Related Articles

Matching keywords : strategic, institutions, democracy, specialized, governance, accountability, crucial, integrity, non-government, private.

eSSay:The Managerial University and Liberal Arts’ Balancing Act

The managerialism that marks the HEIs has altered the Liberal Arts’ perception of itself and the face it presents to the world. Can the academic manager build opinions, policies and decisions about th...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 09 Oct 2021

Model Nagar Raj Bill: Taking Democracy to the Grassroots

Participation of citizen in local governance is a key component for good governance. It extends the citizens’ role beyond that of a voter . It ensures a more equal distribution of power and resources...

by Kedar Diwan | On 21 Feb 2021

Business Standard Weekend Ruminations: The market as weapon: What China has long exploited India has rarely used

Opening up India's market to neighbouring countries can be as strategic as access denial to others. The game should be played both ways, even if it upsets domestic business lobbies.

by T.N. Ninan | On 16 Aug 2020

It is not enough to have a strong govt; you need a strong country

While the govt has done many things right, it has also made mistakes that have weakened India. It should acknowledge challenges, reverse economic slide, and build national cohesion.

by T.N. Ninan | On 27 Jul 2020

Weekend Ruminations: Advice for shoot-from-the-hip nationalists: Take aim before firing

It's all good to be tactical - keep China out of strategic markets; hit back in the same coin if it looks to keep India's key sectors out - but don't shoot yourself in the foot.

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 Jun 2020

How to Modernise the Working of Courts and Tribunals in India

Indian courts are clogged with large backlogs. Part of the reason for the problem is that cases take a very long time to move through the courts. It slows progress of court cases is harmful for the In...

by Pratik Dutta | On 30 Mar 2019

Environmental Governance and Environmental Performance

Along with the continuous development of the global economy, environmental deterioration has been widely recognized as a pressing issue nowadays, bringing environmental governance to the forefront of...

by Chun-Ping Chang | On 28 Mar 2019

Human Rights Watch World Report, 2019. Events of 2018

World Report 2019 is Human Rights Watch’s 29th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, draw...

by | On 27 Mar 2019

The case of the spurious drug kingpin: Shifting pills in Chennai

The public lecture by Dr. Sarah Hodges, organised by the Forum for Medical Ethics Society with the Centre for Law and Society, School of Law, and Constitutional Governance, Centre for Public Health, S...

by Sarah Hodges | On 22 Mar 2019

Readiness of National Statistical Systems in Asia and the Pacific for Leveraging Big Data to Monitor the SDGs

In September 2015, the world committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have broad and interconnected social, economic, social, econo...

by Jose Ramon Albert | On 20 Mar 2019

Rebalancing the Economy and Reforming the Fiscal System of the People’s Republic of China

The goal of the note is to lay out and discuss a package of reforms that could be consistent with the objectives of the government. The fiscal instruments that we consider here include the division of...

by Roy Bahl | On 07 Mar 2019

Innovation, Efficiency and Inclusion: Integration of Digital Technologies in the Indian Microfinance Sector

This paper explores how these mechanisms - innovation, inclusion and efficiency – have been integral to microfinance operations in the past, and how innovations in digital technology may be yet anothe...

by Saon Ray | On 04 Feb 2019

Enlargement Decisions of Regional Trading Blocs with Asymmetric Members

This paper analyzes the conditions under which an existing bilateral free trade area (FTA) prefers to expand in size and when it prefers consolidation through customs union (CU) formation when the exi...

by Sunandan Ghosh | On 31 Jan 2019

The Development of Education and Health Services in Asia and the Role of the State

This paper analyses the dramatic spread of education and healthcare in Asia and also the large variations in that spread across and within countries over fifty years. Apart from differences in initial...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 14 Jan 2019

Bangladesh Goes to the Polls: A Street-side View

An informal but informed Indian professional on assignment in Dhaka sends this engaging commentary on the general elections in Bangladesh.

by Srikanth S | On 05 Jan 2019

Does the Exposure to Routinization Explain the Evolution of the Labour Share of Income ? Evidence from Asia

This paper analyzes the evolution of the labor share of income in Asia, a region where countries have experienced steep declines and increases as well as stable labor income shares in the quarter-cent...

by Mitali Das | On 13 Dec 2018

Indian Banks and the Prevention of Corruption Act: Freedom and Discipline

Selfless activists like Mr. Pai teach us the importance of continuously interrogating the functioning of our democracy. The NPA issue has persisted for almost a decade. It has eroded the profitability...

by Ashima Goyal | On 29 Oct 2018

Infrastructure Financing in South Asia

This paper discusses public and private sector financing of infrastructure, and examines the factors driving infrastructure investment in this subregion. Using a panel of three large South Asian count...

by Shikha Jha | On 26 Sep 2018

Strengthening India’s External Intelligence Infrastructure: An Assessment .

This paper outlines a number of points, which would help to develop a more superior external intelligence infrastructure. In absence of a national security strategy (NSS), the task of intelligence age...

by Shantanu K. Bansal | On 04 Sep 2018

Obstacles and Enablers of Internationalization of Philippine SMEs Through Participation in Global Value Chains

This paper attempts to determine the challenges and enablers of connecting small and medium businesses to global value chains. It uses data from a survey of SMEs in Metro Manila and a set of key infor...

by Jamil Paolo Francisco | On 30 Aug 2018

Financing Solar Photovoltaic Transition: From Utility to Residential Market Adoption in Emerging Economies

This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of different financial schemes for introducing PV facilities in terms of the suitability of funding vehicles and investment mechanisms. Given the p...

by Ranaporn Tantiwechwuttikul | On 13 Aug 2018

Financial Inclusion, Financial Regulation, Financial Literacy, and Financial education in the Kyrgyz Republic

This paper discusses recent developments in financial inclusion and financial literacy in Kyrgyz Republic. While financial inclusion is considered one of the key drivers of today’s development, it is...

by Savia Hasanova | On 19 Jul 2018

Assessment of the BUB Program: Improving Access of Local Communities to Basic Services and Strengthening Social Capital

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster (HDPRC) and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster (GGACC) launched the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) exercise in...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 05 Jul 2018

Process Evaluation of the CHED K to 12 Adjustment Assistance Program

This paper evaluates the implementation of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) K to 12 Adjustment Assistance Program, established following the full implementation of the Enhanced Basic Educatio...

by Alex Brillantes | On 29 Jun 2018

Measuring Transboundary Water Cooperation: Learning from the Past to Inform the Sustainable Development Goals

This paper mines relevant past work to generate guidance for monitoring the proposed SDG target related to transboundary water cooperation. Potential measures of water cooperation were identified, fil...

by Davison Saruchera | On 27 Jun 2018

Assessing Public Expenditure Efficiency at Indian States

This paper attempts to understand what drives the public expenditure efficiency among the States. For this, it looks at the role of economic growth as well as quality of governance. The results of inp...

by Ranjan Kumar Mohanty | On 20 Jun 2018

Explaining the Growth of CSR within OECD Countries: The Role of Institutional Legitimacy in Resolving the Institutional Mirror vs. Substitute Debate

The study has developed three hypotheses based on two (rationalist and constructivist/sociological) strands of institutional theory. Based on a new dataset comprising the corporate membership in busin...

by Daniel Kinderman | On 12 Apr 2018

MGNREGS: POLITICAL ECONOMY, LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND ASSET CREATION IN SOUTH INDIA

MGNREGS, the premier centrally-sponsored national rural livelihood scheme, is one of the most elaborately designed and implemented public workfare programmes in India. While a large number of studi...

by Vinoj Abraham | On 05 Apr 2018

Informality, Governance and Growth

This paper develops a growth framework of a typical developing and democratic setting with formal and informal sectors, which faces trade-off of redistribution through either direct subsidy or strat...

by Dibyendu Maiti | On 05 Apr 2018

Effects of Contract Governance on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Performance

This paper empirically examines the impact of differences in contract attributes on project outcomes. The hypothesis is to test whether better incentive structure and stricter administrative controls...

by Chandan Kumar | On 05 Apr 2018

Role of Bidding Method and Risk Allocation in the Performance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects

This paper analyses the Indian PPP framework, including its bidding process and the standard concession agreement. The paper argues that the existing bidding method (i.e. premium/grant based method) c...

by Chandan Kumar | On 05 Apr 2018

Opportunism and Hold-up in the Incomplete Public Private Partnership (PPP) Contracts

This paper attempts to find the answer to this question. It examines the contract design of the Indian PPP road contracts and analyzes its strengths and weaknesses to avoid the opportunism or hold-up...

by Chandan Kumar | On 05 Apr 2018

People, Policy and Partnership for Disaster Resilience Development: Proceedings

The report says that the Bunkar Samiti was establised to create a common platform for sustainable livelihoods.

by National Alliance Risk Reduction (NAADRR) | On 05 Apr 2018

Cow Vigilantism: Crime, Community and Livelihood January 2016 to March 2018

From 2015 there has been a spate of incidents of violence and intimidation around issues of cow slaughter and beef. These ranged from the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq for alleged cow theft, slaughter...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 04 Apr 2018

A Comparison of Global Governance Across Sectors: Global Health, Trade and Multilateral Development Finance

To what extent do the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank remain central today and how much influence do they still wield in shaping the global agenda? While...

by | On 30 Mar 2018

Policy Brief on Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)

In addition good and effective governance is also reflected in the quality of physical infrastructure like roads, electricity availability, ports and transport.

by Forum for Knowledge Sharing | On 27 Mar 2018

One Hundred Ninth Report on the National Medical Commission Bill, 2017

The Preamble to The National Medical Commission Bill, 2017 lays down its mission statement, which is to provide for a medical education system that ensures availability of adequate and high quality...

by Rajya Sabha Secretariat | On 23 Mar 2018

India: the next superpower ?: The Untold Story of India's Economy

As India looks towards further liberalisation, it must fi rst prepare its economic institutions by re-orienting them from managing the economy to regulating the economy. Without an enhancement of re...

by | On 16 Mar 2018

Investment Choice with Managerial Incentive Schemes

In this paper we show that firms might get an additional strategic benefit from using marginal-cost-reducing investments in conjunction with a managerial incentive scheme. While both these instrumen...

by | On 12 Mar 2018

Managing Financial Globalization: Insights from the Recent Literature

This paper seeks to draw lessons for developing countries based on a survey of the recent literature on financial globalization. First, while capital account openness holds promises (by potentially lo...

by Shang-Jin Wei | On 10 Mar 2018

India and Bhutan: The Strategic Imperative

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed aware about the nuances that underpin India's cultural and political obligations in Asia. By making Bhutan as his first visit abroad followed by a visit to Nepal, h...

by | On 20 Feb 2018

On Some Currently-Fashionable Propositions In Public Finance

The paper says that putting the matter differently, the price-system plays multiple roles: it acts as a signal for the use of available resources for producing at any particular point on the Productio...

by Prabhat Patnaik | On 19 Feb 2018

Dynamics of Change in Kerala’s Education System: The Socio-economic and Political Dimensions

The paper finds that the share of education in the State’s budget has reached an all-time low precisely when the State Domestic Product has been recording all-time high growth rates.

by K.K. George | On 16 Feb 2018

Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in North East India

The report says that the ISI has been equally thorough and ruthless in repressing political opponents to the military regimes that have ruled over Pakistan for more than half of its fiftyseven years o...

by Harinder Sekhon | On 12 Feb 2018

Governance Dilemmas of Sustainable Cities

This paper aims to scrutinize the dilemmas involved in governing sustainable cities, and it offers a suggestion for how the challenge might be addressed.

by Joakim Öjendal | On 08 Feb 2018

Proceedings of the Workshop: State of the Art of Local Governance - Challenges for the Next Decade

The discussions in the workshop ranged from scrutinizing overall models of governance via technical and administrative applications to philosophical debates about the core values of democracy

by Bent Jörgensen | On 07 Feb 2018

Citizen Engagement, Deliberative Spaces and the Consolidation of a Post-Authoritarian Democracy: The Case of Indonesia

This paper argues that support for citizen participation and accountability among civil society actors can consolidate local deliberative spaces and improve the performance of local government.

by Hans Antlöv | On 07 Feb 2018

Choice, Recognition and the Democracy Effects of Decentralization

The report says that many democratic decentralization reforms are well-crafted.

by James Manor | On 07 Feb 2018

The Indian Parliament as an Institution of Accountability

This paper examines the institutional challenges facing the Indian Parliament. It argues that over the years there has been a decline in the effectiveness of Parliament as an institution of accounta...

by Pratap Mehta | On 05 Feb 2018

BMC Budget 2018: Budget Estimates A, B and G

Budget Speech by Municipal Commissioner

by Ajoy Mehta | On 05 Feb 2018

Financing Small and Medium Towns: An Action Research Study from Bemetara Town in India

This research project studied the emerging challenges of small and medium towns in India to improve their finances and provide good services to their inhabitants.

by Yogesh Kumar | On 02 Feb 2018

Choosing Democracy: Natural Resource Management for Environmental Policy Makers, Donors and Practitioners

The brief talks about supporting local democracy in forestry is crucial for enhancing local people’s wellbeing.

by Jesse Ribot | On 02 Feb 2018

Union Budget 2018: Budget Speech

Speech of Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance on February 1, 2018

by Arun Jaitley | On 01 Feb 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume I, Chapter 4: Reconciling Fiscal Federalism and Accountability: Is there a Low Equilibrium Trap?

Long-run institutional development co-evolves with fiscal accountability involving, perhaps requiring, a low and declining dependence on devolved resources and a high and rising share of direct taxe...

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments

There are today 264 million children and youth not going to school – this is a failure that we must tackle together, because education is a shared responsibility and progress can only be sustainable...

by United Nations Girls Education Initiative | On 22 Jan 2018

Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments

There are today 264 million children and youth not going to school – this is a failure that we must tackle together, because education is a shared responsibility and progress can only be sustainable t...

by | On 22 Jan 2018

A Guide to Using Budget Analysis

Budget analysis entails analysis and assessment of budget from the lens of marginalised sections of population with the objective of prioritisation of public expenditures and collection of revenues...

by Happy Pant | On 17 Jan 2018

Northeast India: The Emerging Scenarios

The paper narrates that in today’s age of globalization and trans-border connectivity, the Northeast is fast emerging as the potential gateway for India to Southeast and East Asia through Myanmar.

by Namrata Goswami | On 17 Jan 2018

Impact Assessment Study of Digital Saksharta Abhiyan

An "Impact Assessment Study of the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan under National Digital Literacy Mission” was initiated in November 2016 by Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS), Hyderabad, Te...

by Centre for Innovations in Public System | On 16 Jan 2018

Can We Measure the Power of the Grabbing Hand?: A Comparative Analysis of Different Indicators of Corruption

This paper critically reviews the strengths and weaknesses of various objective and subjective indicators of corruption.

by Alexander Hamilton | On 15 Jan 2018

People, Policy and Partnership for Disaster Resilience Development

The paper narrates about the proceedings that were centered on a wide range of community level risk reduction efforts that are effectively reducing vulnerabilities as well as influencing development p...

by National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction NADRR | On 10 Jan 2018

Mapping Spaces For Democratic Participation In South Aceh Indonesia

The paper explored participatory aspects of local democracy in Aceh and some major challenges in South Aceh for people’s participation in local decision-making processes.

by Leena Avonius | On 08 Jan 2018

Informal Economy Budget Analysis in Philippines and Quezon City

The study says that the poverty reduction targets in the Philippines were incorporated for the first time in the 1987–1992 Development Plan and, after that, anti-poverty became the centerpiece program...

by Francie Lund | On 07 Dec 2017

Globalisation, Democratic Decentralisation and Social Secutiy in India

This paper examines the role of democratic decentralisation in promoting inclusive governance (responsive, efficient equitable) and social security in the context of globalisation. Firstly, the paper...

by | On 07 Dec 2017

Scheduled Castes, Legitimacy and Local Governance: Continuing Social Exclusion in Panchayats

People of the Scheduled Castes have a long history of being discriminated against, exploited, and placed at the bottom of caste society. The panchayati raj, after the enactment of the 73rd Constitutio...

by | On 07 Dec 2017

The Determinants of Virtue: Modelling Changes in the CSR Ratings of Chinese Firms

Most empirical studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) use cross-sectional data or case studies, making causality hard to establish. The paper overcomes this limitation by using panel data on...

by Shuangqi Wu | On 23 Nov 2017

Inequality, Good Governance and Endemic Corruption

Can a society suffering contests between rich and poor achieve good governance in the face of endemic corruption? The paper examines a stylized poor state with weak institutions in which a “culture of...

by Gil S. Epstein | On 21 Nov 2017

Electronic filing System, Bureaucratic Efficiency and Public Service Delivery: Evidence from Bangladesh

A look into the effect of an e-Governance initiative in Bangladesh is on efficiency in the public sector. The electronic Filing (e-Filing) system was introduced to all the Deputy Commissioners' (DC)...

by Wahid Abdallah | On 15 Nov 2017

Governance Interventions in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries

The paper reviews an emerging body of literature on the design and evaluation of current or recent governance interventions in countries with ongoing violent conflict, recovering from conflict or at s...

by Patricia Justino | On 31 Oct 2017

Data Ecosystems for Sustainable Development: The Africa Data Revolution Report 2016

This report aims to serve as the foundation upon which the nations can create data eco-systems to serve developmental aims.

by Aritra Chakrabarty | On 26 Oct 2017

BRICS AND Illicit financial flows

There is a growing sense of anguish among the citizens across the world with the increasing number of public disclosures exposing how a small group of global elite (individuals as well as MNCs) have b...

by | On 25 Oct 2017

Trade Misinvoicing: What can we measure?

The existing studies on trade misinvoicing have focussed on the discrepancy in reported trade statistics between developing and developed countries. The estimates based on such methods rely on the ass...

by Suranjali Tandon | On 10 Oct 2017

Internet Governance and Developing Countries: Implications for India

The internet has created a one world of information and commerce. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) nearly 40 per cent of the world population is currently using the Interne...

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries | On 05 Oct 2017

Federalism: Prospects for the Philippines

The paper aims to consider potential benefits of federalism to the Philippines within the context of two major development constraints, namely, weak economic growth and poverty.

by Romulo Miral Jr | On 03 Oct 2017

East Asian Financial and Economic Development

Japan, an isolated, backward country in the 1860s, industrialized rapidly to become a major industrial power by the 1930s. South Korea, among the world’s poorest countries in the 1960s,joined the rank...

by Randall Morck | On 25 Sep 2017

Improving Data on Missing Migrants

The reports discuss the methodological challenges of gathering data on missing migrants.

by Frank Laczko | On 25 Sep 2017

The Political Historiography of Modern Gujarat

The focus of this paper is on the political history of modern Gujarat, which has been an intriguing one. The paper identifies and discusses in the broad landscape of Gujarat’s politics three notable d...

by Tannen Neil Lincoln | On 14 Sep 2017

Real Democratization in Cambodia? An Empirical Review of the Potential of a Decentralization Reform

This has facilitated the growth of a (more) positive relationship between civil society and the local state reduced the governance gap and enhanced the legitimacy of the local state.

by Joakim Öjendal | On 01 Sep 2017

How Did China become the largest Solar PV Manufacturing Country?

Globally increasing demand for solar gear and a domestic thrust on solar manufacturing have propelled China to the top position in terms of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing countries.

by Nagalakshmi Puttaswamy | On 29 Aug 2017

Economic Integration and Development Partnerships: Southern Perspectives

Regional integration (RI) is a process by which countries enter into an agreement to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules. The objectives of the agreement could range from economi...

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries | On 24 Aug 2017

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in South Asia

The report, Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in South Asia- Evidence for Interventions in the Health Sector, Women’s Collectives and Local Governance Mechanisms, is based on a systemic review of l...

by Rohini Prabha Pande | On 18 Aug 2017

The Politics of Pseudoactions Local Governance and Gender Policy Implementation in the Western Balkans

The analysis, based on extensive fieldwork carried out over a three-year period, shows successful implementation of GRB in the region to be hindered not only by barriers such as lack of political comm...

by Andrea Spehar | On 11 Aug 2017

Strengthening Local Governance in Africa: Beyond Donor-Driven Approaches

The paper argues, in line with other recent studies that time has come to rethink concepts and practices used to promote local governance in African countries.

by Göran Hydén | On 10 Aug 2017

A Political Economy Analysis of the Southeast Asian Haze and Some Solutions

This paper studies the political economy of the Southeast Asian haze and discusses the obstacles that, unless overcome, could prevent a permanent and effective solution to this transboundary pollution...

by Parkash Chander | On 08 Aug 2017

An Approach to Forest and Conservation Policy in Southeast Asia

Forest and conservation policy in Southeast Asia is now at yet another crossroads. Despite decades of efforts, the challenges ahead remain formidable. These challenges include: (i) continued deforesta...

by Gary Bull | On 08 Aug 2017

Making Women Count for Peace: Gender, Empowerment and Conflict in South Asia

With a focus on Northeast Indian experiences and a comparative look at Nepal, this project addresses the role of women in local governance and politics, particularly within the context of peace and se...

by Calcutta Group | On 04 Aug 2017

Can Bihar Break the Clientelist Trap? The Political Effects of Programmatic Development Policy

It is widely recognized that politics affects policy-making, but there is little knowledge about how politics can be made more conducive to effective governance. This study reverses the relationship...

by Jonathan Phillips | On 02 Aug 2017

Reconfiguring International Financial Institutions: The BRICS Initiative

This paper examines the implications of the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) for the international financial system and for the BRICS coun...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 31 Jul 2017

Developing a Biomedical R&D and Innovation Landscape for India: A Scoping Study

WHO SEARO has sought to fulfill its vision of building a national level biomedical R&D and innovation observatory. In this report we have focused on the feasibility of establishing a national observat...

by | On 27 Jul 2017

Rethinking the Development of Post-War Sri Lanka Based on the Singapore Model

This study explores three major points, namely, Singapore's development process,Singapore's model of economic development, and the economic challenges of post-war Sri Lanka. This study explores pages...

by Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake | On 25 Jul 2017

East Asia Department Knowledge Management Initiatives in 2014

This annual publication showcases the results of knowledge management initiatives of the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank in 2014.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 Jul 2017

Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2017 Supplement: Cautious Optimism for Asia's Outlook

With export demand stronger than expected in the first quarter of 2017, the region’s GDP is forecast to expand somewhat faster than forecast in April in Asian Development Outlook 2017.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 20 Jul 2017

Facilitating Foreign Exchange Risk Management for Bond Investments in ASEAN+3

The report says that the bond investors typically have a long position in local currency bond markets. To manage their foreign exchange risk, they may want to hedge that exposure for a period of time.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 Jul 2017

Harmonization and Standardization of Bond Market Infrastructures in ASEAN+3: ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum Sub-Forum 2 Phase 3 Report

This report is an outcome of Phase 3 discussions under the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum Sub-Forum 2, which have focused on making bond market infrastructures in the region more inter-operable through the...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 Jul 2017

Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project in Bangladesh: Sharing Knowledge on Community-Driven Development

This report describes how applying community-driven development principles to managing the water resource can both expand livelihood opportunities available to beneficiaries at no additional cost to t...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Trunk Roads

This report reviews how the road sector in Myanmar can make the greatest contribution to the country’s national ambitions as possible. It seeks to identify bottlenecks and attempts to formulate possi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: River Transport

Myanmar has an extensive river network that is well positioned to serve the country’s main transport corridors, including the link between Yangon and Mandalay. However, main rivers are difficult to na...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 31 May 2017

A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration in Asia and the Pacific: 2016

The analysis and practical guidance provided in this report are based on surveys of revenue bodies conducted in 2014 and 2015, along with accompanying research of revenue bodies’ corporate documents,...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 22 May 2017

Uncovering Heterogeneity in the Relationship between Competition, Corporate Governance and Firm Performance using Quantile Regression on Indian Data

This paper investigates the relation between product market competition, corporate governance and firm performance in Indian manufacturing industries covering the period 2005-2015. Evidence suggests t...

by Indrani Chakraborty | On 19 May 2017

Study Report on Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Across Indian States and UTs

An important reason for this dichotomy between agriculture and non agricultural sectors is that the former is a state subject under the Indian Constitution placing the burden of implementation of refo...

by Ramesh Chand | On 18 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Singapore

The report say that the Singapore bond market has become one of the most developed open capital markets in Asia with over US$221 billion in total local currency bonds outstanding with an additional US...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 May 2017

The Comply-or-Explain Approach for Enforcing Governance Norms Subrata Sarkar

In recent years the comply-or-explain approach for enforcing corporate governance norms has gained ground in regulatory parlance. The comply-or-explain approach has the advantage of tailoring govern...

by Subrata Sarkar | On 04 May 2017

Compliance in Letter and Compliance in Spirit? - Evidence from Board and Audit Committee Meetings in India

This paper analyzes two notions of compliance, 'compliance in letter' and 'compliance in spirit', using data on Board and Audit Committee meetings from India under its Clause 49 corporate governance ...

by Subrata Sarkar | On 03 May 2017

Household Expenditure on Higher Education in India: What do we know & What do recent data have to say?

