Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser

January 2021

Online conference | Development challenges in Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

11-12 February 2021

UNU-WIDER in partnership with UONGOZI Institute will organize a two-day online conference on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. The conference provides a forum to discuss the socioeconomic implications, development challenges, and potential policy solutions to the crisis in the context of the African continent.

Blogs

Have you heard about the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database?

by Gaaitzen de Vries

Next month, the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database (ETD) will be launched. The new database provides crucial information on changes in the economic structure of economies ...

Clientelism – another reason to worry about US democracy

by Rachel Gisselquist

The last several months have given us many reasons to worry about US democracy – not least the riot at the US Capitol and the president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election ...

The Nordic Model — lessons for Sri Lanka

by Arusha Cooray

Sri Lanka, like the Nordic countries, is a social democratic nation with a strong welfare state. It is classified as a ‘high human development’ country by the United Nations, with a human development index above the average of 0.76 for countries in the same income classification. Large social expenditures — government spending ...

New research horizons – global value chains and transaction-level customs data

by Giovanni Pasquali

Over 70% of global trade goes through global value chains (GVCs). For firms in developing countries, insertion into GVCs has been associated with economic and social benefits. Yet, critics also point to power imbalances between lead firms in developed countries ...

Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem from Pexels

Finding keys for development in Africa

by Aimable Nsabimana

Economics researcher Aimable Nsabimana shares the relevance and inspiration behind his recent work with UNU-WIDER on climate change and human development in Tanzania. How can research contribute to the wellbeing in Africa?

News

Study which finds that gender inclusion and access to finance play a critical role in India makes headlines

In a new WIDER Working Paper 'Finance, gender, and entrepreneurship — India’s informal sector firms', researchers Ira N. Gang, Rajesh Raj Natarajan, and Kunal Sen find strong evidence of the crucial role played by financial access in promoting entrepreneurship among firms in the informal sector in India. In particular, the work examines gender differences in access and whether they affect the success in expanding family firms into entrepreneurial firms that hire outside the family.

Patricia Justino interviewed for Finnish development magazine

UNU-WIDER Senior Research Fellow Patricia Justino discussed the impact of COVID-19 on trust in governance in the latest issue of Finnish development magazine Kehitys (Development).

Events

Seminar | François Bourguignon on COVID-19 and inequality

23 February 2021

François Bourguignon will join the WIDER Webinar Series to discuss the impact the pandemic has had on global poverty and inequality.

Presentation | Tony Addison at 4th UN Roundtable on Extractives

4 February 2021

Tony Addison will be presenting at a high-level United Nations Roundtable titled "Extractive industries and sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific".

Presentation | Miguel Niño-Zarazúa & Rachel M. Gisselquist presenting on Effects of Swedish and international democracy aid

27 January 2021

In December 2020, Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) published a new report titled "Effects of Swedish and international democracy aid". The research behind the report was carried out by ...

Lecture | Kunal Sen to deliver 17th Dr V. K. R. V. Rao Memorial Lecture

20 January 2021

Professor Sen’s presentation ‘Finance, gender, and entrepreneurship: India’s informal sector firms’ will share insights on the role played by financial inclusion in entrepreneurship in India’s informal economy, drawing on the recent study carried out with Ira N. Gang ...

Presentation | Tony Addison at 3rd UN Roundtable on Extractives

20 January 2021

Tony Addison presented at a high-level United Nations Roundtable titled "Extractive industries and sustainable development in the UNECE region". His remarks will be part of a panel on Extractive industries and development financing.

Presentation | Tony Addison at Basel Peace Forum 2021

20 January 2021

In his presentation, he addressed the following questions: What are the implications of the low-carbon transition for resource-dependent countries? Which countries would seem most at risk? What challenges do they face?

WIDER Working Paper Series

Working Paper

Do bigger health budgets cushion pandemics? An empirical test of COVID-19 deaths across the world

Working Paper

The electric vehicle revolution – economic and policy implications for natural resource exporters in developing countries

Working Paper

Does connectivity reduce gender gaps in off-farm employment? Evidence from 12 low- and middle-income countries

Working Paper

Illicit financial flows and the Global South – a review of methods and evidence

Working Paper

Secession and social polarization – evidence from Catalonia

Working Paper

Jobs, earnings, and routine-task occupational change in times of revolution – the Tunisian perspective

Working Paper

Size matters: measuring the effects of inequality and growth shocks

Working Paper

The role of automatic stabilizers and emergency tax–benefit policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador

Working Paper

Do fiscal regimes matter for fiscal sustainability in South Africa? A Markov-switching approach

Publications

Journal Article | Health-system equity, egalitarian democracy and COVID-19 outcomes – an empirical analysis

edited by Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati, Arusha Cooray, and Indra de Soysa

ON EARLY VIEW | The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spate of studies showing a close connection between inequitable access to health care, welfare services and adverse outcomes from ...

Journal Article | Duration of pre-university education and labour market outcomes – evidence from a quasi-experiment in Ghana

edited by Emmanuel Adu Boahen, Kwadwo Opoku, and Simone Schotte

OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | This study provides new evidence on the effect of shortening the duration of pre‐university education on long‐term labour market outcomes in Ghana, exploiting the ...

Research Brief | Technology, tourism, malls, and metros – promises and pitfalls of tradable services in Africa

There is growing recognition around the world that tradable services can play a valuable role in economic development. Africa is no exception, with the need for multiple routes to growth, particularly vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Brief | Extreme inequalities – the distribution of household wealth in South Africa

South Africa is, by most contemporary measures, the most unequal country in the world. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to country’s wealth inequality. It is crucial to accurately measure the concentration of wealth inequality over time, identify the root causes ...

https://www2.wider.unu.edu/crm/sites/default/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/WA2021-01-rb5.jpg

Research Brief | Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa – blueprint, experiences and outcomes

East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa instituted SEZs in legal and institutional frameworks ...

Research Brief | Does exchange rate volatility amplify existing inequalities in South Africa?

Even though poverty and inequality have been of overriding concern in South Africa’s development policies and programmes since its democratization in 1994, measures of poverty, inequality, and related phenomena in the country do not show a clear improvement. In some important respects, they show significant worsening.

Research Brief | Job duration in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa

The two primary features of a job are its wage and how long it lasts. Today, there is an extensive literature on wages in the developing world thanks to the expansion of national household survey data. However, far less work has been conducted on job duration in these countries, primarily due to the intensive nature of data collection ...

Opportunities

Request for research proposals | Detecting and countering illicit financial flows

UNU-WIDER together with Department of Economics at the UCPH invite proposals for papers examining the challenge of illicit financial flows. Submission deadline: 15 March 2021, 23:59 UTC+3

Vacancy | Web Developer

UNU-WIDER is looking for an outstanding individual with strong web and systems development skills to join the institute’s ICT Team. Closing date: open until the position is filled.

	UNU-WIDER \| Subscribe
	Finland