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...

151 Blogpost

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

The climate stabilization imperative emerging from the Paris Agreement is, in so many ways, absolutely critical to securing the planet’s future for...

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Time to rethink theory on the role of finance in development: The new structural financial economics framework

The primary role of finance is to serve the ‘real economy’¬—the part of the economy that produces goods and services. Yet in practice, the financial...

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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...

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How climate change increases vulnerability to human trafficking in the Philippines
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As COP28 unfolds, I share new findings on the impact of climate change on human rights violations and, more specifically, on human trafficking as...

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Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum: Cities have important role in mitigating climate threats
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'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...

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$1 trillion in the shade: The annual profits multinational corporations shift to tax havens continues to climb and climb

About a decade ago, the world’s biggest economies agreed to crack down on multinational corporations’ abusive use of tax havens. This resulted in a 15...

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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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Global tax reforms, net-zero, and domestic revenue: Food for thought from the DRM programme
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Domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) and taxation have gained prominence lately on the global agenda, most recently with the resolution for the United...

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Empirical research is crucial for better tax enforcement in the developing world
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I had the privilege to participate in the UNU-WIDER Winter School as one of the lecturers. In this blog, I explain my main takeaways for students and...

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Fintech and domestic savings: A perfect match coming true in sub-Saharan Africa
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Financial technology (FinTech) is a major force disrupting the structure of financial services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and enabling access of...

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Sales recovered faster from the pandemic than employment: Evidence from tax administrative and survey data in Zambia

Like most other countries, the government of Zambia introduced restrictions to control COVID-19, which considerably curtailed normal economic activity...

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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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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...

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Virtuous circles and downward spirals: The power of ideas & the limits of technocracy
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What will it take to shake loose the distemper of our times, and initiate a virtuous spiral of renewal? In a recent UNU-WIDER webinar, Alan Hirsch and...

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From summits to solutions: what success means at COP26
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At the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders discussed the need to scale-up ambition to address key global challenges...

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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...

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Looking ahead to COP26
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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...

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The value of non-renewable resources in the era of climate change
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The economic decline of Nauru, an island in the Central Pacific, is a cautionary tale. Nauru was the highest GDP per capita country in the world in...

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The zero carbon agenda and metals demand: some major dilemmas
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The transition to net zero over the next few decades will involve a large increase in the global demand for many metals essential to the renewables...

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Unlocking the mystery of domestic savings: What difference do they make?

The socioeconomic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore discussions on domestic resource mobilization (hereafter DRM)...

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Co-creation for fair and efficient taxation: Research recommendations to improve policies

How can we determine the taxation of wage earners or multinational corporations in a fair manner? Will simplifying tax administration help increase...

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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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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...

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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...

Research Brief
Monetary policy and firm size in South Africa

Monetary policy affects the real economy through various channels, including the interest rate, exchange rate, credit, and asset price channels. The credit channel has recently received considerable attention. Small firms are more sensitive to...

Research Brief
Estimating tax gaps in the non-financial sector

Many governments, particularly those in developing countries, have set an objective to improve tax revenue mobilization to offer more and better public services to their citizens. To develop effective revenue-raising strategies it is necessary to...

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Being the change you want to see
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While growing up, I was troubled by the scale of the socioeconomic gap between the haves and the have-nots in the community around me. I saw cases...

Displaying 32 of 151 results