Katja Hujo

Katja Hujo is Senior Research Coordinator in the Social Policy and Development Programme of UNRISD and member of the Institute’s Senior Management Group. She is coordinator and lead author of the latest UNRISD flagship report “Policy Innovations for Transformative Change – Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and organized the UNRISD 2018 Call for Paper Conference on “Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization”.

Katja’s academic work focuses on social policy, poverty and inequality, socio-economic development, and the sustainability transition. Much of her research is at the interface of economics and politics, for example her research on the political economy of pension reform, social protection and poverty reduction, social policy in mineral-rich contexts, the politics of domestic resource mobilization for social development, or more recently on the political drivers of inequality.

Katja joined UNRISD in 2006. Before, she was a research fellow and lecturer at the Latin American Institute at Free University Berlin (FUB). She studied economics (Diplom-Volkswirtschaft) and political science (MA) at Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen, Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) and National University of Córdoba, Argentina, and holds a doctoral degree in economics from FUB. In 2004, she was visiting fellow at CIEPP (Centro Interdisciplinario para los Estudios de las Políticas Públicas), Buenos Aires.

Katja is currently managing research projects on Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World; Universities and Social Inequalities in the Global South; VoiceIT: Strengthening LGBTQI+ Voices in Politics; Integrated Solutions to Protracted Displacement, and is partner in a global research hub on South-South Migration, Inequality and Development. She has published numerous articles, one monograph, nine edited volumes and three special journal issues. She is co-organizer of five editions of the World Social Work Day at the UN in Geneva from 2017-21. She is co-editor of the blog Series Overcoming Inequalities, of a special issue with the International Social Security Review (ISSR) on “The Human Right to Social Security” (December 2017), and has recently published The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development, with Palgrave Macmillan in July 2020.

Specialization:

Social policy / Social security and pension reform / Socio-economic development / Poverty and Inequality / Migration

Selected publications:

