Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser

August 2022

WIDER Development Conference | Reducing inequality – the great challenge of our time

in partnership with UNIANDES, 5-7 October 2022, in Bogotá, Colombia

As new research uncovers the many negative impacts that high inequality can have, a consensus is emerging that achieving SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities is a global goal of critical importance. This WIDER Development Conference, the second of 2022, provides a forum to discuss innovative, theoretical, and empirical research on inequality, and its policy take-aways. It takes stock of where we are, evaluates progress made, and identifies what challenges lay ahead.

Blogs

Fiscal states in developing economies: Why do they matter and where do they come from?

by Kunal Sen and Antonio Savoia

Modern states are complex organizations which perform a broad range of functions. They have an important role in economic and human development. The consensus from recent research suggests that effective states provide crucial public goods and services, such as universal education, public health systems, and an effective ...

Tax revenues and tax capacity in sub-Saharan Africa

by Abrams M.E. Tagem and Oliver Morrissey

African countries raise lower amounts of tax as a share of national income (GDP) than other countries. Researchers are interested in understanding why this is the case. Tax performance studies —statistical analyses of factors driving the tax-to-GDP ratio— mainly focus on economic features.

Are autocratic states doomed to weak fiscal capacity?

by Per F. Andersson

How best to increase and mobilize revenue is a key issue that confronts contemporary developing economies, but the same problems were faced —and solved— by today’s developed economies. In my latest WIDER Working Paper, I turn to history to study how strong fiscal states were built during the last two centuries.

State assigned property rights and revenue collection in sub-Saharan Africa

by Marina Nistotskaya and Michelle D'Arcy

Across sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries there are striking differences in citizen willingness to pay taxes. For example, in Mali, Senegal, and Ghana, around half of those surveyed ‘strongly agreed’ that the government has the right to make people pay taxes, but in Cote d'Ivoire this figure is only 16%. What explains this variation is the central question of our recent research.

What can the GRD do for policymakers?

by Abrams M.E. Tagem

A few months ago, I was asked to deliver a lecture at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies on the UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (GRD). The GRD is the most complete source of cross-country government tax and revenue data, with the newly updated version covering over 40 years of data from 197 countries.

Indonesia, the developer’s dilemma, and Vision 2045

by Arief Anshory Yusuf and Kyunghoon Kim

According to the World Bank, Indonesia has reached the upper-middle income status in 2019 after spending almost two decades in the lower-middle income country group. Despite the setback of COVID-19 the Indonesian government aspires to become a ‘developed’ country by 2045, when the country will commemorate 100 years of independence.

NEWS

GRD 2022 update: Tax and revenue data for 197 countries in one dataset

An updated version of the Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) has been released. The dataset provides a complete picture of government revenue and tax trends over time, allowing for analysis at the country, regional, or cross-country level. The 2022 version of the GRD includes up-to-date key indicators of domestic revenue statistics from 197 countries for 1980-2020/2021. Liechtenstein is the latest addition.

New update of the World Income Inequality Database and WIID Companion — version 30 June 2022

The UNU-WIDER World Income Inequality Database ― widely known by its acronym WIID ― provides the most comprehensive set of income inequality statistics available. It presents detailed information on income inequality for developed, developing, and transition countries. The latest version of the WIID can be downloaded here. The newest version builds on the May, 2021 release. It updates the WIID through 2021 to its current level with over 22,000 data points and 3,800 unique country-year observations.

Call for Contributions: GlobalDev and UNU-WIDER Blog 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.

UNU-WIDER alum Nanak Kakwani releases a new book on poverty and inequality

Professor Nanak Kakwani is one of UNU-WIDER's first research associates. Joining the institute in 1986, he is the author of the second WIDER Working Paper ever published. The first is Food, Economics, and Entitlements by UNU-WIDER's first director and Nobel Prize winning economist, Amartya Sen.

EVENTS

Gabriela Zapata on the role of the family of origin in shaping inequality of opportunity in Chile

7 September 2022

This paper investigates the role of the family of origin and other circumstances beyond individual control such as gender, region of birth, and ethnicity in shaping inequality of opportunity in Chile between 2006 and 2017. In particular, to what extent circumstances determined at birth are associated with labour market outcomes.

Tax effort revisited: How much tax can low-income countries expect to collect?

