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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Watts happening to work? The labour market effects of South Africa’s electricity crisis

by Haroon Bhorat, Tim Köhler
two miners with shovels
In South Africa, the power grid undergoes rotational, scheduled outages—or rolling blackouts—most commonly referred to as load shedding. Load shedding is primarily a consequence of frequent breakdowns at the national utility. These are due to a combination of poor long-term planning, a lack of financial resources, rampant state capture and corruption, and aging coal-fired power stations. Four of every five (80%) of South Africa’s coal-fired plants are past their mid-life cycle. Power outages...

How to get back on track to ending poverty – the imperative for a livable planet

by Luis Felipe López-Calva
We are off track to end poverty. Despite remarkable progress over the past few decades, the goal of eradicating poverty remains elusive, and SDG1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere is out of reach. While more than a billion people have been lifted out of poverty, the pace has significantly slowed. If we persist with business-as-usual, by 2030 around 7% of the world’s population will still live in extreme poverty—more than double our target of 3%.Unsurprisingly, this challenge is...

Just transitions and the importance of social protection reforms for ambitious climate action

by Christina Dankmeyer, Katrin Gasior, Gemma Wright
As greenhouse gases once again climb to record levels, countries are under pressure to make the move to a low-carbon economy. Policies that move in this direction are needed to mitigate against the worst impacts of climate change, but policy choices will have winners and losers. As it is crucial to consider the effects of climate change mitigation policies on various population groups, we explore two policy options —carbon pricing and removal of fossil fuel subsidies. In our latest...

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    Blog
    Mapping economic stability for countries in the Global South
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    In 2024, central banks worldwide are confronted with the challenges of juggling inflation control, economic growth, and the preservation of financial...

    Blog
    Uganda’s tax system isn’t bringing in enough revenue, but is targeting small business the answer?
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    Uganda, with a fiscal deficit of 5.6% in 2023, has increasingly turned to local resources to make up for its revenue shortfall since the World Bank...

    Blog
    Are Sovereign Wealth Funds fit for purpose in Africa?

    Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a symbol of national success and a means for global, commercial and geopolitical influence. But how well do...

    Blog
    Cash Plus: Towards poverty reduction in Zambia
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    The Zambian government wants to reduce poverty by 20% by 2030. To make this happen, the government reformed their national cash transfer programmes...

    Research Brief
    Search image, calculator, pen, Ugandan currency, URA form. Image: Kalungi Kabuye / UNU-WIDER
    What is the impact of corporate tax incentives in Uganda?
    Blog
    Reforming taxation in Kenya to reduce debt distress
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    Improving tax systems is important for multiple reasons. For Kenya, finding ways to mobilize domestic revenue streams is critical to cutting the...

    Blog
    Financing development goals in times of crisis

    Pursuing the global development agenda will require genuine commitment from political leaders and significant stepping-up of government efforts. But...

    Blog
    Modelling to influence poverty and inequality in Zanzibar: Latest addition to the SOUTHMOD programme
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    ZANMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Zanzibar, was launched in November 2023. The model will aid local authorities and researchers in...

    Blog
    Realizing socioeconomic rights with a limited budget
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    The South African constitution is considered progressive and transformative in intention due to its inclusion of socioeconomic rights, such as the...

    Research Brief
    Kampala, Uganda, search image. Image: Anna Toppari / UNU-WIDER
    Why are businesses in the capital area of Uganda not paying their taxes?
    Blog
    Pre-colonial politics affects tax compliance in modern day Uganda

    Parts of Uganda that had centralised political systems before colonial rule are more likely to have higher rates of voluntary tax compliance. Merima...

    Blog
    Overcoming the challenge of illicit financial flows: Four pieces of advice for policymakers
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    From profit shifting to sanction evasion, illicit financial flows divert funds away from essential poverty-fighting and infrastructure programs. A...

    Blog
    On the road to fairer societies in Asia and the Pacific region: Four focus areas on center stage

    A recent panel discussion at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok set out to identify policy...

    Blog
    Four things to consider to improve public revenues in the Global South: New findings from the Government Revenue Dataset

    Across the Global South, governments continue efforts to increase domestic revenues and capacity for public spending. As concerns over debt distress...

    Blog
    Lessons for tax policy from the WIDER Development Conference in Oslo
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    The annual WIDER Development Conference held this year in Oslo concentrated on domestic revenue mobilization (DRM). The 2.5-day hybrid event...

    Policy Brief
    WIDER Annual Lecture Brief | Globalization in crisis – confronting a new economic reality
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    From tax data to inclusive policies: How collaboration can help
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    UNU-WIDER has worked for several years in collaboration with sub-Saharan African revenue authorities to facilitate the analysis of digital tax data...

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

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

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    Oslo conference turns the spotlight on sustainable development financing
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    With the deadline for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals just seven years away, there is an increasing sense of urgency over the...

    Policy Brief
    How to support the emergence of effective tax systems

    There has been a revival of interest in the state’s role in economic development. Recent research argues that the most successful economies are those where effective states provide crucial public goods and services. The historical emergence of...

    Blog
    Will a revenue boom support development in resource-rich economies?

    The post-COVID-19 economic recovery and Russia’s war with Ukraine have caused some natural resource prices to reach new highs. Although forecasting...

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    Unlocking efficiency – overcoming challenges in South Africa's rail freight sector
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    The South African rail freight sector is currently facing a crisis of operational efficiency, which is having a significant economic impact. In the...

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    Paralyzing debt burden threatens Africa’s largest economy
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    Apart from a ‘badly flawed’ national election, insecurity, and mass exodus of its young talents to the Global North (locally known as Japa), a...

    Blog
    What determines tax revenues mobilization?
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    Tax revenues and political institutions placing constraints on the executive power may reinforce each other over time and this may also bring a shift...

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    SOUTHMOD family extended: Welcome to the three new Latin American teams

    How would progressive income taxation affect income inequality in Bolivia? What are the costs and benefits of implementing a state pension in Colombia...

    Blog
    $1 trillion in the shade: The annual profits multinational corporations shift to tax havens continues to climb and climb

    About a decade ago, the world’s biggest economies agreed to crack down on multinational corporations’ abusive use of tax havens. This resulted in a 15...

