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

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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...

167 Blogpost

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Affirmative action policies to increase diversity are successful, but controversial, around the world

In a landmark judgment in June 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled against the use of race-conscious admissions in colleges and universities. This...

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Gender pay gaps on the rise in South Africa

New analysis of income data in South Africa shows the gender pay gap—how much more men earn than women—has increased. According to findings from a...

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High wage inequality in South Africa – are employers to blame?
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South Africa ranks as the world’s most unequal country by income. This is largely due to high wage inequality, given that wages are the main income...

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Financing development goals in times of crisis

Pursuing the global development agenda will require genuine commitment from political leaders and significant stepping-up of government efforts. But...

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Looking back, moving forward – a photo retrospective of the 2019-2023 WIDER Work Programme
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As we conclude the groundbreaking years of the 2019–2023 work programme on transforming economies, states, and societies, we reflect on the milestones...

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On the road to fairer societies in Asia and the Pacific region: Four focus areas on center stage

A recent panel discussion at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok set out to identify policy...

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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...

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The COVID-19 TERS policy saved at least 2 million jobs: But not without some unintended results

About three years have passed since the South African government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) in response...

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Oslo conference turns the spotlight on sustainable development financing
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With the deadline for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals just seven years away, there is an increasing sense of urgency over the...

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Stuck at the bottom of the job ladder in Africa: The stumbling block to resilient growth and prosperity
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When the question of creating good jobs and decent work in Africa arises, policymakers and development partners often focus on formalization. For...

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UNU-WIDER’s new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) advances progress on SDG 8: Decent Work

UNU-WIDER’s 6-week online course on delivering Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8) brings together recent research on the linkages between economic...

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Addressing poverty and unemployment in South Africa’s townships
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Nearly half the working-age population and nearly two-thirds of the unemployed live in areas designated as townships under apartheid spatial laws...

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Development programmes must capture local insights

In the paper 'Aid reimagined: results from an elite survey on perceptions of progress, capacity, and development co-operation', we tabulated responses...

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Aid fungibility, ownership and the effectiveness agenda
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For many people, aid fungibility is a misunderstood topic—it is mostly confused with the idea of corruption. Aid fungibility, on the other hand, is...

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What determines tax revenues mobilization?
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Tax revenues and political institutions placing constraints on the executive power may reinforce each other over time and this may also bring a shift...

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