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March 2021

WIDERAngle blog. Photo by UN Photo / Stuart Price

New project | Institutional legacies of violent conflict

One and a half billion people live in countries affected by political instability and violent conflict. We currently have limited understanding of how and why violent conflicts persist, and what can be done to reduce the risk and impact of violence. Our new project seeks to increase understanding of how institutional dynamics that develop during violent conflicts shape state-building, economic development, and its legacies in the future.

Blogs

Our project on the institutional legacies of violent conflict

by Patricia Justino

One of the most critical challenges in international development today is to understand how best to support peace, security, economic recovery, and legitimate political authority in fragile and conflict-affected countries. One and a half billion people live in countries affected by political instability and violent conflict.

The paths and legacies of civil war

by Anastasia Shesterinina

Civil wars leave enduring legacies for social networks, political identities, preferences, and attitudes. Their impacts on public perceptions of peace, participation in politics and economic activity, state institutions, economic development, education, and a range of other outcomes that run through the social, political, and economic fabric of war-affected societies, are profound.

Why do we see boom-and-bust growth in fragile and conflict-affected states?

by Kunal Sen

One of the most pressing challenges in development policy is to bring about rapid, sustained, and inclusive growth in developing countries. Apart from a handful of countries in East Asia, very few developing countries have experienced prolonged periods of rapid economic growth and large declines in poverty.

A world of protest

by Zachariah Mampilly

That we are living in an era of popular protest is undeniable. A quick survey of headlines from around the world — or better yet, your social media feed — reveals countless uprisings unfolding in real time. Farmers protest efforts to privatize their land in India, Argentinians march to provide women reproductive justice, citizens rise up against police brutality in Nigeria and the United States. The list goes on.

Supply or demand? Exploring the mechanisms behind the rise of female labour force participation in Mexico

by Sonia Bhalotra and Manuel Fernández

At the global level, gender gaps in labour force participation have narrowed and over half a billion women have joined the workforce in the last 30 years. However, there is enormous variation in women's labour force participation (FLFP) across low- and middle-income ...

Motherhood and the gender gap in Latin America

by Inés Berniell, Lucila Berniell, Dolores de la Mata, María Edo, and Mariana Marchionni

Gender gaps in labour supply, income, and wages are still large despite the remarkable convergence of roles of men and women in labour markets over the last century. In developed countries, the evidence points to motherhood as one of the key factors in ...

Persistent gender roles in South Africa deprive women of leisure time

by Priyanka Harrichurran

In most countries, traditional gender roles within the household are still common. These roles put a greater burden of care work on women, which can reduce women’s leisure time relative to men. We found that, on average, a South African woman has 37 minutes less leisure time per day than a South African man, adding up to over 225 hours of lost leisure time per year.

call for papers

WIDER Development Conference: COVID-19 and development – effects and new realities for the Global South

The 2021 WIDER Development Conference will take place online during 6-8 September 2021. While not exclusive, we particularly welcome papers from researchers from the Global South on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the developing world, and for the 2030 Agenda. We are especially interested in papers that offer new empirical evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as papers that analyse the efficacy of policy responses to the pandemic in the Global South. Papers that look at the implications of the pandemic for the future of work, global governance, fragility and conflict, and environmental sustainability are also welcome. Submission deadline: 15 April 2021, 23:59 UTC+2

5th IZA/World Bank/NJD/UNU-WIDER Jobs and Development Conference: Building better jobs for the post-Covid19 era

To expand the frontiers of global knowledge around jobs and advance the discussion on the most effective policies, we are interested in policy-relevant papers on all topics in labour and development economics. The conference will take place September 1-3, 2021.

News

In Memoriam: Benno Ndulu

It was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of Professor Benno Ndulu, Chair of the WIDER Board, and long-time collaborator and friend of the Institute. Benno Ndulu’s untimely passing away is an irreplaceable loss to UNU-WIDER, and to the development economics community
at large.