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    From Monterrey to Addis Ababa, and what has happened since?
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    The importance of domestic revenue mobilization and taxation for sustainable development is widely acknowledged in global development discussions, but...

    Research Brief
    New estimates on the share of tax evasion in Zambia
    Research Brief
    Did withholding value-added tax improve revenue collection in Zambia?
    Blog
    Direct support to small scale farmers reduces poverty: What Zambia is doing right

    Over half of Zambia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture...

    Blog
    Secure research data lab in Uganda: A game changer for efficient and fair taxation

    In May 2022, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and UNU-WIDER collaboratively launched a secure research data laboratory facility in Kampala, Uganda...

    Blog
    New global estimates on profits in tax havens suggest the tax loss continues to rise

    The world has been trying to curb profit shifting to tax havens for a decade, but consistent time series evaluating the impact of these reforms have...

    Blog
    Climate resilience and sustainable sovereign debt
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    2022 is already a record-breaker in the number of climate change-related events, and developing countries must now pay for the repairs and remediation...

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    New country on the SOUTHMOD map: Meet our tax-benefit microsimulation team in Rwanda!
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    How can Global South countries improve their tax and social protection systems? One way is to take advantage of tools that help assess the impact of...

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    Teamwork and capacity strengthening to promote development: The case of Mozambique

    Designing and implementing public policies requires caution to guarantee the best use of scarce resources, especially in middle- and lower-income...

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    Global tax reforms, net-zero, and domestic revenue: Food for thought from the DRM programme
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    Domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) and taxation have gained prominence lately on the global agenda, most recently with the resolution for the United...

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    Empirical research is crucial for better tax enforcement in the developing world
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    I had the privilege to participate in the UNU-WIDER Winter School as one of the lecturers. In this blog, I explain my main takeaways for students and...

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    Fintech and domestic savings: A perfect match coming true in sub-Saharan Africa
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    Financial technology (FinTech) is a major force disrupting the structure of financial services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and enabling access of...

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    Inequality, fiscal space, and crisis response — A matter of priority, affordability, or both?
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    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments financed more than 5000 fiscal support policies worldwide in 2020–21. The pandemic response is an...

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    Tools for effective tax administration
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    The importance of conducting high-quality analysis for policy advice cannot be understated. The UNU-WIDER Winter School for tax policy research...

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    Lives can be improved when policymakers and researchers collaborate
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    My motivation for doing economics research comes from the wish to see every human being have their basic needs met and enjoy their life. My interest...

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    Experiences from UNU-WIDER Winter School 2022: One of the best global training programmes in tax research
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    Across Africa, governments are now waking up to the fact that taxation targets or economic development goals will not be met without policies that are...

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    Sales recovered faster from the pandemic than employment: Evidence from tax administrative and survey data in Zambia

    Like most other countries, the government of Zambia introduced restrictions to control COVID-19, which considerably curtailed normal economic activity...

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

    Across sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries there are striking differences in citizen willingness to pay taxes. For example, in Mali, Senegal, and...

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    Tax revenues and tax capacity in sub-Saharan Africa

    African countries raise lower amounts of tax as a share of national income (GDP) than other countries. Researchers are interested in understanding why...

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    What can the GRD do for policymakers?
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    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...

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    Indonesia, the developer’s dilemma, and Vision 2045

    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...

    Policy Brief
    Inequality is not an inevitable consequence of economic development
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    Confronting low domestic savings in Africa

    What are the linkages between national savings and sustainable economic growth? Why are there differences in the amounts of savings between different...

    Research Brief
    Dynamics of domestic revenue mobilization
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    The tortoise defeats the hare: Does moderate outlast rapid growth in domestic revenue?

    The past four decades have seen marked improvements in the collection of domestic revenue (tax and non-tax revenues) in many countries of the Global...

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    Corona pandemic revealed gaps in African social security systems
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    Millions of Africans lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but state social security systems were of little help to people who lost...

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    Ending aid dependency: Taxation in developing countries can be improved through collaboration

    Finland aims to raise the amount of its development assistance to 0.7% of GDP, and this goal has good grounds. But how can we make sure that the...

    Policy Brief
    O papel das políticas de impostos e benefícios durante a pandemia da COVID-19 em 2020 em Moçambique
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    The pandemic and Africa's social safety net

    The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that African tax and social-benefit systems are currently ill-equipped to protect households from sudden income losses...

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    An African in Africa: New perspectives on travelling for research
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    Working for an international organisation presents a host of challenges, given the vast nature of tasks that one must surmount in a fast paced and...

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    Efforts to protect the poor during COVID: How five African countries fared

    The number of people living in poverty around the world is estimated to have increased by half a billion people due to the COVID-19 crisis. The...

    Blog
    From sub-Saharan Africa to Viet Nam and Ecuador, how one model is used to improve social protection

    Are there enough tax payers to generate the revenue needed by governments to reduce poverty? How adequate are the social security arrangements that...

    Policy Brief
    New directions for presumptive tax in Uganda
    Research Brief
    Improving the efficiency of tax collection in Tanzania
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    Dr Pia Rattenhuber on inequality in crises — an interview

    How do crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic influence inequality and the other way around? This year’s UN Day Dresden put a spotlight on “Inequalities...

    Policy Brief
    Limited impact of the tax-benefit system in Tanzania during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
    Policy Brief
    Distributional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda
    Policy Brief
    Distributional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
    Policy Brief
    The role of tax-benefit policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Mozambique
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    Working together to better understand how COVID-19 affects poverty and inequality

    In summer 2020 the SOUTHMOD team set out, with partners, to analyse the impact of government policies on protecting households from getting poorer and...

    Policy Brief
    Distributional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia
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    Unlocking the mystery of domestic savings: What difference do they make?

    The socioeconomic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore discussions on domestic resource mobilization (hereafter DRM)...

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    Co-creation for fair and efficient taxation: Research recommendations to improve policies

    How can we determine the taxation of wage earners or multinational corporations in a fair manner? Will simplifying tax administration help increase...

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    Social protection at a crossroad
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    How can we ensure a resilient and inclusive recovery from COVID-19? How can we hold on to the target of eradicating poverty and hunger by 2030, with...