The paper analyse data from two recent NSSO surveys to provide estimates of expenditure on higher education and loans availed for higher education. The average share of expenditure on higher educatio...

by S. Chandrasekhar | On 02 May 2017

Labor Market Institutions and the Future of Work: Good Jobs for All?

Work and employment around the globe change continuously, but there are potentially more rapid and fundamental transformations ahead as new technologies can have major impact on what jobs will exist i...

by | On 27 Apr 2017

Space India 2.0 Commerce, Policy, Security and Governance Perspectives

This book addresses many of these prevalent policy issues and suggests measures to address them from the varied perspectives of space commerce, space policy, space security, global governance, and in...

by | On 14 Apr 2017

An Interview with Anand Patwardhan

For over 40 years Anand Patwardhan’s documentary films have stood for freedom of expression. He faced censorship on numerous occasions, took the government to court, and won each time. Anand is not ju...

by Vidya Bhushan Rawat | On 10 Apr 2017

Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist 2016 : Acceptance Speech

The Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2016 was given to independent journalist Neha Dixi on March 1, 2017, at a function at the Indian International Centre, Delh...

by | On 09 Mar 2017

Haryana Budget : 2017-18

Haryana Budget presented by Hon'ble Minister Capt. Abhimanyu.

by Haryana Government | On 07 Mar 2017

Kerala Budget 2017-18

Kerala budget presented by Hon.Finance Minister Thomas Issac.

by T.M. Thomas Issac | On 06 Mar 2017

Union Budget: A Window of Opportunity for Our Children?

In the context of social sector and particularly for children, the Union Budgets have disappointed the marginalized community and the Union Budget 2017-18 further pushed its children to the peripher...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 06 Feb 2017

The Cyber Command: Upgrading India's National Security Architecture

India is increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks that range from intrusions that affect the integrity of data to large-scale attacks aimed at bringing down critical infrastructure. This vulnerability...

by | On 03 Feb 2017

Debating the World in the Asian Century

As Asia finds itself in the limelight, whether in terms of major power relations, rising insecurity and potential for conflict, or economic governance, it is worth asking, even before broaching the re...

by | On 02 Feb 2017

Bangalore’s Tragedy – A Dead City with Unabated, Unplanned and Untenable Urbanization

Bangalore has been experiencing unprecedented rapid urbanization and sprawl in recent times due to adoption of concentrated developmental path with impetus on industrialization for the economic develo...

by | On 31 Jan 2017

Safety of Women in Public Spaces in Delhi: Governance and Budgetary Challenges

The study attempts to highlight some of the major hurdles in Delhi’s governance and fiscal policy in ensuring the safety of women in public spaces. Though violence against women is widespread and oc...

by Kanika Kaul | On 27 Jan 2017

The Influence of Gender Budgeting in Indian States on Gender Inequality and Fiscal Spending

This study investigates the effect of gender budgeting in India on gender inequality and fiscal spending. Gender budgeting is an approach to budgeting in which governments use fiscal policies and ad...

by Janet G Stotsky | On 23 Jan 2017

Inequalities in Secondary Education: Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

Secondary education is an important stage in the school education ladder as it equips students with skills important for higher education and the labour market. Besides helping students to choose diff...

by | On 10 Jan 2017

Indian Variant of MTEF: The Scope and Opportunities to Develop an Effective Budget Planning Process

The paper examines the medium-term fiscal policy (MTFP) and a more conventional medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) adopted in India under the provisions of the fiscal rules. The MTFP and the MTE...

by Pratap Ranjan Jena | On 10 Jan 2017

Modelling Corporate Sector Distress in India

The paper attempts to formulate a model to predict corporate financial distress of non-government non-financial public limited companies and estimate distressed bank debt due to the sample companies...

by Manjusha Senapathi | On 27 Dec 2016

Amma Deivamanar (Amma became Goddess)

A benevolent dictator but one who sincerely loved the masses. She is unforgivably not a leader who believed in the collectivity of a Party to afford democracy. But she did what was needed. She display...

by Shyam Sundar | On 14 Dec 2016

Craft Clusters and Work in Rural India: An Exploration

With the farm sector continuing with unimpressive performance in terms of the growth of value of output, agricultural infrastructure and also sustained massive rise in the landless agricultural labo...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Nov 2016

Regulatory Responsiveness in India: A Normative and Empirical Framework for Assessment

This paper seeks to measure the extent to which Indian regulators are responsive in the performance of their functions. The paper focuses on one function common to all Indian statutory regulators, na...

by Anirudh Burman | On 08 Nov 2016

Laws and Institutions Relating to Environmental Protection in India

This paper deals with the evolution of laws, institutions and polices relating to environmental protection in India. It considers the following questions : (a) whether the laws are evolved indigenou...

by U. Sankar | On 28 Oct 2016

MGNREGS: Political Economy, Local Governance and Asset Creation in South India

MGNREGS, the premier centrally-sponsored national rural livelihood scheme, is one of the most elaborately designed and implemented public workfare programmes in India. While a large number of studi...

by Vinoj Abraham | On 10 Oct 2016

Refugee Compacts: An Initial Framework

This brief outlines a particular iteration of a compact approach that incorporates critical components—such as shared outcomes for refugees, host country ownership and focus on longer-term transition,...

by Cindy Huang | On 10 Oct 2016

Why Musahars Vote ?

The most popular imagery that the 16th Lok Sabha election campaign projected was of good governance and development. What does this mean for communities that lie on the margins of body politics? Are...

by Shilp Shikha Singh | On 05 Oct 2016

Role of Institutions and Policies in Diffusion of Micro-irrigation in Gujarat, Western India

the role of institutional innovations and subsidy policy interventions in the diffusion of micro-irrigation across the state in the recent years. While the first part makes a comprehensive review o...

by Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati | On 26 Sep 2016

A Vision for the Least Developed Countries Fund in a Post-Paris Climate Regime

The 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are the only country grouping to have a dedicated article in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Article 4.9 commits all parties to the conv...

by | On 22 Sep 2016

Life and Death at AIIMS: A Report on Construction Accidents and the Course of Justice

On 9th March 2016, the media reported an accident at a construction site of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi in which two workers were killed and three were injured. In less than...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 20 Sep 2016

Does Development Aid Undermine Political Accountability? Leader and Constituent Responses to a Large-Scale Intervention

Comprehensive program evaluation requires capturing indirect effects of an intervention, such as changes in leaders’ efforts and constituents’ attitudes towards leaders. We study political economy r...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

State of Siege: Report on Encounters and Cases of Sexual Violence in Bijapur and Sukma Districts of Chhattisgarh

This report continues documenting the narrative of violence and displacement in Chhattisgarh in the name of development, by reporting on the findings of the encounter killings and sexual violence in...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 30 Aug 2016

Urban Governance for Adaptation: Assessing Climate Change Resilience in Ten Asian Cities

This paper examines how to manage urban climate-related impacts by promoting planned and autonomous adaptation to improve climate change resilience. An analytical framework is developed by combining u...

by | On 29 Aug 2016

Public Expenditure, Governance and Human Development: A Case of Madhya Pradesh

This paper examines the link between quality of governance, public expenditure and human development outcomes in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The role of governance is measured in five dimensions: Pol...

by N R Bhanumurthy | On 12 Aug 2016

The National Medical Commission Bill, 2016, Draft

The Preliminary Report and the draft National Medical Commission Bill, 2016 is placed for seeking public opinion. Please send comments/suggestions/feedback on the draft bill latest by 31st August, 201...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 11 Aug 2016

Network Externalities And Process R&D: A Cournot-Bertrand Comparison

This paper examines the implication of the nature of competition in a market with network externalities on strategic investment in process R&D by firms. It shows that network externalities have a posi...

by Mili Naskar | On 25 Jul 2016

Understanding the BRICS Evolving Influence and Role in Global Governance and Development

The BRICS Summit process was inaugurated in 2009 as a signal that the global governance system of the future would need to be constituted to reflect a politically diverse, multipolar world. At this...

by | On 15 Jul 2016

Compliance in Letter and Compliance in Spirit? : Evidence from Board and Audit Committee Meetings in India

This paper analyzes two notions of compliance, 'compliance in letter' and 'compliance in spirit', using data on Board and Audit Committee meetings from India under its Clause 49 corporate governance r...

by Subrata Sarkar | On 11 Jul 2016

State-Focused Roadmap to India’s “Vision 2030”

By 2030, India will be amongst the youngest nations in the world with nearly 150 million people in the college-going age group. By 2030, the already existing challenges for Indian higher education – a...

by | On 07 Jul 2016

Impact of Board and CEO characteristics on Firms’ Performance

Corporate governance characteristics like board composition and leadership impact a firm’s performance. Researchers have attempted to explain the relationship using different theoretical perspectives...

by Chitra Singla | On 05 Jul 2016

Ad(d)venture with Knowledge: Stepping ahead with Intellectual Property Rights

Human society has witnessed adventure with knowledge resulting in scientific understanding of the secrets of nature and converting them into technological innovations resulting in metamorphosis of...

by Prabuddha Ganguli | On 30 Jun 2016

A Study on Effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala

The objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala with a special reference to impact of duality and role of bureaucr...

by Jacob John | On 29 Jun 2016

Peace, Terrorism, or Civil Conflict? Understanding the Decision of an Opposition Group

This paper models an opposition group’s choice between peace, terrorism, and open conflict. Terrorism emerges if executive constraints are intermediate and rents are sizeable. Open conflict is predict...

by Michael Jetter | On 27 Jun 2016

Executive Stock Options: Will it Work as a Good Governance Mechanism in all Scenarios?

In this paper, it is contended that ESoPs will not work as a good governance or mitigation mechanism in all types of firms. ESoPs can be an effective mitigation mechanism for a firm with dispersed own...

by | On 25 Jun 2016

Ability Tracking and Social Capital in China’s Rural Secondary School System

The goal of this paper is to describe and analyze the relationship between ability tracking and student social capital, in the context of poor students in developing countries. Drawing on the results...

by Fan Li | On 23 Jun 2016

Challenges in Implementing the Right to Education: The Karnataka Case

This paper analyses some of the major financial and governance challenges for attaining universal elementary education following RTE norms. The focus is on Karnataka. The analysis of financ...

by | On 22 Jun 2016

Evaluating Labour Market Policy

This pper reviews major approaches and findings on the evaluation of the impact of different labour market institutions but pays particular attention to active labour market policies that play an impo...

by Werner Eichhorst | On 15 Jun 2016

From Uniformity to Diversity: A Paradigm Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Diversified Agroecological Systems

Today’s food and farming systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of foods to global markets, but are generating negative outcomes on multiple fronts: widespread degradation of land, water an...

by | On 10 Jun 2016

Role of Finance with a Special Focus on Microfinance in Enhancing Clean Energy Access

A number of initiatives have been taken by the government as well as the private sector to address the challenge of energy access in India. In this context, WWF-India conducted a study to measure/asse...

by | On 09 Jun 2016

Inter-Regional Comparisons of Humanitarian Action

Throughout the conference it became clear that there are two emerging trends in humanitarian action across the Asia–Pacific. The first is the increasing activity of selected Asia-Pacific states engage...

by | On 09 Jun 2016

Nutrition Moves: States Create Promising Change in India

This publication gathers a collection of twenty case studies that illustrate how Indian states are creating promising change to ensure the delivery of essential nutrition information, counselling, sup...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 03 Jun 2016

Health Sector Financing by Centre and States/UTs in India: [2013-14 to 2015]

Public expenditure data has been sourced from the State budget documents, detailed demand for grants of MoHFW and other Central Ministries/Departments. This document gives in totality classification...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare MoH&FW | On 02 Jun 2016

Seeking Judicial Power: With a Special Focus on Burma's Judiciary

This paper discusses the underlying common concept of the rule of law as it bolsters courts, giving them their institutional status and enabling them to move toward a redesigned judiciary from diverse...

by Aung Htoo | On 31 May 2016

Surveillance of Chronic Diseases: Challenges and Strategies for India

This paper describes the status, challenges and scope for strengthening surveillance of chronic disease risk factors, morbidities and mortality in India. Surveillance experience of four selected Stat...

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 30 May 2016

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper ca...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 27 May 2016

Afghanistan’s Political Transition

This report reviews Afghanistan’s 2014 presidential election and the related political contests. Drawing on interviews in Kabul and the work of researchers in several provinces, this study does not se...

by International Crisis Group | On 26 May 2016

Political Conflict, Extremism and Criminal Justice in Bangladesh

Political repression is reaching new highs in Bangladesh. The government’s abuse of rule of law institutions for political ends has created an atmosphere of injustice that is increasingly exploited by...

by International Crisis Group | On 26 May 2016

Elephants in the Room: Challenges for India as an Emerging Development Partner

Emerging powers are re-shaping the norms and practices of international development. As the Indian economy continues to grow and the country bids for a seat at the great power table, the ambitions of...

by Tanoubi Ngangom | On 26 May 2016

The Dragon and the Giraffe: China in African forests

China needs Africa’s forests, and Africa knows it. Chinese investments in African forests and woodlands are growing fast. China is the largest importer of tropical timber in the world — possibly accou...

by | On 25 May 2016

Stop Stunting in South Asia: A Common Narrative on Maternal and Child Nutrition

Governments in South Asia are progressively acknowledging that child stunting is both a marker and a maker of poor development. UNICEF regional and country offices in South Asia work with regional bo...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 24 May 2016

Institutionalising Civilian Control of the Military in New Democracies: Theory and Evidence from South Korea

This paper aims to answer the question of how and under what circumstances civilian control can be established in newly democratised nations. To do this, the paper proposes a new theoretical argument...

by | On 23 May 2016

Re-inventing the Congress

Congress should have long goals, energy, media strategy, good governance to come back to power.

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 May 2016

Women, Energy and Water in the Himalayas: Integration of Women in Planning and Management

The policy guidelines were developed as part of the pilot project 'Incorporating Needs and Roles of Women in Water and Energy Management in Rural Areas in South Asia-Capacity Building in Rural Areas o...

by | On 18 May 2016

Well-being, Happiness, and Public Policy

As a background paper to the International Expert Working Group on a New Development Paradigm, this document seeks to synthesise for busy readers how the IEWG might explain and defend well-being and h...

by | On 11 May 2016

Evaluation Study of Targeted Public Distribution System in Selected States

The Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs has entrusted a study to the NCAER to assess whether, and to what extent, the weaknesses noted by past evaluation studies on the TPDS ha...

by Sohini Paul | On 09 May 2016

Faltering UDF, Rising LDF and the Unknown Factor of the Third Front in Kerala Elections 2016

The ruling United Democratic Front's chances of coming back to power in the forthcoming elections in Kerala seem bleak, while a resurgent Left Democratic Front is gearing up to form the government. Ho...

by N Rajendran | On 09 May 2016

Margin Requirements for Non-Centrally Cleared Derivatives

Derivatives are an integral risk management tool for business entities and financial institutions. However, derivatives markets can also lead to excessive and opaque risk taking which may result in sy...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 03 May 2016

Monetary Transmission in Developing Countries: Evidence from India

This paper examines what the empirical evidence has to say about the strength of monetary transmission in India, using the structural vector autoregression (SVAR) methods that have been applied broadl...

by | On 02 May 2016

The Comply - or - Explain Approach for Enforcing Governance Norms

This article critically examines the relative advantages of the comply - or - explain approach vis -à-vis the more traditional comply -or- else approach and identifies the specific insti...

by | On 02 May 2016

Tamil Nadu: What Voters Want and How They Rate Government Performance

This report consists the findings of a survey carried out in February 2016 in Tamil Nadu. The purpose of the survey was to find out what voters really want from the Government and how they rate the pe...

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 28 Apr 2016

The Paris Protocol – A Blueprint for Tackling Global Climate Change beyond 2020

The 2030 Policy Framework confirms the EU's firm commitment to lead by example in tackling climate change. It sets out a binding, economy-wide domestic reduction target of at least 40% greenhouse gas...

by European union | On 26 Apr 2016

God’s Own Country – Moving Towards Universal Health Coverage in Kerala – Piloting in the Districts of Malappuram and Palakkad

The report ‘God’s Own Country, Moving Towards Universal Health Coverage in Kerala, Piloting in the Districts of Malappuram and Palakkad’, 2016 provides details and in-depth understanding of the Univer...

by Sunil Nandraj | On 21 Apr 2016

PAISA for Panchayats - Tracking Fiscal Devolution toLocal Goverments: A case study from Kolar district, Karnataka

The PAISA for Panchayats research project extends AI’s PAISA methodology to track fund flows and implementations processes at the Panchayat level. By focusing on understanding the state of fiscal devo...

by | On 13 Apr 2016

Global Report on Urban health: Equitable, Healthier Cities for Sustainable Development

The Global report on urban health: equitable, healthier cities for sustainable development, 2016 presents new data on the health of urban residents from nearly 100 countries, updating the first joint...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 04 Apr 2016

Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2016

The Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2016 ranks 126 countries on their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy. The results of the global Energy Architecture Pe...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 22 Mar 2016

Impacts of Rural-Urban Cleavages and Cultural Orientations on Attitudes toward Elements of Democracy: A Cross-National, Within Nation Analysis

This paper follows the lead in substituting variable names for national social systems from the project on “Democratization and Value Change in East Asia.” Specifically, it investigates the associatio...

by Robert Albritton | On 21 Mar 2016

The Conceit of Reason the Cunning of History versus - Modernity and Caste in India

This paper addresses the central question as to how and why caste still survives under conditions of democracy and modernity and what do we make of it. I try to explain this phenomenon by viewing it i...

by Sanjeeb Mukherjee | On 21 Mar 2016

Impact of JNNURM and UIDSSMT/ IHSDP Programmes on Infrastructure and Governance Outcomes in Cities/ Towns in India

The paper is based on a review of the available official data and the existing literature on the Missions. It is divided into three broad sections. The first analyzes data available from the official...

by Lalitha Kamath | On 21 Mar 2016

Post-tsunami Socio-cultural Changes among the Nicobarese: An Ethnography of the Nicobarese of the Southern Nicobar Islands.

The paper traces the impact of welfare and development on the Nicobarese not only in terms of economic and social domination, but in relation to its influence on cultural meanings and practices. The ...

by Ajay Saini | On 21 Mar 2016

Institutional Choices in the Shadow of History: Decentralization in Indonesia

This series is a continuation of WRI’s ‘Environmental Accountability in Africa’ working paper series (Working Papers number 1 through 22). The series was renamed to reflect the Equity Poverty and Envi...

by Institue World Resources | On 20 Mar 2016

More Ghost Savings: Understanding the Fiscal Impact of India’s Direct Transfer Program — Update

Since April 1, 2015, India’s cooking gas subsidies have been distributed by electronic transfer through the Direct Benefit Transfer for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) scheme (known as DBTL, or PAHAL1 )...

by | On 18 Mar 2016

Cybersecurity, Internet Governance and India’s Foreign Policy: Historical Antecedents

India’s stances in global Internet governance debates have often been noted, and criticised, for their strong preference for multilateral models of engagement, as different from the multistakeholder a...

by Saikat Datta | On 17 Mar 2016

The Enigma of the ‘Indian Model’ of Development

The paper is an attempt to unveil the enigma of the ‘Indian model’ of development. After discussing the evolution of India’s development policies over the last six decades, the paper attempts to unfol...

by Amit S. Ray | On 16 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Andhra Pradesh 2016-17

Budget Speech of Yanamala Ramakrishnudu Minister of Finance.

by Yanamala Ramakrishnudu | On 16 Mar 2016

Corporate Governance, Competition and Firm Performance: Evidence from India

The aim of this paper is to show the interaction effect of product market competition and corporate governance variables on firm performance. While the linkage between internal governance mechanism an...

by Manoj Pant | On 15 Mar 2016

Financial Soundness Indicators for Financial Sector Stability - A Tale of Three Asian Countries

The 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial and economic crisis further demonstrated the importance of financial stability. Both crises showed how balance sheets of financial institu...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Investing in Natural Capital for a Sustainable Future in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is poised to continue developing at a significant pace. The subregion is well placed to benefit from the emerging Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Com...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Innovative Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia Bangladesh

Improving the quality of skills among its labor force will help further economic growth in Bangladesh. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide better access to TVET to help increase productivity and...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Disaster Risk Management in Asia and the Pacific

The study considers key trends, in terms of disaster incidence, sources of vulnerability, and social and economic impacts. This is followed by discussions of some of the major issues: compound disaste...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Winners and Losers in the Arab Awakening

On January 25, 2012, one year has passed since the protests began on Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Events in the Middle East and North Africa over the past year have altered many previously held beliefs abou...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

A New Divide in the South China Sea

Nazery Khalid evaluates the prospect of peace in the South China Sea based on how the recent spat between China and Philippines is panning out.

by | On 14 Mar 2016

The Poverty Paradox – And How to Address It

Poverty alleviation is the cornerstone and mission of the development community. Yet perhaps the community’s focus on low-income countries (LICs) has skewed a healthy and accurate evaluation of the ef...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Politics of ‘Good Governance’ in Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary Polls

Sri Lanka’s latest parliamentary election, slated for 17 August 2015, is important not only for the political-comeback bid by former President Mahinda Rajapakse but also for the focus on issues of ‘go...

by Ayesha Wijayalath | On 14 Mar 2016

Srilanka Building on Success

Sri Lanka has emerged in recent years as one of the most dynamic countries in South Asia. With a rich cultural heritage, an increasingly sophisticated work force, and a strategic location that links A...

by Asian Bank | On 14 Mar 2016

Corporate Governance and Product Market Competition

On one hand product market competition acts as an ultimate solution to align interests of managers and shareholders, and on the other hand, competition alone may not be sufficient because it may not p...

by Ekta Selarka | On 13 Mar 2016

Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia

China, Russia, and the Central Asian States have consistently engaged in economic relations. However, the bilateral trade statistics that are publicly available show a history of inconsistent and unre...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

South Korea's "Island of Peace": A Flashpoint in the East China Sea?

