The World Institute for Development Economics Research began operations in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland, as the first research centre of the United Nations University.
Today it is a unique blend of think tank, research institute, and UN agency – providing a range of services from policy advice to governments as well as freely available original research coordinated by a core group of resident and non-resident researchers and undertaken by a global network of collaborators.
UNU-WIDER is funded through an endowment fund with additional contributions from Denmark, Finland, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Our mission
• To undertake research and policy analysis on the most pressing concerns affecting the living conditions of the world’s poorest people.
• To provide a forum for knowledge sharing, discussion and debate between researchers and development professionals on how to achieve equitable, gender-balanced, and environmentally sustainable policies.
• To offer capacity-building and training for research and decision makers in economics and social development