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    Mozambique's difficult decade: Three lessons to inform next steps

    At the start of the last decade, Mozambique’s prospects looked stellar. Following from the early 1990s, when peace finally arrived after a devastating...

    Blog
    How global tax dodging costs lives: New research shows a direct link to increased death rates

    Tax abuse is an expensive business. According to a recent report by the Tax Justice Network, avoiding or evading tax deprives governments across the...

    Blog
    Ecuador’s social protection system failed during the pandemic: It needs a rethink

    Household incomes in Ecuador were badly hit by the pandemic, despite the government’s emergency grant to families. H Xavier Jara Tamayo (University of...

    Research Brief
    Simplifying the tax filing of small businesses in Uganda
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    Data for better tax policy analysis: Introducing the latest version of the Government Revenue Dataset
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    Thanks to the updated version of the Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) we are now able to gain a clear picture of tax and other revenue trends in over...

    Research Brief
    The role of tax and benefit policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador
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    The Nordic Model — lessons for Sri Lanka
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    Sri Lanka, like the Nordic countries, is a social democratic nation with a strong welfare state. It is classified as a ‘high human development’...

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    Why should I care about economic growth?
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    Director of UNU-WIDER, Professor Kunal Sen is a world leading expert in development economics and led on ESID’s research into economic growth. In this...

    Research Brief
    Does exchange rate volatility amplify existing inequalities in South Africa?

    Even though poverty and inequality have been of overriding concern in South Africa’s development policies and programmes since its democratization in 1994, measures of poverty, inequality, and related phenomena in the country do not show a clear...

    Research Brief
    Unlocking a regional plastics value chain between Mozambique and South Africa

    Plastics are universal and integrated into different sectors of the economy. Industrial policy requires countries to look at moving up the value chain and producing progressively more sophisticated products to contribute to improved economic...

    Research Brief
    Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa

    East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa. In southern Africa, Zambia and South Africa instituted SEZs in legal and institutional...

    Research Brief
    Extreme inequalities

    South Africa is, by most contemporary measures, the most unequal country in the world. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to country’s wealth inequality. It is crucial to accurately measure the concentration of wealth inequality over...

    Blog
    Studying COVID-19 through the lens of microsimulation: The role of tax and benefit policies in alleviating poverty and inequality

    As the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, developing nations are struggling to deliver economic assistance and public services to their...

    Research Brief
    Monetary policy and firm size in South Africa

    Monetary policy affects the real economy through various channels, including the interest rate, exchange rate, credit, and asset price channels. The credit channel has recently received considerable attention. Small firms are more sensitive to...

    Research Brief
    Wage inequality in post-apartheid South Africa

    Much work has been done on inequality in South Africa, but to date the literature that assesses the dynamic response of income or wealth distribution to economic policy actions is almost non-existent. This information gap is caused by data...

    Research Brief
    Are credits or deductions better in public health spending?

    The impact of medical deductions and medical credits on income inequality is a subject of discussion in South Africa, as well as in many other countries, raising critical questions about the fairness of the medical tax system and the impact on...

    Blog
    International tax research: Why does more than numbers matter

    Can tax research be inspiring? Looking back at the three years of collaboration between UNU-WIDER and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the answer...

    Research Brief
    Solutions for designing better special economic zones programmes in Africa

    Special economic zones (SEZ) in Africa are generally regarded as underperforming relative to their peers in the rest of the world. To explain this underperformance and to support success in the future it is important to analyse the key features and...

    Research Brief
    Turnin’ it up a notch

    Since the end of apartheid, South Africa’s economic challenges have disrupted efforts to establish a society of inclusive growth and prosperity. Understanding how South Africa can break the pattern of sluggish growth, high unemployment, inequality...

    Research Brief
    Estimating tax gaps in the non-financial sector

    Many governments, particularly those in developing countries, have set an objective to improve tax revenue mobilization to offer more and better public services to their citizens. To develop effective revenue-raising strategies it is necessary to...

    Policy Brief
    Fiscal multipliers and debt dynamics using a DSGE approach

    Much of the research on the impact of fiscal policy shocks on macroeconomic outcomes (e.g., fiscal multipliers) uses reduced-form modelling approaches such as vector auto-regressions to obtain empirical results. In a recent study1, we used this...

    Policy Brief
    Policy implications of empirically estimated fiscal multipliers for South Africa

    Despite the frequent use of fiscal policy for stabilization purposes, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the impact of fiscal policy decisions on macroeconomic outcomes. This impact is quantified by calculating fiscal multipliers. A...

    Policy Brief
    Designing inclusive public finance policies in developing countries
    Research Brief
    Social protection as a political brand
    Blog
    In Conversation with Deepak Nayyar on ‘Resurgent Asia’: FP2P Podcast and transcript
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    Duncan Green: I recently skyped Deepak Nayyar, Professor of Economics at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to discuss his new book, Resurgent...

    Research Brief
    Understanding elite commitment to social protection in Rwanda
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    Solving the PhD puzzle: My experience as a visiting PhD Fellow
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    I am now in my fourth year as a PhD student in development studies at SOAS, University of London, working on my thesis, ‘The Dynamics of Chinese...

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    Book review of Resurgent Asia: Diversity in Development: Completing a trilogy on Asia’s transformation
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    Deepak Nayyar — economist, thinker, leading scholar — has written yet another splendid book. Resurgent Asia: Diversity in Development, together with...

    Research Brief
    Can trade in services bolster regional development in Southern Africa?

    Service exports are the fastest growing portion of world trade and now account for nearly a quarter of global exports. Tradable services contribute to economic growth and development by bolstering industrial capabilities, facilitating productivity...

    Blog
    The case for universal social insurance in Latin America
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    Access to effective social insurance in Latin America is typically determined by workers’ status in the labor market – whether they have formal or...

    Research Brief
    Revenue losses from tax-motivated mispricing in South Africa

    New research provides the first direct evidence of tax-motivated transfer mispricing in a developing country. Using highly detailed firm-level customs data from the tax authority, the analysis calculates the difference between legitimate estimates of...

    Blog
    How multinationals continue to avoid paying hundreds of billions of dollars in tax: New research
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    Tax havens have become a defining feature of the global financial system. Multinational companies can use various schemes to avoid paying taxes in...

