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March 2022

UNU-WIDER 2021 Annual Report is released

2021 marked the mid-point of UNU-WIDER’s 2019-2023 work programme addressing the three challenges of transforming economies, states, and societies. The newly published report showcases UNU-WIDER’s work in 2021 and how it contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition to reviewing our key accomplishments over the past year, the report highlights our ongoing work on data, which is considered the cornerstone of our work programme.

Blogs

Data for development

by Timothy Shipp

The first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to end poverty in all its forms, everywhere. The monumental task — a long-time dream of humanity — is followed by 16 more goals under the 2030 Agenda. Though they are all interlinked, to even contemplate their achievement requires a deep well of hope.

What does ‘promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth’ mean for everyday life?

by Ruby Richardson, Kunal Sen, and Michael Danquah

Erica stands under a rudimentary market stall in Accra, Ghana, selling fruits — she has done this every day for 10 years now. Like many women in the Global South, Erica was only able to attend school for a few years before leaving to work and support her family.

A new way to approach economic growth in fragile contexts

by Eeva Nyyssönen

Weak legal systems, complex regulations, dishonoured agreements, corruption, general disorder – these are just some of the challenges that development agencies working in fragile and conflict-affected states face. What kind of interventions can encourage economic growth in this environment?

Does access to microfinance help or hinder women’s empowerment?

by M. Niaz Asadullah, Nudrat Faria Shreya, and Zaki Wahhaj

Almost everywhere, women are underrepresented in labour markets compared to men. While labour force participation among women of working age (FLFP) has increased in recent decades, the vast majority of women in South Asia remain out of the labour market.

COVID-19 in India: cases, deaths, and vaccinations

by Rachel M. Gisselquist and Anustup Kundu

In this post, Kundu and Gisselquist draw on several nationally representative data sources to illuminate key COVID-19 patterns and trends in the country pre-Omicron – capturing the differential impacts across regions, and discuss how the pandemic response can be improved.

Expert commentary on Ukraine

Blog

Why Russian brutality may backfire – a political violence perspective

by Daniel Silverman

Blog

What political science can tell us about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

by Omar McDoom

Official portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky Photo by President.gov.ua

Blog

Zelenskiy’s wartime transformation – from comedian to national hero

by Krzysztof Krakowski

Blog

From conflict preventor to security actor –European Peace Facility, Ukraine, and the evolution of EU’s role

by Katariina Mustasilta and Tyyne Karjalainen

Blog

Superpowers, super-spoilers, and hybrid warfare – what the new Cold War means for global cooperation

by Erica Gaston

Blog

A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war – but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable

by Derek Headey and Kalle Hirvonen

Events

Presentation | Jukka Pirttilä on personal income tax reform in Uganda

5 April 2022, online

The UNU-WIDER Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow presents a WIDER Working paper at the Tax for Development webinar series hosted by the Chr. Michelsen Institute. The topic of Professor Pirttilä's presentation is 'Taxpayer response to greater progressivity: Evidence from personal income tax reform in Uganda'.

Panel Discussion | Social mobility in the Global South – beyond poverty and inequality reduction

6 April 2022, London, UK

What do we know about social mobility in the Global South? In this panel discussion, chaired by Fransisco H.G. Ferreira and hosted by the University of Greenwich, authors of a new volume discuss how their pathfinding work provides a platform to move beyond poverty and inequality reduction goals and towards the building of more equal and successful societies.

Project Workshop | Institutional legacies of violent conflict

12-13 May 2022, Helsinki, Finland

The UNU-WIDER project Institutional Legacies of Violent Conflict holds a two-day workshop that includes six thematic sessions: Legacies of the Second World War, peacebuilding and economic recovery, democracy and social movements, socio-political legacies, armed groups, and long-term effects.

WIDER Development Conference | The puzzle of peace – towards inclusive development in fragile contexts

16-17 May 2022, Helsinki, Finland

In 2022, UNU-WIDER hosts two WIDER Development Conferences, the first of which takes place in Helsinki on 16–17 May 2022. Across two days, sessions cover a range of topics on the themes of peace, security, unrest, and the humanitarian fallout of conflict in different regions of the world.

Original photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash

Think WIDER Webinar | K.A.S. Murshid on The Odds Revisited: Overcoming Underdevelopment - Lessons from the Bangladesh Journey

24 May 2022, online

K. A. S. Murshid joins WIDER Webinar Series to investigate ways to overcome vulnerabilities through the example of the Bangladesh development story. The webinar will be joined by Darlene K. Mutalemwa as a discussant.

WIDER Working Paper Series

Working Paper

The global inequality boomerang

by Ravi Kanbur, Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez, and Andy Sumner

Working Paper

Taxless fiscal states – lessons from 19th-century America and 21st-century China

by Yuen Yuen Ang

Working Paper

Recovery with distress: unpacking COVID-19 impact on livelihoods and poverty in Bangladesh

by Hossain Zillur Rahman et al.

