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

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

by Kunal Sen
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

by Timothy Shipp
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...

238 Blogpost

Filter by...

Reset all
UNU-WIDER topic
    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...

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

    Sub-Saharan Africa has abundant natural resources and a substantial market, with an estimated population of 1.2 billion. The population is projected...

    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...

    Research Brief
    Perceptions of inequality among young adults in Mozambique
    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...

    Research Brief
    New estimates on the share of tax evasion in Zambia
    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...

    Policy Brief
    Inequality is not an inevitable consequence of economic development
    Blog
    Above or below the poverty line: Three key questions for understanding shifts in global poverty

    In 2010 and the following years, there was attention to the fact that much of global poverty had shifted to middle-income countries (for example here...

    Policy Brief
    Regional integration and Tanzania’s export performance
    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
    India’s manufacturing and services value-chains are shifting South: A curse or a blessing?
    Placeholder

    Much has been written on India as an outlier in Global Value Chains (GVC). Despite being one of the largest and fastest-growing markets located in...

    Blog
    Mozambique's difficult decade: Three lessons to inform next steps

    At the start of the last decade, Mozambique’s prospects looked stellar. Following from the early 1990s, when peace finally arrived after a devastating...

    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...

    Policy Brief
    Firm performance, trade linkages, and the growth of SMEs in Tanzania
    Blog
    Sub-Saharan Africa had a manufacturing renaissance in 2010s – it’s a promising sign for the years ahead

    The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy, with world output contracting at 3.5% in 2020, and no recovery likely before the fourth...

    Blog
    Have you heard about the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database?
    Placeholder

    On 17 February 2021 the Groningen Growth and Development Centre (GGDC) and UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database (ETD) will be launched. The new...

    Blog
    Why should I care about economic growth?
    Placeholder

    Director of UNU-WIDER, Professor Kunal Sen is a world leading expert in development economics and led on ESID’s research into economic growth. In this...

    Research Brief
    Unlocking a regional plastics value chain between Mozambique and South Africa

    Plastics are universal and integrated into different sectors of the economy. Industrial policy requires countries to look at moving up the value chain and producing progressively more sophisticated products to contribute to improved economic...

    Research Brief
    Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa

    East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa instituted SEZs in legal and institutional...

    Blog
    The developer’s dilemma in India – the role of politics and economic ideology

    Policy makers seeking inclusive growth frequently face the developer’s dilemma between prioritizing structural transformation, which is potentially...

    Blog
    Late development, early adoption – how new technology is reshaping the future of structural change
    Placeholder

    Technological catch-up is bringing new asynchronies to development pathways. What does this mean for employment, globalization, and inequality? A...

    Blog
    Evidence matters for inclusive growth policy: Reflections from the annual conference of the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme
    Placeholder

    Like many developing countries, Mozambique is struggling with problems of poverty, inequality, low productivity, unemployment, and low institutional...

    Blog
    Promoting industrialization in Africa: Global versus regional value chains

    As COVID-19 ravages international trade and production, policy-makers are shifting their sights from global value chains (GVCs) to regional value...

    Research Brief
    How can agro-processing value chains be developed to strengthen regional integration in Southern Africa?

    Regional integration in Africa has potential for increasing regional trade and contribute towards industrialization and economic development. Agro-processing trade offers numerous opportunities for southern Africa countries and is a potential area of...

    Policy Brief
    Mining for change

    For a growing number of countries in Africa the discovery of natural resources is a great opportunity, but one accompanied by considerable risks. There is an extensive literature linking natural resource dependence to poor economic performance. One...

    Research Brief
    Are employees in Vietnamese SMEs compensated for working in unfavourable conditions?
    Blog
    UNU-WIDER at 35: Letter from the Director
    Placeholder

    2020 promised to be a big year for UNU-WIDER, with the celebration of our 35th anniversary, the 45th birthday of UNU, and 75 years of the UN. But as...

    Research Brief
    Tackling poverty and inequality in Southern Africa

    Comprehensive harmonization is crucial to eliminate inefficiencies that hamper free movement of goods and services in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Territorial collaboration between metropolitan clusters and rural areas...

    Displaying 32 of 238 results