13 September 2022

The seminar opens our new Think WIDER Webinar Series - New perspectives on domestic revenue mobilization.

Fiscal States panel at APSA 2022 annual meeting

16 September 2022

UNU-WIDER is organising a panel at the 2022 American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Annual Meeting & Exhibition on the topic of Fiscal States in Developing Countries: Origins and Developmental Implications.

PRESENTATION

Climbing the jobs ladder

On 26 September, Kunal Sen and co-editor Tim Gindling, visit the World Bank to present key findings and policy lessons in the first presentation of the forthcoming book 'Climbing the job ladder?' edited by Gary S. Fields, T.H. Gindling, Kunal Sen, Michael Danquah, and Simone Schotte.

PRESENTATION

Antonio Savoia to deliver keynote presentation at the 2022 International Conference on the Balkans (ICOB)

Antonio Savoia, Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER, presents research from the Fiscal states – the origins and developmental implications project in the upcoming 2022 International Conference on the Balkans (ICOB) in September.

PRESENTATION

Nanak Kakwani’s legacy — Kunal Sen presents at launch of the Special Issue of the Journal of Income Distribution

The Journal of Income Distribution has annouced a special issue in honor of Professor Nanak Kakwani’s contribution to the study of income inequality, poverty and tax progressivity.

WIDER Annual Lecture 26 | In the name of progress: Will technology solve inequality?

7 October 2022

The WIDER Annual Lecture continues in its tradition of presenting groundbreaking research with renowned economist Daron Acemoğlu. Based on his newest book, In the Name of Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity (co-authored with Simon Johnson), this presentation will challenge the techno-optimism of our age and of our academic profession, which maintains that technological advances will ultimately benefit society at large.

Antonio Savoia presents at the 63rd Annual Conference (RSA) of the Italian Economic Association (SIE)

20-22 October 2022

Antonio Savoia presents an upcoming research paper on institutional change and persistence, which will be published in 2022 as part of Fiscal states – the origins and developmental implications project.

Kunal Sen joins the Oxford Union debate series: This house blames western lenders for the plight of developing countries

3 November 2022

On 3 November 2022, Kunal Sen attends the prestigious Oxford Union debate on the motion ‘This House Blames Western Lenders for the Plight of Developing Countries’.

Working Papers

Working Paper

Social protection expansions during crisis and fiscal space – from ad hoc to durable solutions?

by Annalena Oppel

Working Paper

Social distress and (some) relief – estimating the impact of pandemic job loss on poverty in South Africa

by Ihsaan Bassier, Joshua Budlender, and Maya Goldman

Working Paper

Physical proximity and occupational employment change by gender during the COVID-19 pandemic

by Jacqueline Mosomi and Amy Thornton

Working Paper

Peruvian response to COVID-19 pandemic – the role of evidence-based governance and structural violence

by Camila Gianella

Working Paper

Standardization and ethnocracy in Sri Lanka

by Neil DeVotta

Working Paper

Return migration and entrepreneurship in Cameroon

by Sévérin Tamwo, Ghislain Stéphane Gandjon Fankem, and Dieudonné Taka

Working Paper

Reigniting labour productivity growth in developing countries –
do structural reforms matter?

by Kwamivi Gomado

Working Paper

Financial liberalization and its implications for private savings in sub-Saharan Africa

by Elizabeth Asiedu, Fafanyo Asiseh, Theresa Mannah-Blankson, and Jones Arkoh Paintsil

Working Paper

Employment policy in mainland Tanzania: what’s in it for women?

by Roosa Lambin and Milla Nyyssölä

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

OPEN ACCESS | The developer’s dilemma is thus: developing countries seek inclusive economic development — i.e., structural transformation — sufficiently broad-based to raise the income of the poor. Inclusive economic growth requires falling income inequality to maximise income growth at the lower end of the distribution.

Photo by United Nations Development Programme

WIDER Annual Lecture 25 | Women’s struggle for land in South Asia – can legal reforms trump social norms?

by Bina Agarwal

Almost a century has passed since women in South Asia first raised a demand for equal rights in property, especially land, the single most important productive resource in most developing economies. Over time, the struggle broadened and diversified. Despite resistance from conservative lawmakers, this led to notable legal reforms. As a result, the vast majority of Indian women today enjoy legal equality with men in inheritance rights.

