The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) is part of the

United Nations University The is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve list of global issues, global issues related to Human development ...

(UNU). UNU-WIDER, the first research and training centre to be established by the UNU, is an international academic organization set up with the aim of promoting peace and progress by bringing together leading scholars from around the world to tackle pressing global problems.

UNU-WIDER

The establishment of the UNU and UNU-WIDER

In 1969 the UN Secretary-General

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

suggested that the time had arrived when serious consideration might be given to establishing an international university. An international university, the Secretary-General said, would be devoted to the Charter objectives of peace and progress. It would be staffed with professors from many nations and all parts of the world. The university would thus serve to break down the barriers that created misunderstanding and mistrust between nations and cultures. The UNU was established by the General Assembly on 6 December 1973 to be an international community of scholars engaged in research, advanced training, and the dissemination of knowledge related to the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. The UNU started its activities in 1975 at its headquarters in Tokyo. The UNU established UNU-WIDER following a brainstorming of leading economists of the day outlining the need for an institution to undertake a sustained effort for a more comprehensive understanding of the forces at work in the global economic system and their consequences for specific developing country situations and at the international level In November 1983 Finland offered to host UNU-WIDER in its capital Helsinki, providing premises for the Institute and an endowment fund of US$25 million. UNU-WIDER was founded by a Host Country Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding signed by the then Foreign Minister of Finland,

Paavo Väyrynen Paavo Matti Väyrynen (; born 2 September 1946) is a Finland, Finnish Politics of Finland, politician who has served, among other things, as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982, and again from 198 ...

, and the Rector of UNU, Soedjatmoko, on 4 February 1984.

Mandate

UNU-WIDER's mandate is to undertake multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the living conditions of the world's poorest people; provide a forum for professional interaction and advocacy of policies leading to equitable and environmentally

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of th ...

; and train researchers and government officials in the field of economic and social policy making.

History

Following the approval by the Finnish Parliament, the Host Country Agreement came into force on 20 June 1984. Lal Jayawardena was appointed the inaugural director on 1 March 1985, and the institute was initially located at premises at Annankatu 42C in Helsinki, Finland.

Research

During its existence, UNU-WIDER has produced a large amount of research on the broad topics of poverty, inequality and growth. The Research Programme changes every two years. It is constructed by the Director in consultation with the UNU-WIDER Board following extensive discussions with UNU-WIDER research staff, leading economists, and donor government representatives. Areas of research have spanned all facets and levels of development economics including topics like finance and trade; economic growth and the environment; women and development; international migration and refugees; microsimulation of tax-benefit reforms ( SOUTHMOD); social impact of privatization; fiscal policies for growth; transition and institutions; development aid; global trends in inequality and poverty; personal assets from a global perspective and many more. During the mid-1980s the Horn of Africa was confronting widespread famine. As this coincided with the launch of the very first UNU-WIDER research programme, the theme of “Hunger and Poverty: The Poorest Billion” was included in it. This research was directed by

Jean Drèze Jean Drèze (born 22 January 1959) is a Belgian-born Indian welfare economist, social scientist and activist. He has worked on several developmental issues facing India like social welfare, poverty and gender inequality. His co-authors inclu ...

and Nobel Laureate

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...

. It has been argued that the resulting three volumes of study transformed the thinking on issues of famine and food security at the time. In the late 1990s, WIDER undertook a major study of income inequality trends throughout the world under the direction of its then-director Giovanni Andrea Cornia. The study uncovered so-called “new causes” of inequality linked to excessively liberal economic policies and the way in which economic reforms have been implemented. Furthermore, the study produced the first version of the World Income Inequality Database (WIID). It is a comprehensive and freely available database of statistics on inequality trends within countries. Since 2009, under director Finn Tarp, UNU-WIDER has concentrated widely on the “triple crisis” of food, climate change and finance.

Nobel laureates in economics associated with UNU-WIDER

Elinor Ostrom Elinor Claire "Lin" Ostrom (née Awan; August 7, 1933 – June 12, 2012) was an American Political science, political scientist and Political economy, political economist whose work was associated with New institutional economics, New Institution ...

, 2009

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American New Keynesian economics, New Keynesian economist who is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the CUNY Graduate Center, Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He ...

, 2008

Joseph E. Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, political activist, and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2 ...

, 2001

, 1998 John C. Harsanyi, 1994 Douglass C. North, 1993 Robert W. Fogel, 1993 Robert M. Solow, 1987

Other Nobel laureates and Prize winners connected with UNU-WIDER activities

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...

