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Summer 2022

Want to catch up on UNU-WIDER research? Here are 10 of the most interesting papers published over the last year

by Timothy Shipp

In this blog, the managing editor of the WIDERAngle shares his personal view on some of the most important—and potentially overlooked—work recently released in the WIDER Working Paper Series.

The next issue of the WIDERAngle newsletter arrives at the end of August. Here is some
suggested reading while you wait.

Blogs

Can the electric vehicle revolution solve the climate crisis and create opportunities for developing countries?

by Alan R. Roe

Electric vehicles (EVs) are confidently expected to decarbonize road transportation, contribute substantially to the net zero agenda, and so help to solve the climate crisis.

Metals for the global energy transition – opportunities and salutary lessons

by Alan R. Roe

In a series of high-level UN Roundtables, in which I participated in 2021, experts and stakeholders explored the risks and opportunities presented by the global clean energy transition. Discussions included the prospects for lower-income countries arising from the electric vehicle (EV) revolution in the global automotive market.

Bootcamp for better tax policies in Africa

by Amina Ebrahim

‘I intend to see a world in which tax policy research is based on evidence, and policy decisions are data-driven.’ This is an aspiration expressed by a participant of the WIDER Winter School 2022. The comment summarizes well the reasoning behind the course and UNU-WIDER’s goals for domestic revenue mobilization in the Global South.

Decent work – discussion on working conditions in Helsinki and globally

by Kirsi Riipinen

How committed is Helsinki to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals? The discussion forum at the City Hall on Tuesday addressed one of the goals, namely decent work and economic growth.

Can access to finance spur entrepreneurship in Indian informal sector?

by Ira N. Gang, Rajesh Raj S.N. and Kunal Sen

Credit constraints, a consequence of the widespread failure of credit markets in developing countries, are widely regarded as a key constraint to entrepreneurship. Using 2010-11 and 2015-16 National Sample Survey data, this article shows that policy actions ...

Confronting low domestic savings in Africa

by Charles Ackah and Monica P. Lambon-Quayefio

What are the linkages between national savings and sustainable economic growth? Why are there differences in the amounts of savings between different countries? In March, we introduced our research on Ghana at the UNU-WIDER Domestic savings project workshop. A compilation of the different working papers ...

EVENT

Abrams M.E. Tagem to present at the 19th World Economic History Congress (WEHC)

Abrams Mbu Enow Tagem presents recently published research on Constraints on the executive and tax revenues in the long run in the upcoming 19th World Economic History Congress (WEHC), held in Paris on 25-29 July 2022. He joins a parallel session on Resilience to economic shrinking and long-term economic development.

Working Papers

Working Paper

Poverty, inequality, and growth: trends, policies, and controversies

by Ines A. Ferreira, Vincenzo Salvucci, and Finn Tarp

Working Paper

The social foundations of (in)effective states –
Uttar Pradesh’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic

by Indrajit Roy

Working Paper

Governance and COVID-19 in Bolivia

by Calla Hummel, Ximena Velasco Guachalla, Jami Nelson-Nuñez, and

Carew Boulding

Working Paper

A new social contract inclusive of informal workers

by Martha Alter Chen, Sophie Plagerson, and Laura Alfers

Photo by Barthelemy de Mazenod on Unsplash

Working Paper

Microsimulation approaches to studying shocks and social protection in selected developing economies

by Kwabena Adu-Ababio

Working Paper

What drove the profitability of colonial firms? – labour coercion and trade preferences on the Sena Sugar Estates (1920–74)

by Sam Jones and Peter Gibbon

Working Paper

‘Delangokubona’ and the distribution of rents and opportunity – an exploration of tensions over race-based policies of redress and redistribution in South Africa

by Ayabonga Cawe

Working Paper

On data and trends in horizontal inequality

by Carla Canelas

Working Paper

Duterte’s pandemic populism – strongman leadership, weak state capacity, and the politics of deployment in the Philippines

by Julio C. Teehankee

Publications

Book | The developer’s dilemma – structural transformation, inequality dynamics, and inclusive growth

edited by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kunal Sen, Andy Sumner, and Arief Anshory Yusuf

FORTHCOMING | Developing countries seek inclusive economic development. Yet, this is at odds with Kuznets’ hypothesis that economic development puts upward pressure on income inequality. We explore the developer’s dilemma, between structural transformation and income inequality.

Journal Special Issue | What sustains informality

by Kunal Sen, Michael Danquah, and Simone Schotte

FORTHCOMING | The special issue contributes significantly to critical issues related to the nature of informal employment and its determinants, how informal firms can grow their business and productivity, and the effects of labour market regulations and social insurance policies on informality.

Journal Article | Maternity benefits mandate and women’s choice of work in Vietnam

by Pertti Haaparanta et al.

OPEN ACCESS PART OF THE FORTHCOMING JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE | Despite a sizable literature on the labor market effects of maternity leave regulation on women in developed countries, how these policies affect women’s work in developing countries with a large informal sector remains poorly understood.

Journal Article | An exploration of the association between fuel subsidies and fuel riots

by Neil McCulloch, Davide Natalini, Naomi Hossain, and Patricia Justino

OPEN ACCESS | Between 2005 and 2018, 41 countries had at least one riot directly associated with popular demand for fuel. We make use of a new international dataset on fuel riots to explore the effects of fuel prices and price regimes on fuel riots. In line with prior ...

Research Brief | The employment and poverty effects of in-work policies in Ecuador

Governments in low- and middle-income countries face a trade-off between raising tax revenue to strengthen social protection and creating incentives to enter formal employment. In developed countries so called in-work transfers (i.e., social benefits paid upon condition of being employed) have been considered as an alternative to offer income protection to low-earner households and to provide incentives for labour market participation.

Background Note | Behavioural experiments as an impactful tool in sustainable development

by Klarizze Anne Martin Puzon

Only recently has the importance and potential of behavioural sciences been recognized as a critical tool to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This long-awaited recognition comes from the highest levels of the United Nations, with the Secretary-General recently issuing a guidance note on how and why to use behavioural sciences.

Opportunities

Call for contributions | GlobalDev’s series on social mobility

In the last decades, globalization and technological advancements have improved the living standards of billions of people, and enabled many households to cross the poverty line. Nonetheless, these trends have also exacerbated inequalities around the world, raising a renewed interest in questions pertaining to social mobility.

Vacancies | UNU-WIDER in Helsinki, Finland

UNU-WIDER has exciting positions open in the Helsinki office for an Administration and Facilities Management Associate, a Digital Workplace Technician, and a Monitoring & Evaluation Analyst to work at the Helsinki office. Check out the individual offers from the Opportunities page for further details. Submissions close on 18 and 31 July.