    Research Brief
    The impact of tax havens on South African revenue

    The study uses a comparative analysis of foreign-owned firms operating in South Africa to show that firms with a parent registered in a tax haven tend to report 80% less in profits than similar firms without a parent in a tax haven. This is highly...

    Policy Brief
    Social protection, government revenue and microsimulation in developing countries

    Social protection has attracted increasing interest in developing countries in recent decades and policies have been initiated in all developing regions. When countries build up their social protection systems, they need reliable information and...

    Research Brief
    Firms with high-growth episodes in South Africa

    The analysis of firm growth has been a topic of consistent economic interest as a growing body of literature has lent support to the possibility that the majority of growth and new employment creation is the result of a small sub-sector of high...

    Research Brief
    Dancing with dragons

    China’s growing edge in export manufacturing has caused concern for low-income and middle-income countries seeking to develop robust manufacturing sectors. China’s recent transition from an exporter of lower-tech goods, such as garments, to more...

    Blog
    Industrial policy in the 21st century: The challenge for Africa
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    Why is there so little industry in Africa? Does it matter? What can be done about it? These were questions I put to Finn Tarp and Louis Kasekende...

    Research Brief
    Balancing tax collection and equality

    In a democratic system, taxation is a critical part of the social contract between the state and its citizens. The tax system can be used to help address the unacceptably high levels of poverty, inequality, and unemployment in South Africa. An...

    Blog
    How can developing countries pay for the SDGs?

    With official development assistance under strain, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require developing countries to rely increasingly...

    Research Brief
    Deepening regional integration in Southern Africa

    Regional integration is making steady progress in Southern Africa, leading to the development of regional value chains (RVCs) that could strengthen the competitiveness of the region. Importantly, the development of RVCs also creates pressure for...

    Blog
    Data for development: Building an economy of inclusion in South Africa
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    As the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa’s successes and failures spill over into the broader region. Today, as South Africans face...

    Research Brief
    A pre-prototype Social Accounting Matrix for Myanmar
    Research Brief
    The impact of tax-benefit systems in Africa
    Research Brief
    Inequality in rural India
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    Narendra Modi’s performance on the Indian economy: Five key policies assessed
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    When Narendra Modi became India’s prime minister in spring 2014 the Indian economy was in the doldrums. There was a clear policy paralysis in India’s...

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    India’s General Elections 2019: The potential electoral consequences of demonetisation
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    In the campaign leading up to the Lok Sabha elections in spring 2014, one of the more important promises that Narendra Modi made was to ‘clean up’ the...

    Blog
    How can developing countries deliver effective public financial planning?

    In many less developed countries, there is little problem identifying the need for public investment in programmes aimed at improving things such as...

    Research Brief
    Financing the social cash transfer scale-up in Zambia
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    From Africa rising to rising debt in Africa: The looming debt crisis
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    Africa’s rising public debt continues to attract increased attention regionally and internationally. The narrative about Africa seems to have...

    Blog
    Developing countries would benefit from improved tax collection: What can help?

    The ability to raise revenues from taxes – called “fiscal capacity” – is a crucial aspect for the functioning of any state. Being able to tax citizens...

    Blog
    Revenue data like you’ve never seen it before: Introducing the GRD Explorer
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    Let’s face it, data is important. It sits at the core of almost everything that we in the development economics research community do. However, the...

    Policy Brief
    Inequality in Mexico

    Since 1989, inequality in Mexico has risen, declined, and risen again. The evolution of labour income inequality is at the core of this pattern. To reverse the current trend of rising inequality, access to secondary and tertiary education should...

    Policy Brief
    Inequality dynamics in China

    In the late 1970s, China embarked on a major programme of economic transition and reform. Since then, China’s economy has been transformed from a socialist planned economy to a predominately market economy characterized by a combination of state...

    Blog
    Research that matters: A report from the stakeholder workshop - 15 November 2018, Pretoria, South Africa
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    I found myself in the third-floor conference rooms of a Pretoria hotel for a meeting with economists, researchers, and policymakers involved in the SA...

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    The ins and outs of African industrialization: UNU-WIDER provides open access to a wealth of information
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    The question ‘why is there so little industrialization in Africa?’ has been a key focus of UNU-WIDER researchers and research partners for the last...

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    Rethinking African industrialization on another Africa Industrialization Day
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    This week I attended the 28th Africa Industrialization Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Even sympathetic readers may reasonably ask...

    Blog
    Developing a microsimulation model for Mozambique – from inception to impact

    The tax-benefit microsimulation model developed for Mozambique, MOZMOD, has proved to be valuable in analysing the impacts and budget implications of...

    Research Brief
    Extractives and economic diversification in Mozambique
    Blog
    ‘Industrial’ policy in the 21st century
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    During the past week, I participated in two international conferences. The first was the WIDER Development Conference in Helsinki: Think development -...

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    Reflections on thinking development, thinking WIDER
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    What do we talk about at a conference on development economics? Well, robots, rockets, and space, of course. 13 September through 15 September 2018...

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    What is the future of industrial policy in Africa: Views from Experts
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    13 September through 15 September 2018, UNU-WIDER hosted the Think development - Think WIDER conference in Helsinki, Finland. Over three days...

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    Development policy in an era of robots: Views from the experts
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    Labour-saving technology in the form of robotic systems, artificial intelligence, and advanced computer networks may cause a rapid decline in global...

    Research Brief
    The decline of the labour share in Mexico, 1990–2015
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    Information asymmetries in extractive industries: What can be done?
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    In the second part of this blog, Alan R. Roe discusses what is known about the informational failures that pose challenges for governments in...

    Blog
    Forecasting revenues from extractive industries: Information asymmetries and other disadvantages of host governments
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    In the first part of this blog, Alan R. Roe writes about the difficulties governments face in predicting revenues from extractive industries. Read...

    Policy Brief
    Aid is not dead
    Policy Brief
    The practice of industrial policy
    Blog
    What role for East African hydrocarbons in the global economy post-Paris COP21?
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    Over the past decade significant hydrocarbon discoveries have been made across East Africa. Unsurprisingly, the respective governments countries have...