Journal Article | Gender and vulnerable employment in the developing world – evidence from global microdata

by Maria C. Lo Bue, Tu Thi Ngoc Le, Manuel Santos Silva, and Kunal Sen

OPEN ACCESS | This study investigates gender inequality in vulnerable employment: forms of employment typically featuring high precariousness, inadequate earnings, and lack of decent working conditions. Using a large collection of harmonized household surveys from developing countries, we measure long-term trends, describe geographical patterns, and estimate correlates of gender inequalities in vulnerable employment

Journal Article | Changing male perceptions of gender equality – evidence from a randomised controlled trial study

by Cuong Viet Nguyen and Finn Tarp

OPEN ACCESS | In this study, we use a randomized control trial to examine whether asking Vietnamese men to reflect on gender equality can reduce their gender bias. We randomly selected two groups of married men in four rural provinces and asked the first group to make comments on gender-related laws and the second group to write stories about gender equality.

Journal Article | Receiving more, expecting less? Social ties, clientelism and the poor’s expectations of future service provision

by Prisca Jöst and Ellen Lust

OPEN ACCESS | Do citizens expect candidates who hand out goods at election time to provide services once they take office? The literature provides competing views of the relationship between electoral handouts and service provision.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Journal Article | Clientelism, corruption and the rule of law

by Staffan I. Lindberg, Maria C. Lo Bue, and Kunal Sen

OPEN ACCESS | It is widely believed that clientelism —the giving of material goods in return for electoral support— is associated with poorer governance outcomes. However, systematic cross-country evidence on the deleterious effects of clientelism on governance outcomes is lacking.

Policy Brief | Inequality is not an inevitable consequence of economic development – overcoming the developer’s dilemma

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

The ‘developer’s dilemma’ is the tension between building a productive economy and the unequal distribution of the benefits of economic development.

Research Brief | Are women’s labour force participation rates improving in sub-Saharan Africa?

Several sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have achieved substantial economic growth in the past 30 years. Likewise, access to education has considerably expanded, as reflected in rising enrolment rates for both men and women. Female labour force participation (FLFP) rates, however, are stagnant in sub-Saharan Africa, giving rise to concerns over whether economic progress has been conducive to women’s empowerment.

Opportunities

Request for research proposals | Macro-fiscal analysis and policy modelling

UNU-WIDER together with the National Treasury of South Africa, is requesting research proposals under the second phase of the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) programme. The papers generated under this Request for Research Proposals will be published as a part of the macro-fiscal analysis and policy modelling workstream of the programme. Submission deadline: 15 September 2022, 23:59 UTC+3.

Request for research proposals | Enterprise development for job creation, Public revenue mobilization, and Structural transformation and inequality

UNU-WIDER together with the National Treasury of South Africa, is requesting research proposals under the second phase of the SA-TIED programme. Papers generated under this Request for Research Proposals will be published as part of the workstreams on enterprise development for job creation, public revenue mobilization, or structural transformation and inequality. Submission deadline: 26 September 2022, 23:59 UTC+3.

Call for papers | IGM Annual Conference 2022

The Inclusive growth in Mozambique (IGM) programme will organize its annual conference 2022 on 8 November in Maputo, Mozambique, on the topic of ‘Private sector dynamics and wellbeing in Mozambique’. Full papers, written in Portuguese or English, are to be submitted by 17 September.

Call for papers | Workshop on Illicit Financial Flows, Copenhagen, 25-26 October 2022

Under its Domestic Revenue Mobilization programme UNU-WIDER together with the Development Economics Research Group at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH-DERG) will organize an in-person workshop on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) at the University of Copenhagen. Submission deadline: 10 September 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. Closing date: 27 September 2022, 23:59 UTC+3

Visiting Scholars

Our Visiting Scholars Programme gives qualified scholars an opportunity to research topics related to development and/or global economic issues, and to participate in UNU-WIDER activities. Deadline for applications is 30 September 2022, 23:59 UTC+3.

Visiting PhD Fellowship

Our Visiting PhD Fellowship Programme gives registered doctoral students an opportunity to utilize the resources and facilities at UNU-WIDER for their PhD dissertation or thesis research on developing economies, and to work with our researchers in areas of mutual interest. Deadline for applications is 30 September 2022, 23:59 UTC+3.

	UNU-WIDER \| Subscribe
	Finland