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

 

Subscribe to the newsletter

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...

373 Blogpost

Filter by...

Reset all
UNU-WIDER topic
    Blog
    How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi
    Placeholder

    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...

    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
    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
    Cash Plus: Towards poverty reduction in Zambia
    Placeholder

    The Zambian government wants to reduce poverty by 20% by 2030. To make this happen, the government reformed their national cash transfer programmes...

    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
    Realizing socioeconomic rights with a limited budget
    Placeholder

    The South African constitution is considered progressive and transformative in intention due to its inclusion of socioeconomic rights, such as the...

    Research Brief
    The prolonged effects of terrorism

    Terrorist violence has a profound influence on social attitudes, including trust in governmental institutions and attitudes towards migration and civil freedoms. Acts of terrorism cause citizens to experience a complex range of negative emotions...

    Blog
    Development aid cuts will hit fragile countries hard, could fuel violent conflict

    Fragile and least developed countries have had their development assistance cut drastically, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

    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
    Will growth be enough to end poverty?: New Projections of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

    Today, October 17th is the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (you already knew that, right?). In new analysis for UNU-WIDER, we...

    Research Brief
    Cart with collected items on the street. Photo by Gio Almonte on Unsplash
    Will the poverty-related SDGs be met? Global projections for 2030
    Blog
    Voices from the ground – protracted displacement economies
    Placeholder

    Many displaced people around the world are in limbo—unable to return home or go anywhere else. Our surveys show that displaced people have lived in...

    Blog
    After the war – thinking about reconstruction in Ukraine
    Placeholder

    Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine began in March 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, but it wasn’t until February 2022 that Russia shocked the...

    Research Brief
    Perceptions of inequality among young adults in Mozambique
    Blog
    Four global problems that will be aggravated by the UK’s recent cuts to international aid

    UK economic forecasts have improved markedly since the September 2022 mini-budget. The economic recession may now be more shallow and public borrowing...

    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?
    Placeholder

    The importance of domestic revenue mobilization and taxation for sustainable development is widely acknowledged in global development discussions, but...

    Blog
    Direct support to small scale farmers reduces poverty: What Zambia is doing right

    Over half of Zambia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture...

    Blog
    In memory of Martin Ravallion: A global leader in development economics

    (19 March 1952 – 24 December 2022) It is with the greatest sadness and a deep sense of grief and shock that we received the news of the passing of...

    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
    Global tax reforms, net-zero, and domestic revenue: Food for thought from the DRM programme
    Placeholder

    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
    Placeholder

    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
    Placeholder

    Financial technology (FinTech) is a major force disrupting the structure of financial services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and enabling access of...

    Blog
    The inheritance of human capital: Rethinking how much parents’ influence children’s human capital in low- and middle-income countries
    Placeholder

    The measure of human capital —the economic value of one’s skills and experience— acknowledges that investments in people’s cognitive and emotional...

    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...

    Policy Brief
    Inequality is not an inevitable consequence of economic development
    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
    Solving the puzzle of peace: Overcoming the curse of Finland
    Placeholder

    At The puzzle of peace conference in Helsinki, Adnan Khan, Chief Economist at the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, lamented what he...

    Blog
    Behind the scenes: Meet our tax-benefit microsimulation team in Viet Nam!
    Placeholder

    How can Vietnamese policymakers improve their policy choices related to social protection and tax policies? Who are the experts providing evidence on...

    Blog
    The war in Ukraine: Civilian vulnerability, resilience, and resistance
    Placeholder

    The current and future civilian impacts of the war in Ukraine are immense. This column argues that the levels of vulnerability and resistance of...

    Blog
    What does ‘promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth’ mean for everyday life?

    Erica stands under a rudimentary market stall in Accra, Ghana, selling fruits — she has done this every day for 10 years now. Like many women in the...

    Blog
    From conflict preventor to security actor: European Peace Facility, Ukraine, and the evolution of EU’s role

    Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine has catalysed the European Union (EU) — criticised as a paper tiger yet acknowledged to evolve through crises —...

    Displaying 32 of 373 results