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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 85–96 of 15382 results

Opinion

Mother or student? Why I stopped trying to choose

Akinyi Ochieng, currently studying MA Gender & Development at IDS, is a Chevening scholar and a mother of two. In this blog post, Akinyi shares the emotional reality of balancing motherhood with full-time study—reflecting on the overwhelming guilt of being away from her children for the first...

Akinyi Ochieng, MA Gender & Development, Class of 2024-25

13 May 2025

Opinion

Fifty years post war, Vietnam’s future for economic success

The busy streets of Hanoi are full of Vietnamese flags and many people dressed in military attire to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Vietnam War (or the American War as it is sometimes called in Vietnam). With celebrations across the country, an estimated 13,000 people attended the...

9 May 2025

News

New NOURISH Initiative seeks to achieve equitable wellbeing for all

A new initiative called NOURISH has been established to find a new way of working to achieve equitable wellbeing for all. The initiative comprises of a collective of people from around the world, including Brazil, New Zealand, UK, Canada and Sweden, who are practitioners, researchers and...

8 May 2025

Opinion

Familiar territory: Coming back to IDS after 35 years

Dr Sepali Kottegoda - Director Programmes, Gender and Political Economy at Women and Media Collective, Sri Lanka and IDS alum (MPhil class of 1984 and DPhil class of 1990) - recently came back to IDS to deliver a guest lecture on exploring unpaid care in Sri Lanka. While she was with us, we...

Dr Sepali Kottegoda, Director Programmes, Gender and Political Economy, Women and Media Collective

8 May 2025

Past Event

Food Equity Centre

Folk seed banks to build resistance to seed capitalism

https://youtu.be/xtem1iwFy9k Talk by Indian seed sovereignty scholar and activist Dr. Debal Deb. Neolithic farmers created all the cultivated crop species from their wild progenitors. Generations of pre-industrial farmers since the Neolithic era have subsequently developed a legion of...

7 May 2025

Opinion

Climate under threat: A call for more action

Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump announced a series of climate measures with major ramifications: he passed an order to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and dismantled a host of federal government climate action measures. Other like-minded leaders are poised to take...

6 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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