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Transforming economies, states, and societies
At its core, development is about the well-being of people. But it is also about creating societies which provide fundamental rights and just social political outcomes. Sustainable and inclusive development requires transformative changes across three fundamental areas: in the structures of economies, in the state, and institutions that govern social and market interactions and broader developmental processes, and in society itself. These transformations are central to the achievement of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 2019–23 UNU-WIDER work programme focuses on the interlinked development challenges of transforming economies, states, and societies and maps them against SDGs 5, 8, 10, 16, 17. By mobilizing research evidence for action through the ongoing processes in the UN and its member states, the institute continues to work with stakeholders to strengthen capacities for research, technical, and policy analysis, and facilitate exchange of experiences and knowledge towards bold and collaborative development solutions for countries and regions around the world.
Click on the table below to explore our current work or scroll down to search past projects.
158 active and previous projects
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Transforming economies
Transforming societies
Transforming societies
UNU-WIDER Winter School on tax policy research
Capacity development Tax administration data SDG17 Transforming societies
The impact of inequality on growth, human development, and governance @EQUAL
Economic inequality Transforming societies
World Income Inequality Database (WIID)
Inequality Equality Income inequality Transforming states
Transformation
Inclusion
Sustainability
2018-19
2018-19
Conference on transforming economies – for better jobsThe creation of productive jobs for both men and women are essential preconditions for the achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on decent work and gender equality. The conference engages current debates around the future of work in the...
2018-19
2018 Nordic conference on development economicsThe conference aims at bringing together Nordic and international scholars for the exchange of ideas and discussion of recent results within theoretical and applied development economics research.
2016-17
2016-17
Conference on migration and mobility – new frontiers for research and policyMigration and mobility are key facets of our increasingly globalized world, posing challenges but also offering opportunities. For migrants, this may include economic and social mobility, as well as improved physical security and an escape from...
2016-17
Conference on human capital and growthHuman capital has been identified not only as a key determinant of growth and poverty alleviation, but as critical for human development. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have...
2016-17
Conference on responding to crisesThe ‘Responding to crises’ conference aimed to improve knowledge about ongoing, unexpected, and future crises, and to discuss the options available for responses by governments, international agencies, NGOs, civil society and private...
2014-15
2014-15
Conference on inequality - measurement, trends, impacts, and policiesMany low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, but high inequality remains a priority concern. Some countries meanwhile have low growth, high inequality, and pervasive poverty―often linked to their fragility...
2012-13
2012-13
Experimental and non-experimental methods to study government performance: contributions and limitsIn recent years, field experiments using randomized trials have gained increasing popularity in the field of development economics. In particular, scholars have argued strongly for their use as the best means of identifying ‘what works’...
Field experiments Non-experimental methods Governance2012-13
Conference on inclusive growth in Africa - measurement, causes, and consequencesapid and sustained poverty reduction requires ‘inclusive growth’ that allows people to contribute to and benefit from the development process. Africa’s economic performance has improved considerably since the 1980s and early 1990s...
2012-13
Building state capability through Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)As a sub-component of the Research and Communication on Foreign Aid (ReCom) programme, the PDIA project feeds into the themes: governance and fragility & social sectors. An integral part of development is the expansion of capability of the state...
Foreign aid Development Social sectors2010-11
2008-09
2008-09
South-South development cooperation
Globalization and Trade Development financing Capital flows 2008-09
Reflections on transition - twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wallThe fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 was a defining moment in the transition of former socialist countries into market economies. To mark the twentieth anniversary of this historic event, UNU-WIDER is organising a two-day conference to...
Transition to the Market2008-09
Role of elites in economic developmentTheir influence of elites in politics, government, business, and the media profoundly influences the direction of economic and social activities. In some countries, the preferences of elites are closely aligned with the national interest. Elsewhere...
Development and Finance2006-07
2006-07
Country role models for development successIn the development literature, some countries are cited more often than others as examples of development success. These countries are believed to have policies and institutions that could be transferred, at least in part, to less successful...
Development and Finance2006-07
Conference on aid - principles, policies and performanceAid is one of the most challenging development issues facing the international community. There is now a pressing need to evaluate performance to date, and the future for aid in light of recent events such as the post-Monterrey consensus to...
Development and Finance Development aid Financing the MDGs2006-07
Health inequalities and developmentThe purpose of this project was to investigate issues related to health inequality. Although health is an important indicator of overall wellbeing, it is only recently that research has focused on health inequality. This project brings forth issues...
Poverty Inequality and Well-being Health2004-05
2004-05
Personal assets from a global perspectiveThe project aims to assemble data about the distribution and composition of personal assets in developing, transition, and developed countries and to study the implications of personal asset-holding for economic development. The most important asset...
Poverty Inequality and Well-being Personal wealth2004-05
Jubilee conference - WIDER thinking aheadAbout 200 participants attended the conference, more than 150 of them coming from outside Finland. The conference was open to younger researchers as well as established scholars. A list of participants is available on WIDER’s website...
Development and Finance2004-05
Impact of globalization on the world's poorGlobalization offers new opportunities for accelerating development and poverty reduction. And there is much concern about the distribution of benefits; in particular whether the poor gain from globalization, and under what circumstances it may...
Globalization and Trade Globalization Poverty2002-03
2002-03
Conference on sharing global prosperityConferences: 6 September 2003 WIDER Conference on Sharing Global Prosperity
Development and Finance2002-03
Innovative sources for development financeA joint project with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in response to the UN General Assembly call for a rigorous study on ways to increase external finance for developing countries, particularly to meet the MDGs...
Development and Finance2000-01
2000-01
Debt relief conferenceConferences: 17 August 2001 WIDER Development Conference on Debt Relief
Development and Finance2000-01
Growth and poverty conferenceConferences: 25 May 2001 WIDER Development Conference on Growth and Poverty
Poverty Inequality and Well-being2000-01
Refugees, international migration and povertyFleeing poverty, violence and 'ethnic cleansing' millions of people leave their homes every year in search of safety and economic opportunities. In contrast to the migrations of the nineteenth century today's migrations often take place through...
Globalization and Trade1998-99
1998-99
Institutions, group behaviour and developmentInstitutions, such as firms, families, contracts, rules, regulations, values, and social norms, are fundamental for economic development. They influence both the level and the pace of economic growth, which can and frequently does trigger...
Development and Finance1998-99
Development problems in natural resource-based growth modelsIn the top and bottom ranks of the GDP/c league, one finds countries which are completely devoid of natural resources, as well as others where the natural wealth of the country has played an important role in development. The evidence reviewed in...
Globalization and Trade1998-99
Underdevelopment, transition & reconstruction (UTR) in SSAThe development prospects in SSA are particularly problematic in those countries which adopted Soviet style planning in the 1970s, i.e. Angola, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Somalia. The policies of these countries...
Africa's Economic Development1985-97
1985-97
Building African capacity for policy simulationWith the introduction of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), governments in Africa and other developing countries have been under great pressure to devise effective policies that will reduce poverty and...
Globalization Social and Human Development Africa1985-97
Income distribution and social structure during the transitionSee publications for work connected to this project.
Transition to the Market