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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 373–384 of 15397 results

News

Lídia Cabral appointed to UN expert panel for resilient food systems report

Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is proud to share that Lídia Cabral, Research Fellow and founding member of the Food Equity Centre, has been selected to join the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) for the...

20 November 2024

Past Event

Food Equity Centre

Recovering our ancestral foodways

Mariaelena Huambachano's book Recovering Our Ancestral Foodways: Indigenous Traditions as a Recipe for Living Well (2024) provides a comprehensive ethnographic study of the philosophies of well-being, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and sustainable food systems of the Māori and Quechua...

20 November 2024

News

G20 policy recommendations from IDS experts

The G20 summit has been held in Brazil this week, with global leaders discussing issues ranging from the economy to sustainable development and health to agriculture and climate change. In the months running up to the summit, IDS academics have worked with researchers from G20 member countries...

19 November 2024

News

Join IDS for our gender justice events

To mark the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, IDS is involved in a series of events around gender equality. With gender and sexual rights increasingly under threat from a global wave of backlash, strategies are urgently needed to help feminist and LGBTQI+ groups come...

18 November 2024

Opinion

New entrants in Zimbabwe’s land reform areas

The demand for land in Zimbabwe was not resolved by the major land reform in 2000. Far from it. Many people missed out, and new generations too young to benefit from allocations nearly 25 years ago are seeking land for farming. With the urban economy continuing to contract and with limited...

18 November 2024

News

Podcast: How can we reimagine social protection in an uncertain world?

Social protection features in numerous country policies and development agency strategies, as well as in several Sustainable Development Goals. However, following more than two decades of considerable expansion in policies, programmes, and research, the sector finds itself at a crossroads. In...

14 November 2024

Past Event

Was there a famine in Gaza in 2024?

Following Israel’s declaration on 8 October 2023 of a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, a food crisis rapidly developed. But did the situation deteriorate into a full-blown famine? A series of food security assessments conducted by the international community in 2023-24 will be analysed...

14 November 2024

Opinion

Supporting African think tanks makes sense – and why more support is needed

Policy making is a messy business. While rationality and certainty are often viewed as desirable traits, the reality is that policy processes in the vast majority of contexts involve multiple actors, and are highly contested, volatile, uncertain, and complex. Policy-making is a political...

Maria Alejandra Ormeño Oviedo, IDS Student, MA in Governance, Development, and Public Policy

13 November 2024

News

Call for papers: Social and humanitarian assistance in crises

From 16 to 18 September 2025, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) will be hosting an international conference organised by the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research programme called 'Social and Humanitarian Assistance in Crises: agendas, ambitions and aspirations for more effective...

12 November 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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