(

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

, 2008) Edmund S. Phelps (2006) James A. Mirrlees (1996)

Controversy

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the press reported on various financial and organisational irregularities about UNU-WIDER and its management.

Institutional framework

Th
Council of UNU
determines the principles and policies guiding the whole university
The Board of UNU-WIDER
comprising well-known economists, policy-makers, and social scientists from all over the world, advises on research and other activities. The Director of UNU-WIDER has overall responsibility for the research and management of the Institute and implements the research programme in keeping with guidelines set out by the Board and the Council. UNU functions as a decentralized 'network of networks' with an interdisciplinary and global perspective. The UNU system comprises the UNU Centre in Tokyo and a worldwide network of Research and Training Centres and Programmes (RTC/Ps) assisted by numerous associated and cooperating institutions.

Organization

Research is coordinated by Helsinki-based staff consisting of resident researchers and support staff. A network of external project directors, located at their universities or institutes, contribute to current projects along with several hundred network participants around the world. This group includes research staff from the UNU, UN,

ECLAC The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC, ECLAC or ''CEPAL'', in Spanish: ''Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe'') is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooper ...

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

, the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

(UNCTAD),

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

and the

Bretton Woods institutions The Bretton Woods system of Monetary system, monetary management established the rules for commercial relations among 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Western European countries, and Australia, after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agr ...

including the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. Visiting scholars typically spend two to three months in Helsinki working on topics related to the current research programme. The internship programme allows PhD students in economics or related social sciences to spend two to three months at UNU-WIDER.

Funding

UNU-WIDER was founded with contributions from the governments of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, the

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (, ) is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Sweden's official development assistance to developing coun ...

(Sida), and the

Nippon Foundation of Tokyo, Japan, is a private, non-profit grant-making organization. It was established in 1962 by Ryōichi Sasakawa. The foundation's mission is to direct Japanese motorboat racing revenue into philanthropic activities, it uses this money t ...

(Sasakawa Foundation, Japan). Income from the endowment fund has largely covered core expenditures. Supplementary financial support for research and other activities has been received from the governments of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Finland,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Sweden and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

; the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development( Kuwait),

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation (Finland),

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

(Finland),

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

SITRA Sitra ( or , ''As-Sitra''), also known as Sitrah or Sitra Island ( ), is an island in Bahrain situated approximately south of the capital, Manama, which is on Bahrain Island. History The island of Sitra has witnessed various conflicts. One ...

(Finnish National Fund for Research and Development),

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

(UN-DESA),

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP), and the World Bank. In-kind contributions, such as assistance in hosting workshops and conferences, are also regularly received from various universities, United Nations agencies and other international organizations.

Directors

* Kunal Sen (2019–incumbent) () * Finn Tarp (2009–2018) () * Anthony Shorrocks (2001–2009) () * Matti Pohjola (2000) () * Giovanni Andrea Cornia (1996–1999) () * Mihály Simai (1993–1995) () * Lal Jayawardena (1985–1993) ()

Activities

Research

The Research Programme is reformulated every two years by the Institute's director in consultation with the UNU-WIDER Board following extensive discussions with UNU-WIDER research staff, leading economists in the UN and elsewhere, and donor government representatives. Research projects are led by scholars (Research Fellows and External Project Directors) who elaborate on the proposals before the projects are launched. Each project typically invites selected authors to write original research papers which are later presented and discussed at project workshops and conferences. In some cases, a more general 'call for papers' may be announced on the Institute's website. Typically, two large development conferences are organized annually in Helsinki, each of which brings together around 100 individuals to present papers and discuss current problems on development issues. Participants are usually researchers and policymakers from the academic, government, and development communities. Special attempts are made to encourage researchers from developing countries to achieve a gender balance at these events. The research studies are published a
WIDER working papers
The outcomes also often include
policy brief
and an article in th
WIDER''Angle''

Annual lecture

The WIDER Annual Lecture is delivered by an eminent scholar who has made a significant contribution to the field of economics of development and transition. 2023 Pinelopi Goldberg
Globalization in Crisis – Confronting a New Economic Reality
2022

Daron Acemoglu Kamer Daron Acemoğlu (;, ; born September 3, 1967) is a Turkish Americans, Turkish-American economist of Armenians in Turkey, Armenian descent who has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1993, where he is currently the Ja ...

In the name of progress
2021

Bina Agarwal Bina Agarwal is an Indian development economist and Professor of Development Economics and Environment at the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester. She has written extensively on land, livelihoods and property rights; ...

