Amy Croome, from Oxfam GB, interviews fellow researchers, and civil society actors, on approaches, challenges, and opportunities to tax justice in Asia. For two days academics, activists and civil society actors came together in Delhi to discuss tax justice, illicit financial flows and tax havens in Asia. A key theme was the important role of narratives in motivating people to …
Business must show more commitment and collaboration on climate change
OPINION: At the Paris climate summit there were promising signs from the private sector about taking action on climate change, but the path to a low carbon future is still far from clear. Lucia Lopez Pineda urges businesses to step up their game in collaboration with civil society and the development sector. This week the Business and Climate Summit 2016 …
Webinar – on the cusp: proposals to advance the cash reform
NEWS: Background While cash has benefited from an unprecedented attention from high level policy-makers in the build-up to the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), the Summit itself did not fully deliver on its promises. The call from the UN Secretary-General for cash-based assistance to become the default method of support for people in emergencies wherever possible was diluted into promises for …
Women’s work: mothers, children and the global childcare crisis
OPINION: Both women and children are suffering as a result of a global childcare crisis and a lack of policies to address the childcare deficit argues Tanvi Bhatkal, Research Officer at the Overseas Development Institute. Families around the world are squeezed between the twin demands of work outside the home and that inside it. These conflicting demands have been contributing …
Thank you, Mossack Fonseca, for a textbook case study
OPINION: In light of the Panama Papers, tax havens have come under more scrutiny than ever before. Here Franziska Mager, Research Assistant at Oxfam, delves into why these leaks show the links between inequality and tax havens. The Panama Papers, like previous leaks, have had an almost movielike quality. If you are reading this, you have probably found yourself glued …
The missing trillion
OPINION: As the poorest half of people are getting poorer, but their incomes are rising, there are questions around why. Below, Mark Goldring, CEO of Oxfam GB, has a conversation with Tony Shorrocks of Credit Suisse about this issue and the need to dig deeper. Mark: Extreme poverty rates are lower than at any time in human history, and continue …
Tackling inequality and unsustainable consumption – together
OPINION: In many countries economic inequality is growing and the wealthiest are also those with the biggest carbon footprints. Dario Kenner, Independent Researcher, suggests that governments should act to reduce inequality and overconsumption in tandem. If governments are serious about meeting their commitments to tackle climate change they must ensure their policies in other areas such as inequality are compatible …
Tax havens: Not as far away as you think
OPINION: A new Oxfam report highlighted this week that because the UK heads up the world’s biggest financial secrecy network, spanning its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and centred on the City of London, it has an unparallelled opportunity to help end the era of tax havens. Luke Gibson, Tax and Inequality Policy Adviser, takes us through how these tax …
What is a human worth? Bold commitments from business needed
Business has a key role to play in tackling inequality, but the evidence suggests this isn’t happening. Erinch Sahan, Global Adviser on Business and Markets, proposes corporate targets that would ensure workers get a fairer proportion of profits. Extreme inequality is rising and business is key to tackling it. We need companies that are geared to channel much more of …
Fortunes for the fortunate: all 62 of them
The gap between the richest and the poorest in the world is growing at an alarming rate. In the run up to the World Economic Forum Deborah Hardoon, Deputy Head of Research, introduces Oxfam’s latest inequality data and shares her personal reflections from two years of work on these shocking statistics. Two years ago, Oxfam made headlines when we crunched …