    Blog
    Domestic revenue mobilization and the role of data
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    Government revenues are central to funding public expenditures in all countries. Increasingly, developing countries must look to raise domestic...

    Blog
    Updated Government Revenue Dataset provides new insights into developing country tax collection trends
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    The increasing focus on domestic resource mobilization in developing countries means that, for researchers and policy makers, access to accurate and...

    Blog
    Too late, too little? The IMF and international tax flight
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    When key decision makers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gather in Washington DC for the IMF’s annual meeting in October, one thing that...

    Blog
    Tax, development and the SDGs: How we are supporting the data revolution
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    At the core of efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals lies a commitment to enhance domestic revenue mobilization. Strengthening capacity to...

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    Tax, spending, and poverty: An interview with Michael Keen
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    Michael Keen, Deputy Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s WIDER Development Conference on...

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    Microsimulation models for developing countries: An interview with Jukka Pirttilä
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    The University of Tampere is participating in an international project in which a microsimulation model is being drafted for the evaluation of the...

    Blog
    Estimating tax avoidance: New findings, new questions
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    There are now a range of estimates of the global scale of tax avoidance. These include: the $600 billion annual tax loss estimated by IMF researchers...

    Research Brief
    Community development planning
    Blog
    A two-way street: Regional integration in southern Africa through supermarkets
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    Walk into any supermarket and you will find a mix of products to stock the kitchen. It’s easy to assume that many of the goods on offer are sourced...

    Blog
    A brief history of the role of energy in the global economy: The last 25 years
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    Ever since the British Industrial Revolution, energy has been a key factor of production. Recent history has proved no exception. The pattern of...

    Blog
    Made in Africa – the future of production on the continent

    The international community has a new set of development goals. They reflect Africa’s aspirations much more closely than the Millennium Development...

    Policy Brief
    Made in Africa
    Blog
    Made in Africa - Learning to Compete in Industry: Policy proposals
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    One of the strengths of the new UNU-WIDER and Brookings book Made in Africa is that, in the best sense of the word, its proposals are debatable. It...

    Blog
    Commodities, industry, and the African Growth Miracle
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    The 2016 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank occur during uncertain times for the “African Growth Miracle.” After...

    Blog
    Report from the UNU-WIDER symposium on ‘The Political Economy of Social Protection in Developing Countries’ – Mexico City
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    The sculpture below in Mexico City is called ‘El Ángel de la Securidad Social’ (The Angel of Social Security) and was created by Jorge Marín in 2013...

    Blog
    Industrial clusters: Who benefits?
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    Manufacturing production in both developed and developing economies tends to be highly geographically concentrated in cities and industrial clusters...

    Blog
    Malawi's Farm Subsidy Benefits the Poor but Doesn't Come Cheap

    Malawi’s farm input subsidy benefits the poor and can be part of a viable national development strategy. Agriculture is Malawi’s main economic sector...

    Blog
    Regional Industrialization and Integration in Southern Africa - Reporting from TIPS Annual Forum
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    The white-painted cluster of traditional style buildings might suggest that this was a farm on the South African veldt. Not so however—it was Trade...

    Policy Brief
    Four key areas to improve aid effectiveness
    Research Brief
    Clustering, competition, and spillover effects in Cambodia

    What types of businesses benefit or suffer due to geographic clustering? Data available from Cambodia on competition and spillovers—at both village- and commune-level—is useful to answer a number of questions about the effects of clustering and the...

    Research Brief
    The effect of clustering in Tunisia

    ​​The clustering of industries in specific areas has improved industrial productivity in a number of countries. Since the mid-1990s in Tunisia, concerted policies have been introduced which focus on improving the efficiency of the labour force, and...

    Blog
    What Mozambique Can Do to Achieve Rapid Economic and Social Progress
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    In the more than two decades since democratic elections signalled a new era in Mozambique, a great deal has been accomplished. Nearly all development...

    Blog
    Development Finance: The Role for Aid in Africa
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    Aid’s future, its history, and its impact were the topics of a policy workshop held by UNU-WIDER in co-operation with the Embassy of Denmark in Dar es...

    Blog
    Inequality in Latin America and the Importance of Data - An Interview with Nora Lustig
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    In this interview Professor Nora Lustig, Samuel Z. Stone Professor of Latin American Economics at Tulane University, talks about the importance of...

    Blog
    The Political Economy of Food Price Policy - An Interview with Per Pinstrup-Andersen
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    In this interview, Per Pinstrup-Andersen talks about the international project which has culminated in the book Food Price Policy in an Era of Market...

    Blog
    How Can Governments Better Respond to Global Food Price Fluctuations?
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    Much of UNU-WIDER’s research in the last few years was initiated under the 2010-13 work programme on the triple crisis of finance, food, and climate...

    Blog
    Job Creation and the Business Cycle in Brazil
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    What type of business destroys proportionately more jobs during times of economic recessions and hires more in booms? This simple question motivates...

    Blog
    Climate Policy and Developing Country Interests
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    There are a series of questions to which we need answers if we are to implement climate change policies that help avoid negative effects. Three key...

    Policy Brief
    How do governments respond to food price volatility?
    Blog
    Africa's Failure to Industrialize: Bad Luck or Bad Policy?
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    16 December 2014 John Page On 20 November 2014 the United Nations celebrated the 25th Africa Industrialization Day. But perhaps ‘celebrate’ is not...

    Blog
    Taxation: Inequality, Equity, and Efficiency – An Interview with Michael Keen
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    8 October 2014 by Roger Williamson Michael Keen from the International Monetary Fund addressed the UNU-WIDER Development Conference in September 2014...

    Blog
    UNU-WIDER Inequality Conference 2014: Country Comparisons and Conceptual Approaches
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    18 December 2014 Roger Williamson In an earlier article I reviewed a number of the high-profile contributions to the September 2014 conference on...

    Research Brief
    The Causes of the Decline in Income Inequality in Latin America

    Left-of-centre governments emphasized fiscally-prudent but more equitable macroeconomic, tax, social expenditure and labour policies A drop in the premium paid to skilled workers following a rapid expansion of secondary education decreased wage...

    Research Brief
    International Economic Integration and Growth in Latin America

    Integration of Latin America into the international economy over the past quarter century has led to faster export growth, but not to faster GDP or productivity growth Contrary to mainstream analysis, under the current market reforms countries have...