Working Paper

Two decades of Tanzanian health policy – examining policy developments and opportunities through a gender lens

by Roosa Lambin and Milla Nyyssölä

Working Paper

Ethnic dominance and exclusion – unpacking cross-national data

by Andrea Vaccaro

Working Paper

Global oil theft: impact and policy responses

by Etienne Romsom

News

In focus: International Women's Day 2022

On 8 March, UNU-WIDER, and the institutes across the United Nations University and the UN, celebrate International Women’s Day with the theme 'Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow'. Throughout the week, we feature UNU-WIDER experts and their research on gender equality.

Publications

Report | Policy in the time of pandemic – social transfers in South Africa during the coronavirus national lockdown, 2020

by Thokozani Chilenga-Butao

This case study details the policy choices and decisions of the South African government to provide economic relief, through social grants, to vulnerable South Africans and those resident in South Africa to enable them to withstand the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Journal Article | Multigenerational mobility among males in India

by Anustup Kundu and Kunal Sen

*In a previous issue, this journal article was misattributed. It is reprinted here with the correct authors.
OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | Most studies of intergenerational mobility focus on adjacent generations, and there is limited knowledge about multigenerational mobility—status transmission across three generations. We examine multigenerational educational and occupational mobility in India ...

Journal Article | Snakes and ladders and loaded dice – poverty dynamics and inequality in South Africa between 2008 and 2017

by Simone Schotte, Rocco Zizzamia, and Murray Leibbrandt

OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | Longitudinal surveys allow us to understand how markers of (dis)advantage determine present material welfare and economic upward or downward mobility over time.

Journal Article | The impact of COVID-19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique

by Giulia Barletta et al.

OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 on household consumption poverty. To predict changes in income and the associated effects on poverty, we rely on existing estimated macroeconomic impacts.

Journal Article

Journal Article | Ethnicity and risk sharing network formation – evidence from rural Vietnam
by Quynh Hoang, Laure Pasquier-Doumer, and Camille Saint-Macary

ON EARLY VIEW | The ethnic divide remains a persistent challenge for Vietnam. This paper explores one mechanism that could drive ethnic inequalities by analysing risk-sharing networks in rural communes.

Journal Article

The impact of indirect tax on income distribution and poverty in Tanzania
by Asiya Maskaeva, Zanda Bochkaeva, Joel Mmasa, and Mgeni Msafiri

This study analyses the impacts of indirect tax benefits policy reforms on income distribution and poverty in Tanzania by applying a standard static microsimulation model TAZMOD v1.8.

Journal Article

Informal institutions, transaction risk, and firm productivity in Myanmar
by Michael Danquah and Kunal Sen

OPEN ACCESS | In many low-income transition countries, where formal institutions such as courts do not function effectively, informal institutions are often used by firms to minimize transaction risks.

Journal Article | The macroeconomic impact of COVID-19 in Mozambique – a social accounting matrix approach

by Rosário Betho et al.

OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | This study assesses the economic costs of COVID-19 and the state of emergency implemented by the Government of Mozambique. We use a social accounting matrix multiplier analysis to estimate the effects of the pandemic on the economy.

Journal Article | Rural financial intermediation and poverty reduction in Ghana – a micro-level analysis

by Michael Danquah et al.

OPEN ACCESS ON EARLY VIEW | The financial sector in rural areas, where most of the poor people in sub-Saharan Africa are found, has transformed massively in recent times, notably through the increased penetration of several types of rural financial intermediaries in addition to rural and community banks and microfinance institutions.

Research Brief | Three key insights for research on social mobility in developing countries

by Vegard Iversen, Anirudh Krishna, and Kunal Sen

In this brief, we identify three key lessons for improving research practice when studying social mobility in societies in the Global South.

Technical Note | The Uganda Revenue Authority firm panel

by Kyle McNabb, Dorothy Nakyambadde, Maria Jouste, and Susan Kavuma

This technical note describes the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) firm panel, which is constructed from administrative corporate income tax (CIT) returns and firm registration data for the financial years 2013/14–2019/20.

Technical Note | Feasibility study: simulating the impacts of farm subsidies on poverty and inequality in African countries

by Mari Kangasniemi and Jukka Pirttilä

Agricultural subsidies may have significant productive and distributional consequences, and policy-makers need to be able to assess these impacts as a part of the overall tax and benefit policy.

Opportunities

Call for papers | Conference jointly organized by UNU-WIDER and the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation

The two-day conference, to be held in November 2022, provides a forum to discuss innovative, theoretical, and empirical research and its policy take-aways. We welcome submissions of individual papers, as well as of panels. The deadline for submissions is 19 April 2022, 23:59 UTC+3

Vacancy | Finance Associate - Team Lead (G6)

UNU-WIDER is hiring a Finance Associate to lead its local finance team in Helsinki, Finland.

As a Finance Associate, you would be part of our global Finance team. Your responsibilities would include service design, service provision, supervision of local team, advice to internal clients, applying and interpreting corporate policies, procedures, and guidelines. You will also become a key player in our transition to Oracle Cloud ERP system. Deadline for applications is 10 April 2022

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