In the media
Thai media attend WIDER Development Conference to discuss SDG8: inequality, and women’s empowerment

The Transforming economies – for better jobs conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, 11-13 September, in partnership with United Nations ESCAP. The theme of the conference was SDG 8: promoting sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all.

The conference featured presentations from economics experts including Richard Baldwin, Seema Jayachandran, Ravi Kanbur, Deepak Nayyar, Ashwini Deshpande, Naila Kabeer, and UN Assistant Secretary-General Elliott Harris.

Furthermore, the policy event saw Damian Grimshaw, Benno Ndulu, Truman Packard, Marty Chen, and Kunal Sen debate the pace of tech advances and its impact on jobs, particularly in developing economies.

Among those in attendance were local media representatives, who interviewed speakers and participants and reported on the key messages drawn from the conference.

Kunal Sen, Director of UNU-WIDER, met with Thai Public Broadcasting Service to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the labour force in ASEAN countries and policies that could support the technological transformation in the workforce.

Marty Chen, co-founder of WIEGO and WIDER Board member, was interviewed by Phoenix TV from Hong Kong on transforming economies, the impact on those working in the informal sector, and the policies that can protect them.

Ravi Kanbur, Professor of Economics at Cornell University and Chair of the WIDER Board, along with Marty Chen, Damian Grimshaw and Kunal Sen, met with Bloomberg to discuss how to address inequality and women’s empowerment in Thailand and the region.