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

 

Subscribe to the newsletter

Enhancing economic policymaking in Africa through trusted partnerships

by Abena Larbi-Odam, Elina Penttinen, Dominik Etienne
In today’s rapidly changing economic landscape, the importance of evidence-based policymaking cannot be overstated. Across Africa, countries face challenges related to limited access to reliable data and insufficient analytical capacities, hindering efforts to drive economic growth and tackle issues such as poverty, inequality, and fiscal instability. Addressing these barriers is essential to strengthening governance, enhancing fiscal resilience, and fostering inclusive economic development.UNU...

UNU-WIDER renews focus on inequality, conflict, and creating the fiscal space for development

by Timothy Shipp
With less than five years remaining to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNU-WIDER continues to increase available knowledge on how to combine national policy initiatives, global cooperation, and research results to achieve progress. In 2024, UNU-WIDER began a new work programme to address critical challenges in global development with focused research on inequalities, conflicts, and fiscal space for development. How does research on these three topics change the...

Developing a WIDER perspective on economics

by Annett Victorero
amartya
In an increasingly interconnected world, economic instability, conflict, and inequality pose significant challenges. Concerns about such instability and limited solutions from academia in the early 1980s spurred the establishment of UNU-WIDER. This piece explores the foundational years of UNU-WIDER, a think tank that emerged during that economically and politically tumultuous period in the 1980s. Established with the vision to address pressing economic challenges, UNU-WIDER would evolve into a...

1238 Blogpost

Filter by...

Reset all
UNU-WIDER topic
    Policy Brief
    Photo by UNU-WIDER/Ricardo Franco
    Melhorando a eficácia do Programa Subsídio Social Básico para idosos (PSSB) em Moçambique
    Policy Brief
    Photo by UNU-WIDER/Ricardo Franco
    Improving the Basic Social Subsidy Programme for the elderly (PSSB) in Mozambique
    Policy Brief
    Natural resource policy amid the global green transition
    Blog
    Taxing the poor or fixing the system? A better alternative to VAT increases

    With just days to go before the rescheduled 2025 Budget Speech, South Africa faces a ZAR 60 billion revenue shortfall amid slowing economic growth and...

    Blog
    Developing a WIDER perspective on economics
    Placeholder

    In an increasingly interconnected world, economic instability, conflict, and inequality pose significant challenges. Concerns about such instability...

    Blog
    Enhancing economic policymaking in Africa through trusted partnerships

    In today’s rapidly changing economic landscape, the importance of evidence-based policymaking cannot be overstated. Across Africa, countries face...

    Blog
    UNU-WIDER renews focus on inequality, conflict, and creating the fiscal space for development
    Placeholder

    With less than five years remaining to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNU-WIDER continues to increase available...

    Blog
    The Beijing Declaration 30 years later – where do we stand?
    Placeholder

    The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action set ambitious goals for equality, development, and peace for women worldwide. Endorsed by 189...

    Blog
    South Africa’s electricity crisis – governance, challenges, and reform lessons

    South Africa’s energy sector is undergoing a transformation. The suspension of load shedding—planned, rolling power outages to prevent grid collapse —...

    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...

    Blog
    South Africa’s new retirement savings system: will it reshape financial security?

    Launched on 1 September 2024, South Africa's two-pot retirement system is designed to offer greater flexibility in managing retirement savings. This...

    Blog
    Beyond Ukraine and Gaza: Five consequences of overlooking other conflicts

    The years since 2020 have been one of the most violent periods since the end of the second world war. The war in Ukraine and the escalating violence...

    Blog
    Mozambique in post-election turmoil: Economic policies that could make a difference
    Placeholder

    Turmoil following presidential and parliamentary elections in Mozambique has been severe. Preliminary official results from the 2024 elections...

    Blog
    How conflict and illicit economies undermine fiscal stability in Colombia
    Placeholder

    In post-conflict settings, the ability to collect taxes is essential for building a strong government and supporting long-term development. In...

    Research Brief
    Crescimento Inclusivo em Moçambique – reforçando a investigação e as capacidades
    Reflexão crítica sobre a formalização das empresas em Moçambique
    Research Brief
    Inclusive growth in Mozambique — scaling up research and capa
    Critical reflection on the formalization of firms in Mozambique
    Blog
    Understanding labour market inequality in Indonesia and India
    Placeholder

    Growing income inequality poses a major global challenge, even as the inequality between countries has shrunk due to rapid economic growth in nations...

    Displaying 32 of 1238 results