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September 2023

WIDER Annual Lecture 27
Globalization in crisis – confronting a new economic reality

The 2023 WIDER Annual Lecture by Pinelopi (Penny) Goldberg, the Elihu Professor of Economics and Management in Yale University, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank, occurs on Tuesday, 10 October 2023, at Gamle Festsal at the University of Oslo, in the historic Domus Academica. Register to attend in person or via livestream.

Blogs

The COVID-19 TERS policy saved at least 2 million jobs: But not without some unintended results

by Timothy Köhler, Haroon Bhorat, and Robert Hill

About three years have passed since the South African government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) in response to the pandemic and associated lockdown regulations.

From tax data to inclusive policies – and how collaboration can help

by Anna Toppari

UNU-WIDER has been working for several years in collaboration with sub-Saharan African revenue authorities to facilitate the analysis of digital tax data. During a visit in Kampala, Uganda, this year, we asked our colleagues how this collaboration has been useful to them...

Forging economic progress through a secure data facility lab in South Africa

by Aimable Nsabimana

Data is the key to informed decision-making in today's rapidly changing world. As nations strive to address complex economic challenges, data-driven insights have become indispensable. South Africa is no exception, facing issues like declining GDP per capita, sluggish productivity growth, and rising unemployment.

Breaking barriers, building economies: Women in economic policy

by SA-TIED

To honour South Africa's Women's Day, the month-long 'Breaking barriers, building economies: Women in economic policy' campaign celebrates the accomplishments of several economists critical to the SA-TIED programme. Through several interviews and blogs, they share their stories.

Driving change: Nadine Riedel on economics and gender equality

by Nadine Riedel

Nadine Riedel's academic path led to a PhD in economics at the University of Munich, where she specialized in public economics. Her research delves into the intricate dynamics of global corporate taxation, showcasing her dedication to effective economic solutions. In this interview, she speaks about her own journey, the importance of gender inclusivity in economics, and her involvement with SA-TIED.

Oslo conference turns the spotlight on sustainable development financing

by Denise Wall

Experts met at the recent WIDER Development Conference to discuss solutions during the plenary session on Financing sustainable development. The conference took place online and in Oslo, Norway, from 6–8 September 2023.

NEWS

UNU-WIDER and Norad continue collaboration on domestic revenue mobilization

On Friday 8 September, UNU-WIDER signed a new agreement with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), which confirms continued support to UNU-WIDER’s research and capacity development programme on domestic revenue mobilization (DRM).

Government Revenue Dataset 2023 update is here – Cross-country tax and revenue collection data for almost 200 countries

An updated version of the Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) has been released. The dataset provides a complete picture of government revenue and tax trends across countries and over time, allowing for analysis at the country, regional, or cross-country level. The 2023 version of the GRD includes the most recent indicators of domestic revenue statistics from 197 countries for 1980–2021/22.

EVENTS

Panel Discussion | Accelerating progress towards fairer societies

4 October 2023

On 4 October 2023, on the sidelines of the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly, UNU-WIDER, in collaboration with UN DESA, organizes a debate to answer questions surrounding income inequality, inequality in the labour market, economic opportunity, and social mobility, centered around UNU-WIDER's synthesis report of its 2019–2023 work programme.

Findings from recent research using RWAMOD

18 October 2023

As part of the SOUTHMOD project, the national team at the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), in collaboration with UNU-WIDER and the Southern African Social Policy Research Insights (SASPRI), are organizing a stakeholder meeting on findings from recent research using RWAMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Rwanda.

Second RWAMOD training

18–20 October 2023

In addition to the stakeholder meeting, the national team at the RRA, in collaboration with UNU-WIDER and SASPRI, are organizing the second in-person training workshop on RWAMOD, a tax-benefit microsimulation model for Rwanda.

WIDER Seminar series

WIDER Seminar

Wayne Sandholtz presents Policy information and electoral accountability: Experimental evidence from Liberia

11 October 2023

WIDER Seminar

Iván Torre on Educational mobility in Europe and Central Asia

19 October 2023

WIDER Seminar

Stefan Leeffers on the effect of information on flood preparedness in urban Mozambique

25 October 2023

PUBLICATIONS

Book | Varieties of Structural Transformation: Patterns, Determinants, Consequences

by Kunal Sen

OPEN ACCESS | One of the key features of modern economic growth is the process of structural transformation, which is the movement of workers from agriculture to manufacturing and services. In this study, the author identifies different routes to structural transformation that we see in the developing world.

Book | Mozambique at a Fork in the Road: The Institutional Diagnostic Project

edited by António S. Cruz, Ines A. Ferreira, Johnny Flentø, and Finn Tarp

FORTHCOMING, OPEN ACCESS, PUBLICATION IN OCTOBER 2023 | Few countries have experienced as many political and economic changes as Mozambique. A vast and diverse country, it faced a particularly difficult start after a long period of colonial dominance followed by a deadly war...

