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Publications (17)
– Will local content do the trick?
Extractives and interlinked industries are expecting a boom in Mozambique. This could be good news for the country’s economy, in theory. But can extractives really work as a driver to diversify the Mozambican economy? It is unlikely that the extractives sector can any time soon be used to finance...
The literature on Africa’s development abounds in big theories — structural transformation, pro-poor growth, inclusive growth, among others. ‘Growth miracles’ (with or without a question mark) are sought and often proclaimed. The World Bank has even pondered whether Africa can overcome its ongoing...
Blog
The recovery and acceleration of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa since about 1995 has been widely recognised. But less is known about the extent to which this growth has led to improvements in welfare and poverty reduction in particular. In our recently published, open-access book, we attempt...
Blog
To Stockholm, for Sida’s Development Talks on the theme ‘Africa rising? Poverty and growth in sub-Saharan Africa’. Finn Tarp and Andy McKay spoke about their new UNU-WIDER book, co-edited with Channing Arndt, entitled Growth and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa—the book is on full open access...
The MIT Global Change Forum has gained an international reputation for serious, frank, and informed discussion of global climate change. The Forum meetings provide a non-official, neutral setting for analysis and discussion of science and policy aspects of global change, and for independent...
Blog
In this interview Professor Nora Lustig, Samuel Z. Stone Professor of Latin American Economics at Tulane University, talks about the importance of assessing the quality of income inequality data, the reasons behind the declining trend in income inequality in Latin America, and the Commitment to...
Research Brief
pdf
– Determining the impact of rising food prices
Evidence obtained from detailed household surveys in Mozambique during the 2008-09 food price shock reveals just how pronounced the impact of food price inflation can be on children’s overall nutrition status. Moderate and severe underweight prevalence in children in Mozambique is significantly...
Research Brief
pdf
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, poor in natural resources, and with low levels of human development. Its economy remains agricultural and focused on food crops and cotton production. Over the last twenty years it has experienced average annual growth of around 2%. However...
Blog
At the UNU-WIDER Inequality conference September 2014 we interviewed Murray Leibbrandt, Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town on issues of inequality in South Africa. Leibrant begins by positing that South Africa, like Brazil, is a microcosm of the world. This comment picks up on the...
Research Brief
pdf
– How much are we willing to allow top earners to squeeze the poor?
The majority of income inequality occurs at the tails of the income distribution The Gini coefficient does not provide a representative measure of income inequality When the top 10% of income earners expand their share of national income it often appears to be to the detriment of the poorest 40%...
Research Brief
pdf
– Income inequality in former British African colonies
The presence of European colonial powers in Africa has left a long-lasting legacy that has severely impacted their development trajectories. But what are the lingering effects of colonization on economic performance, in particular with regard to inequality? While clear information on many economic...
Blog
– Country Comparisons and Conceptual Approaches
18 December 2014 Roger Williamson In an earlier article I reviewed a number of the high-profile contributions to the September 2014 conference on inequality. It is now time to dig deeper into the material presented at the event. This article features a few of the country case studies and...
Blog
29 September 2014 Tony Addison As the Finnish autumn embraces us, we can reflect on a very successful conference on ‘Inequality: Measurement, Trends, Impacts and Policies’, held in Helsinki on 5-6 September. UNU-WIDER welcomed 350+ people from all over the world, with an especially good turnout of...
Blog
26 September 2014 Roger Williamson Huge interest in the WIDER Inequality Conference (5-6 September) Inequality is big news. Whether you think Thomas Piketty’s book is primarily long-run economic history or a prediction of future trends for returns to capital and labour, it is still a surprise that a...
Blog
27 August 2014 Tony Addison Some of you in the northern hemisphere may still be on your well-earned summer breaks. Here at UNU-WIDER we had a pause in July—for a very warm Finnish summer—after our very successful June conference in Hanoi. It is now full speed ahead for our conference on ‘Inequality...
Blog
25 June 2014 Malokele Nanivazo After a long series of conflicts and apparent macroeconomic mismanagement, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seems to be breaking from its thorny history. It is implementing a series of economic and political reforms aimed at improving its weak institutions and...
Displaying 16 of 17 results