Renewed impetus has been put into building a military naval base on the strategically located island of Jeju, off the coast of South Korea. With the rise of tensions in the East China Sea and Yellow S...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Pakistan's Nuclear Security: Separating Fact from Fear

For more than a decade fears have been voiced by the international community at the prospect of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists or other non-state actors. The author ar...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Desecuritizing the Kurdish Question and Emerging Regional Dynamics

Desecuritizing the Kurdish question has become a priority for Turkey’s AKP government as it seeks to enter into a domestic “solution process” with the PKK. However, emerging dynamics in Iraq and Syria...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

After the Deal: The EU and Iran’s Energy Promise

The EU has played an instrumental role in negotiating the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. OzanSerdaroglu argues that while the prospective lifting of sanctions under a final deal brings w...

by | On 10 Mar 2016

Does Corporate Governance Matter in Determinants and Use of Cash: Evidence from India

Our study investigates the determinants and use of cash holdings by Indian companies. Using a large sample of manufacturing firms that are publicly traded on Bombay Stock exchange for the period of 19...

by Ekta Selarka | On 10 Mar 2016

Salient Features of Social Accounting Matrix of Pakistan for 1989-90: Disaggregation of the Households Sector

In the present SAM, the input-output industry classifications have been condensed into five main production accounts namely agriculture, industry, health, education and other sectors. The SAM 1989-90...

by Rizwana Siddiqui | On 10 Mar 2016

Power Crisis in Pakistan: A Crisis in Governance?

The objective in this study is to examine the issues and constraints faced by the power sector in Pakistan. The paper will try to evaluate the reasons behind the current energy crisis despite present...

by Afia Malik | On 10 Mar 2016

Blurring the Lines: Strategic Deception and Self-Deception in Markets

Building on the results of a participant observation in a Chinese IT-sector company located in the northern part of China, this paper aims to clarify the nature of deception in markets. Contrary to th...

by | On 09 Mar 2016

Where Do Prices Come From? Sociological Approaches to Price Formation

The article provides an overview of the state of the art of sociological research on price formation. The dominant trait of the sociological approach to prices is to understand price formation not as...

by Jens Beckert | On 09 Mar 2016

Determinants and Challenges of Sustainable Forest Governance in India: An Analysis in Retrospect and Prospect

This paper looks into the role of community based natural resource management focussing on the Joint Forest Management (JFM) in India. The analysis presented is the result of triangulation of critical...

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 09 Mar 2016

Who Cares about Financialization? Explaining the Decline in Political Salience of Active Markets for Corporate Control

Why is unprecedented financialization failing to provoke a strong political backlash? The role of financial markets, motives, actors, and institutions has expanded continuously in recent decades, but...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Framing Moral Markets: The Cultural Legacy of Social Movements in an Emerging Market Category

One challenge facing research on categories is to explain their content and the extent to which they gain meaning from cultural material that originates from moral arenas. This article suggests that c...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Transnational Economic Order and National Economic Institutions Comparative Capitalism Meets International Political Economy

Even after two decades of research on globalization, we still face open questions about the interplay between national capitalist institutions and transnational economic governance. How does embeddedn...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

India’s Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: What Can It Learn From, and Perhaps Teach To, the Multilateral Development Banks?

A striking phenomenon of recent global economic change is the emergence of new development actors, with alternative development experiences and development financing capacity. These actors are now cre...

by Stephany Griffith-Jones | On 08 Mar 2016

Putting Food on the International Table

Based on the recent Group of Eight (G8) Summit held in Italy, this issue of the Alert will examine international deliberations on food security with a focus on the efforts and challenges facing the G8...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Voluntary Compliance: Better Governance with Lesser Government

Analysed from various perspectives, the success of a recent experiment of regulating car traffic on the streets of India’s capital city of Delhi – in order to control air pollution – shows the possibl...

by Vinod Rai | On 04 Mar 2016

Examining ASEAN Capacity in the Context of the Thai- ¬Cambodian Border Dispute

Amidst heightened expectations regarding ASEAN’s contribution to international order, particularly in the context of a trend towards multilevel security governance, ASEAN is attempting to transform it...

by Holly Haywood | On 02 Mar 2016

Design of Economic Instruments and Participatory Institutions for Environmental Management in India

This paper examines the possibilities of using economic instruments, especially pollution taxes and bargaining approaches resulting in people’s participation for environmental management in India. It...

by M.N. Murty | On 02 Mar 2016

Report on "Strategy of Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security"

The Coalition serves as a platform for the members to collaborate and achieve a common vision: "To achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for all" The Coalition aims to raise awareness, foste...

by Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security India | On 02 Mar 2016

Liberalization, Globalization And The Dynamics Of Democracy In India

In the closing decades of the twentieth century there has been an almost complete intellectual triumph of the twin principles of marketization (understood here as referring to the liberalization of do...

by D M NACHANE | On 01 Mar 2016

Cultivated Land Conversion in China and the Potential for Food Security and Sustainability

With over a billion people in China, the issue of cultivated land conversion is extremely important both in terms of food security and environmental sustainability. This paper investigates the relatio...

by Shunji Cui | On 01 Mar 2016

Contesting Identities in Bangladesh: A Study of Secular and Religious Frontiers

The birth of Bangladesh in 1971 was an epoch-making event within the post-colonial order of South Asia. Led by the middle classes, a bitter and bloody war of Liberation from Pakistan was fought, based...

by Sanjay Bhardwaj | On 01 Mar 2016

Comparative Analysis of Indonesian and Korean Governance

This paper overviews governance issues in Indonesia and Korea from a comparative perspective. To do so, the WGI (World Governance Index) developed by the World Bank is employed for a more objective an...

by Prof. Yunwon Hwang | On 01 Mar 2016

Agricultural investments in Southeast Asia: Legal tools forpublic accountability

In Southeast Asia, the rise in agricultural investments takes place against the backdrop of a fast-evolving regional context. In this ‘Asian Century’, trade and investment flows are flourishing across...

by Shalmali Guttal | On 29 Feb 2016

Keeping Land Local: Reclaiming Governance from the Market

Land struggles in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines

by Focus on the Global South FGS | On 29 Feb 2016

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: An Effective Tool for Poverty Alleviation?

The paper highlights a number of issues that countries need to explore in assessing the feasibility of a CCT program: a country needs to assess the current level of specific human capital outcomes and...

by Hyun H. Son | On 29 Feb 2016

Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2015 Migrants' Contributions to Development

The Report assesses the development impacts of migrants in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and provides guidance on the steps countries, regional organizations, civil society actors and other...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 29 Feb 2016

Low Carbon Lifestyles

The toolkit contains a list of practical climate friendly initiatives that can be adopted by individuals, educational institutions, and workplaces with detailed calculations of annual CO 2 emissions r...

by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Chang GOI | On 29 Feb 2016

"Direct Access" to Climate Finance: Lessons Learned by National Institutions

Implementation of the Adaptation Fund and GCF direct access modalities is still in a relatively early stage. (The Adaptation Fund accredited its first implementing entities in 2010; the GCF did so in...

by Indira Masullo | On 29 Feb 2016

Corporate Debt Market in India: Key Issues and Some Policy Recommendations

This paper presents an overview of the corporate debt market in India. A study of the structure and the status of the corporate debt market along with the current policies initiated by Securities and...

by M. T. Raju | On 28 Feb 2016

10th CII Corporate Governance Summit

The role of media in corporate governance, role of board of directors, stakeholders' response to news media coverage of corporate governance and the challenges of managing information risk in the digi...

by U.K. Sinha | On 28 Feb 2016

The New Economic Case for Migration Restrictions: An Assessment

In this paper, a review of the literature on the global efficiency consequences of migration and assess a new strand of that literature. This is the new economic case for migration restrictions, which...

by Michael Clemens | On 27 Feb 2016

Porous borders in a changing world: What does this mean for security in Southeast Asia?

The issue of borders, their porosity and the security challenges they create amid a rapidly changing regional and global strategic environment is indeed a serious one for Southeast Asia. The criticali...

by | On 27 Feb 2016

2015: A Year for Reflection

2015 is a critical year for global and regional institutions, and for the international community as a whole, as it represents a milestone in the big push for achieving global goals of peace, human se...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Enhancing ASEAN Regional Capacity for Disaster Response Operations

Major disasters that typically hit Southeast Asia illustrate the immensity of the tasks involved in undertaking disaster relief operations. With the establishment of the ASEAN Community by the end of...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Basel Banking Norms – A Primer

This paper aims to first build a deeper understanding of the emergence of Basel banking norms (Basel I), and the transition to each of the subsequent regulations (Basel II and Basel III). The primary...

by Akshay Uday Shenoy | On 27 Feb 2016

Satyam Failure and Changes in Indian Audit Committees

Audit committees have received considerable attention globally in recent years. We examine the effects of the Satyam failure on changes in the composition and functioning of Indian audit committees. A...

by R. Narayanaswamy | On 27 Feb 2016

Repositioning US Engagement in Southeast Asia: A Case for Non-traditional Security

Southeast Asian officials and analysts have complained about the waning US interest in the region due to the US preference for a bilateral approach to Southeast Asia. This US approach is out of sync w...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

The Myanmar Nargis Aftermath: A Disaster in Governance

Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, which made headline news across the globe, triggered denunciations of the military regime in delaying the international humanitarian relief efforts. The cyclone-struck count...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Governance and Institutions: The role of multilevel fiscal institutions in generating sustainable and inclusive growth

Differences in political ideology might lead to different views about the role of the state in the provision of public services across countries, or even in the same country over time.2 At the same ti...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 26 Feb 2016

Local Property Taxation and Benefits in Developing Countries - Overcoming political resistance?

While property taxation has existed since ancient times, and the taxation of land has been a mainstay of public finances through the Middle Ages, in both Europe and Asia, it has all but ceased to be a...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 26 Feb 2016

Energy Security: Rethinking Market and Governance

Alleged market failures and the abuse or overuse of governance have shown that energy security could no longer be sufficiently ensured by working with the market or governance alone. Recent global con...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Oil Pipeline from Myanmar to China: Competing Perspectives

An oil pipeline is set to be constructed to connect Myanmar with China. To make sense of the development, one can benefit from paying attention to industry descriptions about the project, rather than...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Power and Piety: Religion, State and Society in Muslim Countries

There is the logical possibility of the creation of a Muslim society that is characterised by high levels of trust in and esteem for the State, and in which there is also a high level of trust in reli...

by Riaz Hassan | On 25 Feb 2016

The Use of MOOCs as a Potential Avenue to Modernize Learning in the Philippines

A framework is proposed for understanding the potential value-added of massive open online courses (MOOCs) along the lines of curation, credentialling, and cost. MOOCs are likely to appeal differently...

by Emmanuel S. de Dios | On 25 Feb 2016

Towards Comprehensive Economic Co-operation between India and Central Asian Republics

Despite some recovery in recent years, Central Asian Republics (CARs) remain in difficult economic situation and they present a serious challenge to Asia. It is in the mutual interest of both CARs and...

by Ramgopal Agarwala | On 24 Feb 2016

The 2004 Global Labor Survey: Workplace Institutions and Practices Around the World

This paper reports on an Internet-based survey designed to collect information on the state of workplace practices from labor experts and practitioners around the world -- the 2004 Global Labor Survey...

by Richard B. Freeman | On 24 Feb 2016

Report on “Regional Consultation on the Responsibility to Protect

Five years have passed since the signing of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, when United Nations (UN) member states agreed to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). Contained in paragraph 138 of...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 24 Feb 2016

Residential Consumption of Electricity in India – Documentation of Data and Methodology

This paper describes the methodology used for the electricity consumption section of the household module of the India Low Carbon Growth Study and presents preliminary results. The module is used to p...

by World Bank | On 24 Feb 2016

Modi’s Urban Initiatives – a Paradigm-shift?

A number of new initiatives announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi now, with the phased goal of transforming the overall quality of life in the country’s urban centres, have been conceptual...

by S Narayan | On 24 Feb 2016

Towards Transparency and Good Governance

Transparency has been put in processes, changed many rules for protection of environment and we have started taking decisions that are based on policies. The cases that fall within the policy framewor...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests | On 24 Feb 2016

Forest – Based Bamboo Trade in Mendha Lekha and Jamguda

This paper documents two different models that can be adopted by tribal villages for forest-based bamboo trade under the ambit of the FRA, 2006.

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 24 Feb 2016

The Puzzle of Small Farming in Japan

Japan’s small farming represents a puzzle. Currently nearly three-quarters of farmland is operated by farmers whose farm size is well under optimal size. Being too small is the main reason for the hig...

by Yoshihisa Godo | On 24 Feb 2016

Financial Institutions and Structures for Growth in East Asia

The paper examines the changing size, shape and range of financial markets in the region indicates the extent to which regional markets have become more efficient and have improved in quality since th...

by Jenny Corbett | On 23 Feb 2016

Non-Traditional Security Challenges, Regional Governance, and the ASEAN Political-Security Community

Much of the attention on institutional development within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has focused on the progress in establishing the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)....

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Aquino’s Challenge: Energy Security in the Philippines

The next President of the Philippines faces many challenges to his incoming administration. A crucial one is ensuring the country’s energy security. Addressing this will strengthen the Philippine econ...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Civil Society from the BRICS: Emerging Roles in the New International Development Landscape

There is a burgeoning literature on the (re)emergence of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – as significant actors in international development. To date, however, mos...

by Adele Poskitt | On 23 Feb 2016

Security Sector Governance and Conflict Management in Southeast Asia

Security sector governance (SSG) poses a huge challenge to states transitioning to democracy, particularly in cases where the military and other components of the security sector had been very influen...

by | On 22 Feb 2016

India’s Bid for APEC Membership: Trade Policy is the Stumbling Block

India’s chances of becoming a member of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum brightened considerably after the United States welcomed its interest in early 2015. But till now, there has...

by Amitendu Palit | On 22 Feb 2016

Deepening Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Financial Markets

This paper discusses the financial landscape of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a region engaged in building an economic community (a “single market and production base”) by 2015....

by Choong Lee | On 21 Feb 2016

The Rio+20 Summit and ASEAN: Towards a Green Economy

Rio de Janeiro will host the third Earth Summit, or “Rio+20”, in June this year – 20 years after the first Earth Summit in 1992. At Rio+20 all governments will be asked to re-dedicate themselves to th...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

In Search of Food Security: Addressing Opacity and Price Volatility in ASEAN’s Rice Sector

The availability of rice has long been considered a key indicator of food security in Southeast Asia. However, for largely strategic reasons, there is a paucity of information in the public domain on...

by Sally Trethewie | On 20 Feb 2016

A Position Paper on World Rice Futures

There is a widespread belief that rice futures are not necessary for the Asian rice markets because these markets are not “broken.” In any case, it is not clear to many why a rice farmer would benefit...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

The Military along the Security-Development Frontier: Implications for Non-traditional Security in the Philippines and Thailand

The militaries of developing countries have often gone beyond the mission of external defence, to perform unconventional roles ranging from disaster relief and economic management to law enforcement a...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

On compact, Integrated & Connected Cities

The Urban Planning and Design focus area of UN-Habitat aims to support cities, regional and national authorities in adopting improved policies, plans and designs for more compact, socially inclusive,...

by Rafael Tuts | On 19 Feb 2016

Fostering Resilience Through Community Based Innovation

Based on her work experience in post-Katrina New Orleans and post-Sandy New York City, the Municipal Art Society of New York’s Director of Urban Resilience and Livability, Mary Rowe, discusses the rol...

by Mary Rowe | On 19 Feb 2016

Participation in practice

This lecture outlines the impact of participation on practice, in particular how it can expand the scope and nature of practice in order to add strategic value to practical work. NabeelHamdi introduce...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Discourse on Kashmir: From Territoriality to ‘Enlightened Sovereignty’

The author calls for renewed focus on the idea of ‘soft borders’ between India and Pakistan, with particular reference to Jammu and Kashmir, in the light of a theory of ‘enlightened sovereignty’ that...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Sovereign Investment Funds In International Perspective: The Exceptionalism Of Cic And Safe

China is the only country in the world with two sovereign investment vehicles dedicated to managing excess foreign reserves for return, not just safety and liquidity. As the investment profile and beh...

by Angela Cummine | On 19 Feb 2016

A Strategic Analysis of The Australian Foreign Investment Regime and The Prospect of Reform

This paper uses a strategic framework developed by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to assess whether Australia’s foreign investment regime is sufficiently delivering on its four main objectives...

by Alan Fels | On 19 Feb 2016

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Multilateralism On The Silk Road

China’s first attempt to establish a multilateral financial institution was met with some suspicion and caution in the west. According to one interpretation, China is frustrated with the United States...

by Mike Callaghan | On 19 Feb 2016

Stock Market Liberalisations in the South Asian Region

It has long been realised that factor accumulation and technological development are only proximate causes of economic development, and focus has now shifted to investigating the ‘deeper determinants’...

by Fazal Husain | On 18 Feb 2016

Climate Risks, Regional Integration, and Sustainability in the Mekong Region

It is a pleasure to introduce this book, the major output of the second phase of the Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET). Since its start in 2005, the SUMERNET program has aimed to strength...

by Institute Stockholm Environment | On 18 Feb 2016

Disaster Risk Governance: Strengthening Collaboration with Non-State Actors

The increasing use of disaster risk governance today suggests that there is a deeper problem with how disasters are being managed. It does not mean governments have been ineffective. But they do have...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

The Relationship between Corporate Governance Indicators and Firm Value: A Case Study of Karachi Stock Exchange

It is investigated whether differences in quality of firm-level corporate governance can explain the firm-level performance in a cross-section of companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange. Therefore,...

by Attiya Y. Javid | On 17 Feb 2016

Citizen-Led Accountability and Inclusivity in Pakistan

This ‘theory in practice’ paper examines the experiences of citizens groups seeking to hold Pakistan’s elected representatives and governance institutions accountable. A sustained period of democracy,...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

Economic Stability and Choice of Exchange Rate Regimes

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of Europe’s structural problems and governance as the cause of the current euro area crisis. The euro may have led to bubbles, but member econo...

by Sahoko Kaji | On 16 Feb 2016

Financial Inclusion, Financial Education, and Financial Regulation: A Story from Indonesia

Many reforms have taken place in Indonesia following the Asian financial crisis of 1997– 1998. The government has embarked upon institutional transformation, making the country one of the region’s mos...

by Georg Inderst | On 16 Feb 2016

Well-being and Public Attitudes in Afghanistan: Some Insights from the Economics of Happiness

Afghanistan is a context where individuals have to cope with the most adverse of circumstances. In this paper, we use the tools provided by a new approach in economics, which relies on surveys of happ...

by Soumya Chattopadhyay | On 16 Feb 2016

Link between the financial inclusion and Economic Growth: Unconventional Monetary Policy in Bangladesh

Like other developing countries, Bangladesh initiated financial sector reform program during 1990’s. The main objectives of the financial sector reform programs were: i) Gradual B 3 | P a g e eliminat...

by Sayera Younus | On 15 Feb 2016

Tax Expenditures in Bangladesh: An Introductory Analysis

This policy note attempts to introduce the concept and size of tax expenditures in the context of Bangladesh with special references to experiences of India and Pakistan. It shows that the amount of t...

by M. Golam Mortaza | On 15 Feb 2016

Corporate Governance: An essential mechanism to curb malpractices by Organizations

The corporate governance mechanisms are market, institution and legal settings that protect outside investors from opportunistic behavior of managers or controlling shareholders. In the absence of suc...

by M. Bakhtear Uddin Talukdar | On 15 Feb 2016

Accountability and Transparency in Political Finance

When money corrupts campaigns and candidates, political finance can undermine the same democratic values and good governance that it also supports. To prevent and address the problem, transparency and...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Judicial Accountability and Discipline

The judiciary needs to be independent of outside influence, particularly of political and economic entities such as government agencies or industry associations. But judicial independence does not mea...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Bribe Payers Index 2008

Corruption and bribery are complex transactions that involve both someone who offers a benefit, often a bribe, and someone who accepts, as well as a variety of specialists or intermediaries to facilit...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Building Integrity to Ensure Effective Water Governance

As with any governance framework, participation, transparency and accountability form the guiding principles needed for ensuring policies and decisions on water are responsive to citizens. When these...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

National Integrity System Study Palestine 2009

The National Integrity System encompasses the key institutions, sectors or specific activities (the ‘pillars’) that contribute to integrity, transparency and accountability in a society. When it funct...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Corruption in the MENA Region

The characteristics of the area of the Middle East and North Africa known as the MENA region tend to fuel corruption and result in low levels of transparency. Yet anti-corruption strategies have prima...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Growth Diagnostics in Pakistan

Following the Hausmann, et al. (2005) methodology, an attempt is done to identify the constraints to growth in Pakistan. It is argued that governance failure and institutional shortcomings are the h...

by Abdul Qayyum | On 14 Feb 2016

Reforming Institutions: Where to Begin?