Findings from new GGDC/UNU-WIDER database grab attention of academia and media

The GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database was launched on 17 February 2021 along with the key findings from a new working paper revealing striking patterns of re-industrialization in developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia.

Research finds that crime drives early marriage of girls in India

In a recent WIDER Working Paper, Sudipa Sarkar finds that the perceived risk of crime against unmarried girls in Indian neighbourhoods significantly increases the chances of early marriage for adolescent girls. The paper's main findings were picked up and published in a recent article for Mint online here.

Events

Seminar | Bruno Martorano on protests and social mobilization during the COVID-19 pandemic

27 April 2021

Bruno Martorano will join the WIDER Webinar Series to present a recent study on policy responses to COVID-19, inequality, and protests in US. Clionadh Raleigh will follow as discussant, sharing new findings on protests and political violence during COVID-19 in developing countries. Register here.

Conference | Achieving Sustainable Development in the Least Developed Countries – LDC Future Forum

30 August - 1 September 2021, Helsinki, Finland

The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are low-income countries that face severe structural impediments to sustainable development. These countries are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets. To help the LDCs address these specific challenges, the United Nations convenes a dedicated conference every ten years.

WIDER Development Conference | COVID-19 and development – effects and new realities for the Global South

6-8 September 2021, online

The 2021 WIDER Development Conference will take place online during 6-8 September 2021, with the aim of connecting research and policy communities around the world to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on development in the Global South, and how to move forward.

WIDER Working Paper Series

Working Paper

Civic legacies of wartime governance

Working Paper

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor – insights from the Hrishipara diaries

Working Paper

Do pandemics lead to rebellion? Policy responses to COVID-19, inequality, and protests in the USA

Working Paper

Towards sustainable livelihood in the Tanzanian informal economy – facilitating inclusion, organization, and rights for street vendors

Working Paper

The effects of wartime institutions on households’ ability to cope with shocks – evidence for Colombia

Working Paper

Precarization or protection? The impact of trade and labour policies on informality

Working Paper

The case of taxing multinational corporations in Uganda – is there evidence for profit-shifting?

Working Paper

Gender wage gaps in Ghana – a comparison across different selection models

Working Paper

Motherhood and flexible jobs – evidence from Latin American countries

Publications

Book | Inequality in the Developing World

edited by Carlos Gradín, Murray Leibbrandt, and Finn Tarp

OPEN ACCESS | Inequality has emerged as a key development challenge. It holds implications for economic growth and redistribution and translates into power asymmetries that can endanger human rights, create conflict, and embed social exclusion and chronic poverty.

Journal Article | Birth control, family size and educational stratification – evidence from the Han and ethnic minorities in China

by Yao Pan and Yishen Liu

OPEN ACCESS | This study investigates the unexpected impact that enforcing birth control policies in China has upon the educational stratification between the Han majority, the policy target group, and ethnic minorities, a partially excluded group.

Policy Brief | Firm performance, trade linkages, and the growth of SMEs in Tanzania

by Josaphat Kweka, Julian Boys, and Amrita Saha

The private sector and enterprises have a key role to play in the development of the Tanzanian economy. This Policy Brief provides insights and solutions that could offer business sectors the vital policy support that they need to develop and grow.

Research Brief | Simplifying the tax filing of small businesses in Uganda – does it make a difference?

How could countries in the Global South develop their tax systems further and improve compliance? This analysis shows how two tax administration interventions impacted the number of small business taxpayers and presumptive tax revenues in Uganda.

Opportunities

Online PhD Fellowship accepting applications in April

In 2021, the UNU-WIDER Visiting PhD Fellowship Programme will be delivered online.

Applications will open on 1 April 2021 and close on 30 April.

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.

Vacancy | IT Helpdesk, part-time 50%

UNU-WIDER is looking for an outstanding individual with strong communication and troubleshooting / problem solving skills to join the institute’s ICT Team. Closing date: 4 April 2021, 23:59 UTC+2

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