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

Research Associate

Ana Pueyo

Research Fellow

Carlos Fortin

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 853–864 of 14837 results

Opinion

Preparing for the next pandemic: lessons from Zimbabwe

There is a lot of talk about pandemic preparedness, but what does it mean? Too often there are narrow, medicalised versions – focused for example on drug stockpiling, vaccine banks and so on. A forthcoming COVID Collective report – Pandemic Preparedness for the Real World – has...

16 January 2023

Brief

Grasping Patriarchal Backlash: A Brief for Smarter Countermoves

Nearly three decades ago the UN World Conference on Women at Beijing appeared to be uniting the international community around the most progressive platform for women’s rights in history. Instead of steady advancement, we have seen uneven progress, backsliding, co-option, and a recent rising...

15 January 2023

Opinion

Shifting power in pandemics

As preparations ramp up for a new global treaty on pandemics next year, it’s time to ask: Who is being prepared? For what? And by whom? Researchers in the Pandemic Preparedness Project spent three years exploring these fundamental questions and they shared their findings in an event featuring...

13 January 2023

Opinion

Approaching the capital: Nomadic pastoralist (im)mobilities in Mali

We are sitting in the corner of the boutique of Aicha, a small room full of veils and household items. The shop has two entrances, one on the street, one on the courtyard of the house. Aicha is concentrating on making tea, pouring the boiling infusion into small glasses to mount the foam, and...

Giulia Gonzales

13 January 2023

Working Paper

Kakai Religion and the Place of Music and the Tanbur

CREID Working Paper 19

This paper discusses the historical context and mythic framework of the Kakai religion. While some information regarding Kakai theological views and beliefs may be known to outsiders, many facets of their religious life, customs and traditions remain undisclosed.

13 January 2023

Opinion

We need to talk about equity in knowledge mobilisation

A movement towards equitable research partnerships and knowledge production has swept across research communities. However, we seem to hear much less about equitable knowledge exchange and mobilisation. Nonetheless, research engagement practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of the...

12 January 2023

Opinion

How could land in England be reformed for the commons?

Driven by deep inequalities and ecological crises, and inspired by progress in Scotland, social movements are advocating for England’s land to be governed more as a common resource. Generally, when people in England think of land reform movements, we tend to imagine that that they happen in...

10 January 2023

Journal Article

From One Flooding Crisis to the Next: Negotiating ‘the Maybe’ in Unequal Karachi

Every few years, Karachi floods during the summer monsoon. The flooding brings latent manoeuvrings by political actors looking to establish their hold over the city to the surface. Politicians, urban administrators, and relevant state and non-state institutions blame historical planning...

Sobia Ahmad Kaker

10 January 2023

Opinion

Backlash against student activists during #MeToo in Kolkata, India

Student politics in Kolkata is dominated by left-leaning organisations who look at the world in terms of ‘class struggle’ and claim to be supportive of all democratic movements – including women’s movements and anti-caste struggles. However, some scholars such as Arundhati Roy have...

9 January 2023

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).