    Blog
    Financial Reforms and Falling Inequality in Latin America, 2002-2012: Are They Connected?
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    29 October 2014 Giovanni Andrea Cornia ​For the last quarter of the twentieth century, Latin America suffered from low growth, rising inequality, and...

    Blog
    Rising Inequality – How to Reverse It?

    30 October 2014 Dominik Etienne and Annett Victorero The last decade has witnessed a revival of concern over the impact of high-income concentration...

    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...

    Policy Brief
    Lessons from Behavioural Economics for Policy-Making
    Research Brief
    Successes and Challenges of Public Financial Management in Sierra Leone

    Fragile and conflict-affected states, like Sierra Leone, can maintain a strong public financial management structure if they are able to find foreign support for administrative capacity and sufficient domestic political and executive support. PFM...

    Blog
    How the World Works: Jobs and Structural Transformation as Keys to Development
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    27 August 2014 Roger Williamson The themes of the new UNU-WIDER work programme—transformation, inclusion, and sustainability—were the focus of the...

    Blog
    Transforming Economic Structures in Africa – An Interview with Margaret McMillan
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    25 June 2014In this interview Dr Margaret McMillan outlined the theory of structural transformation, which analyzes the underlying structure of the...

    Blog
    Illegal Fishing by Small-Scale Fishers in Ghana: Findings and Policy Suggestions
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    27 May 2014 Wisdom Akpalu The number of fishers and fishing vessels in the capture fishery sector, especially the artisanal marine fishery sub-sector...

    Blog
    Learning to Compete: Lessons from Vietnam – An Interview with Carol Newman
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    28 May 2014 In this interview Carol Newman discusses the success of the Vietnamese economic transformation and lessons which can be drawn for Africa...

    Blog
    UNU-WIDER in Ghana – An Interview with Wisdom Akpalu
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    23 April 2014 Wisdom Akpalu joined UNU-WIDER as a Research Fellow based in Ghana in the beginning of 2014. Prior to joining the Institute he was an...

    Blog
    Africa’s Low Hanging Fruits

    23 April 2014 Justin Yifu Lin and Yan Wang At the onset of its miraculous rise in 1979, China had been trapped in poverty for centuries and was poorer...

    Blog
    Bringing in Public Economics – An Interview with Jukka Pirttilä
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    29 March 2014 Quite a few prominent Finnish economists have been collaborating with UNU-WIDER throughout the years. One of them is Jukka Pirttilä, who...

    Blog
    Brazil's Economics Success: Lessons for Africa – An Interview with Armando Barrientos and Ed Amann
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    24 January 2014 In this interview Armando Barrientos and Ed Amann give an introduction to their research project at the Brooks World Poverty Institute...

    Research Brief
    The Impact of Foreign Aid on the Fiscal Behaviour of the Ugandan Government

    Foreign aid is a significant element of Uganda’s long-run fiscal system. Aid is associated with increased tax collection effort and public spending in Uganda. Development assistance is also associated with reduced domestic borrowing in Uganda. Aid is...

    Research Brief
    How to Promote Sustainable Jobs in Mozambique

    Strong economic growth has not turned into poverty reduction in Mozambique due to stagnation in job creation. While the country sees great growth potential from natural resources, this industry is unlikely to generate many jobs as it is not labour...

    Research Brief
    Job Creation and Small and Medium Size Enterprises

    Research Brief
    Using Foreign Aid to Incentivize Pioneer Investing

    A number of small, isolated countries are not experiencing the rapid economic growth of larger, more connected economies due to weak governance and isolation. Small, isolated economies require more aid to alleviate poverty than rapidly developing...

    Blog
    What did we Learn at the L2C Conference about Industrial Development and Policy in Africa?
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    22 August 2013 Roger Williamson Given the high growth rates since 2000 and low labour costs, Africa could develop manufacturing industry, agro...

    Research Brief
    Building a Capable State in Afghanistan

    Afghanistan has received vast amounts of development aid, but results may not be sufficiently robust. There is a limited menu of acceptable options for institutional arrangements, leading to a high dependence on external resources, technical...

    Blog
    Science and Survival: Is an Agriculture-led Developmental Model the Way Forward for sub-Saharan Africa?

    9 May 2013 Lorraine Telfer-Taivainen and Roger Williamson Pathways to Industrialization in the Twenty-First Century, (edited by Adam Szirmai, Wim...

    Research Brief
    How Can Aid Help Agriculture Become More Resilient to Climate Change?

    Review shows that global agricultural production must be increased by about 70 per cent by 2050 in order to provide sufficient nourishment for the world’s growing population. Focusing on tropical climates to 2050, climate change is likely to reduce...

    Research Brief
    Aid and Management Training

    It is widely recognized that entrepreneurship is of critical importance to industrial development. Despite this importance we know little about the skills of business owners and managers in developing countries. In the WIDER Working Paper ‘The Role...

    Research Brief
    What is the Effect of Aid on Primary Enrolment and Quality of Education?

    An increase of education aid by one per cent increases the rate of primary education enrolment by 0.06 percentage points. The most robust effect on primary enrolment is obtained by aid to the category ‘education facilities and training’. High levels...

    Policy Brief
    Industrial Policy for Development

    New challenges and emerging paradigms have turned industrialization and industrial policy into one of the most hotly debated and interesting issues of the early twenty-first century. Both the role of manufacturing in economic development and the...

    Policy Brief
    Development Success

    What, if anything, can today's developing countries learn from the past strategies of more advanced countries? the answer is 'a great deal', despite the obvious fact that the development environment has changed significantly. Based on 11 themes, this...

    Research Brief
    Financing Growth in Low-income Countries

    It is a widely accept projection that many low income countries (LICs) will remain low income for some time to come. Consequently, when assessing the policy options available to LICs it is important to take a long-term view. In the WIDER Working...

    Research Brief
    Growth for Low-Income Countries?

    Even the most optimistic analyses accept that many low-income countries (LICs) will remain low income for some time to come. Consequently, when assessing the policy options available to LICs it is important to take a long term view. In the WIDER...