The theories of institutional evolution put forth by Douglas North, Darron Acemoglu and Dani Rodrik and the historical experiences of different countries in the context of development (or non-developm...

by M. Idrees Khawaja | On 14 Feb 2016

Does Governance Contribute to Pro-poor Growth? Evidence from Pakistan

This paper explores linkages between governance and pro-poor growth in Pakistan for the period 1996 to 2005. The analysis indicates that governance indicators have low scores and rank at the lowest pe...

by Rashida Haq | On 14 Feb 2016

Living Arrangement: How does it relate to the Health of the Elderly in India?

India has the second largest population of elderly people after China. The living arrangement of the elderly is seen as a parameter of great importance in understanding their plight in developing coun...

by Mitali Sen | On 14 Feb 2016

Strengthening Corporate Governance to Combat Corruption

The collapse of global financial markets in September 2008 has ignited a debate on what caused their quick undoing. As captured in the comments of the OECD Secretary-General, there is a growing sentim...

by Transparency International TI | On 13 Feb 2016

Building Corporate Integrity Systems to Address Corruption Risks

Corporate integrity is often perceived to be the product of ethical leadership, strong compliance and effective regulations that prevent and sanction wrong-doing. While these elements are essential, e...

by Transparency International TI | On 13 Feb 2016

Public Health in india: Challenges Ahead

As the world’s largest democracy and the second most populous country in the world, India has experienced sea change since its independence in various facets of development. However as per public heal...

by Anuj Sabharwal | On 13 Feb 2016

Public Policies For Facilitating Medical Tourism Industry In Asia

The paper attempts to analyze the role of public policy adjustments in facilitating the medical tourism sector in Asian countries in response to recent global economic events. While falling incomes ma...

by Vinay Singh | On 13 Feb 2016

Social Capital in India: Networks, Organizations, and Confidence

Using original data from a newly collected nationally representative survey for 40,000 households in India, we examine associations of various dimensions of social capital with each other and with con...

by Reeve Vanneman | On 13 Feb 2016

Social Networks in India: Caste, Tribe and Religious Variation

Using original data from a newly collected nationwide survey for 40,000 households in India, we examine variation in social capital in India across caste, tribe, and religion. Our primary measure uses...

by Reeve Vanneman | On 13 Feb 2016

Structured Inequalities – Factors Associated with Spatial Disparities in Maternity Care in India

This paper seeks to explain disparities in delivery care across districts by focusing on three factors: marriage and kinship patterns; district wealth; governance and quality services. It examines the...

by Sonalde Desai | On 12 Feb 2016

Youth and Corruption

Integrity, like corruption, is learned. Unfortunately, in many countries corruption has been tolerated for generations. Young people have the potential to transform this present reality and end corrup...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Global Corruption Barometer 2009

Transparency International’s (TI) 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (the Barometer) presents the main findings of a public opinion survey that explores the general public’s views of corruption, as well...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

The Good Governance Challenge: Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine

Accountability, transparency and the fight against corruption have been high on the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. Transparency International, as part of a shared endeavour by civi...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

After the Conflict: Nation-Building and Corruption

Globally, there are 26 ongoing armed conflicts and nearly one sixth of the world’s population lives in so-called ‘weak governance’ zones.1 In 2009 alone, the United Nations estimated that 42 million p...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Corruption Perceptions Index 2010

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index draws on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions. It captures information about the administrativ...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Monitoring Climate Adaptation Financing to Ensure Effectiveness

Financing efforts by countries to adapt to climate change will require enormous amounts of resources and investments, both from the public and private sectors. How climate financing is generated, gove...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Ending Corruption to Ensure Basic Education for All

Universal primary education is one of the eight pledges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that are set to be met by 2015. Since the goals have been adopted, corruption and governance deficits...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

2015 and Beyond: The Governance Solution for Development

There are fewer than 1000 days remaining until the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Based on current progress, many will not be achieved. For Transparency Internati...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Foreign Direct Investment as a Key Driver for Trade, Growth and Prosperity: The Case for a Multilateral Agreement on Investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a powerful instrument for growth and development, and is key to enhancing prosperity worldwide and boosting the global economy. Building on its previous work on the...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 11 Feb 2016

Towards the Circular Economy: Accelerating the Scale-Up across Global Supply Chains

In this report, the World Economic Forum and the Foundation, with analytics provided by McKinsey & Company, acting as project adviser, joined forces to reconcile the concept of scaling a circular econ...

by | On 11 Feb 2016

International Labour Rights for Women and Girls

This report is dedicated to an inventory of the most relevant ILO conventions for women workers, as generally put forward by the ILO, the ITUC and legal scholars publishing in international academic j...

by | On 10 Feb 2016

The Global Commons & the Reconstruction of Sino-U.S. Military Relations

The “global commons,” which refers mainly to the sea, the skies, outer space and cyberspace, has become more and more congested and contested in recent years. Stable and dependable access to the globa...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Bangladesh: Bangladesh: The Adolescence of an Ancient Land Ancient Land

On January 11, 2007, a state of emergency was declared in Bangladesh. A new caretaker government which condoned greater military involvement in the governing of Bangladesh was installed. This is the t...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

The Challenges in Urban Planning to Overcome Health Inequities in India

India has 8,928 urban areas or towns as per the Census 2011, 53 are cities or metros having more than 1 million population. Till date, we had taken for granted that several health indicators were wors...

by Dhruv Mankad | On 09 Feb 2016

Women and Urban Health Governance: A Study of Empowerment and Entitlement

The ‘theory and practice of change’ that the UHRC has been fortunate to learn from first hand is that organized slum women who are trained, mentored, and supported have a greater capacity to access go...

by Siddharth Agarwal | On 09 Feb 2016

China’s “New Multilateralism” and the Rise of BRIC: A Realist Interpretation of a “Multipolar” World Order

This paper is an attempt to verify the debate whether the association with BRIC is instrumental to China’s global strategy and key to its various global strategic objectives. The main thrust of this p...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Rivalry and Cooperation: A New "Great Game" in Myanmar

Myanmar since its reform and opening up has become the locus for a new "Great Game" between the world's major powers. This brings with it new challenges for China which has hitherto been the preeminen...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

The PLA’s Evolving Global Role and New Security Initiatives

China’s increased openness, accelerating economic development, and the emergence of new security challenges and relationships in the post-Cold War world have cast the Chinese military and its role in...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Uncertainty and the Market for Patents

Modern societies regard knowledge as a production factor in its own right. The market is the prevailing governance mode of their economies, and it is supposed to be the most appropriate mode of tradin...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

An Index of Fiscal Democracy

Over the past four decades, the accumulation of policy legacies and public debt has led to a decline in fiscal flexibility in Germany and the United States. By applying an index of fiscal democracy to...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Transnational Economic Order and National Economic Institutions

Even after two decades of research on globalization, we still face open questions about the interplay between national capitalist institutions and transnational economic governance. How does embeddedn...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Trade, Finance & Development: Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

Although there is an extremely robust positive correlation between various measures of trade and financial development on the one hand, and economic growth, on the other, the evidence concerning the d...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Progress of the World's Women 2000

Launched in June of 2000, "Progress of the World's Women" is UNIFEM's biennial investigation of progress made towards a world where women live free from violence, poverty and inequality. The first iss...

by UN Women | On 08 Feb 2016

Ensuring An Efficient, Effective And Equitable Green Climate Fund

Today’s climate financing landscape poses a number of governance challenges. It is characterised by fragmentation and weak coordination, begging better clarity, connectivity and accountability for tho...

by Transparency International TI | On 07 Feb 2016

Corporate Governance in Pakistan: Corporate Valuation, Ownership and Financing

In this study the relationship between corporate governance and corporate valuation, ownership structure and need of external financing for the Karachi Stock Market is examined for the period 2003 to...

by Attiya Y. Javid | On 06 Feb 2016

Corruption In The Land Sector

Unprecedented pressures on land and its governance have been created. As evident around the globe, where land governance is deficient, high levels of corruption often flourish. Under such a system, la...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Making Aid Effective: An Anti-Corruption Agenda

While aid flows topped US$ 128 billion in 2010, they have not always been good at achieving results due to corruption and mismanagement that arise from low levels of transparency, accountability and i...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Daily Lives And Corruption: Public Opinion In South Asia

Between 2010 and 2011, more than 7500 people were interviewed in six South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – on their views of corruption levels in their c...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Tackling Forestry Corruption Risks In Asia Pacific

This report is based on research carried out in five Asia Pacific countries – China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. This document should serve as an instrument to help...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Building Integrity And Countering Corruption In Defence & Security

This is the second edition of the TI Defence and Security Programme's Handbook, Building Integrity and Reducing Corruption in Defence and Security: 20 Practical Reforms. This Handbook has a simple pur...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Global Corruption Barometer 2013

The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 draws on a survey of more than 114,000 respondents in 107 countries. It addresses people’s direct experiences with bribery and details their views on corruption in...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Algebraic Representation of Social Capital Matrix

This paper proposes a mathematical model based on a Boolean algebra involving a 4×4 social capital matrix [Shah (2008)], that emerges through interaction within and across individuals, communities, in...

by Tariq Shah | On 06 Feb 2016

It Belongs To You: Public Information in The Middle East And North Africa

This report is part of a larger, region-wide project, entitled ‘Addressing Corruption Through Information and Organized Networking’ (ACTION). ACTION is a four-country project covering Egypt, Morocco,...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Global Corruption Report: Education

Corruption and poor governance are acknowledged as major impediments to realising the right to education and to reaching global development goals. Corruption not only distorts access to education, but...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Adaptation Fund

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Adaptation Fund is the first in a series of reports by Transparency International aimed at analysing the policies and practices that se...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Bangladesh National Integrity System Assessment 2014

One of the key strategic areas of Transparency International Bangladesh's research has always been the institutions of democracy and specialized pillars of governance and accountability, which constit...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Pakistan National Integrity System Assessment 2014

The objective of the NIS report is to assess and evaluate the various key institutions of governance in the country. These institutions are responsible for integrity and the elimination of corruption....

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Corruption and Cambodia's Governance System: The Need For Reform

The 2014 Cambodia NIS assessment reveals that overall Cambodia has a weak integrity system. It is not strong enough to uphold the rule of law, ensure sustainable development and a good quality of life...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Nepal National Integrity System Assessment 2014

Transparency International Nepal’s (TIN) National Integrity System Assessment Nepal 2014 describes the latest status of 11 pillars of NIS in terms of their capacity, governance and role besides pointi...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Corruption and Sport: Building Integrity to Prevent Abuses

Sport is a global phenomenon engaging billions of people and generating annual revenues of more than US$ 145 billion. But corruption and challenges to governance threaten to undermine all the good tha...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Local Governance Integrity: Principles and Standards

The purpose of the Anti-Corruption Principles and Standards for Local Governance Systems is to provide clear guidance as to how to prevent corruption and deal with it when it occurs. Most of them appl...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Speak Up: Empowering Citizens against Corruption

There are many barriers that prevent individuals from speaking up. Public trust in the ability of institutions to deal with corruption is low and reporting channels are often unclear or unreliable. La...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Incentivising Integrity in Banks

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, many different cases of malfeasance and corruption at banks have been exposed. To date, settlements worth more than US$ 230 billion have been agreed be...

by Transparency International | On 05 Feb 2016

Egypt 2014: National Integrity System Assessment

Between 2011 and 2014, Egypt experienced perhaps the most turbulent and uncertain phase in its modern history. The elimination of widespread corruption was one of the key issues galvanising Egyptians...

by Transparency International | On 05 Feb 2016

Truth, Power and the Rehabilitation of the Facts

This paper is an attempt to analyze the age-old phenomenon of leaks - the deliberate disclosure of secret information - and its relationship with the principle of transparency in a democracy. Secrets...

by | On 03 Feb 2016

The Inter-linkages between Democracy and Per Capita GDP Growth: A Cross Country Analysis

The empirical growth literature gives no clear indication as to how democracy impacts growth; there is evidence of both positive and negative effects and also of no direct link in democracy and growth...

by Madeeha Gohar Qureshi | On 03 Feb 2016

Rent Seeking Opportunities and Economic Growth in Transitional Economies

This study empirically explores the growth effects of rent seeking activity (RSA) for a group of 52 developing/transitional countries, using a dynamic panel data approach. The modelling framework is a...

by Nasir Iqbal | On 03 Feb 2016

Fiscal Decentralisation and Economic Growth: Role of Democratic Institutions

This study attempts to analyse the impact of fiscal decentralisation on economic growth. It also examines the complementarity between fiscal decentralisation and democratic institutions in promoting g...

by Nasir Iqbal | On 03 Feb 2016

Institutional Quality, Conflict and Aid Dependency

This study attempts to explore the impact of foreign aid on the quality of governance and how conflicts, whether internal or external affect the overall situation. Conflicts affect governance directly...

by Unbreen Qayyum | On 03 Feb 2016

The New Role of the World Bank

The World Bank was founded to correct failures in international capital markets. That role has shifted over the past 70 years. Modern analyses should proceed from the premise that the Bank’s central g...

by Michael Clemens | On 03 Feb 2016

Governance and the Effectiveness of Foreign Capital

This study empirically investigates the impact of foreign capital and governance on the economic growth by employing country level data from 1984 to 2010 for Asian developing countries. Governance; fo...

by Unbreen Qayyum | On 03 Feb 2016

Financial Flows, External Capital Structure, Institutions and Economic Growth in Asian Developing Economies

Present study is conducted to measure the impact of financial integration on economic growth in Asian developing economies using panel data of twelve Asian countries from 1984-2012. In first part of a...

by Madiha Bashir | On 03 Feb 2016

Building Genuine Islamic Financial Institutions

Since the spirit of Islam is in stark and violent conflict with the spirit of Capitalism, the form taken by institutions designed to express this spirit must also be different. Capitalist financial in...

by Asad Zaman | On 03 Feb 2016

Management of Strategic Crises and the Structure of the International System

The structure of the international system affects the manner in which its sub-units manage international crises, due to its influence on the tools and outcomes of crisis management. Conversely, the ma...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Disciplining Investment Incentives: A Lost Cause?

Investment incentives rank among the most important policy instruments governments employ to influence the locational decisions of multinational firms. In the wake of the recent increase in locational...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | On 02 Feb 2016

The Political Economy of Undernutrition National Report: Pakistan

In this report, we use political economy analysis to demonstrate that nutrition in Pakistan has remained off the policy agenda because of large disconnects between key sectors, a lack of integrated cr...

by Shehla Zaidi | On 02 Feb 2016

Remittances: An Unrecognised Support Mechanism During Humanitarian Crises

Remittances – money sent home by migrants – can help families survive conflicts or natural disasters. However, humanitarian agencies often fail to consider remittances when planning interventions. Thi...

by Paul Harvey | On 01 Feb 2016

The Role of NGOs In Conflict and Peace-Building

Non-government organisations (NGOs) have become increasingly involved in the international response to armed conflict, some aiming to mitigate the effects of war and others to help end the violence. B...

by Jonathan Goodhand | On 01 Feb 2016

The Ottoman Tanzimats and the Constitution

This study is rooted in the various contexts in which the Ottomans adopted the Tanzimat, a series of reforms in the 19th century, which later gave rise to a constitution. The philosophy behind the Ott...

by | On 01 Feb 2016

People, Policy, and Partnership for Disaster Resilient Development

The National Alliance of Disaster Risk Reduction (NADRR) was launched at a two-day workshop held in New Delhi on November 3rd and 4th, 2007. The workshop brought together over 150 participants represe...

by National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction NADRR | On 01 Feb 2016

Swings and Roundabouts: A narrative on Water Policy Development in Sri Lanka

This paper deals with the ‘swings and roundabouts’ encountered in water policy development in Sri Lanka. In recent decades, policy reforms for water resource management nationally-demanded but designe...

by Rajindra Ariyabandu | On 01 Feb 2016

Sri Lanka’s North : The Denial of Minority Rights

Deepening militarisation and the lack of accountable governance in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province are preventing a return to normal life and threaten future violence. Scene of the most bitter fighting...

by International Crisis Group | On 01 Feb 2016

An Integrated Strategy for Sustainable Cities

The multiple challenges that cities face also represent a strategic opportunity to build sustainable cities and reap the benefits of rapid urbanization. Urban development should be understood as a bal...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

India’s Role in East Asia: Lessons from Cultural and Historical Linkages

India’s presence in the East Asia Summit signals not only a victory for New Delhi’s “Look East” policy but also an implicit “Look West” policy on the part of India’s neighbors to the east. This conver...

by Ellen L. Frost | On 31 Jan 2016

Towards an ICT Enabled Farming Community

This paper presents a proposed use of virtual community for farmers in Sri Lanka by reviewing Information and communication technology perspective with reference to past and present political strategi...

by Devaka Punchihewa | On 31 Jan 2016

Building Resilience for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Agriculture Sector

This report is the result of the joint workshop on Building resilience for adaptation to climate change in the agriculture sector was organized by FAO and OECD. One of the conclusions of that 2010 Wor...

by Alexandre Meybeck | On 31 Jan 2016

Savings Behaviour In South Asia

Savings behaviour is important because of the close relation between savings and growth. Further, the direction of causality between savings and growth is of critical importance for development policy...

by Ranjan Kumar Dash | On 30 Jan 2016

Improving the International Governance of Food Security and Trade

This paper critically examines the recent global initiatives to improve various elements of the international governance of food security and the institutional context of policymaking on trade and foo...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Parliamentary Oversight and Social Accountability

Parliamentary oversight is one of the cornerstones of democracy. John Stuart Mill asserted that the most appropriate tasks of a representative body are to : oversee and clarify the government actions,...

by BRAC University | On 30 Jan 2016

Institutions of Accountability Series : The Judiciary Policy Note

The courts are one of the most fundamental institutions where power is contested in a constitutional democracy. A functioning and an independent judiciary can restrain and hold the executive accountab...

by . BRAC | On 30 Jan 2016

Institutional Approach to Anti-corruption: An Evaluation of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh

Currently, corruption is one of the most discussed topics in the everyday life of Bangladeshi people. They experience it at almost every stage from the top lair of the bureaucracy to the petty grocery...

by Harun Rashid | On 30 Jan 2016

Seeing Like a Citizen: Voice Of The People

‘Seeing like a citizen’ encapsulates within it the notion of being “heard as a citizen”. And it is in this context that the issue of voice has been explored in the research on ‘Deepening democracy, bu...

by Simeen Mahmud | On 30 Jan 2016

Does Governance Matter for Enhancing Trade? Empirical Evidence from Asia

The primary objective of this paper is to find whether or not the governance and institutions matter for enhancing Asia’s trade. In this study, we have performed a comprehensive empirical analysis of...

by Prabir De | On 30 Jan 2016

The Impact of Formal and Informal Institutions on Economic Performance: A Cross-Country Analysis

This study is an attempt to understand the relative contribution of culture and economic freedom to economic growth. Through applying fixed effect to the panel of fifty four developed, developing and...

by Yasir Khan | On 30 Jan 2016

Strengthening Community Engagement of Higher Education Institutions

It was expected that education would address these problems to a large extent. However, inspite of enhanced investment on expenditure, leading to increased enrolment, these issues remain largely unatt...

by (Field Action Project on Homelessness and Destitut Koshish | On 30 Jan 2016

Palestinian Public Opinion: Attitudes towards Peace Negotiations and National Reconciliation

This report presents selected results of the 2014 Arab Opinion Index from Palestine (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). The Arab Opinion Index is the largest opinion poll of its kind in the Arab regio...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Transformation of the Arab Gulf Economies into Knowledge Economies: Motivational Issues Related to the Tertiary Education Sector

Over the past ten years, Arab Gulf states have made it an explicit aim to transform their economies into Knowledge Economies.However, changing economic platforms is no easy task for a state, and the s...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Challenges and Trends in Decentralised Local Governance in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a rich legacy of establishing and promoting local government institutions, but the actual roles and contributions of these institutions to augment citizens’ participation and consolidat...

by Niaz Khan | On 29 Jan 2016

Spatial Dimensions of Muslim Well-Being in India: A Comparative Study of Indian Districts

The Sachar Commission Report of 2006 on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India generated widespread awareness of the socioeconomic disparity and exclusion of religiou...

by Riaz Hassan | On 29 Jan 2016

Elite Politics and Dissent in Sri Lanka

The year 2015 has been dramatic for politics in Sri Lanka. A Presidential, as well as a General, Election within the first eight months of the year saw the country having a new President and a new gov...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

TRIPS and Pharmaceutical Industry: Issues of Strategic Importance

Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) brings in uniformity in the standards of intellectual property rights among the member countries of the WTO irrespective of their developmental statu...

by N. Lalitha | On 28 Jan 2016

The Guiding Visible Hand of Participatory Approaches to Irrigation Management

The paper argues that the difference in the mode of programme implementation between Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat exerts an influence on the function and performance of the local institutions created as...

by R. Parthasarathy | On 28 Jan 2016

Economic Rationale, Subsidy and Cost Sharing for Watershed Projects: Imperatives for Institutions and Market Development

This paper seeks to examine the experiences with respect to subsidies and cost-sharing in the light of the various watershed programmes supported by the state as well as donor agencies and other non-g...

by Amita Shah | On 28 Jan 2016

Decentralisation Trajectories with Multiple Institutions: The Case of PIM Programme in India

One of the offshoots of the planned economic development model in India has been the increasing emphasis on effective local governance. With newer models of implementing programmes, incremental steps...

by R Parthasarathy | On 28 Jan 2016

Public Health in Urban India: Lessons from Surat

Surat-a city in the western-most Indian state of Gujarat, is an important case study, especially for those municipalities attempting reform of public health services. This note takes Surat as a case s...

by Rajib Dasgupta | On 28 Jan 2016

McKinsey's Urban Governance and Planning - Relevance to Health

In April 2010 the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) released a report aimed at ‘awakening India’s cities, building inclusive ones and sustaining economic growth. This policy note summarises the report’s...

by Meera Chatterjee | On 28 Jan 2016

Management by Participation? Village Institutions and Drinking Water Supply in Gujarat

One of the critical dimensions of rural water supply has been participation by the local community in managing the source and finances. Drawing upon case studies of 20 villages (spread across 17 distr...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Jan 2016

Switched On: Youth at the Heart of Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific is home to 60 per cent of the global population aged 15 to 24 years. Across this geographically, politically, socially, culturally and economically expansive region, youth are a v...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific | On 28 Jan 2016

Can Mandated Political Representation Increase Policy Influence for Disadvantaged Minorities? Theory and Evidence from India

A basic premise of representative democracy is that all those subject to policy should have a voice in its making. However, policies enacted by electorally accountable governments often fail to refle...

by Rohini Pande | On 28 Jan 2016

Report of the National Consultation on "Children and Governance: In the Context of Federalism and Devolution"

Economists and experts have been batting for bringing the fiscal federalism, the activist fora has been criticizing the newly brought in fiscal arrangements between Centre and States. This contradict...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 28 Jan 2016

Promoting Agricultural Growth in Myanmar: A Review of Policies and an Assessment of Knowledge Gaps

This paper reviews the agricultural policy environment in Myanmar up until 2014 with an eye towards identifying policies that can help to accelerate productivity and profitability in the agricultural...

by Ulrike Nischan | On 28 Jan 2016

Enabling the Energy Transition and Scale-up of Clean Energy Technologies: Options for the Global Trade System

With the challenges of access to energy, energy security, and the imperative of climate change becoming more pronounced in recent years, interest in clean energy has surged. Mitigation efforts to limi...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Triple Wins for Sustainable Development

As countries prepare for the ‘Rio+20’ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, UNDP is pleased to share this report. It sets out national examples of progress toward sustainable developme...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Innovative Financing for Development: A New Model for Development Finance?

