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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 61–72 of 15382 results

Opinion

Former farm workers in Mvurwi: structural constraints on success

Former farm workers living in compounds on resettlement farms in Mvurwi are some of the most marginalised people across the land reform farms. ‘Success’ is limited by a set of major structural constraints that individuals cannot overcome by themselves. We conducted success rankings in two...

2 June 2025

News

ICTD Launches new Community of Practice on Informality and Tax

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), based at the Institute of Development Studies, is launching a Community of Practice (CoP) on Informality and Tax, a global network of practitioners and scholars committed to improving both knowledge and policy on how tax authorities engage...

28 May 2025

Brief

Key considerations: Introducing experimental vaccines during health emergencies

SSHAP Briefing

This brief provides an overview of the experimental stages of vaccine development during a disease outbreak and highlights key considerations at each stage from a social science perspective. This brief complements a recent SSHAP publication that synthesised social and behavioural science (SBS)...

28 May 2025

Brief

Supporting the mpox response for people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression in contexts where their rights are restricted

SSHAP Briefing

People with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression (SOGIE) are a hard-to-reach population. This is because of restrictive legal frameworks, social exclusion, stigma and discrimination in service delivery. Because people with diverse SOGIE often avoid seeking...

21 May 2025

Working Paper

Grass-roots Innovation for Justice in Urban Food Provisioning

IDS Working Paper 619

This paper draws on an international research collaboration to examine grass-roots innovations in food provisioning in five urban locations: Brighton & Hove, UK; Toronto, Canada; Montpellier, France; São Paulo, Brazil; and Cape Town, South Africa. It examines the innovative features of these...

Lídia Cabral
Lídia Cabral & 7 others

21 May 2025

Working Paper

Supporting Mutual Aid in Sudan: Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to Risk and Accountability

BASIC Research Working Paper 40

This study explores how mechanisms of social solidarity have been shaped by the war in Sudan, as well as by their interaction with external funders.

20 May 2025

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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