    Research Brief
    Decentralization in South Africa

    In the WIDER Working Paper ‘Vertical Decentralization and Urban Service Delivery in South Africa: Does Politics Matter?’ Robert Cameron looks at the ways in which politics affects decentralization and service delivery in South Africa. To do this he...

    Research Brief
    Responding to Aid-Induced Dutch Disease

    In the WIDER Working Paper 'Aid and the Fiscal and Monetary Responses to Dutch Disease' Alan Roe looks at the ways in which aid-induced, and mineral export-induced Dutch Disease (DD) are similar, and the ways in which they differ. He argues that many...

    Research Brief
    Aid Volatility Across Development Sectors

    A key pledge of the Paris Deceleration of 2005 was that aid flows would be made more predictable. This is a key goal as aid shortfalls can cause a government to disproportionately cut their investments, while sudden spikes in aid can lead to a...

    Research Brief
    Aid, Debt, and Public Expenditure Allocation

    It is predicted that the global financial crisis will negatively affect developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa both through a reduction in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) caused by the shrinking (or stagnating) of the economies of many...

    Research Brief
    Aid and Dutch Disease

    In 1959 the Netherlands discovered vast natural gas resources in the North Sea. This discovery led to a rapid increase in the country’s national wealth. However in the 1960s the Netherlands experienced an economic crisis. The natural gas reserves...

    Research Brief
    The Unintended Consequences of Foreign Aid in Tanzania

    Tanzania has been a relative success story in terms of African political reform. In the early 1990s Tanzania shifted from a one-party to a multiparty system, allowed greater freedoms for the press and civil society, and in 1995 held its first...

    Research Brief
    Aid and Structural Change in Africa

    It is commonly acknowledged that developing economies are characterized by large differences in output per worker across sectors. For such economies the shift of resources from low productivity to high productivity is the key potential driver of...

    Research Brief
    Democratic Consolidation and Donor Activity in Malawi

    On April 7 2012, following the death of President Mutharika, Joyce Banda was sworn in as Malawi's new president. Addressing parliament, President Banda made it clear that she intended to shake up Malawi, suggesting that she would repeal anti...

    Blog
    After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Some Lessons on Transition
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    Lorraine Telfer-Taivainen The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London was the setting on 19 June 2012 for the launch of the...

    Research Brief
    How to Spend It?

    A donor dilemma: aid effectiveness in fragile states. Donors are often faced with the dilemma that those countries most in need of aid are often those least likely to spend it effectively. This dilemma can be characterized as an instance of the...

    Research Brief
    Taxation, Public Expenditure and Aid Effectiveness

    In a recent UNU-WIDER working paper 'Fiscal composition and aid effectiveness: A political-economy model' Paul Mosley examines the claim that aid would have, in the long term, a negative impact on productivity and stability of expenditure in...

    Blog
    Lessons from Africa's Democratic Upheavals
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    Danielle Resnick During the last month, three democracies in Africa witnessed incumbent presidents exit office in very different ways. The most...

    Research Brief
    Aid and Government Fiscal Behaviour

    Donors are concerned about how their aid is used, especially how it affects public spending. For low-income countries that receive significant amounts of aid relative to GDP, most of the aid spent in the country is given to the government either...

    Blog
    The Macroeconomic Management of Foreign Aid

    Tony Addison, Tseday Mekasha, Milla Nyyssölä, Lucy Scott, Finn Tarp, Tuuli Ylinen To meet development objectives, aid recipients and their donor...

    Blog
    On Aid and Growth: Reflections ahead of Busan
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    Finn Tarp This is the first in a series of articles that Angle will be running before and after the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan...

    Blog
    Perspectives for Busan: From ReCom

    Tony Addison, Lucy Scott, and Annett Victorero Aid effectiveness was a recurrent theme during the UNU-WIDER conference on ‘Foreign Aid: Research and...

    Blog
    What Did You Do in the Currency Wars? (Part I)
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    Tony Addison The present currency turmoil is both a symptom and a cause of profound changes now underway in the global economy. In part 1 of this two...

    Blog
    The View from Buenos Aires
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    Tony Addison A visit to Buenos Aires in September provided a good vantage point to look at the euro zone’s deepening crisis. Angle readers will recall...

    Blog
    Animal Spirits
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    Tony Addison 'Birds of a feather flock together', the old saying goes. So too do investors. Today, those investment birds are a depressed lot. The...

    Blog
    Introducing Carbon Taxes in South Africa
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    James Thurlow South Africa is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters. In 2007 it ranked 13th amongst all countries in terms of its overall...

    Policy Brief
    The Global Impact of the Southern Engines of Growth

    This Policy Brief focuses on links between the developing countries of Brazil, India, China and South Africa and the global economy, with a special emphasis on the implications of China’s spectacular growth on developing economies and the rest of the...

    Blog
    Experimentation and Co-ordination as Industrial Policy: Examples from Ethiopia and Chile

    Mulu Gebreeyesus and Michiko Iizuka Industrial policy can be defined as the policies that stimulate specific economic activities and promote...

    Blog
    The Triple Crisis: What Development Prospects for Africa?

    Alain de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet On May 13 and 14, 2010, UNU-WIDER invited around 200 development economists from all over the world to Helsinki...

    Blog
    Do the Awakening Giants Have Feet of Clay?
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    It's imperative to demolish myths around the economic achievements of China and India and get a better sense of the real challenges. The author of the...

    Blog
    Are African Countries Paying Too Much Attention To Agriculture?

    Luc Christiaensen and Lionel Demery Escalating food prices in 2007-2008, climate change and land grabbing have woken the world up to the extraordinary...

    Policy Brief
    Promoting Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

    This policy brief provides some fresh perspectives on the relationship between entrepreneurship and development, and considers policy design issues. It reports on the UNU-WIDER two-year research project 'Promoting Entrepreneurial Capacity', which...

    Blog
    Industrial Policy and Environmental Sustainability: The Challenge After COP15

    Wim Naudé and Ludovico Alcorta Industrial policy is being reassessed in the light of the global financial crisis as well as the negotiations on a...

    Blog
    Twenty Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: The Travails of East Germany’s Economic Transition
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    Charles S. Maier When the Berlin Wall fell, twenty years ago, on 9 November 1989, many expected that the East German (German Democratic Republic - DDR...