This Discussion Paper explores recent experiences with innovative sources of development finance in order to capture lessons learned for the more effective implementation of both current and future in...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Small World of Inter-Firm Network and Firm's Acquisition Behaviour

This study finds that the inter-firm network in India on account of director interlocks is a small world and the network has become more integrated since the introduction of corporate governance regul...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Livelihood, Exclusion and Opportunity: Socioeconomic Welfare among Gender and Sexuality Non-normative People in India

This case study explores the socioeconomic experiences of gender and sexuality minority peoples in India, especially in respect of ways in which sexual and gender ‘difference’ may be correlated to eco...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

A Common Sense Approach to the Right to Food

Despite the growing activism and debate around the right to food in the past decade, there has been little exploration of what the right means in everyday life and in the routine encounters between st...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

Infrastructure Provision , Trade And Development Prospects: Potential Role And Relevance Of The WTO Agreement On Government Procurement (GPA)

The paper, nonetheless, acknowledges that delivering these benefits would involve significant practical and political challenges. It concludes that if the challenges can be overcome and the mutual ben...

by Kodjo Osei-Lah | On 26 Jan 2016

Improving The Availability Of Trade Finance In Developing Countries: An Assessment Of Remaining Gaps

While conditions in trade finance markets returned to normality in the main routes of trade, the structural difficulties of poor countries in accessing trade finance have not disappeared – and might h...

by Marc Auboin | On 26 Jan 2016

Trade Policy Uncertainty as Barrier to Trade

This paper studies the effects of trade policy uncertainty on the extensive and the intensive margins of trade for a sample of 149 exporters at the HS6 digit level. We measure trade policy uncertainty...

by Nadia Rocha | On 26 Jan 2016

Agency and Access under Decentralized Governance: Water Supply and Sanitation in Kolkata City

Ensuring sustainable access to basic services in urban India has continued to remain a major challenge for civic bodies. A fast growing urban population has exerted great pressure on the provisioning...

by Keshab Das | On 26 Jan 2016

Governance Structure and Labour Market Outcomes in Garment Embellishment Chains

Globalization has led to large scale outsourcing of production activities to developing countries manifesting in global commodity chains.The study shows that given a choice, enterprises and workers pr...

by Jeemol Unni | On 26 Jan 2016

India in the Emerging World Order: A status quo power or a revisionist force?

This chapter sets out to trace the changing contours of India’s foreign policy by throwing light on: (i) the historical and sociological compulsions shaping India’s strategic trends and the evolution...

by | On 25 Jan 2016

Decentralisation in India: A Review of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Gujarat

This paper examines how the decentralisation process has evolved over time in India from the ancient times through to the British regime to modern era. It focuses specifically on Panchayati Raj Instit...

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 25 Jan 2016

Gender Justice And Social Norms – Processes Of Change For Adolescent Girls

This note proposes an analytical framework for the current phase of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) programme of research on discriminatory social norms affecting adolescent girls. The curren...

by Caroline Harper | On 24 Jan 2016

Institutional Lending and Financing Policy for SMEs in Bangladesh

Over the last few years, the government has taken a number of initiatives in terms of financial, fiscal, and related policies; adopted strategies; and implemented actions for promoting SME-led economi...

by Naima Nazneen Rikta | On 23 Jan 2016

Prospects and Challenges of Bond Market Development in Bangladesh

The thin bond market in Bangladesh faces manifold challenges emanating from several sources including excessive reliance on bank credit, government debt instruments dominated by primary auction based...

by Md. Akhtaruzzaman | On 23 Jan 2016

Goodbye Planning, Welcome NITI

From 1 January 2015, the ‘YojanaBhavan’ on the busy Parliament Street (Sansad Marg) in Central Delhi sports a new name: NITI Aayog (Commission). This follows the official notification of the Governmen...

by | On 23 Jan 2016

Navigating the Global Financial Storm: Challenges for Bangladesh

The present global financial crisis shows that there is no substitute of prudent government intervention and careful regulation even when market determined incentive structures operate. The pursuit of...

by Bangladesh Bank | On 23 Jan 2016

Learning from India's Development Cooperation

India now needs to strengthen and harmonise its institutional mechanisms for development cooperation through clear policy statements. In addition to national foreign policy and economic interests, acc...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

PDS ‘To Go’? ‘Portability’ of Rights through Real-time Monitoring: the Centralised Online Real-time Electronic PDS in Chhattisgarh, India

Information and communications technology (ICT)-based reforms are increasingly being used to improve the delivery of public services. The main question which the research reported here addressed is th...

by Anuradha Joshi | On 23 Jan 2016

India’s Right to Food Act: A Novel Approach to Food Security

The India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 surveys the trends in maternal and child undernutrition in India. It looks at trends and disparities in these outcomes across geographical regions, socio-econom...

by | On 22 Jan 2016

The Coordination of Climate Finance In India

In India, institutional arrangements around climate finance have mostly followed national policy responses to climate change. This paper maps the emergence of climate change policy in India and subseq...

by Vyoma Jha | On 21 Jan 2016

Accelerating Reductions in Undernutrition: What can nutrition governance tell us?

In order to accelerate progress on undernutrition reduction we need to understand how the governance of nutrition programmes leads to successful outcomes. Based on evidence from six countries: Banglad...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 21 Jan 2016

Synthetic Biology in India: Issues in Risk, Power and Governance

In this discussion paper, the status of synthetic biology in India and debates in India on synthetic biology are discussed and the discourses on synthetic biology in India are also analysed. The paper...

by Krishna Ravi Srinivas | On 21 Jan 2016

People Matter Civic Engagement in Public Governance

The World Public Sector Report 2008, People Matter, Civic Engagement in Public Governance presents a picture of the evolution of current governance challenges, especially from the point of view of the...

by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA | On 20 Jan 2016

Myanmar 2014: Civic Knowledge and Values in a Changing Society

This is an Asia Foundation survey to document public knowledge and awareness of new government institutions and processes, and to gauge the political, social, and economic values held by people from d...

by The Asia Foundation | On 19 Jan 2016

Colonial Origins of Maoist Insurgency in India: Long Term Effects of Indirect Rule

This dissertation tries to answer the puzzle of why the Maoist insurgency in India, which is considered to be the most important internal security threat to the world’s largest democracy, occurs in ce...

by Shivaji Mukherjee | On 19 Jan 2016

Complaining to the State: Grievance Redress and India’s Social Welfare Programs

Poor implementation of social welfare programs is a chronic challenge in developing countries such as India. Yet, despite the large number of people affected and the serious consequences of implementa...

by Nicholas Robinson | On 18 Jan 2016

Dominant Development and Peoples' Alternatives: Play and Interplay in Chhattisgarh

This text of Ilina Sen’s presentation, the Second Anusandhan Trust’s Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture on Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences, is a lucid account of the contradictions sett...

by Ilina Sen | On 18 Jan 2016

The Role of Industrial Policy as a Development Tool: New Evidence from the Globalization of Trade-and-Investment

This paper identifies the ingredients for what it calls “light-handed” industrial policy to address these obstacles. To a certain extent, emerging market hosts can carry out the policy interventions r...

by Theodore H Moran | On 15 Jan 2016

Development

The study of international organizations inevitably leads to consideration of the role of several that have been at the heart of international efforts to promote development after World War II, primar...

by David Malone | On 13 Jan 2016

Measuring Subnational Budget Transparency, Participation, and Accountability: India

India has highly populated states and a highly devolved budget; in fact, over half of all India’s public expenditures are through state budgets, including a large share of development expenditures on...

by International Budget Partnership IBP | On 13 Jan 2016

Social Institutions & Gender Index : 2014 Synthesis Report

Discrimination against women and girls carries a high development cost. This third edition of the SIGI captures and measures gender-based discrimination in social institutions- social norms, practices...

by OECD Development Centre | On 13 Jan 2016

The Judicial Appointments Debate in India: The Need for Integrity and Transparency

The latest ruling by the Supreme Court of India against the government’s project of the National Judicial Appointments Commission has further stirred a public discourse on the best means to have the b...

by Vinod Rai | On 09 Jan 2016

Malaise in Maldives: A Pristine Paradise or a Painful Purgatory?

The implications of recent events in Maldives go far beyond the pristine shores of that enchanting archipelago. The paper discusses the larger geopolitical implications of the suspension of democracy,...

by Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury | On 09 Jan 2016

Is India Making Waves in South China Sea?

The South China Sea (SCS) disputes are regarded as one of the most difficult regional conflicts in the Asia-Pacific, in an ‘arena of escalating contention. This paper looks at India’s interests and st...

by Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy | On 09 Jan 2016

A Tortured History : Federalism and Democracy in Pakistan

The Pakistan Army’s ideological hegemony, especially in the country’s Punjabi-speaking heartland, the continuing focus on the state’s narrative of a religion-based unitary identity which is under a co...

by Aasim Akhtar | On 08 Jan 2016

2015 World Public Sector Report on Responsive and Accountable Public Governance

Heads of state and government have adopted a new development agenda to guide sustainable development efforts for the next 15 years. Member States will have the responsibility of turning this collectiv...

by | On 08 Jan 2016

Institutions for Asian Integration: Innovation and Reform

The formation of regional production networks in East Asia has occurred mainly through market forces, without much help from regional institutions in promoting the creation of a single Asian market. W...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 07 Jan 2016

Collapsing ‘Government’, Emerging ‘Governances’

Contrary to widespread belief, the collapse of ‘government’ does not automatically entail the collapse of ‘governance’. In a setting of ‘unstable’ livelihoods, households’ coping strategies, coupled w...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

A Tortured History: Federalism and Democracy in Pakistan

This paper looks at the Pakistan Army’s ideological hegemony, especially in the country’s Punjabi-speaking heartland, the continuing focus on the state’s narrative of a religion-based unitary identity...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

Regional Financial Regulation in Asia

The Asian financial crisis (1997-1998) and the global financial crisis (2007-2009) highlighted the potential value of financial regionalism, i.e., regional-level cooperation in financial policy. This...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 07 Jan 2016

Habitat III Issue Papers : 22 – Informal Settlements

Although some governments acknowledge the existence of slums and informal settlements, many do not. This lack of recognition and subsequent response directly undermines city-wide sustainable developme...

by | On 05 Jan 2016

Stories of Change in Nutrition: A Tool Pool

This paper—which draws on inputs to, and discussions at, a methods development workshop—highlights the various concepts, methods, and tools that SoC researchers are considering to measure nutrition-re...

by | On 04 Jan 2016

Survey on Good Local Governance

The Survey on Good Local Governance is a 38-item survey that aims to obtain a broader data to help set the agenda for local government reforms in the Philippines. It covers the following: citizen perc...

by The Asia Foundation | On 02 Jan 2016

State Building, Political Progress, and Human Security in Afghanistan

Based on the Asia Foundation’s , "Afghanistan in 2006: A Survey of the Afghan People." , the papers in this volume analyze survey data on the opinions and perceptions of Afghans towards government, pu...

by | On 02 Jan 2016

Open Educational Resources: Enhancing Education Provision and Practice

Open educational resources made their appearance in early 2002 as a promising tool for enhancing the quality of and access to education and were perceived to have the potential to reduce costs by reus...

by Jouko Sarvi | On 01 Jan 2016

From a Centralized to a Decentralized Global Economic Architecture: An Overview

This paper argues that calls for a New Bretton Woods system in the aftermath of the global economic crisis — similar to the remarkable 1944 Bretton Woods conference that led to the establishment of va...

by Pradumna Rana | On 30 Dec 2015

International Financial Reforms: Capital Standards, Resolution Regimes and Supervisory Colleges, and their Effect on Emerging Markets

This paper focuses on the relevance to emerging economies of three major financial reforms following the global financial crisis of 2007–2009: the improved capital requirements intended to reduce the...

by Duncan Alford | On 30 Dec 2015

Deepening the Social Dimensions of Regional Integration

The present report presents an overview of some recent trends and future challenges regarding the deepening of the social dimensions of regional integration, in light of the Recommendations of the Rep...

by | On 29 Dec 2015

Civil Society Meets the State: A Model of Associational Democracy

This paper takes issue with simplistic views of inefficient state and efficient civil society as well as undifferentiated accounts of civil society that do not distinguish among particular association...

by | On 29 Dec 2015

Do Labour Market Institutions Matter in Transition Economies? An Analysis of Labour Market Flexibility in the Late Nineties

The objectives of this paper are to develop initiatives on how to measure the flexibility of the labour markets of transition countries and shed some light on the ongoing debate on the role of labour...

by | On 29 Dec 2015

Strengthening Municipal Governance through Performance-based Budget Allocation in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, pourashavas are an alternative destination to large cities. With the influx of urban residents within the next decades, governments and development partners must lead pourashavas toward...

by Norio Saito | On 29 Dec 2015

Securing the Peace: Guiding the International Community towards Women's Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes

The transition from war to peace opens a unique window of opportunity to address the root causes of conflict and transform institutions, structures and relationships within society. It is essential to...

by UN Women | On 29 Dec 2015

Financial Crisis as a Catalyst of Legal Reforms: The Case of Asia

This paper discusses how financial crises in emerging Asia and Japan worked as catalysts for legal reforms. Findings show that six Asian countries pursued significant legal and judicial reforms follow...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 29 Dec 2015

An Asian Perspective on Global Financial Reforms

The purpose of this study is to better understand the likely impact on Asian economies and financial institutions of various recent global financial reforms, including Basel III capital adequacy and l...

by Peter Morgan | On 29 Dec 2015

Connecting South and Southeast Asia: Implementation Challenges and Coordination

With closer regional integration there is increasing interest within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and on the part of ASEAN's dialogue partners in the potential gains of closer co...

by Termsak Chalermpalanupap | On 29 Dec 2015

The Gender Dividend: A Business Case for Gender Equality

This paper presents the case for investments and actions — on an unprecented scale — to broaden the range of real opportunities open to the world's 3.5 billion women and girls. Advocates for equality...

by UN Women | On 28 Dec 2015

Aid and Recovery in Post-Earthquake Nepal: Synthesis Report in the wake of the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake

The Independent Impacts and Recovery Monitoring Nepal (IRM) assesses longitudinally five issues – aid delivery and effectiveness; politics and leadership; social relations and conflict; protection and...

by ASIA FOUNDATION | On 26 Dec 2015

Afghanistan in 2012: A Survey of the Afghan People

Findings from The Asia Foundation's eighth survey in Afghanistan - the broadest public opinion poll in the country of 6,290 Afghan citizens across all 34 provinces.

by Palwasha Kakar | On 26 Dec 2015

Partnership without Alliance? The Contained Volatility of Indo-US Relations, and a Prognosis

India and the United States – the world’s ‘two largest democracies’ – share many structural similarities like multi-party democracy, federalism, constitutionally-guaranteed basic rights and the pre-em...

by Rahul Mukherji | On 23 Dec 2015

State Capacity for Pro-Poor Delivery: Constructing Ownership, Forging Accountability

Severe chronic poverty persists in India, partly because of the poor capacity of the state in India to provide for its poor. An action research project, underway in five poorest districts in the count...

by Sajjad Hassan | On 23 Dec 2015

Different Paths to Power: The Rise of Brazil, India and China at the World Trade Organization

New powers, such as China, India and Brazil, are challenging the traditional dominance of the US in the governance of the global economy. It is generally taken for granted that the rise of new powers...

by Kristen Hopewell | On 23 Dec 2015

Asymmetric Influence in Global Banking Regulation

Global regulatory standard setting is one of the most lucrative battlefields of the international political economy. Asymmetric influence and regulatory capture in setting such standards can undermine...

by Roman Goldbach | On 23 Dec 2015

Slouching Tiger, Roaring Dragon: Comparing India and China as Late Innovators

Despite growing interest in the phenomenon of ‘latecomer innovation,’ the nature of this challenge – and its relationship to globalization – remain poorly understood. This article develops a theoretic...

by Andrew Kennedya Kennedya | On 23 Dec 2015

The Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline - The Intersection of Energy Politics

This paper seeks to identify the strategic and economic variables involved in India’s decision about whether or not to pursue a proposed natural gas pipeline from Iran. There is a lot of misinformatio...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011: Origin, Need, and Analysis

Tabled by V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in Lok Sabha in December 2011, The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redre...

by Amit Chandra | On 21 Dec 2015

The High and Low Politics of Trade

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in trouble. Its negotiating mechanism has mostly seized up, as reflected in the failure to conclude the long-running Doha Round. No obvious solution to this conun...

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Study of the Regulatory and Operational Structure of the Higher Education Sector in India

This project will study and document these barriers in a carefully chosen sample. Privately-managed higher education institutions have been chosen for the study. This will include a study of the three...

by Parth Shah | On 18 Dec 2015

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work

We develop a new survey instrument to codify CEOs’ diaries in large samples and use it to measure the labor supply of 1,114 family and professional CEOs of manufacturing firms across six countries...

by Oriana Bandiera | On 18 Dec 2015

Citizen Participation and Accountability for Sustainable Development

This report articulates three strategies by which the poorest and most marginalised have attempted to ensure accountability from national and global policymakers to local people.It is a response to de...

by Danny Burns | On 17 Dec 2015

Citizen Participation and Accountability for Sustainable

This report articulates three strategies by which the poorest and most marginalised have attempted to ensure accountability from national and global policymakers to local people.It is a response to de...

by Philip Ikita | On 17 Dec 2015

Accountability for International Nutrition Commitment Initiatives

This paper draws on secondary data to map out a proliferating set of international nutrition commitment initiatives, and assesses how these employ accountability mechanisms to support the delivery of...

by Dolf J.H. te Lintelo | On 17 Dec 2015

China and Myanmar: Strategic Interests, Strategies and the Road Ahead

This research paper is divided into two parts to provide a more complete view of how both countries think in term of their ambitions and the methods they deem important to achieve them. This paper arg...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

The Brics Development Bank

This policy brief recommends that these include commitments to: ending extreme poverty and inequality, with a special focus on gender equity and women’s rights; aligning with environmental and social...

by Oxfam International | On 17 Dec 2015

Building Tax Capacity in Developing Countries

The agenda for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development suggests there will be less focus on aid, and more on how developing countries can generate their own financial resources...

by Mick Moore | On 16 Dec 2015

National Experiences in Building Social Protection Floors: India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

This study highlights three central themes of the MGNREGA: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights-based entitlements, demand-driven employment, and citizen-cen...

by Ellen Ehmke | On 16 Dec 2015

Education Reforms, Bureaucracy and the Puzzles of Implementation: A Case Study from Bihar

It is a widely accepted truth that the Indian state suffers from a serious crisis of implementation capability. Despite widespread recognition of this crisis, there is remarkably little analytical wor...

by | On 15 Dec 2015

Human Rights and Asian Values

The thesis that Asian values are less supportive of freedom and more concerned with order than discipline than are Western values and that the claims of human rights in the areas of political and civi...

by Amartya Sen | On 10 Dec 2015

Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women?

The “Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women?” demonstrates that one of the most powerful constraints on realizing women's rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (...

by | On 07 Dec 2015

Regional Inequality and ‘Inclusive Growth’ in India under Globalization: Identification of Lagging States for Strategic Intervention

This paper analyses the trends and patterns of economic inequality across Indian states since the early 1990s. The inter-state inequality in per capita income and consumption expenditure show a clear...

by | On 04 Dec 2015

Trade Liberalization, Labour Law, and Development: A Contextualization

This paper is a literature review that emphasizes institutional analyses of trade law, and explores some of the linkages with the development literature. The paper contends that the development of tra...

by | On 02 Dec 2015

Gender, Headship, and the Life Cycle: Landownership in Four Asian Countries

To inform the formulation of policies and interventions to strengthen women’s land rights, this paper analyzes nationally representative data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam to...

by Kathryn Sproule | On 02 Dec 2015

Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries

In Arab countries, a widespread lack of human security undermines human development, according to the Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries. This repor...

by | On 26 Nov 2015

Safe Havens: The Emerging Terror Hubs in South Asia

This issue brief reflects on the prevalence of terror networks in South Asia as Al Qaeda is attempting to expand into new territories in South Asia, “suitable” for safe housing themselves and their il...

by Reshmi Kazi | On 23 Nov 2015

Comment of the Draft Environmental Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Bill which proposes fundamental changes to Environmental Governance in India is deeply disconcerting and disruptive of prevailing environmental jurisprudence. The Bill promotes fundamental changes...

by Environment Support Group (ESG) | On 20 Nov 2015

Requiring Indian Utilities to Report: Harnessing Disclosure Legislation to Improve Water and Sanitation Services

The paper argues for a regular public reporting of key performance indicators by the WatSan utilities in India. It elaborates on how the policy behind these reforms could be operationalized.

by Premila Nazareth Satyanand | On 18 Nov 2015

Theories of Change in International Development: Communication, Learning or Accountability?

