UNU-WIDER

Emeka Nwankwo, Amina Ebrahim, Jaco Oelofsen, Hayley Erasmus, Luckystar Miyandazi at PAC 2025

Emeka Nwankwo, Amina Ebrahim, Jaco Oelofsen, Hayley Erasmus, Luckystar Miyandazi at PAC 2025

At #PAC2025 in Johannesburg, weco-hosted a session with The African Tax Administration Forum on “Breaking Barriers: Bridging Tax and IFFs Research with Policy in Africa.”

The discussion explored how to turn research into actionable policy to tackle illicit financial flows.

More: go.unu.edu/WHB6c

Lumi Young and Kwabena Adu-Ababio at the 11th Africa Think Tank Summit

Lumi Young and Kwabena Adu-Ababio at the 11th Africa Think Tank Summit

Our SOUTHMOD side event at the #AfricaThinkTankSummit yesterday explored how microsimulation models enable evidence-based tax & benefit design, supporting smarter, more equitable policy reforms.

Learn more: go.unu.edu/Cbkwc

Yuvuna Jaichan and Joseph Gozoya at the UNU-WIDER booth at PAC 2025

Amina Ebrahim and Yuvuna Jaichan at the UNU-WIDER booth at PAC 2025

UNU-WIDER booth at the PAC 2025, with Joseph Gozoya standing behind it smiling.

We're at #PAC2025! Come meet our brilliant Research Assistants, Yuvuna Jaichan & Joseph Gozoya, and dive into cutting-edge research on:

🔍 Tax compliance
🏢 Multinational tax evasion
⛏️ The mining sector

📍 Visit us today & tomorrow!

More info: go.unu.edu/WHB6c

#TaxCompliance #FairTaxation

“Political elites don’t just govern, many also own businesses.”

New @voxdev.bsky.social piece by Sam Jones, Felix Schilling & Finn Tarp discusses how political connections shape Mozambique’s private sector. Read it here 👇

We’re glad to join SEWA Bharat & WIEGO at NITI Aayog for a roundtable on women & informal enterprises in India.
Informal ≠ insignificant. Recognizing & strengthening informal enterprises is key to building an inclusive & resilient economy.
More: go.unu.edu/SrJTJ

🌍 Join a panel discussion - "What do we know about poverty and inequality for the next development agenda?" by the @unu-wider.bsky.social

This high level discussion will explore the best way forward on global poverty & inequality and how they can be measured for the next development agenda.

Picture with the text WIDERAngle Newsletter, New issue out now!

✨ The latest WIDERAngle is here!

Catch up on:
• Fresh insights on poverty, inequality & the next global agenda
• Blogs on democracy, elites, wages & tax
• New partnerships & policy dialogues shaping the future

👉 Read here: go.unu.edu/IcgG7

Picture of Thanh Bui in a dark jacket and red scarf stands outdoors, with the quote "The UNU-WIDER PhD Fellowship sharpened my empirical research skills and expanded my understanding of development issues". In addition, a UNU@50 logo on the bottom.

Quote from Thanh Bui: "The UNU-WIDER PhD Fellowship sharpened my empirical research skills, expanded my understanding of development issues and offered valuable feedback from leading researchers, greatly influencing my research direction and academic confidence". Colorful background and UNU@50 logo on the bottom.

Former Visiting PhD Fellow Thanh Bui is now a Lecturer at University of St Andrews, researching education, health & labour market policies. 🌍 For 40 years, UNU-WIDER has supported building skills, networks & policy impact. More on our journey: go.unu.edu/o6Ewi #WIDER40 #UNUAlumni #UNUat50

Fragility is a widely used, yet often misunderstood concept in development.

Our new research defines: fragility is the ease with which a system fails. In this research, we identify 5 ways to measure fragility to support better policy.

Read the paper👉 go.unu.edu/rzuu5

Picture of a woman carrying a child on her back, with the text "WIDER Working Paper, How could taxing illicit financial flows contribute to financing a universal child benefit in Ghana?" over it.

How can tackling illicit financial flows help finance universal child benefits? 🌍👶 A new #SOUTHMOD study reveals that taxing hidden capital flight could create fiscal space for social protection in low- & middle-income countries. Read more: go.unu.edu/Ya7l0

A bustling marketplace scene with vendors preparing food, with a text WIDERAngle Blog "India's minimum wage success, and the work ahead"

India’s minimum wage raised the pay of the poorest workers & narrowed wage gaps, without job losses. The next challenge: making these gains last & moving toward a living wage. Blog by Saloni Khurana, Kanika Mahajan & Kunal Sen 👉 go.unu.edu/aJdrN

Image of Patricia Justino and the title of her keynore, Rebuilding Trust in a Fractured World, with the Fragile Lives 2025 conference's logo and visual elements.

@apvjustino.bsky.social is at Fragile Lives 2025 in Berlin!

Tomorrow, her keynote discusses the global erosion of trust—in institutions, in democracy, and interpersonally—and what this means for social cohesion and governance in fragile contexts.

Learn more: go.unu.edu/XxaSa

Graphic that says "Vacancy announcement, Research Assistant, full-time or part-time" "Helsinki, Finland, Apply by 12 October"

Want your research skills to make a global difference?

We're hiring a Research Assistant in Helsinki to support our work on reducing inequalities.
Work on data, analysis, and publications that influence development policy worldwide.

Apply by 12 Oct 2025: go.unu.edu/0lKEo

🚨 New Journal Article!