Women's Struggle for Land in South Asia: Can Legal Reforms Trump Social Norms?
2020 Mark Malloch-Brown
UN at 75: Slow Death or a New Direction
2019 Santiago Levy
Informality – Addressing the Achilles Heel of Social Protection in Latin America
2018 Ernest Aryeetey
The Political Economy of Structural Transformation – Has Democracy Failed African Economies?
2017 Sabine Alkire
How Are People Poor? – Measuring Global Progress Towards Zero Poverty and the SDGs
2016

Martin Ravallion Martin Ravallion (19 March 1952 – 24 December 2022) was an Australian economist. He was the inaugural Edmond D. Villani Professor of Economics at Georgetown University, and had previously been director of the research department at the World ...

Direct Interventions Against Poverty in Poor Places
2015

Three Decades of Change in Development
2014 C. Peter Timmer
Managing Structural Transformation Post-2015
2013

Egalitarian Principles – The Foundation for Sustainable Peace
2012

Lant Pritchett Lant Pritchett (born 1959) is an American development economist. He was the RISE Research Director at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford until March 2023 and is now a Visiting Professor of Practice at the School of Public P ...

Folk and the Formula: Fact and Fiction in Development
2011

Justin Yifu Lin Justin Yifu Lin ( zh, c=林毅夫, p=Lín Yìfū; born on October 15, 1952) is a Taiwanese-born Chinese economist and professor of economics at Peking University. He served as the World Bank Chief Economist, Chief Economist and Senior Vice Presid ...

From Flying Geese to Leading Dragons: New Opportunities and Strategies for Structural Transformation in Developing Countries
2010

José Antonio Ocampo José Antonio Ocampo Gaviria (born 20 December 1952) is a Colombians, Colombian writer, economist and academic who was the professor of professional practice in international and public affairs and director of the Economic and Political Developme ...

Reforming the International Monetary and Financial Architecture
2009 Ronald Findlay
The Trade-Development Nexus in Theory and History
2009 Deepak Nayyar
Developing Countries in the World Economy: The Future in the Past?
2008

Kemal Derviş Kemal Derviş (; 10 January 1949 – 8 May 2023) was a Turkish economist and politician who was head of the United Nations Development Programme. He was honored by the government of Japan for having "contributed to mainstreaming Japan's developm ...

The Climate Change Challenge
2006

Angus Deaton Sir Angus Stewart Deaton (born 19 October 1945) is a British-American economist and academic. Deaton is currently a Senior Scholar and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School ...

Global Patterns of Income and Health: Facts, Interpretations, and Policies
2005 Nancy Birdsall
The World is not Flat: Inequality and Injustice in our Global Economy
2004

Dani Rodrik Dani Rodrik (born August 14, 1957) is a Turkish economist and Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was formerly the Albert O. Hirschman Professor of ...

Rethinking Growth Strategies
2003

Kaushik Basu Kaushik Basu (born 9 January 1952) is an Indian economist who was Chief Economist of the World Bank from 2012 to 2016 and Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India from 2009 to 2012. He is the C. Marks Professor of International Studie ...

Global Labour Standards and Local Freedoms
2002 Jeffrey G. Williamson
Winners and Losers in Two Centuries of Globalization
2001 Frances Stewart
Horizontal Inequality: A Neglected Dimension of Development
2000 Jagdish N. Bhagwati
Globalization and Appropriate Governance
1999 A. B. Atkinson
Is Rising Income Inequality Inevitable? A Critique of the Transatlantic Consensus
1998

More Instruments and Broader Goals: Moving Toward the Post-Washington Consensus
1997 Douglass C. North
The Contribution of the New Institutional Economics to an Understanding of the Transition Problem

Ranking

In 2010 UNU-WIDER was ranked as 7th best International Development Think Tank by the University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.

References

External links

United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Official Homepage

United Nations University Website

Video clips

UNU Video Portal

UNU YouTube channel

UNU Vimeo channel
{{Authority control Economic research institutes Organisations based in Helsinki Research institutes established in 1984 United Nations General Assembly subsidiary organs

UNU-WIDER

The establishment of the UNU and UNU-WIDER

Mandate

History

Research

Nobel laureates in economics associated with UNU-WIDER

Other Nobel laureates and Prize winners connected with UNU-WIDER activities

Controversy

Institutional framework

Organization

Funding

Directors

Activities

Research

Annual lecture

Ranking

See also

References

External links

Video clips