Journal Article | Imports, supply chains and firm productivity

by Carol Newman, John Rand, and Finn Tarp

Journal | World Development

OPEN ACCESS | This study explores how competition-induced productivity gains from imports in intermediate producing sectors transmit through the supply chain. Based on firm-level panel data from Vietnam, we show that in addition to the productivity premium associated with importing intermediate inputs, firms that use domestically-produced inputs from more import-intensive sectors also have higher productivity.

Journal Article | Acting like a state: Armed violence in post-war Abkhazia

by Anastasia Shesterinina

Journal | Geoforum

OPEN ACCESS | This article examines the complex local dynamics of armed violence in post-war Abkhazia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the Abkhaz participants and non-participants in this violence and a range of secondary materials, it adapts the conceptual and analytical tools developed in civil war studies to capture the irregular and regular aspects of this violence and its location in the contested areas of Abkhazia after the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992–1993.

Journal Article | The impact of agricultural minimum wages on worker flows in South Africa

by Marlies Piek, Dieter von Fintel, and Johann Kirsten

Journal | South African Journal of Economics

FORTHCOMING, ON OPEN ACCESS | This article is the first to provide estimates of how minimum wages affect worker flows and employment growth rates in an employment scarce developing country context. We investigate the effects of a large, exogenous increase in agricultural minimum wages in South Africa.

Journal Article | Reducing delay in payments in welfare programs: Experimental evidence from an information dissemination intervention

by Upasak Das, Amartya Paul, and Mohit Sharma

Journal | World Bank Economic Review

OPEN ACCESS | This study assesses the impact of an information dissemination intervention on the local-level implementation of the rural public works program in India. One key feature of the intervention is to provide information to workers once their wages get credited into their accounts.

Journal Article | Educational expansion and shifting private returns to education: Evidence from Mozambique

by Sam Jones, Thomas Pave Sohnesen, and Neda Trifković

Journal | Journal of International Development

OPEN ACCESS | We examine how returns to education have evolved in the context of post-conflict reconstruction and economic growth in Mozambique over the period 1996–2015.

Journal Article | Participatory incentives

by Francesco Bripi and Daniela Grieco

Journal | Experimental Economics

FORTHCOMING, ARTICLE ON OPEN ACCESS | We design a lab-in-the-field experiment involving naturally occurring groups operating in three South-African townships. We introduce an incentives-based mechanism named 'participatory incentives' consisting of monetary incentives that are awarded conditional on the group reaching a threshold of minimum level of joint contribution to a common project or good.

Working Papers

Working Paper

Taxation and accountability in sub-Saharan Africa

by Roel Dom, Oliver Morrissey, and Abrams M.E. Tagem

Working Paper

Mobile technologies and firm formalization –
Evidence from Uganda

by Marina Dodlova, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Anna Kochanova, and Olivia Wirth

Working Paper

Taxpayer response to greater progressivity – Evidence from personal income tax reform in Uganda

by Maria Jouste et al.

Working Paper

Aid’s impact on social protection in low- and middle-income countries

by Miguel Niño-Zarazúa and Alma Santillán Hernández

Working Paper

The role of social protection and tax policies in cushioning crisis impacts on income and poverty in low- and middle-income countries:
A rapid scoping review

by Rodrigo Oliveira et al.

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

Working Paper

Empowering youth: the impact of comprehensive sex education on teenage pregnancy in Ecuador

by Kamila Aguirre and Vanessa D. Carrión-Yaguana

Working Paper

Evaluating the impact of the 2023–2024 personal income tax reform in Rwanda: An analysis using tax-benefit microsimulation modelling

by Antoine de Mahieu, Jesse Lastunen, Jeannette Mukangango, and Theogene Harerimana

Photo by Sam Moghadam Khamseh on Unsplash

Working Paper

A fiscal approach to the social contract in sub-Saharan African countries: Looking for opportunities to strengthen trust in government and tax compliance by analysing citizens' perception of governance

by Enrico Nichelatti and Heikki Hiilamo

Working Paper

‘Ask not what your country can do for you’:
Legacies of the Great Recession and the consequences of the ‘trust crisis’

by Alia Aghajanian et al.

OPPORTUNITIES

Request for research proposals | Enterprise development for job creation, public revenue mobilization, structural transformation, and inequality

UNU-WIDER, together with the National Treasury of South Africa (NT), is requesting research proposals under the second phase of the SA-TIED programme. This call invites South Africa-based and international researchers to submit proposals to conduct research primarily, but not exclusively, using the South African tax administrative data. Submission deadline: 10 October 2023.

Vacancy | Researchers

UNU-WIDER, together with the National Treasury of South Africa (NT) is seeking collaborators for ongoing research projects under the second phase of the SA-TIED programme. Submission deadline: 13 October 2023.

FROM THE NETWORK

Seminar Series | Research Network on Intergenerational Mobility virtual seminar series

The Research Network on Intergenerational Mobility (RNIM) is an initiative by scholars working on intergenerational mobility. The aim of the network is to provide a platform for both senior and junior researchers to discuss and disseminate the findings from their ongoing research projects on intergenerational mobility. The network will organize a virtual seminar every month.

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