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Inclusive Economies

Our work explores what characterises inclusive economies and how these can be achieved, particularly in a world where new technologies, rural to urban migration, and growing youth populations are disrupting and putting new pressures on people’s lives and livelihoods.

Our research looks at the impacts of business and markets on development and inequality and explores the potential for novel market-based solutions to work for the poorest and most marginalised based on gender, ethnicity and disability.  It explores alternatives that enable workers, consumers and communities to have a real voice.

It continues to revitalise debates on agriculture as a key pathway out of poverty and towards inclusion, particularly for young people. Our work is focused on identifying what opportunities exist in a period of agricultural commercialisation and rural transformation and how far different groups are able to access them.  It also understands how new technologies such as drones or blockchains pose risks, but can also be harnessed to improve the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people.  In a rapidly urbanising world where cities have become focal points for economic growth, jobs and innovation but also for poverty, inequality, vulnerability and conflict, our work explores what this means for both urban and rural people, and the opportunities and challenges they face in living safe and fulfilling lives.

People

Jodie Thorpe

Research Fellow

Philip Mader

Research Fellow

Richard Jolly

Emeritus Fellow and Research Associate

Ana Pueyo

Research Fellow

Carlos Fortin

Emeritus Fellow and Research Associate

Rachel Sabates-Wheeler

Research Fellow

Keetie Roelen

IDS Honorary Associate

Giel Ton

Research Fellow

Programmes and centres

Projects

Recent work

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Showing 517–528 of 15401 results

Opinion

Navigating uncertainty: introducing a new book

Whether it’s climate change, financial volatility, pandemic outbreaks or new technologies, we don’t know what the future will hold. Uncertainties are everywhere. But how can we navigate them successfully? As Helga Nowotny described in her book, such “uncertainties are written into the...

2 September 2024

Impact Story

Future development leaders find their vocations and voices at IDS

IDS teaching aims to produce the next generation of informed and knowledgeable leaders and experts, equipping them to respond to societal and environmental challenges. A launch pad for careers Eesha Kapoor and Shreyan Acharya graduated from the MA Development Studies course in the 2021-2022...

1 September 2024

Report

WFP’s support to strengthening the national social protection system in Cambodia

This case study reviews the World Food Programme’s (WFP) support to social protection in Cambodia over the last decade.

Manucheher Shafee

30 August 2024

Report

WFP’s support to strengthening the national social protection system in Mauritania

This case study reviews the World Food Programme’s (WFP) support to social protection in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania since the launch of its 2019–2023 Country Strategic Plan.

Manucheher Shafee

30 August 2024

Impact Story

Influencing policy change in Rwanda and a shift in global tax governance

The Rwandan government changed key aspects of its tax policy following pioneering research by the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), based at IDS. In recent years, mass registration campaigns have been considered by policymakers and donors alike as a speedy way to boost...

30 August 2024

News

IDS Staff at the Global Evidence Summit 2024

IDS is thrilled to announce that we will be attending the Global Evidence Summit (GES) as a programme partner for the first time this year. This quadrennial event is a unique platform designed to facilitate collaboration and partnership across various sectors, with the shared goal of driving...

29 August 2024

Brief

Just and Resilient Infrastructures in Pakistan and Kenya

IDS Policy Briefing 215

The relationship between infrastructure development and intensifying climate crisis is generating new cycles of 24-hour risks in the urban global South. Research from Karachi and Nairobi points to opportunities to build resilient infrastructures that strengthen and support community networks and...

29 August 2024

Student Opinion

Student-run initiatives at IDS: The Anti-Caste Reading Circle

This academic year, students from our master’s programmes organised a weekly Anti-Caste Reading Circle. MA Gender and Development student Chandni Sai Ganesh writes about her experiences of enriching her learning outside the classroom through the student-run initiative. One of the first...

Chandni Sai Ganesh

29 August 2024

Brief

Key considerations: Mpox, mining, and vulnerabilities of women and children in eastern DRC

SSHAP Brief

This brief presents considerations for contextualising and responding to the mpox outbreak in the mining towns of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It focuses on women and children living and working in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) areas.

28 August 2024

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).

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