WIDERAngle

Expert commentary from our network

About

The WIDERAngle publishes expert commentary and analysis of the latest research in global development. The WIDERAngle supports UNU-WIDER’s missions to undertake research and policy analysis on the most pressing concerns affecting humanity and provides a forum for knowledge sharing, discussion, and debate.

 

To see past newsletters, visit our WIDERAngle archive.

 

Write for the WIDERAngle

We accept submissions that represent sincere efforts to advance knowledge on topics related to the promotion of sustainable and equitable development for all. Although many of our writers are established in their fields, we particularly encourage submissions from early-career researchers, policy professionals, and writers who represent Global South countries and perspectives.

 

For guidelines on WIDERAngle submissions, please refer to our Guidelines for submissions.

 

Send submission queries to editorialteam@wider.unu.edu.

 

EDITORIAL TEAM

Executive Editor: Annett Victorero

Managing Editor: Timothy Shipp

Assistant Editor: Tristan Reid

 

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Celebrating 40 Years of UNU-WIDER

by Kunal Sen
In 2025, UNU-WIDER completes four decades of work. Starting as a small think-tank in relatively remote Helsinki, it has grown into a global institute, with a network of scholars and practitioners that spans the globe. The original vision behind UNU-WIDER was to develop an institute with ‘a research capability that was sensitive to the needs of the Third World.’ Over the past forty years, UNU-WIDER’s work has proven to open new arenas of inquiry, meet the demands for evidence coming from Global...

2025 – No time to waste on debt and development

by Kevin P. Gallagher
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@krisetya?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Markus Krisetya</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-black-coat-standing-near-round-white-red-and-blue-wall-k0Jo8m6DO6k?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>
An increasing number of Global South countries are now diverting growth and development spending to pay off insurmountable levels of external debts that ballooned as a result of a ‘polycrisis’ of external shocks from COVID-19, climate change, wars, and interest rate hikes. Upwards of USD 3 trillion annually is needed (USD 1 trillion in external financing) to put Global South countries on a sustainable growth path, yet the United Nations estimates that 3.3 billion people now live in countries...

Is poverty really declining again? What falling poverty doesn’t tell us

by Göran Holmqvist
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@salahdarwish?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">‪Salah Darwish</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/an-aerial-view-of-a-lot-of-parked-cars-7ME_6VGFND8?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>
After a temporary increase in 2020 due to COVID-19, global extreme income poverty is reportedly falling again, according to World Bank estimates. However, undernourishment is rising, and the number of people in need of humanitarian aid has nearly quadrupled since 2015. How is this seemingly contradictory picture to be understood? And what does it mean for donor policies?Figure 1: Global extreme income poverty, undernourishment, and humanitarian needs Figure 1 illustrates trends for three...

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    Blog
    Do minimum wages reduce inequality in India?

    Wage inequality in India has declined over the past two decades. This article examines the role of rising minimum wages in driving this trend...

    Research Brief
    Mobilidade intergeracional em Moçambique
    Research Brief
    Intergenerational mobility in Mozambique
    Blog
    Agricultural development in Mozambique – seizing opportunities using a novel dataset

    Agriculture has long been the backbone of Mozambique’s economy. Over 70% of the population relies on this sector for their livelihoods, contributing...

    Blog
    In their own words: A personnel exchange between African tax data labs is a small but important example of the value of cooperation

    In recent years, UNU-WIDER has partnered with sub-Saharan African governments to establish secure data labs that provide researchers with access to...

    Blog
    Walking the road to the Fourth Financing for Development Conference and beyond

    Last week, we attended the 2025 UNDP Dialogue on Public Finance and SDGs, where we explored the most pressing topics regarding public financing for...

    Blog
    Celebrating 40 Years of UNU-WIDER
    Placeholder

    In 2025, UNU-WIDER completes four decades of work. Starting as a small think-tank in relatively remote Helsinki, it has grown into a global institute...

    Blog
    Is poverty really declining again? What falling poverty doesn’t tell us
    Placeholder

    After a temporary increase in 2020 due to COVID-19, global extreme income poverty is reportedly falling again, according to World Bank estimates...

    Blog
    Opinion: It’s time to prioritize ethical practices in global development research

    As the development community rethinks how to improve the lives of people in low- and middle-income countries, so too must researchers and research...

    Blog
    Magicians, powerbrokers, and workhorses: The keys to structural transformation in African cities
    Placeholder

    Structural transformation involves the movement of workers from low-productivity to high-productivity sectors—often from agriculture to manufacturing...

    Research Brief
    Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@farahnabil1995?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Farah Nabil</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-white-shirt-and-orange-skirt-walking-on-gray-concrete-pathway-during-daytime-aodAT7yySVE?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>
    A decade of growing inequality in Mozambique
    Blog
    2025 – No time to waste on debt and development
    Placeholder

    An increasing number of Global South countries are now diverting growth and development spending to pay off insurmountable levels of external debts...

    Blog
    Improving tax administration and data access – contributions to the Financing for Development Elements paper

    The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, will convene in 2025, providing a global stage for countries...

    Blog
    CoP on Gender & Tax Explores Gendered fiscal incidence analysis and tax-benefit microsimulation models

    At the last meeting of the Community of Practice on Gender and Tax (CoPGT), held on 10th September 2024, the conversation focused on microsimulation...

    Blog
    The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development: What is on the agenda in 2025?
    Placeholder

    The forthcoming UN Conference on Financing for Development, set for mid-2025, continues a great sequence started in Monterrey in 2002, followed up in...

    Blog
    Is the Paris Agreement dead? Report back from COP29 in Baku
    Placeholder

    COP29, which just concluded, gathered country delegations, observers, businesses, and NGOs for several rounds of heated negotiations and discussions...

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