Inequalities and Poverty

IDS works with global partners to generate new knowledge and evidence to identify the underlying causes of inequalities and poverty in all their dimensions and the progressive policies and practices that can help bring about transformative change.

Eradicating extreme poverty remains one of the world’s most pressing challenges, and addressing it requires the rising economic, social and political inequalities that harm people in rich and poor countries alike to be tackled.

IDS has also played a prominent part in promoting an approach that puts power at the heart of development analysis and contributed to strengthening understanding of the relationship between power, gender, sexual rights and poverty.

We continue to provide new analysis on inequalities and poverty trends, particularly in relation to the expansion of digital technologies and their impact on the lives of the poorest and most marginalised, and the growth of global cities and what this means for both urban and rural livelihoods, social relations and sustainability. Moreover, we work with governments, civil society, businesses and many others to help ensure this analysis shapes policies and programmes such as social protection and cash transfers to reduce poverty and vulnerability and strengthen livelihoods including agriculture.

People

Deepta Chopra

Professorial Research Fellow

Keetie Roelen

IDS Honorary Associate

Jerker Edström

Research Fellow

Melissa Leach

Emeritus Fellow

John Gaventa

Research Fellow and Director, Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) programme

Danny Burns

Professorial Research Fellow

Sohela Nazneen

Research Fellow

Patricia Justino

Professorial Fellow

Programmes and centres

Projects

Recent work

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Upcoming Event

Pathways to sustainable agriculture in Ghana

The IDS Ghana hub is pleased to invite you to a panel event entitled ‘Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture in Ghana’, held in collaboration with University of Ghana and University of Sussex. This event will involve two panels, one on Innovations and one on Agricultural Markets for...

26 February 2025

News

Three top tips for getting a job at the UN

Many students come to IDS with aspirations of a career in the UN system. A recent event at IDS gave both students and alumni the opportunity to learn about the realities of such a career and the chance to gain valuable insights from a distinguished panel with a wealth of experience working at...

6 February 2025

Publication

Do Autocracy and Fragility Connect?

Topic Paper;SDC Networks on Governance and Fragility, Conflict and Human Rights

Development practitioners navigate their way through the volatile and frequently violent contexts of the fragile states where they work. Often, they contend with obstructive and unaccountable authoritarian regimes. There is a good prima facie case that autocracy leads to fragility, and that...

6 February 2025

Publication

Building Back Better from Covid-19? What Follows for Peace, Governance and Equality

SDC Topic Paper;

The Covid-19 pandemic is a massive public health and humanitarian crisis. At the same time, it is a crisis of governance, in which global, national and local governance institutions have been tested to their limits. This paper asks how the pandemic has impacted upon fragility, violent conflict...

6 February 2025

Upcoming Event

Digital-ID: exclusions and adverse inclusion

Silvia Masiero’s new book Unfair-ID critically examines the claims that Digital-ID advances international development goals. Based on a decade of empirical research in India she uses a ‘data justice’ lens to analyse examples of digital exclusion as well as cases of ‘adverse...

6 February 2025

Journal

Environmental Change: Development Challenges Revisited

IDS Bulletin 56.1A

The establishment of the IDS Environment Group in 1990 created a line of research linked to policy that has remained central to the Institute ever since. In highlighting a series of IDS Bulletin issues, led by IDS researchers, this archive issue tracks the development of this work over the...

5 February 2025

Working Paper

The Politics of Social Assistance in Lebanon: Social Protection, Sectarianism, and Lebanon’s Fragmented Social Contract

BASIC Research Working Paper 32

This working paper explores the contemporary politics of social assistance in Lebanon.

5 February 2025

Brief

The Politics of Social Assistance in Lebanon

BASIC Research Policy Briefing 5

This brief examines the politics of social protection amid ongoing financial crisis in Lebanon.

5 February 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).