen as the last best chance for countries and companies to set out how they are actually...

Blog
Looking ahead to COP26
Placeholder

The long-awaited COP26 in Glasgow is about to start. Billed as the most important COP to date, it is widely seen as a last chance to avoid a global...

Displaying 16 of 199 results