WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

Research in focus – country profiles: Indonesia and Ecuador

by Tristan Reid
flashcom-indonesia-unsplash
Our Institute’s expansive international research contributions, consisting of over 800 WIDER Working Papers in the 2019–23 work programme, delve deep into the development challenges the world faces. In the following country profiles, we pivot our focus towards Ecuador and Indonesia, serving as examples of our unique collaborative approach to development.Utilizing our vast network of researchers, policymakers, and institutions, we not only assess pressing development issues, but actively work...

Nigeria: botched economic reforms plunge the country into crisis

by Kunal Sen, Chisom Ubabukoh
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is facing an economic crisis. From a botched currency redesign to the removal of fuel subsidies and a currency float, the nation has been plunged into spiralling inflation and a currency crisis with far-reaching consequences. The question now is: how long before the inferno consumes everything?On October 26, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a bold move – that it had redesigned the country’s highest denomination notes (₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000) and would...

Are Sovereign Wealth Funds fit for purpose in Africa?

by Tony Addison, Amir Lebdioui
Tanzanian coins. Image: Imani Nsamila / UNU-WIDER
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a symbol of national success and a means for global, commercial and geopolitical influence. But how well do they contribute to national development goals? Furthermore, global decarbonization threatens the future of many fossil fuel-financed SWFs. Here, we report research evidence to assess the state of SWFs in Africa and how to maximise their impact.Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)are at the core of considerable policy and academic debate. Once heralded as...

252 Blogpost

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
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

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

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...

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
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
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
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
Dual learning disadvantages in East Africa: And how to deal with them
Placeholder

Children from poorer families in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda face a double disadvantage in their opportunity to access learning: not only is the...

Displaying 16 of 252 results