• (with Bastia, Tanja, Nicola Piper, Kavita Datta and Matthew Walsham. Decolonising gender and migration research through collaborative thinking and practice. MIDEQ Blog, https://www.mideq.org/en/blog/decolonising-gender-and-migration-research-through-collaborative-thinking-and-practice
• (with Carter, Maggie). 2019. The Shifting Landscape of Inequalities—What Have We Learned? UNRISD Think Piece, December 2019. UNRISD, Geneva. https://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/newsview.nsf/(httpNews)/C39F5A1CC41899BD802584CE004472AC
• 2019. Why we need better migration governance for achieving the SDGs. MIDEQ Blog, https://www.mideq.org/en/blog/better-migration-governance/
• (with Maggie Carter. 2019). Overcoming Inequalities in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Issue Brief No. 10, July 2019, UNRISD: Geneva.
• 2019. A global social contract: New steps towards a rights-based approach to migration governance? Global Social Policy, Vol. 19, No. 1-2, pp. 25-8.
• Commentary. Response to Martin Seeleib-Kaiser: Migration, social policy and power in historical perspective. Global Social Policy, Vol. 19 (3), 2019, pp. 275-281.
• 2019. Fiscal Austerity, Consolidation and Economic Crises: Human rights implications and policy responses. Expert commentary on Social Protection & Human Rights Platform, https://socialprotection-humanrights.org/expertcom/fiscal-austerity-consolidation-and-economic-crises-human-rights-implications-and-policy-responses
• (with Maggie Carter). Transformative Change for Children and Youth in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Office of Research - Innocenti Working Paper WP-2019-02, March 2019. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research.
• Response to featured Q&A on ”Will a U.S. Border Wall & Immigration Reform Happen?”, in Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin America Advisor, 20 December 2018, page 4.
• (with Maggie Carter). Fault Lines and Front Lines: Shifting Power in an Unequal World. Think Piece Series Overcoming Inequality in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization, October 2018. Geneva: UNRISD.
• Social Work and Youth: Towards Inclusive Sustainable Development. UNRISD Event Brief No. 6, October 2018. Geneva: UNRISD.
• (guest ed. with Christina Behrendt): Special Issue – The Human Right to Social Security. International Social Security Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 2017.
• (with Christina Behrendt and Roddy McKinnon): Introduction: Reflecting on the human right to social security. In International Social Security Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 2017, Special Issue – The Human Right to Social Security (edited by Katja Hujo, Christina Behrendt and Roddy McKinnon), pp. 5-12.
• Transformation and the Tax Collector. How to Make Tax Reform Work for Sustainable Development. Blog The Transformation Conversation. Geneva: UNRISD, 2016.
• (ed. with Ilcheong Yi) UNRISD Classics: Volume I: Social Policy and Inclusive Development. Geneva, UNRISD, 2016.
• Johan A. Oldekop, Lorenza B. Fontana, Jean Grugel, Nicole Roughton, Emmanuel A. Adu-Ampong, Gemma K. Bird, Alex Dorgan, Marcia A. Vera Espinoza, Sara Wallin, Daniel Hammett, Esther Agbarakwe, Arun Agrawal, Nurgul Asylbekova, Clarissa Azkoul, Craig Bardsley, Anthony J. Bebbington, Savio Carvalho, Deepta Chopra, Stamatios Christopoulos, Emma Crewe, Marie-Claude Dop, Joern Fischer, Daan Gerretsen, Jonathan Glennie, William Gois, Mtinkheni Gondwe, Lizz A. Harrison, Katja Hujo, Mark Keen, Roberto Laserna, Luca Miggiano, Sarah Mistry, Rosemary J. Morgan, Linda L. Raftree, Duncan Rhind, Thiago Rodrigues, Sonia Roschnik, Flavia Senkubuge, Ian Thornton, Simon Trace, Teresa Ore, Rene Mauricio Valdes, Bhaskar Vira, Nicola Yeates and William J. Sutherland. "100 Key Research Questions for the Post-2015 Development Agenda". In Development Policy Review, 2016, 34 (1), pp. 55—82.
• A Global Policy Laboratory. Reforming Pensions in Developing and Transition Countries. UNRISD Research and Policy Brief No. 19, October 2015, UNRISD, Geneva.
• "Destination: Socially Sustainable Development. Will Addis Lead the Way?"— Overview Think Piece: The Road to Addis and Beyond, 2015, UNRISD, Geneva.
• (with Gabriele Köhler): The Sustainable Development Agenda. From Inspiration to Action. UNRISD Beyond 2015 Brief No. 6, September 2015, UNRISD, Geneva.
• (ed.): Reforming Pensions in Developing and Transition Countries. Basingstoke: UNRISD/Palgrave, 2014.
• (with Mariana Rulli): The Political Economy of Pension Re-Reform in Chile and Argentina: Toward More Inclusive Protection. Research Paper 2014-1, Geneva: UNRISD, 2014.
• "Financing Social and Labour Market Policies in Times of Crisis and Beyond". In The Twin Challenge of Reducing Poverty and Creating Employment, edited by Donald Lee, Marta Roig and Amson Sibanda, 175-197. New York: UNDESA, 2013.
• (with Sarah Cook): "Social Protection in Development Context". In The Companion to Development Studies, edited by Vandana Desai and Rob Potter. Third Edition. Hodder Education, 470-475, 2013.
• (with Sarah Cook): The Political Economy of Social Pension Reform in Asia. 1-pager No. 208, ADB-IPC/UNDP/UNRISD. 2013.
• " Linking Social Policy, Migration, and Development in a Regional Context: The Case of sub-Saharan Africa" In Regions & Cohesion, 3 (3). Special Issue – Regions without Borders: Regional Governance, Migration and Social Protection in Africa and Europe, edited by Bob Deacon, Lorenzo Fioramonti and Sonja Nita, 30-55. 2013.
• "Some Migrants Ignored". Letter in response to the article ‘Does migration change life for the better for people from poor countries?’. In The Guardian Weekly, 25 October 2013.
• "Response to Featured Q&A on ‘What Factors Are Driving Migration Trends in the Region?’" In Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin America Advisor, 27 September 2013.
• Mineral Rents and the Financing of Social Policy: Options and Constraints. UNRISD Research and Policy Brief No. 16, December 2012, UNRISD, Geneva.
• (ed.) Mineral Rents and the Financing of Social Policy: Opportunities and Challenges. Basingstoke: UNRISD/Palgrave, 2012.
• (with Sarah Cook): "The Political Economy of Social Pension Reform in Asia". In Social Protection for Older People in Asia, edited by Sri Wening Handayani and Babken Babajanian, Asian Development Bank, Manila, 2012.
• (with Elena Gaia) (eds.): “Guest Editorial: Social Policy and Poverty: an Introduction”. Special Issue International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(3), 230-239, 2011.
• (with Elena Gaia and Fran Bennett, eds.): Editorial to Themed Section on Conditionality in Anti-Poverty Programmes. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice 19(1), 2011.
• (ed. with Nicola Piper): South-South Migration: Implications for Social Policy and Development. Basingstoke: UNRISD/Palgrave, 2010.
• (ed. with Shea McClanahan): Financing Social Policy. Mobilizing Resources for Social Development. Basingstoke: UNRISD/Palgrave, 2009.
• (with Nicola Piper): South-South Migration: Challenges for Development and Social Policy. In: Development, 50 (4), December 2007, 19-25.
• (ed. with Barbara Fritz), Ökonomie unter den Bedingungen Lateinamerikas: Erkundungen zu Geld und Kredit, Sozialpolitik und Umwelt . Frankfurt/Madrid: Vervuert, 2005. (Economics under the conditions of Latin America: explorations on money and credit, social policy and environment).
• (ed. with C. Mesa-Lago/ M. Nitsch): Públicos o privados? Los sistemas de pensiones en América Latina después de dos décadas de reformas. Caracas: Nueva Sociedad, 2004.
• Soziale Sicherung im Kontext von Stabilisierung und Strukturanpassung: Die Reform der Rentenversicherung in Argentinien. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2004 (Social security in the context of stabilization and structural adjustment: The pension reform in Argentina).
• Kapitalverkehrskontrollen als Entwicklungspolitisches Instrument– Ist die Chilenische Erfahrung eine Erfolgsgeschichte? In: Lateinamerika Analysen (Hamburg), (6), October 2003 (Capital controls as an instrument for development policy – is the Chilean experience a success story?).
• Neun Jahre nach der strukturellen Rentenreform in Argentinien - Evaluierung und Perspektiven. In: Deutsche Rentenversicherung 58 (11-12), 2003 (Nine years after structural pension reform in Argentina – evaluation and perspectives).
• Die Wirtschaftspolitik der Regierung Menem: Stabilisierung und Strukturreformen im Kontext des Konvertibilitätsplans. In: Birle/Carrerras (eds.): Argentinien nach zehn Jahren Menem – Wandel und Kontinuität. Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert, 2002 (The economic policy of the Menem government: stabilization and structural reform in the context of the convertibility plan).
• "Novos Paradigmas Na Previdência Social: Lições Do Chile E Da Argentina." In: Planejamento E Políticas Públicas (Brasília), (19), June 1999, pp. 149-188.
• "Paradigmatic Change in Old-Age Security – Latin American Cases." In: Müller, K. et al. (eds.): Transformation of Social Security: Pensions in Central-Eastern Europe. Heidelberg: Physica, 1999.