This paper provides a much needed analysis of how Theories of Change are used in the day-to-day practice of an international development organisation, The Asia Foundation. The Foundation uses the appr...

by | On 16 Nov 2015

Pragmatic Pathways: Critical Perspectives on Research Uptake in the Global South

One of social science’s core roles is to inform evidence-based policy making and policy interventions that produce pro-poor outcomes. This paper explores prominent debates on research uptake and polic...

by | On 05 Nov 2015

Top Ten Urban Innovations

Humanity faces the mammoth task of adding over 2 billion people to the urban population before 2050. This is the equivalent of creating a city the size of London or San Francisco every month for the n...

by | On 03 Nov 2015

Social Norms and Governance: The Behavioral Response to Female Leadership

Women in leadership positions make different policy choices compared to men. An increase in the proportion of female leaders can therefore alter both the nature of governance as well as the types of p...

by Pushkar Maitra | On 23 Oct 2015

Cultural Resistance Need of the Hour: Teesta Setalvad

This interview with Teesta Setalvad on the series of awards being returned by various writers post lynching of a person in Dadri and PMs silence. Teesta explained that, this government functions on th...

by Teesta Setalvad | On 20 Oct 2015

Cultural Resistance Need of the Hour: Teesta Setalvad

This interview with Teesta Setalvad on the series of awards being returned by various writers post lynching of a person in Dadri and PMs silence. Teesta explained that, this government functions on th...

by Teesta Setalvad | On 20 Oct 2015

The Battle for Bihar

While the politics of caste and personalities do seem to be relevant to the elections to the Legislative Assembly in the eastern Indian State of Bihar, with the multi-phase polls beginning on 12 Octob...

by | On 19 Oct 2015

China’s One Belt One Road Strategy: The New Financial Institutions and India’s Options

This paper attempts to discuss India’s options to collaborate with China at the event of the formation of new financial institutions and how should India engage with China’s new Silk Road strategy.

by Ajay Chhibber | On 16 Oct 2015

Delivering the Post-2015 Development Agenda

This report looks in depth at the factors within each country that will support or impede implementation. A set of Dialogues has been exploring these factors and are still capturing ideas around these...

by | On 15 Oct 2015

Inequality: Trends, Harms and New Agendas

The paper focuses on within-country inequalities. It discusses in particular how the consequences of inequality are shaped by specific mechanisms that operate at the national, community and individual...

by | On 13 Oct 2015

Dividend Policy and Role of Corporate Governance in Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan

This study examines the relationship between internal mechanisms and external mechanisms of corporate governance and dividend policy for 100 manufacturing firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange over...

by | On 08 Oct 2015

India's Journey with Corporate Social Responsibility – What Next?

One of the causes for raised eyebrows to the Companies Act, 2013 is Section 135. The provision mandates companies meeting certain requirements to compulsorily contribute to corporate social responsibi...

by | On 06 Oct 2015

Strategies for Safe Motherhood in Tamil Nadu: A Note

While most states in India are grappling with the problem of high MMR, states such as Tamil Nadu have managed to reduce MMR levels to 79 deaths per 100,000 live births (SRS 2011–13). This review also...

by William Joe | On 06 Oct 2015

The Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2014) - Measuring the Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

This report presents the Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) 2014. It seeks to: 1. Rank governments on their political commitment to tackling hunger and undernutrition; 2. Measure what gover...

by | On 01 Oct 2015

The Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2014): Measuring the Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

This report presents the Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) 2014. It seeks to: Rank governments on their political commitment to tackling hunger and undernutrition; Measure what governments...

by Rajith Lakshman | On 30 Sep 2015

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Global Report on Human Settlements 2013

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility argues that the development of sustainable urban transport systems requires a conceptual leap. The purpose 'transportation' and 'mobility' is to gain...

by UN-HABITAT | On 25 Sep 2015

Global Nutrition Report Actions and Accountability to Advance Nutrition and Sustainable Development

The Global Nutrition Report 2015 is a report card on the world’s nutrition globally, regionally, and country by country and on efforts to improve it. It assesses countries’ progress in meeting global...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 24 Sep 2015

The Challenge of Slums - Global Report on Human Settlements 2003

The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. It presents estimates of the numbers of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors tha...

by United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat | On 23 Sep 2015

The Troubled Democracy of Bangladesh: ‘Muddling Through’ or ‘a Political Settlement’?

Is democracy in Bangladesh on a reverse course? Is there a culture of intolerance being engendered by deliberate design? Will creeping extremisms create an inevitable schism within the nation? The pap...

by | On 23 Sep 2015

Geo-economics: Seven Challenges to Globalization

This report from the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geo-economics maps out the challenges that current geo-economic trends pose for globalisation. Findings show that the rise in strat...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Does Democracy promote Social Capital? Evidence from Bhutan

Bhutan is one of the youngest democratic countries in the world. The constitution of Bhutan was formally signed on July 18, 2008 by the fifth King of Bhutan, elected members of Parliament, and the Chi...

by | On 21 Sep 2015

Challenges In Designing Counterinsurgency Policy: An Institutionalist Perspective

Research on India's counterinsurgency practice is divided into two categories. One emphasizes moderation in the use of coercive power, while the other highlights its wanton abuse. This paper attempts...

by Kaustav Dhar Chakrabarti | On 18 Sep 2015

The Global Innovation Index 2015: Effective Innovation Policies for Development

The Global Innovation Index (GII) aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation and provide the tools that can assist in tailoring policies to promote long-term output growth, improved pr...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

Comparative Notes on Indian Experiences of Social Democracy: Kerala and West Bengal

This paper compares, in historical perspective, the conditions for democracy, economic development and well-being in India and Scandinavia. Within India, it compares the states of Kerala and West Beng...

by | On 16 Sep 2015

Report of the National Consultation on Prevention of Child Marriage

The purpose of the national consultation was to bring together initiatives from across the country to share experience and challenges. This report is the final draft of the discussions and a common ag...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 14 Sep 2015

Decentralized Local Governance and Citizen Participation in South Asia

This paper encompasses two major themes - local governance and citizens' participation in five neighbouring countries in South Asia, their trials, achievements and failures. Whether their experiences...

by | On 14 Sep 2015

Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal

The report reveal the magnitude of the challenge that the world still faces in the quest for gender equality. This report promotes the cause of inclusion of women by informing research and policy disc...

by World Bank | On 11 Sep 2015

Making the Indian Budget: How Open and Participatory?

Open and participatory budget making is imperative for good governance; yet by international standards India fares badly on this count. This article analyses the process of budget preparation and...

by Vinod Bhanu | On 11 Sep 2015

Global Nutrition Report: Actions and Accountability to Accelerate the World’s Progress on Nutrition

This report highlights the global nature of malnutrition and the successes and bottlenecks in addressing it. Malnutrition continues to affect the lives of millions of children and women worldwide. Eve...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 08 Sep 2015

Basel III Implementation- Challenges for Indian Banking System

In India, Basel III capital regulation has been implemented from April 1, 2013 in phases and it will be fully implemented as on March 31, 2019. Do we need Basel III for a country like India? What are...

by N.S. Viswanathan | On 08 Sep 2015

Theories of Change in International Development: Communication, Learning, or Accountability?

Critically analysing assumptions is a much needed endeavour in international development policy and practice: existing management tools rarely encourage critical thinking and there are considerable po...

by | On 08 Sep 2015

Indonesia: Concerted Efforts Needed to Find Solutions for Protracted IDPs

IDMC estimates that as of July 2015 at least 31,400 people are internally displaced as a result of conflict and violence in Indonesia. Nearly all are protracted internally displaced persons (IDPs) who...

by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre | On 03 Sep 2015

The Permanent People’s Tribunals and Indigenous People’s Struggles in Mexico: Between Coloniality and Epistemic Justice?

On 21 October 2011, hundreds of Mexican civil society organizations formally submitted a petition to the Lelio e Lisli Basso Foundation in Rome to justify the opening of a Mexican Chapter of the Perma...

by Rosalba Icaza | On 02 Sep 2015

Reforming Internet Governance and the Role of China

This paper examines the issue of internet governance and analyzes the developments and challenges in reforming the current system. With state and non-state actors alike seeking to influence the way th...

by | On 25 Aug 2015

Strong Sustainable Growth for the Indian Economy

How is the RBI helping the government to create the conditions for a sustainable growth? Structural reforms will help strengthen this growth – two weeks ago, the Government announced Indradhanush, la...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 25 Aug 2015

Recent Developments in Myanmar and New Opportunities for Sub-Regional Cooperation: A Bangladesh Perspective

The paper analyses the potential opportunities between Bangladesh and Myanmar stemming from sub-regional cooperation. The paper examines Myanmar’s integration into the regional and global economy toge...

by Debapriya Bhattacharya | On 18 Aug 2015

The Public Education System and What the Costs Imply

There are basic methodological and conceptual problems with recent research that ends up arguing that private school education is more effective than public education. Such findings have obvious polic...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

Pathways of Transnational Activism: A Conceptual Framework

This paper presents a novel analytical framework to study transnational activism in the context of today’s international governance architecture. While there is a considerable amount of literature on...

by Sabrina Zajak | On 07 Aug 2015

IT Governance and IT Strategy: Board's Eye View

Banking in India and globally is undergoing and there are many challenges that are lying ahead. The basic underlying theme that runs through this changing landscape is the ever increasing reliance on...

by Harun R Khan | On 04 Aug 2015

Monetary Policy Credibility: Is There a Magic Bullet?

This paper examines the concept of monetary policy credibility from both the theoretical and practical viewpoints. It also discusses the advantages of high credibility and explains measures that can b...

by Naveen Srinivasan | On 31 Jul 2015

Rationalisation of Agriculture in Kerala: Implications for Natural Environment, Agro-Ecosystems and Livelihoods

This paper takes on an older debate that the agriculture transformation in the regional economy of Kerala has been mainly driven by ‘peasant rationality’. It argues that the agrarian transformation...

by Viswanathan P K | On 31 Jul 2015

Future and New Thoughts on Co-operative Banks

The co-operative movement in India is more than a century old; regulation thereof is also more than a century old with the first major impetus provided by the passage of the Co-operative Society Act i...

by R. Gandhi | On 29 Jul 2015

Speaking Out: Safeguarding Civil Society Space for Children

Save the Children believes that a strong, diverse and independent civil society can play an important role in ensuring the realisation of children’s rights. This policy brief outlines why Save the Chi...

by Save Children | On 28 Jul 2015

Forgotten Voices: The World of Urban Children in India

This report discusses how the major urban development schemes in India do not adequately take into account issues related to children’s health, education, growth, safety and participation. The rising...

by Save Children | On 28 Jul 2015

Freedom to Marry: The Constitutional Choice and KHAP Panchayats

This paper talks about the right to marry as an essential freedom of all human beings as it relates to their right to self-expression and their right to associate with a person of their choice. The au...

by | On 27 Jul 2015

Endangered Lives on the Border: Women in the Northeast

This volume contains three research papers, entitled “Heat of the Barbed Wire: Engendered lives along the borderlands of West Garo Hills” by Anjuman ara Begum; “Sanitized Societies and Dangerous Inter...

by Anjuman Ara Begum | On 24 Jul 2015

A Review of the Accreditation System for Philippine Higher Education Institutions

This paper reviewed the existing accreditation processes and roles of accrediting bodies of Philippine to present a clearer perspective on the current situation of higher education institutions. Simil...

by Marites M. Tiongco | On 20 Jul 2015

Public Service Spending: Efficiency and Distributional Impact—Lessons from Asia

Efficiency and equity are cornerstones in rational service delivery in the public sector. This paper benchmarks efficiency and equity in public spending on health, education and social protection in a...

by | On 10 Jul 2015

Engaging Civil Society to Promote Democratic Local Governance: Emerging Trends and Policy Implications in Asia

This paper discusses a wide range of issues in engaging civil society to deepen and sustain decentralization and local democracy. It examines the concepts of democratic local governance and decentrali...

by | On 07 Jul 2015

Financial Frauds-Prevention: A Question of Knowing Somebody

Banks and financial institutions are easy prey to fraudsters. As long as banks and financial institutions handle huge sums of money as financial intermediaries they will always be the target of ingeni...

by R. Gandhi | On 06 Jul 2015

State and Economic Development: The Need for a Reappraisal of the Current Literature

This essay tries to bring out some of the complexities that are overlooked in the usual treatment of the state in the institutional economics literature and supplement the latter with a discussion of...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 29 Jun 2015

Street Vending in Ten Cities in India

For most street vendors, trading from the pavements is full of uncertainties. They are constantly harassed by the authorities. The local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of these...

by Sharit Bhowmik | On 22 Jun 2015

Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) of Bangladesh Election Commission

The statement aims to stand firmly as an independent institution and to conduct every election honestly, fairly and transparency and in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the country. The st...

by Ministry of Finance Bangladesh | On 18 Jun 2015

Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) of Prime Minister’s Office 2011-12

The statement aims to build a knowledge-based and digital Bangladesh and to advance the socio-economic conditions of all sections of the nation, through the establishment of good governance in the all...

by Ministry of Finance Bangladesh | On 17 Jun 2015

The Institutionalisation of Climate Policy in India: Designing a Development-Focused, Co-Benefits Based Approach

While there is growing attention to climate policy, effective coordination, design and implementation of policy require attention to institutional design for climate governance. This paper examines th...

by | On 16 Jun 2015

Implementation of Forest Rights Act: Undoing the Historical Injustices?

This paper is based on a critical literature review and looks into the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in India, with particular reference to the two states of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat....

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 09 Jun 2015

Nepal's Continuing Quest for Federalism and Peace

Nepal is currently experiencing perhaps one of the most turbulent phases in its contemporary political history. In 2008, the 240-year-old institution of monarchy—for long seen as a symbol of unity, in...

by Akanshya Shah | On 05 Jun 2015

Tackling Myanmar’s Corruption Challenge

Corruption is widespread in Myanmar, and this has significant negative effects on the country’s economic development. In response, President U Thein Sein has made fighting corruption a priority. Howev...

by Khaing Sape Saw | On 04 Jun 2015

Accountability of Local and State Governments in India: An Overview of Recent Research

The paper discusses the notion of accountability, followed by an introduction to the Downsian theory of electoral competition. This serves as a point for classifying different sources of accountabilit...

by Dilip Mookherjee | On 14 May 2015

Karnataka Youth Policy: Draft

The youth policy, has as its ultimate vision, an inclusive approach that hopes to ensure a `take away` for each segment of the youth. The policy also aims at making the structures and institutions of...

by | On 12 May 2015

YOJANA Volume 58, Issue 1- January 2014

The January 2014 issue of YOJANA contains the following articles - Tribal and Marginalized Communities, Constitutional Provisions, Laws and Tribes, Actualising Adivasi Self-Rule, The Food Bill, Wild F...

by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting MIB | On 11 May 2015

Socio-economic Impact of Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 which is a rights-based flagship scheme of the Government of India with effect from 2 February, 2006, guarantees at least 100...

by | On 06 May 2015

The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations

This article, written during the 2014 civil disobedience 'Umbrella Revolution' in Hong Kong, suggests that this protest became a turning point in China Hong Kong relations. Suggesting that the protest...

by Willy Lam | On 29 Apr 2015

MGNREGA Sameeksha: An Anthology of Research Studies on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (2005) Act 2006–2012

This report by Ministry of Rural Development is an analytical anthology of all major research studies done on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) that were published in various acad...

by | On 29 Apr 2015

Why Democracy Struggles: Thailand’s Elite Coup Culture

Since the revolution of 1932 that ended absolute monarchy, Thailand has experienced sporadic military interventions, with 19 coups and coup attempts over those decades. This article explains these mil...

by | On 27 Apr 2015

Growing through Cities in Developing Countries

This paper examines the effects of urbanization on development and growth. It begins with a labor market perspective and emphasizes the importance of agglomeration economies, both static and dynamic....

by | On 24 Apr 2015

Economic Policy Reforms in South Asia: An Overview and the Remaining Agenda

In the past few years, the pace of economic growth in South Asia has slowed considerably for two reasons: unfavourable global economic environment and the slowing pace of economic reforms that once we...

by | On 20 Apr 2015

Deliberating Public Spheres: How does Net Neutrality Enable Democracy?

This study reviews and re-conceptualizes the ideas of democracy and the public sphere through the receptive medium of the Internet. Through exploring the transformational concept of the public sphere...

by Jonathan Cunha | On 15 Apr 2015

The Continual Breakdown of Democracy in Thailand: A Case Study on the Role of Elite Competition, Modernization and Political Institutions in the Democratization Process of Thailand

The paper provides an in-depth empirical analysis of Thai political history in an attempt to understand why democracy has failed to consolidate since the 1932 revolution that ended the absolute monarc...

by | On 08 Apr 2015

Myanmar: Cross-Cutting Governance Challenges

The paper assesses the current status of governance institutions in Myanmar, as well as their performance, in comparison to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and selected other countr...

by Cullen Hendrix | On 02 Apr 2015

State Effectiveness, Growth, and Development

This paper discusses recent developments in the literature on state effectiveness. Each section covers the relevant theory with a special focus on the current knowledge about the mechanisms highlighte...

by | On 01 Apr 2015

Mapping Bangladesh’s Political Crisis

On 5 January, the first anniversary of the deeply contested 2014 elections, the most violent in Bangladesh’s history, clashes between government and opposition groups led to several deaths and scores...

by International Crisis Group | On 24 Mar 2015

BRICS Trade Policies, Institutions and Areas for Deepening Cooperation

This document studies the Trade Policies and Institutions of BRICS, India and BRICS: issues of trade and technology; and examines the scope for deepening cooperation in services among BRICS members. T...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

Budget (2015-16) Speech of Haryana Finance Minister

Budget speech of Haryana Finance Minister

by Capt. Abhimanyu | On 24 Mar 2015

The Role of Diversity on Freedom of Speech in Democratic Societies

There is no doubt that freedom of speech plays an important role in the process of democratization. Freedom of speech is a guarantee to citizens to participate effectively in the working of democracy....

by | On 24 Mar 2015

Making Democracy Work: Culture, Social Capital and Elections in China

This paper aims to show that culture is an important determinant of the effectiveness of formal democratic institutions, such as elections. It is found that social capital complements democratic insti...

by Gerard Padro -i-Miquel | On 23 Mar 2015

Democracy, Development and the Executive Presidency in Sri Lanka

This paper examines the developmental causes and consequences of the shift from a parliamentary to a semi-presidential system in Sri Lanka in 1978, examining its provenance, rationale, and its unfoldi...

by | On 16 Mar 2015

Youth and Democratic Citizenship in East and South-East Asia

This report addresses East and South-East Asian youth’s sense of involvement and empowerment as democratic citizens, their assessments of institutions and quality of governance, and how they particip...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 10 Mar 2015

Women in Indian Labour Market - Emerging Options

Expanding women’s access to the labour market and enhancing their employability, apart from all its other impact, contributes to the GDP substantially. It is important to generate creative partnership...

by G.D Bino Paul | On 10 Mar 2015

Contemporary Myanmar Challenges To Political Process and Reconciliation

This paper outlines the political reforms and reconciliation process presently underway in Myanmar and the challenges posed to it. A detailed analysis of changing power dynamics in Myanmar, and the...

by | On 04 Mar 2015

India's Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken is...

by | On 27 Feb 2015

Small Farming Needs a Budget Boost

The asks of the Agriculture sector are many but what all must the budget focus on? A National Convention on Budget 2015-16 by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability looks at these.

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Climate Change: Slow It Down or Deal With It?

Climate change is for real and there are two responses – mitigation or adaptation. What does the Union Budget need to do about climate change adaptation?

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Budget 'Asks' for Food and Nutrition Security

With the budget round the corner what are the asks from the standpoint of food sovereignty? A Convention on Budget 2015-16 by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability looks at these.

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Citizens Charter on Drinking Water and Sanitation before Union Budget

Ahead of the Union Budget, Civil Society Organizations ask for policy strategies to support drinking water and sanitation for vulnerable sections. Civil society budget groups, collectively as a networ...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Inclusive Water Governance: a Global Necessity. Lessons from India

Efficient water management has emerged as a critical challenge of environmental protection and human security in the twenty-first century. Lack of water management affects the hydrological cycle of th...

by | On 24 Feb 2015

Democracy, Inclusion, and Prosperity

People want to live in a safe prosperous country where they enjoy freedom of thought and action, and where they can exercise their democratic rights to choose their government. But how do countries en...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 24 Feb 2015

Cracks in Budgetary Policies towards the Social Sectors

The union budget for 2014-15 offers few changes in terms of policy priorities from the United Progressive Alliance government interim budget for 2014-15, and it fails to recognise the cracks in the co...

by Subrat Das | On 20 Feb 2015

Budget Transparency and Participation: Recommendations to the Fourteenth Finance Commission

This paper explores the need for a Pre-Budget Statement, sub-national transparency and civil society participation to make the budgetary process in India more transparent, accountable and participator...

by Ravi Duggal | On 20 Feb 2015

Public Spending Towards Harnessing Renewable Energy in India

The energy sector unquestionably constitutes one of the major driving forces of Indian economy. Ever since the 12th Plan has projected the growth rate of 8-9 per cent per annum for the economy for the...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 20 Feb 2015

Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election: Risks and Opportunities

This briefing discusses Sri Lanka’s presidential election promises. It promises more competition than was initially anticipated but with that comes a great risk of violence. Long-term stability and po...

by Crisis Group | On 02 Feb 2015

Governance and Domestic Politics in Indonesia: Contemporary Challenges & Achievements

Indonesia until recently, was the product of two dictatorships, the last of which ended only in 1998. This extended dose of dictatorship in Indonesia has lead to a failure of institutional growt...

by Navrekha Sharma | On 28 Jan 2015

Presidential Stakes and Sri Lanka's future

Across the great Eurasian plate these days, one can find leaders dispensing with truly competitive politics. But traverse the Himalayas to South Asia and the climate is different: Democracy is on a w...

by Chandrani Sharma | On 13 Jan 2015

Governance in Sri Lanka: Lessons from Post-Tsunami Rebuilding

This article applies complex evolving systems theory to investigating the governance factors affecting rebuilding in the wake of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. It also examines the crucial processes o...

by | On 13 Jan 2015

Logged On : Smart Government Solutions from South Asia

Mobile technology is helping to fight corruption in Pakistan, improve health delivery in Bangladesh, provide access to government by the ordinary citizen in India, and help monitor elections in Afghan...

by Zubair Bhatti | On 18 Dec 2014

Urban Governance in Bangladesh: The Post-Independence Scenario

Urbanization worldwide has been found to be an effective engine of economic growth and socio-cultural development. In pure economic terms, urbanization contributes significantly to the national econ...

by | On 17 Dec 2014

Impediments to Contract Enforcement in Day Labour Markets: A Perspective from India

This paper focuses on one such setting in India's urban informal economy: the 'day labour' market for casual labour. We survey seven such markets in Navi Mumbai (a city on the outskirts of Mumbai),...

by Karthikeya Naraparaju | On 12 Dec 2014

Parliament as a Law Making Body: Background Note for the Conference on Effective Legislatures

Parliament performs several essential functions including that of making laws, scrutinising and passing the budget, conducting oversight on the activities of the government and representing citizens....

by Prianka Rao | On 06 Dec 2014

Role of Collective Agency in Gender Rights

The fact that progress in equal rights for women has come about largely through the efforts of social reform movement in the 19th century and women’s liberation movement in the 20th century Maharashtr...

by Vibhuti Patel | On 21 Nov 2014

Consequences of Unequal Urbanization on Development

Historically, urbanization has been a great force of economic transformation, modernization and social change in the developed world. On the flip side, migration has been blamed for the woes of modern...

by Ram Bhagat | On 21 Nov 2014

An Empirical Study of Determinants of Child Labour

The objective of this paper is to analyse the nature and magnitude of the problem and determinants of child labour and their participation in the workforce at an early age. The results reveal that fam...

