Policy Papers

The ability of small-scale farmers to earn a living income is critical to ensure their viability and economic success. This paper argues that closing the living income gap for small-scale farmers requires tackling the underlying imbalance in risk and market power that many of them face when engaging in global food value chains.

The petroleum sector offers governments huge potential revenues that could be invested in poverty alleviation and inequality reduction, but those revenues must first be collected. Oxfam proposes recommendations to address these challenges and ensure that governments collect the taxes owed for the exploitation of their finite, nonrenewable petroleum resources.

Development finance institutions have not extended openness and transparency to high-risk projects financed through their financial intermediary clients. Oxfam has outlined a suggested framework, Open Books for High-Risk Financing, which proposes a set of principles to systematize and enhance disclosure in financial intermediary lending.

The situation facing working women, their changing patterns of work and the hardships and disadvantages they face have a profound potential to reshape the world we live in. This report seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Europe’s working women, particularly those in precarious and low-paid work.

This research report explores the decision making processes of displaced people and returnees in Salah al-Din governorate, Iraq. It finds that against a backdrop of strong family and community support, displaced people and returnees – including women – have surprising levels of agency and self-direction.

This paper examines current and planned IFI energy sector support in Asian climate-vulnerable countries. It shows how this is not yet fit for purpose, and recommends how IFIs can intervene at this critical juncture to give governments the confidence to accelerate the transition to renewable energy for all.

This second edition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index is based on a new database of indicators, now covering 157 countries, which measures government action on social spending, tax and labour rights – three areas found to be critical to reducing the inequality gap.

Three years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reliable information on how companies are working to contribute to the SDGs remains sparse. This paper uses five general themes (prioritization; integration; ambition; human rights and gender equality; and reporting) to review the SDG engagement of 76 of the world’s largest companies.

Oxfam estimates that just one of the richest men in Ghana earns from his wealth more in a month than one of the poorest women could earn in 1,000 years. In this report, we call on the government of Ghana to use public spending to reduce inequality and put women’s economic empowerment at the heart of policymaking.  

New Oxfam research shows that four pharmaceutical corporations – Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co (MSD), and Pfizer – systematically hide their profits in overseas tax havens. This activity could deprive developing countries of more than $100 million every year – money that is urgently needed to meet the health needs of people in these countries.