    Blog
    Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Development: Lessons from Finland
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    Otto Toivanen At least since the 1950s it has been recognized that innovation is central to economic growth. It has also been well understood that...

    Blog
    What Can Developing Countries Learn From Finland’s Industrial Transformation?

    Markus Jäntti and Juhana Vartiainen Finland is an example of a late but successful state-led industrialization that was carried out rapidly. The...

    Policy Brief
    Policy Responses to the Global Economic Crisis in Africa

    Africa is the developing region most at risk from the global economic crisis. Its recent strong growth has been interrupted. Already home to the largest number of low-income countries in the world, the region is now likely to experience higher...

    Policy Brief
    The Global Economic Crisis After One Year

    One year into the global economic crisis, it has become clear that the paradigm for international development has changed irrevocably. With leadership, moral authority and the capacity of the West in international development diminishing, developing...

    Blog
    The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Millennium Development Goals in Latin America

    Marco V. Sánchez and Rob Vos Substantial slowdown in progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should be expected as a consequence of...

    Blog
    Africa’s Recovery from the Global Economic Crisis

    Augustin Fosu and Wim Naudé African economies have been shaken by the global economic downturn which followed the US-centered financial crisis of 2008...

    Blog
    Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Arab Region
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    By Imed Drine Whilst having a global impact, the current financial and economic crisis is clearly affecting certain regions more severely than others...

    Blog
    How American Capitalism Really Works: Some Lessons for Developing Countries
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    William Lazonick Defined as the act of forming a new business, entrepreneurship is viewed as a prime way in which individualism can contribute to...

    Blog
    Can Entrepreneurship Make Peace Work?

    Tony Addison and Tilman Brück There is a special role for entrepreneurship to play in making peace work. The recently published UNU-WIDER study...

    Blog
    How Will the Financial Crisis Impact on the Developing World and What Can Be Done About It?
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    Wim Naudé Following the US subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008, the world is now staggering from financial to economic crisis as many high-income...

    Policy Brief
    Fragile States

    Many of the world’s poorest countries can be described as 'fragile states' wherein governments cannot or will not provide an environment for households to reduce, mitigate, or cope with poverty and other risks to wellbeing. Many of these states are...

    Policy Brief
    Vulnerability in Developing Countries

    The first Millennium Development Goal aims to halve the number of people in the world living in extreme poverty. In this Research Brief, emanating from the UNU-WIDER project on ‘Fragility and Development’, the premise is that we should also be...

    Policy Brief
    The Significance of Transport Costs in Africa

    The success of Africa's exports, as well as its spatial development, depends on lowering transport costs. In this Policy Brief, we address a number of pertinent questions on transport costs in Africa, such as 'what are transport costs?', 'do...

    Blog
    Institutions and Macroeconomic Policies in Africa
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    by Jean-Paul Azam Appropriate macroeconomic policies are necessary for African countries to make progress in the fight against poverty. As discussed...

    Blog
    Africa’s Debt: The World Turns Brighter
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    by Tony Addison This year is set to see a new chapter open in Africa’s debt story and, for once, it looks like a positive story—as the region begins...

    Policy Brief
    Mobilizing Talent for Global Development

    Talent (combining creativity, education, skills, and knowledge) is associated with human capital and provides a very valuable economic resource. In the past, the emigration of human capital from developing countries raised fears because of the...

    Policy Brief
    Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Reconstruction, and Growth

    Growth, poverty reduction, and social peace are all undermined when public expenditure management and taxation are weak and when the fiscal deficit and public debt are not managed successfully. And large-scale aid and debt relief cannot work without...

    Blog
    The New Economy in Development: ICT Challenges and Opportunities
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    by Anthony P. D’Costa The last three decades have witnessed a sea change in the character and functioning of the world economy. With the speeding up...

    Policy Brief
    Zone Franc

    Les 14 pays membres de la zone franc en Afrique de l'Ouest et en Afrique centrale constituent - avec plusieurs décennies d'avance sur l'Union monétaire européenne - la plus importante union monétaire de l'hémisphère austral. Face à la perspective de...

    Policy Brief
    What Can the European Central Bank Learn from Africa?

    The 14-member Franc Zone in West and Central Africa represents the largest monetary union in the southern hemisphere, predating the European Monetary Union by decades. With monetary unions planned for other parts of Africa in the near future...

    Policy Brief
    e-development? Development and the New Economy

    The rise of the new economy is undeniable. Yet its impact on the development process is still to be fully understood. Investment in ICT itself is not sufficient to ensure longterm improvements in social well-being but requires other factors that...

    Blog
    New Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanisms
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    by Ylmaz AkyüzIn this article I will discuss the potential of the Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanisms (SDRM), bearing in mind that we are dealing...

    Blog
    A Lost Half-Decade in Latin America
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    by Jose Antonio Ocampo With economic activity falling by close to 1 percent in 2002, Latin America will complete a lost half-decade in terms of...

    Blog
    The Weightless Developing Economy
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    by Danny T. Quah For the last fifty years, economists and development practitioners have viewed the accumulation of physical capital-machines...

    Blog
    National IT Policies for Developing Countries

    by Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L. Kraemer Information technology (IT) and the Internet present opportunities for developing countries to improve...

    Blog
    Making Information Accessible and Affordable for All
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    by Veli-Pekka Niitamo Great challenges must be over come if the emerging ‘mobile information society’ is to be affordable and accessible worldwide...

    Blog
    Managing Resource Abundance
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    by Richard Auty At first sight, countries that are abundant in minerals and other natural resources should enjoy faster development. But between 1960...

    Blog
    Containing the Human Impact of Economic Crisis
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    by Nora Lustig Latin America went through a severe economic recession in the 1980s, and crises erupted again in the 1990s, most notably Mexico and...

    Blog
    Is Rising Income Inequality Inevitable?
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    by Anthony Atkinson Income inequality is rising in a large number of industrialised countries. The phenomenon first attracted attention in the United...

    Policy Brief
    Forests in Global Warming

    A multidisciplinary research project organized by UNU-WIDER shows that ongoing destruction of the world's forests is greatly contributing to the greenhouse effect. Deforestation is often a consequence of market distortions that hide the real economic...

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