How do US interest rate hikes ripple through emerging economies? New research on South Africa shows a trade-off: inflation control raises debt, while debt stability brings higher inflation.

Read here: go.unu.edu/qCzXs #SATIED

Meet our Visiting PhD Fellow Elif Erbay from Istanbul University! 🌍 Her research explores how intergenerational mobility and gender norms shape educational outcomes in Türkiye.

Want to join the programme? Apply by 30 Sept 👉 go.unu.edu/Isrqv

Our 40-year anniversary reception in South Africa was one evening, but the partnerships behind UNU-WIDER’s work have been built & strengthened over many years. This short recap shares some of the voices who make it possible. Thank you to all who joined us.
More information: go.unu.edu/XX1ll #WIDER40

Our researchers were at the 7th World Bank/ODI Global/IFS Public Finance Conference this week!
Amina Ebrahim and Kwabena Adu-Ababio spoke at the Fire session 1 🔥 about employment tax incentives in South Africa and minimum wage and tax in Zambia
More here: go.unu.edu/xuY2v

Patricia Justino, Maria Genoni, and attendees at the Poverty & Fragility Companion Report – Fragility at the Core of Global Poverty event in New York.

Pasi Hellman, Nicole Goldin, and attendees at the Poverty & Fragility Companion Report – Fragility at the Core of Global Poverty event in New York.

Full conference room at the Poverty & Fragility Companion Report – Fragility at the Core of Global Poverty event in New York.

Patricia Justino, Nicole Goldin, and Gary Milante at the Poverty & Fragility Companion Report – Fragility at the Core of Global Poverty event in New York.

Yesterday in NYC, UNU-WIDER hosted a panel on the upcoming 𝘗𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 & 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. Key findings reveal over 1 billion live in fragile contexts, with Nigeria and DRC making up a quarter of global extreme poverty. Thanks to all participants! Read more: go.unu.edu/yXJbc

Everyone defines "fragility" differently, affecting coordination & policy 💭
Our research offers a solution: a framework to defining fragility. Define failure first, then measure it.

Watch Joan Margalef explain, or read the paper to learn more: go.unu.edu/rzuu5

Happening today in Johannesburg!

We gathered at the University of Witwaterstrand to celebrate 40 years of UNU-WIDER with partners to reflect on shared knowledge shaping policy & research. 🌏

Read more about the event and stay tuned for highlights: go.unu.edu/XX1ll

Today’s #PolicyDialogue hosted with Southern Centre for Inequality Studies showed:
➡️ Economic growth & net zero can advance together
➡️ Green industries can drive job creation, structural transformation & decarbonisation
➡️ The Global South has agency to shape fairer global rules
go.unu.edu/j6UOd

Are you a master's student in Finland working on:
✅Tax Research for Development
✅Building Trust and Institutions for Peace?

Apply for our Master's Student assignment for hands-on experience with an international research institute. Application deadline 30 September!

👉 go.unu.edu/aY1Fx

Today we renewed our strategic partnership with ATAF to strengthen tax systems in Africa 🤝

What does this mean for ATAF's members?
✨ policy dialogues
✨ co-authored policy briefs
✨ training programs
✨ research collaboration

Read more: go.unu.edu/RBlhE

This week in NYC, experts tackle the urgent overlap of poverty & fragility. Join us for insights from the new Poverty & Fragility Companion Report.

📍 Bahá'í International Community, 866 UN Plaza
📅 Thurs, Sept 25 | 09:30–11:00 ET

Limited seats! Secure yours: go.unu.edu/yXJbc

Graphic for WIDERAngle Blog titled "Do your national elites create value, or siphon it off? A novel index supplies insight" with an image of the interior of a private jet with plush seating.

Do elites drive progress or hold it back?

In this blog, Tomas Casas-Klett shares insights from a new report on the Elite Quality Index, a comparative composite index that measures elites' impact on human & economic development. Read the blog to learn more: go.unu.edu/OzU26

Portrait of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen

Portrait of Lal Jayawardena

Book cover of 'Apostles of Development' by David C Engerman

📚 Excited to see the new book, Apostles of Development, featuring key figures in UNU-WIDER's history!

The book highlights:
✨ Amartya Sen - founding member
✨ Lal Jayawardena - our first Director
✨ Mahbub ul Haq - Board member

👉 go.unu.edu/NNbOY
#WIDER40

Don't miss this opportunity!

Are you a researcher in development economics? Join our Visiting Scholars programme for up to 3 months in Helsinki! Engage with global experts and enhance your work.

📅 Apply by Sept 30: go.unu.edu/92w21

Poverty is increasingly concentrated in fragile states—by 2030, 60% of the world’s poorest will live in FCS.

Join us in New York on 25 Sept (09:30–11:00 ET) for a high-level discussion on our new Poverty & Fragility Report.

⚠️ Limited seats, sign up soon: go.unu.edu/yXJbc

What does it take for governments to know how much tax revenue should be collected & where it is being lost?

📍Today #ATAFATRN10 we co-hosted a Tax Gap Masterclass with UNDP South Africa exploring how data & machine learning can reveal compliance gaps and strengthen tax policy.

The #WIDERSeminarSeries is back for Fall 2025! 🍂📊
Join us Wednesdays at 15:00 Helsinki time for cutting-edge research in development economics. First up: Stephan Dietrich (1 Oct) on tax nudges.

Learn more about the series and register here: go.unu.edu/L6qG2