by Kabita Sahu | On 20 Nov 2014

Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) is pleased to present Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions. Nati...

by Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions | On 17 Nov 2014

Agriculture, Income and Nutrition Linkages in India

India contains the majority of the world’s malnourished children, yet malnutrition has declined only very slowly in recent years, despite rapid economic growth and apparent improvements in food securi...

by Suneetha Kadiyala | On 31 Oct 2014

Governance Issues and Challenges in Implementation Of National Food Security Act 2013

India is a developing country having 2nd highest population in the world. Even after 66 years of its independence, County is facing a serious issue of poverty and malnutrition. The Government of I...

by Hitesh S. Gujarati | On 29 Oct 2014

Policies, Enforcement, and Customs Evasion: Evidence from India

This paper examines the effect of tariff policies on evasion of customs duties, in the context of the trade reform in India of the 1990s. We exploit the variation in tariff rates across time and p...

by Petia Topalova | On 22 Oct 2014

Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions over Geography and Integration in Economic Development

The authors estimate the respective contributions of institutions, geography, and trade in determining income levels around the world, using recently developed instrumental variables for institutions...

by Arvind Subramanian | On 21 Oct 2014

The 100 Laws Project: Compendium of Laws to be Repealed

100 laws are identified which can be repealed. The laws in this compendium need to be repealed on account of any one of three reasons: they are either redundant (having outlived their purpose), they...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 08 Oct 2014

Human Development Progress in South Asia: Achievements and Challenges

Rapid human development progress in India, Bangladesh and other South Asian nations is helping drive a historic shift in global dynamics, with hundreds of millions of people rising from poverty and bi...

by Rameshwar Jat | On 26 Sep 2014

Civil Society, Indian Elections and Democracy Today

Civil society in Independent India has perhaps never been as active as it is today, except in the years before and during the emergency. The author explores the role it has played in strengthening and...

by Trilochan Sastry | On 18 Sep 2014

Unpacking Transparency and Accountability Measures

Accountability is broadly defined as the obligation of those holding power to take responsibility for their behaviour and actions. Essentially the term encapsulates three main elements; answerability...

by Gayatri Sahgal | On 16 Sep 2014

National Population Policy

The National Population Policy, 2000 (NPP 2000) affirms the commitment of government towards voluntary and informed choice and consent of citizens while availing of reproductive health care services,...

by Government of Odisha | On 09 Sep 2014

Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward

Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: The Way Forward is a follow-up report that highlights the context of integration of health and microfinance in light of India’s journey towards universal h...

by Somen Saha | On 11 Aug 2014

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014

An act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their developmental needs through proper care, protection a...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 08 Aug 2014

Why India Needs the Women’s Reservation Bill

Nine out of ten parliamentarians in India are men. Such dismal figures reveal the lasting grip of unfavourable social norms. Women’s disadvantage on a complex set of social and economic factors effect...

by Lucy Dubochet | On 17 Jun 2014

"They Say We’re Dirty": Denying an Education to India’s Marginalized

The 77-page report documents discrimination by school authorities in four Indian states against Dalit, tribal, and Muslim children. The discrimination creates an unwelcome atmosphere that can lead to...

by Human Rights Watch | On 17 Jun 2014

Representation and Executive Functions of Women Presidents and Representatives in the Grama Panchayats of Karnataka

The study had examined the functioning of women representatives and Presidents of gram panchayats in Karnataka, where reservations for these seats and posts have been in place for nearly twenty year...

by Anand Inbanathan | On 02 Jun 2014

The Leaky Bucket of Female Talent in the Indian IT Industry

One of the key challenges confronting organizations is to improve the talent pipeline of women in the organization. Anecdotal evidence from the IT industry in India appears to suggest that a number of...

by Vasanthi Srinivasan | On 23 May 2014

REACH Annual Report 2013

REACH, Renewed Efforts Against Child Hunger and under-nutrition, is an inter-agency initiative established in 2008 by the four UN agencies Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Child...

by USAID Agency for International Development | On 29 Apr 2014

Developing Democracies in Southeast Asia:Theorizing the Role of Parties and Elections 1 Forthcoming in Southeast Asia and Political Science: Theory, Region, and Method

Political parties and elections lie at the center of modern democratic politics. Elections function as the chief means of holding leaders accountable for their actions in democratic societies. Politic...

by Erik Kuhonta | On 28 Apr 2014

Issues of Exclusion and Inclusion in Decentralized Local Governance Institutions in India

This paper proposes to explore “the issues of exclusion and inclusion in decentralized local governance institutions in India”. It also tries to explore how the marginalized groups are excluded in the...

by Dr. Dasarathi Bhuyan | On 14 Apr 2014

Lok Sabha Elections, 2014: Fascism, Democracy’s Challenges and Role of Citizens

PUCL through this statement, wishes to bring to the attention of the people of India, the serious threat to democracy itself and the human rights challenges posed by the electoral alliances and cal...

by People's Union of Civil Liberties PUCL | On 03 Apr 2014

Decentralised Forest Governance, Institutions and Livelihoods in Odisha: A Study of Evolution of Policy Process and Politics

This paper aims to provide an analytical glimpse of the evolution of forest policies in Odisha in the post-independence era, by unraveling the major stages of evolution of such policies. The paper a...

by Bishnu Prasad Mohapatra | On 02 Apr 2014

How Important Are Labor Market Institutions for Labor Market Performance in Transition Countries?

This paper offers a first comprehensive study of the relationship between labor market institutions and policies and labor market performance in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which...

by Hartmut Lehmann | On 10 Mar 2014

The Governance Of Global Value Chains

This article builds a theoretical framework to help explain governance patterns in global value chains. It draws on three streams of literature – transaction costs economics, production networks, and...

by Gary Gereffi | On 10 Mar 2014

Human Rights and Public Finance: Budgets and the Promotion of Economic and Social Rights

Is there sufficient allocation for children in the budgets? [HAQ CRC].

by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral | On 05 Mar 2014

Ending Newborn Deaths: Ensuring every baby survives

This report looks at the progress made in neo-natal care across the world, and also ranks countries in the order of infant mortality rates. The causes of stillbirths, newborn and maternal deaths are e...

by Simon Wright | On 28 Feb 2014

Determinants of Clusters in Indian Manufacturing: The Role of Infrastructure, Governance, Education, and Industrial Policy

This paper investigates the determinants of spatial concentration and entry within manufacturing across states in India. Using an unbalanced panel of 180 industries spread across 16 major Indian sta...

by Ana M. Fernandes | On 30 Jan 2014

India’s Development Cooperation: Charting New Approaches in a Changing World

This report first briefly delves into the historical context within which India's development cooperation must be seen and the role, objectives and the functioning of the DPA is explained. The report...

by Vivan Sharan | On 21 Jan 2014

Emerging Geopolitical Trends and Security in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the People’s Republic of China, and India (ACI) Region

The rapid economic growth in the region consisting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and India has begun to change the strategic landscape of...

by C. Raja Mohan | On 21 Jan 2014

Development through Empowerment: Delivering Effective Public Services

This paper reviews the channels through which empowerment may improve the efficiency and quality of public service delivery, particularly in developing Asia. Departing from a macro perspective, we foc...

by Guo Xu | On 20 Jan 2014

Governance and Development Outcomes in Asia

The relationship between governance and economic development is one of the most important areas of research in international development. Much of the previous literature has focused on whether better...

by Kunal Sen | On 20 Jan 2014

Under the Thumb of History? Political institutions and the Scope for Action

This paper discusses the two leading views of history and political institutions. For some scholars, institutions are mainly products of historical logic, while for others, accidents, leaders, and dec...

by Abhijit V. Banerjee | On 20 Jan 2014

Review of the Institutional Arrangements for Labour Market Information and Skills Anticipation in India

Determining the characteristics of the labour market is one of the fundamental tasks faced by those with responsibility for policy on skills and employment. There is, therefore, a need to identify the...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 09 Dec 2013

Justice and State-Building in Afghanistan: State vs. Society vs. Taliban: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People

In Afghanistan, the process of creating a state judiciary has developed slowly, first through the gradual assertion of state control over sharia courts starting from the reign of Abdur Rahman (1880-19...

by Antonio Giustozzi | On 22 Nov 2013

Strengthening Democracy in Bangladesh

The paper describes of some of the critical challenges to democratization in Bangladesh. While electoral challenges are included, the paper looks beyond elections and describe other factors that can h...

by ASIA FOUNDATION | On 14 Nov 2013

Welfare and Poverty Impacts of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh

India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is one of the largest public works programs globally. Understanding the impacts of NREGS and the pathway through which its impacts are realiz...

by Songqing Jin | On 14 Oct 2013

Decentralized Provisioning of Supplementary Nutrition for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Mumbai

This study is an attempt to examine the decentralized production of supplementary nutrition which has been instituted for the Integrated Child Development Services in urban Maharashtra, specifically,...

by Natasha S. K. | On 04 Oct 2013

Interrogating 'Best Practices' for the Implementation of School Nutrition Programme in Urban India

This study examines the differences between two major Mid-day Meal implementation models: the decentralized model where food is cooked and served within the schools premises, and the centralized model...

by Shankar Priya | On 01 Oct 2013

Improving Public Financial Management in India: Opportunities to Move Forward

In recent years the role of a sound PFM system to achieve the objectives of fiscal discipline, strategic planning, and improved service delivery has been getting increasing public attention in India....

by Pratap Ranjan Jena | On 12 Sep 2013

Crystallizing Fault-lines: Turkey’s Democratic Durability at Risk

In the aftermath of the anti-governmental Gezi demonstrations of May-June and the conclusion of the Ergenekon trial earlier this month, clear fault-lines are crystallizing in the Turkish political lan...

by Ozan Serdaroglu | On 05 Sep 2013

Five Years of Leading the Reserve Bank: Looking Ahead by Looking Back

This Tenth Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial lecture lecture centres around the role and responsibility of a central bank in a democratic structure. Central banks make macroeconomic policy that influences t...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 30 Aug 2013

A Capable State in Afghanistan: A Building Without a Foundation?

This paper argues that attempts at state-building in Afghanistan have led to institutions that are not robust. The state institutions and organizations continue to be highly dependent on external re...

by Frauke de Weijer | On 20 Aug 2013

An Economic Investigation of Corruption and Electricity Theft

Theft and corruption are common in electricity distribution systems worldwide. Electricity theft is analysed in the framework of an individual’s choice under uncertainty and through a three-layered pr...

by Faisal Jamil | On 10 Jul 2013

Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–2017): Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth

Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017). [Planning Commission, GOI]. URL:[http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12thplan/pdf/vol_1.pdf].

by Planning Commission | On 10 Apr 2013

Promoting Democracy in Myanmar: Political Party Capacity Building

The importance of the political parties in Myanmar and their role as the creators of the future of the country. The course of the present developments relies on the ability of the political parties....

by Aung Aung (IR) | On 09 Apr 2013

Employment Effects of Low-Skilled Immigrants in Korea

This study examines the impact of inflows of foreign workers on Korean natives’ economic performance – namely, employment – through the Employment Permit System, the basis of Korea’s system by which...

by Jungho Kim | On 03 Apr 2013

Do School get Their Money? PAISA 2012

The PAISA exercise uses planning and budgeting systems as the entry point, it is an attempt to build an empirical understanding of current governance processes at the grassroots to push for a larg...

by Accountability Initiative | On 29 Mar 2013

Indian Banking Sector: Pushing the Boundaries

Asset quality of banks has come under increasing pressure with rising NPAs and Restructured loans. The Gross NPA ratio for the banking system, which was 2.4% in March 2011, increased to 3.6 per cent b...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 07 Mar 2013

Policy Gaps for Promoting Green Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge in Developing Countries: Learning from Indian Experience

Society for Research and Initiatives for Technologies and Institutions [SRISTI] has pioneered a knowledge intensive model for transforming institutional context of problem solving at community level....

by Anil. K Gupta | On 07 Mar 2013

Evaluation Study of Tribal/Folk Arts and Culture in West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgrah and Bihar

The status of various forms of tribal and folk art and culture are explored. The influence of tribal and folk art & culture on the socio-economic conditions of the subjects covered under survey are...

by Gramin Vikas Seva Sanshtha GVSS | On 26 Feb 2013

The Companies Bill, 2011: FIfty-Seventh Report

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, most of the recommendations made by the Committee in their earlier Report (21st Report) on the Companies Bill, 2009 have been accepted by the Government...

by Lok Sabha Secretariat | On 12 Feb 2013

The Changing Perspective of Mental Health of Children and Adolescents

Review of the book 'Child and Adolescent Mental Health' edited by Usha Nayar, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children; February 2013; pp 363; Rs 115...

by Aarti Salve | On 07 Feb 2013

Microfinance in Evolution: An Industry Between Crisis and Advancement

Following the international financial crisis that started in 2007, market growth and MFI performance started to deteriorate. Over the last decade the market has matured and become more efficient. Is...

by Cédric Lützenkirchen | On 14 Jan 2013

Political Clientelism and Capture: Theory and Evidence from West Bengal, India

There are relatively few theoretical models or empirical analyses of clientelism which analyse the sources and consequences of clientelism. Data from household surveys in rural West Bengal are used t...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 14 Jan 2013

Social Fragmentation, Public Goods and Elections: Evidence from China

This study examines how the economic effects of elections in rural China depend on voter heterogeneity, for which religious fractionalization is taken as a proxy. [BREAD Working No. 366]. URL:[http:/...

by Gerard Padro-i- Miquel | On 09 Jan 2013

Corruption Perceptions Index 2012

The Corruption Perceptions Index is constructed by the Transparency International. The Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries worldwide. Ba...

by Transparency International TI | On 07 Dec 2012

The Buoyant Billions: How “Middle Class” Are the New Middle Classes in Developing Countries? (And Why Does It Matter?)

Middle-income countries (MICs) are now home to most of the world’s extreme poor—the billion people living on less than $1.25 a day and a further billion people living on between $1.25 and $2. At the s...

by Andy Sumner | On 05 Nov 2012

Security Sector Governance (SSG) and Conflict Management in Indonesia: The Aceh Case

This paper examines the evolution of security sector governance (SSG) in Indonesia, focusing in particular on the effects of security sector reform (SSR) on the management of the secessionist conflict...

by Rizal Sukma | On 26 Oct 2012

Analyzing Institutions in Resource and Development Econometrics: Recognizing Institutions, Exploring Levels and Querying Causes

Three strategies are discussed to integrate institutional analysis into resource and development econometrics: (1) recognition of institutional variables; (2) use of multilevel thinking and estimati...

by Vikram Dayal | On 25 Oct 2012

The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011

A bill to establish an Authority and such other regulatory bodies for regulation of radiation safety or nuclear safety and achieving highest standards of such safety based on scientific approach, op...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 01 Oct 2012

Bihar: What went wrong? And what changed?

A historical narrative of Bihar is provided context to much of its current state, Focus is given on its contemporary economy in the past three decades to better understand the moribund state of its ec...

by Arnab Mukherji | On 28 Sep 2012

Notional Contracts: The Moral Economy of Contract Farming Arrangements in India

This study examines the moral economy of firm-farmer contracts in contract farming schemes in India, bringing together data from field surveys, conducted between 2007 and 2010, of 42 agribusinesses a...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 20 Sep 2012

Maharashtra State Youth Policy Declaration

This is an inclusive policy, which recognizes diversity in gender, caste, class, religion, language and reiterates the commitment of the State to this vibrant and significant population group and look...

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 12 Sep 2012

The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010

Commonly known as the Whistleblower's Bill, it seeks to establish a mechanism to register complaints on any allegations of corruption or wilful misuse of power against a public servant. The Bill also...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 17 Aug 2012

The Group of Twenty: Input and Output Legitimacy, Reforms, and Agenda

The paper examines the debates and makes specific policy recommendations by which regionalism, the engagement of small states (through the role of Singapore and the 3-G coalition), and the expansion o...

by Andrew F Cooper | On 09 Aug 2012

The Quality of Governance How Have Indian States Performed?

What is ‘good’ governance? Can the quality of governance be measured? And how do state governments in India measure up by such a measure? [Working Paper no. 104]. URL:[http://www.nipfp.org.in/neww...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 02 Aug 2012

‘The Education Question’ from the Perspective of Adivasis: Conditions, Policies and Structures

Drawing on secondary data, insights and ideas from an all-India consultation meet at NIAS, four regional / zonal consultations, data from a project in Chamarajanagar district (Karnataka), and select...

by P Veerbhadranaika | On 01 Aug 2012

Structuring the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project a Lost Opportunity

This paper explores the evolution of two dedicated freight corridors in India (covering a distance of around 3300 kilometers), and critique them from the perspective of delivering the intended rail...

by Sobhesh Kumar Agarwalla | On 31 Jul 2012

Review of Philippine Migration Laws and Regulations Gains, Gaps, Prospects

The Philippines has often been cited as the global model in managing international labor migration. Despite the complexity of our management infrastructure, however, some gaps still remain. This pap...

by Julyn S Ambito | On 12 Jul 2012

Eat, Drink and be Healthy: A Paradigm Shift for Linking Food and Beverages Industry with People’s Knowledge and Institutions

The food and beverages industry has not yet established strong and vibrant linkages with the local communities to develop value added products and share the benefits. The paper lists seven models fo...

by Anil K Gupta | On 11 Jul 2012

Domestic Violence Prevention Bill 2012: Bhutan

This Act ensures a prompt and just legal remedy for the victims of domestic violence; facilitate access to remedies for immediate and effective assistance, shelter homes and protection to the victims...

by National Assembly of Bhutan | On 11 Jul 2012

Small Farmers in India: Challenges and Opportunities

This paper examines the roles and challenges of small holding agriculture in India. It covers trends in agricultural growth, cultivation patterns, participation of small holding agriculture, productiv...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 06 Jul 2012

Revive Development Studies

Review of the book From Individual to Community: Issues in Development Studies--Essays in Memory of Malcolm Adiseshiah by Nandan Nawn.

by Nandan Nawn | On 05 Jul 2012

Bhutan Education City Bill 2011

Bhutan Education Bill. [National Assembly of Bhutan]. URL:[http://www.nab.gov.bt/downloads/59Bill%20Eng.pdf].

by National Assembly of Bhutan | On 02 Jul 2012

The Effects of Democratization on Public Goods and Redistribution: Evidence from China

This study investigates the effects of introducing elections on public goods and redistribution in rural China. A large and unique survey was collected to document the history of political reforms and...

by Yang Yao | On 05 Jun 2012

Myths and Realities of Long-run Development: A Look at Deeper Determinants

This paper reviews the debate surrounding the “deeper determinants” of economic performance. It reviews the work of Institutional School and Geography School and their interpretation of the long-r...

by Lubna Hasan | On 24 May 2012

Group Norms and the BRAC Village Organization – Enhancing Social Capital Baseline

This study used social capital as an organizing framework to capture VO members’ group behaviour, and their current status along programme activities. The study compared the status of intervention...

by Nayma Qayum | On 22 May 2012

Narrowing the Gaps through Regional Cooperation Institutions and Governance Systems

Regional governance systems and national frameworks to address climate change and accelerate green growth in Asia are reviewed and tools to address climate change are outlined. Options for regional le...

by Heinrich-Wilhelm Wyes | On 11 May 2012

Nepal: Elusive Democracy and Uncertain Political System

Persistence and breakdowns of democracy are the dominant features of Nepali politics.Democracy continues to be attractive amidst setbacks and discontinuity. So it remains perennially elusive, desp...

by Lok Raj Baral | On 23 Apr 2012

Regional Implications of National Reconciliation in Myanmar

The paper examines the implications of Myanmar's reforms for its neighbours- China, India, Thailand and Bangladesh. Issues of major concern to the four countries include energy, humanitarian consequen...

by Lina Gong | On 20 Apr 2012

Journalism in Democracies During Times of War: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media

This paper examines the larger issue of how a ‘free’ media performs during times of war with particular reference to US and India using case studies. It focuses on ‘national security’ becoming a maj...

by Aradhana Sharma | On 20 Apr 2012

Research Study on Women’s Empowerment, Good-governance and Decentralisation : Assuring Women’s Participation in Panchayats of Two Backward Districts of Northern Part of West Bengal

The study focused on the factors and forces behind the participation of women in Panchayat Structure specially after the seventy third Constitution Amendment Act. The role performance, role awarenes...

by Dilip Kumar Sarkar | On 20 Apr 2012

Draft National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy reaffirms the commitment of the Government of India to provide integrated services for holistic development of all children, along the con...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 20 Apr 2012

Do Middle Classes Bring Institutional Reforms?

The link between poverty, the middle class and institutional outcomes are analyzed using a newly developed cross-country panel dataset containing detailed information on the distribution of income a...

by Norman Loayza | On 09 Apr 2012

A Corporate Governance Index for Large Listed Companies in India

A Corporate Governance Index for 500 large listed Indian firms for the period from 2003 to 2008 is constructed. The index construction uses information on four important corporate governance mechan...

by Jayati Sarkar | On 04 Apr 2012

BMC Budget 2012-13

Budget presented to Municipal Commissioner. . [BMC Annual Reports]. URL:[http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Chief%20Accountant%20(Finance)/Budget/Complete%20Engli...

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 22 Mar 2012

Federal Budget of Pakistan-2011-12

BUDGET SPEECH 2011-2012 by DR. ABDUL HAFEEZ SHAIKH, Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Planning & Development.

by Minister of Finance Pakistan | On 12 Mar 2012

The Global Race for Excellence and Skilled Labour: A Status Report

In this context, higher education as well as research and development (R&D) have long since ceased to be purely the domain of the developed Western economies. Numerous regions of the world, some in th...

by Ingo Rollwagen | On 09 Mar 2012

What is the (New) Deal with Fragile States?

