Inequality over the life course

UNU-WIDER requests research proposals for its Inequality over the life course project. We invite original research which speaks to this project's core themes of intergenerational mobility and labour market inequality and which offer strong empirical or theoretical contributions.

A deeper understanding of dynamics driving inequalities within countries is crucial. Despite the increasing importance of top incomes or capital incomes in recent academic and public debates on inequality, most people make their living through work, whether in a subsistence economy or by participating in formal or informal labour markets. Thus, understanding what drives earnings inequality, particularly in the context of Global South countries, is essential.

Other inequalities which later manifest as unequal labour market outcomes (in terms of earnings or income inequality) may have roots in unequal access to education, or several other factors during one’s lifetime—such as the neighborhoods pe...