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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    Blog
    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...

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

    Blog
    Why are frontiers and borderlands more conflict prone—and what have institutions got to do with this?

    According to a recent OECD Report, borderlands experience a greater intensity of violence, especially violence targeted against the state. While there...

    Blog
    $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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    Least Developed Countries are facing five major challenges: Four suggestions to tackle them
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    This month we had the honour to co-host the first ever LDC Future Forum here in Helsinki. It was our first large-scale live event since the COVID-19...

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    How can research help Least Developed Countries achieve sustainable development?
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    The next decade is a make-or-break for the world’s most vulnerable countries. To tackle the unprecedented confluence of COVID-19, climate, and...

    Blog
    Conflict-prone countries are not doomed to an eternal trap

    The situation of Afghanistan has drawn a picture of a poor, conflict-prone, doomed country. But this does not have to be the case. We have examples of...

    Policy Brief
    Regional integration and Tanzania’s export performance
    Blog
    Afghanistan 2021: A quickly made long tragedy
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    The tragedy for the Afghan people of the Taliban re-taking control of the country in August 2021 is the denouement of a process 20 years in the making...

    Blog
    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)...

    Blog
    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...

    Blog
    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...

    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
    Economic transformation in Vietnam
    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...

    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...

    Research Brief
    How important are management practices for micro, small, and medium enterprises in Vietnam?
    Research Brief
    Understanding elite commitment to social protection in Rwanda
    Blog
    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...

    Research Brief
    A snapshot of poverty and inequality in Asia
    Policy Brief
    Eight lessons on small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam
    Research Brief
    Six factors that determine future development of economies and labour markets in Asia
    Research Brief
    The impact on jobs and earnings of offshoring in South Africa

    The success of an economy’s manufacturing sector is often critical to economic growth and development. As a major contributor to exports, site of innovation, adopter of international best practices, and engine of job creation, an internationally...

    Research Brief
    Racial inequality and demographic change in South Africa

    Over the past 20 years, researchers have been looking at the economic lifecycle of individuals around the world using National Transfer Accounts (NTA) data. The focus of this research has been on understanding how societies produce, consume, share...

    Policy Brief
    Resurgent Asia

    In 1820, Asia accounted for two-thirds of world population and over half of world income. The subsequent decline of Asia was attributable to its integration with a world economy shaped by colonialism and driven by imperialism. By 1970, Asia was the...

    Blog
    The vital role of aid in development

    The UNU-WIDER research programme on foreign aid (ReCom) began in 2010, in a period of strong aid scepticism. Dambisa Moyo’s well-known book, Dead Aid...

    Research Brief
    A pre-prototype Social Accounting Matrix for Myanmar
    Blog
    Narendra Modi’s performance on the Indian economy: Five key policies assessed
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    When Narendra Modi became India’s prime minister in spring 2014 the Indian economy was in the doldrums. There was a clear policy paralysis in India’s...

    Blog
    India’s General Elections 2019: The potential electoral consequences of demonetisation
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    In the campaign leading up to the Lok Sabha elections in spring 2014, one of the more important promises that Narendra Modi made was to ‘clean up’ the...

    Blog
    How can developing countries deliver effective public financial planning?

    In many less developed countries, there is little problem identifying the need for public investment in programmes aimed at improving things such as...

    Blog
    From Africa rising to rising debt in Africa: The looming debt crisis
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    Africa’s rising public debt continues to attract increased attention regionally and internationally. The narrative about Africa seems to have...

    Blog
    Developing countries would benefit from improved tax collection: What can help?

    The ability to raise revenues from taxes – called “fiscal capacity” – is a crucial aspect for the functioning of any state. Being able to tax citizens...

    Blog
    Progressive research with amazing people in a beautiful sauna-crazy country: Pui Yi Wong - 2018 PhD Fellow

    In the fall of 2018 UNU-WIDER welcomed 11 doctoral students from around the world as part of our PhD Fellowship Programme. The students, from Ghana...

    Policy Brief
    Is global inequality rising or falling?

    When measured in relative terms, global inequality has been decreasing. However, in absolute terms it has been increasing. What does this mean for analysing and addressing inequality? While it remains vital to continue reducing the global incidence...

    Blog
    Research that matters: A report from the stakeholder workshop - 15 November 2018, Pretoria, South Africa
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    I found myself in the third-floor conference rooms of a Pretoria hotel for a meeting with economists, researchers, and policymakers involved in the SA...

    Blog
    A two-way street: Regional integration in southern Africa through supermarkets
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    Walk into any supermarket and you will find a mix of products to stock the kitchen. It’s easy to assume that many of the goods on offer are sourced...

    Blog
    Capital flight from developing countries – what is it, how is it measured, and what have we learned?

    Many worry that developing countries lose a substantial amount of money via capital flight, that is, outflows of cash and securities — part of which...

    Blog
    Will Norway’s model of Sovereign Wealth Fund work in Tanzania?: A reality check
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    Several countries in Africa – including Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda - have recently discovered large oil and gas or other mineral...

    Blog
    Celebrating 30 years of research for development
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    The celebration of the 30th Anniversary of UNU-WIDER presented the ideal opportunity to look back, take stock, and plan ahead. Where else can a group...

    Research Brief
    Debt

    ​In the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, debt crises have plagued low-, middle-, and high-income countries at various times. Indebted countries have generally addressed balance of payments crises either by (a) obtaining International...

    Blog
    Financial Reforms and Falling Inequality in Latin America, 2002-2012: Are They Connected?
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    29 October 2014 Giovanni Andrea Cornia ​For the last quarter of the twentieth century, Latin America suffered from low growth, rising inequality, and...

    Research Brief
    How Effectively Were the Paris Principles Applied to State-Building in South Sudan?

    The five Paris principles of effective aid were only nominally successfully implemented in the state-building process of South Sudan. While the importance of the first principle, ownership, was highlighted in development plans in Southern Sudan...

    Displaying 48 of 115 results