UNU-WIDER : UNU-WIDER

Second Preparatory Committee Session for FfD4

UNU-WIDER at the Second Preparatory Committee Session for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development

UNU-WIDER contributes to policy recommendations for the G20

Sub-Saharan Africa faces an alarming debt burden that could hinder progress on sustainable development goals

COVID-19 pandemic, household welfare and diversification strategies of smallholder farmers in Uganda

The billionaire tax – a (modest) proposal for the 21st century by Gabriel Zucman

WIDER Annual Lecture 28 Brief

UNU-WIDER launches a free online training course in tax-benefit microsimulation for Global South countries

30 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...

Blog

Research Entering the Policy Domain

by Carl-Gustav Lindén September 2012

Carl-Gustav Lindén The research project ReCom-Research and Communication on foreign aid, which is co-ordinated by UNU-WIDER with funding from the...

Working Paper

Public-Private Co-operation for Gas Provision in Poor Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires

This study examines the programme Redes Solidarias, a public-private initiative that connected to natural pipelined gas 4,000 households in the Great Buenos Aires Area during 2005. The main features of the institutional framework are described and...

Working Paper

A New Fiscal Pact, Tax Policy Changes and Income Inequality

The paper analyses the changes in tax policy, tax/GDP ratios, tax incidence and income inequality which have taken place in Latin America during the last decade against the background of the changes observed in these variables during the liberal...

Working Paper

Subjective Measures of Well-being

This paper deals with three questions: (1) What are ‘subjective’ measures? (2) What is ‘well-being’? and (3) Are subjective measures of well-being of use for policymaking, in particular in developing nations? The first question is answered by making...

Working Paper

Does the African Middle Class Defend Democracy?

Barrington Moore’s famous line ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy’ is one of the most quoted claims in political science. But has the rise of the African middle class promoted democratic consolidation? This paper uses the case of Kenya to investigate the...

Policy sciences

Blog

From the Editor's desk (November 2011)

by Tony Addison November 2011

Tony Addison As we come to the end of November, the snow has yet to arrive in Helsinki. We continue to enjoy clear skies and spectacular sunsets...

Working Paper

Gender Aspects of Urban Economic Growth and Development

The urbanization process is frequently shaped by prevailing constructions of gender. The recognition of this phenomenon is vital both in diagnosis and policy terms. This paper aims at illustrating the importance of gender in three major related...

Working Paper

Industrial Policies in Latin America

This chapter analyses the main features of industrial policies carried out in Latin America since 1990. It studies these policies during import substitution industrialization and how they changed after the market-oriented economic reforms. It...

Working Paper

Can Industrial Policy Work under Neopatrimonial Rule?

Technological latecomer countries face a dilemma, they need to pursue pro-active industrial policies to compensate for manifold disadvantages vis-à-vis established competitors, but at the same time, due to neopatrimonial politics and capacity...

Working Paper

How Do Governments Become Great?

Governments can play great roles in their countries, regions, and cities; facilitating or leading the resolution of festering problems and opening new pathways for progress. Examples are more numerous than one might imagine and raise an important...

Working Paper

Who Really Leads Development?

‘Leadership’ is not a common topic for research in international development. In recent years, however, prominent studies like the 2008 Growth Commission Report noted the importance of leadership in development. This and other studies focused on...

Research Brief

The Effect of Tax on Income Inequality and Growth in Latin America

After tax reforms in the 1980s and 1990s, income inequality increased in many Latin American countries The tax reforms of the 2000s have been more equalizing in terms of income inequality: Argentina, Honduras and Nicaragua have seen the most...

Journal Article

Urban Governance and Service Delivery in African Cities

Part of Journal Special Issue Urban Governance and Service Delivery in sub-Saharan Africa

Book Chapter

Can Industrial Policy Work under Neopatrimonial Rule?

Part of Book Pathways to Industrialization in the Twenty-First Century

Working Paper

Misuse of Institutions

The paper explores a phenomenon often observed in transition economies, when newly established institutions are misused, i.e., applied or resorted to for reasons which have little in common with their intended or anticipated purpose. In such...

Working Paper

Do Public Transfers Crowd Out Private Transfers?

The paper will use the data from the PROGRESA evaluation to show the extent to which such a programme crowds out private transfers. An interesting aspect of the paper is the fact that it can use the randomization (one-third of the villages in the...

This paper combines a theoretical perspective on globalization and the information society with a critical usage of international regime theory in order to contribute to a better understanding of the current historical period of transition from an...

Working Paper

Growth Oriented Macroeconomic Policies for Small Islands Economies

Most small island economies or ‘microstates’ have distinctly different characteristics from larger developing economies. They are more open and vulnerable to external and environmental shocks, resulting in high output volatility. Most of them also...

Working Paper

Discriminatory attitudes and indigenous language promotion

In this paper, we analyse which channels influence individual preferences concerning the choice of the official language in Zambia. We develop a theoretical framework, which is tested using data on elicited beliefs about the effects of changes in...