Finn Tarp discussant on inequality at Danida webinar

On 11 November, Professor Finn Tarp from the Development Economics Research Group (DERG) took part as discussant in an online event organised by the Evaluation, Learning and Quality Department at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida). The event began with a presentation on poverty and inequality by Dr. Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, who presented insights from the upcoming update of the World Poverty Clock.

The event gathered Danida and World Bank staff, students and academics, and during his presentation, Finn Tarp gave an overview on how the thinking on inequality has changed over time, including conceptual changes and challenges in measuring inequality. He also highlighted the valuable contribution of UNU-WIDER to the debate with the September 2014 conference ‘Inequality – Measurement, Trends, Impacts, and Policies’, the building up of the World Income Inequality Data (WIID) and the dissemination of the Stockholm Statement – all work conducted by UNU-WIDER during Tarp's tenure as Director.

The discussion was not only a retrospective. Finn Tarp also shared insights on DERG’s ongoing research collaboration on the topic, particularly the current Novo funded project implemented in collaboration with UNU-WIDER: The Impact of Inequality on Growth, Human Development and Governance @EQUAL, and a series of studies on poverty dynamics and vulnerability under a FCDO/OPM agreement on Extreme Poverty.