Poor governance and lack of state capabilities in around 45 countries pose a threat to global security and development. The involvement of the international community is required to help these st...

by Wim Naudé | On 02 Mar 2012

Failed Mechanism: How the CDM is Subsidizing Hydro Developers and Harming the Kyoto Protocol

Five years age, International Rivers started monitoring the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), concerned that funds marked for climate change mitigation would be used to encourage c...

by Barbara Haya | On 01 Mar 2012

Can Institutions be Reformed from Within? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment with the Rajasthan Police

Institutions in developing countries, particularly those inherited from the colonial period, are often thought to be subject to strong inertia. This study presents the results of a unique randomized t...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 27 Feb 2012

The Public Procurement Bill, 2012

A bill to regulate public procurement with the objectives of ensuring transparency, fair and equitable treatment of bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy and safeguarding...

by Ministry of Finance | On 24 Feb 2012

Foundations of Collective Action in Asia: Theory and Practice of Regional Cooperation

This paper argues that the collective action in Asia by its regional organizations has historically suffered from a “capability–legitimacy gap”: a disjuncture between the capability (in terms of mat...

by Amitav Acharya | On 17 Feb 2012

Mumbai Riots, 1992-3: Revisiting the Affected

Review of the book 'Riots and After in Mumbai: Chronicles of Truth and Reconciliation' Meena Menon, Sage Publications India, 2011, Pp 267 + xcii, Rs. 595/-

by Irfan Engineer | On 17 Feb 2012

The Financial Structure and Performance of Philippine Credit Cooperatives

This study is an attempt to assess the importance and potential impact of any further development of the credit cooperative sector; identify development interventions that will result in a strong Fil...

by Gilberto M Llanto | On 13 Feb 2012

Comparing the Technical Efficiency of Indian Banks Operating Abroad and Foreign Banks Operating in India: A Stochastic Output Distance Function Approach

The aim of this paper is to compare the technical efficiency of Indian Banks operating abroad and foreign banks operating in India and to investigate the effect of openness of the country, ownership...

by Vivek Kumar | On 08 Feb 2012

Is Caste Destiny? Occupational Diversification among Dalits in Rural India

he caste system – a system of elaborately stratified social hierarchy – distinguishes India from most other societies. Among the most distinctive factors of the caste system is the close link betwee...

by Ira Gang | On 07 Feb 2012

Global Health and the New Bottom Billion: How Funders Should Respond to Shifts in Global Poverty and Disease Burden

After a decade of rapid economic growth, many developing countries have attained middle-income status. But poverty reduction in these countries has not kept pace with economic growth. As a result, mos...

by Amanda Glassman | On 31 Jan 2012

Engines of Development: How Cohesive?

Review ofEconomy, Democracy and the State: The Indian Experience, By Ramashray Roy, Sage Publications, New Delhi; 2009, Pages: viii + 247, Rs 650.

by Bhanoji Rao | On 22 Jan 2012

Challenges in IMS Reforms: A Global and Emerging Markets Perspective

The current global financial crisis has reopened an old debate on the international monetary system by baring weaknesses and flaws that have long been known. The debate is centred on both stability an...

by Alok Sheel | On 10 Jan 2012

Parental Education as a Criterion for Affirmative Action in Higher Education: A Preliminary Analysis

Affirmative action, especially in the form of reservation policies, to address the issues of inclusion and equity has been in place in India for a long time. Through these policies higher participatio...

by Rakesh Basant | On 09 Jan 2012

Inter-connectedness of Banks and NBFCs in India: Issues and Policy Implications

The recent global financial crisis (2007-09) has clearly highlighted the gravity of high financial inter-connectedness within the financial system. In the Indian context, this brief study attempts to...

by Karunagaran A | On 05 Jan 2012

Turning the Tide: Improving Water Resource Management in the Philippines

Water is arguably the most important natural resource and because it is scarce, its optimal usage and proper management must be ensured. Water governance in the Philippines, however, has becom...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 03 Jan 2012

Strengthening Banking Regulation: Amending the BSP Charter

This Policy Brief discusses the proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 7653 (RA 7653). The first part briefly presents the mandate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). It then describes the fi...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 29 Dec 2011

The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010

A bill to lay down judicial standards and provide for accountability of judges and establish credible and expedient mechanism for investigating into individual complaints for misbehaviour or incapacit...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 29 Dec 2011

Contribution of Services Sector in the Economy of Pakistan

The services sector has provided steady support to Pakistan’s economic growth. It share in GDP now stands a more than 50 percent. The paper analyses its continuation in the growth of the economy in...

by Ayaz Ahmed | On 29 Dec 2011

A Conceptual Overview of Structural Equation Modeling

A synthesized version of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and its possible applications in Management problems is presented. The main contribution of the paper is its simple description of a some...

by Tathagata Banerjee | On 27 Dec 2011

Will Neoliberal Policies Resolve Water Sector Dilemmas? Learnings from Maharashtra and Gujarat

This paper examines how the neoliberal policies have influenced the water sector reform policies and interventions in India, particularly, in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. In doing so, the...

by Viswanathan P K | On 26 Dec 2011

Legislative Brief: The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010

The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 1, 2010. The Bill was introduced by the Minister of Law and Justice. The Bill was referred to the Stand...

by Anirudh Burman | On 30 Nov 2011

Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well a...

by Charles Kenny | On 25 Nov 2011

Policies for Increasing Non-Farm Employment for Farm Households in India

The present paper adopts a diagnostic approach; problems of non-farm employment in rural sector are identified by studying pattern and process of rural employment using data from the NSS quinquennia...

by Brajesh Jha | On 22 Nov 2011

The G20: Engine of Asian Regionalism?

The paper scrutinizes the functioning of the G20 and its role in increasing coordination. and cooperation between Asian countries. It highlights divergent agendas amongst the A6 as regards the future...

by Hugo Dobson | On 09 Nov 2011

Institutionalising Democracy

Review of Economy, Democracy and the State: The Indian Experience by Ramashray Roy, Sage Publications, New Delhi;2009, pp. viii + 247, Rs 650.

by Bhanoji Rao | On 07 Nov 2011

German Companies Engaging in China: Decision-Making Processes at Home and Management Practices in Chinese Subsidiaries

This paper attempts to explain why internationalization processes to China are growing despite the significant difficulties that foreign direct investments into China encounter. The answer to this q...

by Geny Piotti | On 04 Nov 2011

Hospital based Crisis Centre for Domestic Violence: The Dilassa Model

The brief is based on the experience and the success of a hospital based Crisis Centres for women facing domestic violence in Mumbai - Dilaasa. It is a joint initiative of the MCGM and CEHAT, establ...

by ... CEHAT | On 02 Nov 2011

Growth and Election Outcomes in a Developing Country

With the exception Brander and Drazen (2008), who use a comprehensive cross-country database consisting of both developed and developing countries, the hypothesis that rapid growth helps incumbents...

by Poonam Gupta | On 31 Oct 2011

Gender, Governance and Women’s Rights in South Asia

This study focuses on gender equality and democratic governance in the five largest states of the South Asian region, namely, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Beginning with a general...

by Seema Kazi | On 20 Oct 2011

Who Drives Change? Comparing the Evolution of Domestic Climate Governance in India and South Africa

This paper compares and contrasts the nature and scope of change in the domestic climate governance of India and South Africa between 2007 and 2010. It uses an actor-centered approach to analyze the d...

by Babette Never | On 18 Oct 2011

Transactions Matter but They Hardly Cost: Irrigation Management in the Kathmandu Valley

This study estimates the transaction costs entailed in maintaining Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) in Nepal based on a case study of 60 irrigation systems in the Kathmandu valley. It analyz...

by Ram Chandra Bhattarai | On 18 Oct 2011

History Matters: China and Global Governance

This paper focuses on the two-way relationship between China and the international economic system. China’s embrace of the global institutions and their rules and norms helped guide its spectacular ec...

by Wendy Dobson | On 17 Oct 2011

Burma’s Transition to “Disciplined Democracy”: Abdication or Institutionalization of Military Rule?

This article formulates an analytical framework for the detachment of militaries from politics and identifies positive and negative factors for a withdrawal. It then applies this framework to the case...

by Marco Bünte | On 17 Oct 2011

An Economic Policy and Legal Analysis of The Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill, 2011

In response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010, the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) ...

by Shubho Roy | On 17 Oct 2011

National Telecom Policy-2011 (NTP-2011)

NTP-2011 has the vision Broadband on Demand and envisages leveraging telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban landscape, to participate in the Internet and...

by Ministry of Communication & Information Technology GOI | On 13 Oct 2011

An Empirical Analysis of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interaction in India

This study analyses the behaviour of monetary and fiscal policies interaction in India using quarterly data for 2000Q2 to 2010Q1. It finds that, even after the elimination of automatic monetisation...

by Janak Raj | On 11 Oct 2011

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

The Optional Protocol (OP) on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was ratified by India on November 30, 2005, and is in effect since December 30, 2005. This is t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 29 Sep 2011

Integrated Financial MIS for Local Government Public Expenditure Management - A Case Study of Khajane in Karnataka

Expenditure Management is critical to effective public service delivery, especially at the local government level. Leveraging on information systems to aid in expenditure management is viewed as an ...

by Sandeep M S | On 20 Sep 2011

The Lok Pal Bill Debate: Lack of Accountability, not Anna Hazare's Fast, Should be the Focus

The paper analysis the current situation of corruption in India, the protests against it, the role of NGOs and the Lok Pal Bill

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 19 Sep 2011

History of Monetary Policy in India since Independence

An SIIO paradigm, based on structure and ideas that become engraved in institutions and affect outcomes, is developed to examine and assesses monetary policy in India after independence. Narrative h...

by Ashima Goyal | On 16 Sep 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011

A Bill to provide for food and nutritional security, in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices, for people to live a life with dign...

by Department of Food and Public Distribution Fcamin | On 14 Sep 2011

Evolution of Property Rights Regimes in the Groundwater Economy of India-Constraints on Moving Towards a Common Property Regime

The paper paper reviews the 'model' central and state government bills, pertaining to groundwater, through a conceptual framework and discusses the Andhra Pradesh experience in the developing governme...

by G.Ananda Vadivelu | On 30 Aug 2011

Who's Minding the Police?

Review of Enforcing Police Accountability through Civilian Oversight, Shankar Sen; Sage Publication, New Delhi; pp.198, Rs 595. ISBN: 978-81-321-04537(HB).

by Kamlesh Kumar | On 18 Aug 2011

Identifying Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs)

In this study the analytical framework for identifying and benchmarking systemically important financial institutions is discussed. First, the main concepts underlying the SIFI definition are laid out...

by Christian Weistroffer | On 12 Aug 2011

Indian Education System – Issues and Challenges

The role played by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the banking system in India in strengthening education system. Realizing the importance of education for the economic development and the overall liv...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 10 Aug 2011

Financial Inclusion in India: A case-study of West Bengal

The study seeks to examine the extent of financial inclusion in West Bengal. It is observed from the study that although there has been an improvement in outreach activity in the banking sector, the...

by Sadhan Kumar Chattopadhyay | On 03 Aug 2011

The Digital Society: New Ways to More Transparency, Participation and Innovation

The study makes specific recommendations for decisionmakers in industry, society and politics on how to handle new network technologies. URL:[http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-PROD/PROD...

by Thomas F Dapp | On 02 Aug 2011

Enhancing Women Empowerment through Information and Communication Technology: A Report

Information and Communication Technology (ICT’s) bring lot of opportunities to women in the work situations and small business. Teleporting, flexi time and work from home arrangements are some of t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 29 Jul 2011

Government Mediated Program on Intensifying Industry-Academia Linkages for Human Resource Development; Experinces of an Innovative Model from TIFAC

The importance of academia- industry linkages for development of an economy is well recognized. With a view to make the higher technical education relevant, by forging and catalyzing functional link...

by Jancy Ayyaswamy | On 26 Jul 2011

THE LOKPAL BILL, 2011

A bill to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for matters connected therewith. URL:[http://www...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 19 Jul 2011

Board Interlocks and Their Impact on Corporate Governance: The Indian Experience - Coping with Corporate Cholesterol

Board interlocks and corporate elites are an engaging field of ongoing academic and policy research around the world, especially because of the concentration of economic power in few individuals or en...

by Bala N Balasubramanian | On 08 Jul 2011

Decentralized Forest Governance - A Policy Perspective

This paper examines challenges associated with early stages of decentralizing the administration and management of forest resources. It is based on review of literature on forest, decentralization a...

by Aruna Kumar Monditoka | On 07 Jul 2011

Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Reconstruction, and Growth

Growth, poverty reduction, and social peace are all undermined when public expenditure management and taxation are weak and when the fiscal deficit and public debt are not managed successfully. And la...

by Tony Addison | On 04 Jul 2011

Incidence and Performance Effects of Interlocking Directorates in Emerging Market Business Groups: Evidence From India

The phenomenon of interlocking directorates is widespread among corporate across the world. This paper studies the structure and extent of interlocking directorates within Indian business groups and ...

by Bikram De | On 24 Jun 2011

Non-financial Reporting – What, Why and How - Indian Perspective

The importance of non-financial reporting in the overall assessment of a company's performance, its risk-return trade off is steadily gaining ground, both globally and in India. [Address by Dr K. C...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 10 Jun 2011

The Best Things in Life are (Nearly) Free: Technology, Knowledge, and Global Health

In this paper the authors argue that two major factors underlie improved global health outcomes: first, the discovery of cheap technologies that can dramatically improve outcomes; second, the adoptio...

by Ursula Casabonne | On 03 Jun 2011

Women Exiting Chronic Poverty: Empowerment Through Equitable Control of Households’ Natural Resources

This paper examines the relationship between women’s vulnerability to poverty and their management of domestic natural resources. It finds that gendered experiences of poverty often derive from discri...

by Jessica Espey | On 01 Jun 2011

Business Group Ownership of Banks: Issues and Implications

This paper introduces the phenomenon of business groups in the theory of financial intermediation by banks, developed by Diamond (1984) with a view to analyzing their impact on the result of finan...

by Ashish Taru Deb | On 19 May 2011

Ideas, Innovation, Impact: Annual Report 2009-2010

IDRC builds the skills and expertise of people and institutions in developing countries to undertake the research that they believe is most needed. The Parliament of Canada created IDRC as a Crown cor...

by International Development Research Centre | On 16 May 2011

New media: problems and prospects

The author advocates liberal and secular ideas in a country, Pakistan, too-often torn by religious extremism and strives for the defence and promotion of press freedom under difficult circumstances an...

by Najam Sethi | On 08 May 2011

What do you want from us?

In the past three years, two journalists for El Diario have been killed by drug-cartels and since 2000 more than 64 journalists have been killed throughout the country. The armed conflict between orga...

by Rocio Gallegos | On 08 May 2011

The Potential (and Pitfalls) of Free Expression Technology

Each year, Reporters Without Borders awards a Netizen prize (sponsored by Google) to a blogger, online journalist or cyber-dissident who has helped to promote freedom of expression on the Internet. Th...

by David C. Drummond | On 08 May 2011

Book Review: Distance Education: A Growing Sector in Asia

Review of Policy and Practice in Asian Distance Edited by Belawati Tiawati and Baggaley Jon Education, Sage, Publications, India 2010, 260 pages, Rs. 650/-

by Madhu Parhar | On 06 May 2011

"Free Dawit Isaak"

The author joined the World Press Freedom Day campaign this year, 2011, to highlight the plight of WAN-IFRA's 2011 Golden Pen of Freedom laureate, Dawit Isaak, incarcerated without charge for nearly a...

by Peter Englund | On 04 May 2011

An Irreversible Gain in Freedom of Expression

In this World Press Freedom Day editorial, the authors explore the events taking place in the Middle East and North Africa and the positive outcomes for freedom of expression the peoples' revolutions...

by Martti Ahtisaari Ahtisaari | On 04 May 2011

Technology in Healthcare: Current Controversies

The articles in each section of this analogy of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics represents major debates on the ethics of healthcare technology- its development and its application. They cover is...

by Sandhya Srinivasan | On 03 May 2011

Do Local Elections in Non-Democracies Increase Accountability? Evidence from Rural China

Unique survey data is used to study whether the introduction of local elections in China made local leaders more accountable towards local constituents. A simple model is developed to predict the e...

by Monica Martinez Bravo | On 18 Apr 2011

Financial Regulatory Harmonization in East Asia: Balancing Domestic and International Pressures for Corporate Governance Reforms

Focusing on corporate governance, which many see as a critical part of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and which is also seen as unresponsive to calls for change, this paper argues that such harmoniz...

by Richard W Carney | On 12 Apr 2011

Potential Role in Corporate Governance by Employees of Asian Enterprises

Large publicly-held corporations or business groups in developing Asian economies are typically controlled (and managed) by families, and tend to suffer from poor corporate governance. Even though s...

by Sang-Woo Nam | On 29 Mar 2011

Co-operatives and Collective Action: Case of a Rubber Grower Co-operative in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya, North East India

Growing evidences demonstrate that the mountainous societies in South and Southeast Asian countries are underway of dynamic agrarian transition in the context of market integration leading to emerge...

by P.K. Viswanathan | On 25 Mar 2011

Employees in Asian Enterprises:Their Potential Role in Corporate Governance

Large publicly-held corporations or business groups in developing Asian economies are typically controlled (and managed) by families, and tend to suffer from poor corporate governance. Even though s...

by Sang-Woo Nam | On 24 Mar 2011

Social and Economic Policies to Prevent Complex Humanitarian Emergencies Lessons from Experience

In simple language and with numerous concrete examples, this policy brief analyses the impact - among others - of key ex-ante factors such as acute 'horizontal inequality' between social groups in the...

by Jeni Klugman | On 22 Mar 2011

Constituency Development Funds: Are They Constitutional?

This brief examines one particular criticism of Constituency Development Funds (CDFs): they infringe upon the doctrine of separation of powers. It also discusses whether CDFs adhere to other important...

by Christina Murray | On 18 Mar 2011

Constitution Writing and Conflict Resolution

Over 1975-2003 nearly 200 new constitutions were drawn up in countries at risk of conflict, as part of peace processes and the adoption of multiparty political systems. The process of writing cons...

by Michael Kellerman | On 18 Mar 2011

Relationship Banking and Its Role in Corporate Governance

Bank-based systems of corporate governance are certainly an alternative in many Asian economies. In spite of the great efforts directed to strengthening corporate governance along the Anglo- America...

by Sang-Woo Nam | On 18 Mar 2011

Do Interest Rates Matter? Credit Demand in the Dhaka Slums

The advent of microfinance lending in the last two decades has been hailed as a key development in the fight against poverty. The New York Times (1997), for example, on its editorial page, has promote...

by Rajeev Dehejia | On 17 Mar 2011

The Global Impact of the Southern Engines of Growth: China, India, Brazil and South Africa

This Policy Brief focuses on links between the developing countries of Brazil, India, China and South Africa and the global economy, with a special emphasis on the implications of China’s spectacular...

by Amelia U. Santos Paulino | On 11 Mar 2011

Survey of Corporate Governance Practices in Indonesia, Thailand and Korea

Poor corporate governance is viewed as one of the structural weaknesses responsible for the outbreak of the Asian crisis in late 1997. Controlling family owners could pursue private interests with r...

by Sang-Woo Nam | On 09 Mar 2011

Women Safety in Delhi

This study focuses on the nature of safety violence in Delhi, the perceptions of safety among women and men, infrastructure to redress their causes and their outcomes. URL: [http://wcd.nic.in/].

by Society for Development Studies | On 08 Mar 2011

Failed States, Vicious Cycles, and a Proposal

The problems of failed states, including the repeated return to power of former warlords are examined. It is argued that this causes institutions to become weaker and people to get poorer. It is argue...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 04 Mar 2011

Governing Globalization: Issues and Institutions

This policy brief is intended to outline suggestions and stimulate discussion at a time when the world community is thinking about, and is engaged in, a debate on global governance. The policy brief n...

by Deepak Nayyar | On 04 Mar 2011

Governance in Indonesia:Some Comments

Governance is often a difficult process. Proper governance ideally involves formulating an overall strategy of operations, translating this strategy into specific policies and decisions, and then im...

by Peter McCawley | On 03 Mar 2011

Kerala Budget 2011-12

The Minister for Finance, Dr. T. M. Thomas Issac presented the Budget for the financial year 2011-2012.

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 14 Feb 2011

Key Principles Underlying the New Modes of Aid Governance in Asia

Based on the recent experience of several Asian developing countries and interviews in Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos with aid practitioners from donor institutions and Non Government Organizations (NGOs...

by Caroline Brassard | On 10 Feb 2011

Global South, Sephis e-magazine, Vollume 7:1, 2011

List of Contents Articles Arindam Samaddar, Prabir Kr. Das and Stephen R. Morin, 'Technology Adoption and its Constraints: The Cascading Effects in Two West Bengal Villages' Erick Tejada Sanchez, '...

by SEPHIS | On 07 Feb 2011

The Contribution of the New Institutional Economics to an Understanding of the Transition Problem

Institutions and the way they evolve shape economic performance. Institutions affect economic performance by determining (together with technology employed) the cost of transacting and producing. They...

by Douglass C. North | On 04 Feb 2011

Book Reviews: Common Origins, Divergent Paths

Philip Oldenburg. India, Pakistan, and Democracy: Solving the Puzzle of Divergent Paths. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010. x + 273 pp. $145.00 (cloth), $39.95 (paper). [H-Net Review]

by Sumit Ganguly | On 30 Jan 2011

Authorship Conflict in Selected Research Institutions in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Study

This study aimed to explore the causes, types, and consequences of authorship conflicts among the researchers of selected research institutions in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and suggest ways to reduce confl...

by Hasan Shareef Ahmed | On 27 Jan 2011

Oil to Cash: Fighting the Resource Curse through Cash Transfers

Many of the world’s poorest and most fragile states are joining the ranks of oil and gas producers. These countries face critical policy questions about managing and spending new revenue in a way tha...

by Todd Moss | On 25 Jan 2011

Postconflict Countries: Strategy for Rebuilding Fiscal Institutions

This paper reviews the challenges and experiences in rebuilding fiscal institutions in postconflict environments, based on advice from the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department to selected countries. Th...

by Sanjeev Gupta | On 20 Jan 2011

Monitoring and Evaluation Reform under Changing Aid Modalities: Seeking the Middle Ground in Aid-Dependent Low-Income Countries

This paper grew out of our bewilderment with the insouciance with which some in the donor community seem ready to abandon accounting for the use of aid. If one listens to the rhetoric surrounding...

by Nathalie Holvoet | On 20 Jan 2011

Socioeconomic Divides in Tuberculosis Control: Study of Smear-Positive TB Prevalence, Care Seeking Behaviour and Role of Informal Healthcare Providers

The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has intensified the implementation of the directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) strategy with the primary aims (i) to detect and treat at least 70% of T...

by Fazlul Karim | On 12 Jan 2011

Measuring Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

This paper discusses the difficulties associated with measuring entrepreneurship in developing countries. Three important dichotomies in the research on entrepreneurship are discussed: formal-info...

by Sameeksha Desai | On 11 Jan 2011

The Race Against Drug Resistance

The Center for Global Development’s Drug Resistance Working Group urges pharmaceutical companies, governments, donors, global health institutions, health providers, and patients to collectively and...

by Rachel Nugent | On 10 Jan 2011

Building Social Capital for the Ultra Poor: Challenges and Achievements

BRAC introduced a programme designed to meet the special needs of the extreme poor called, ‘Challenging the Frontier of Poverty Reduction: Targeting Ultra Poor (TUP)’ programme in 2002. The programme...

by Karishma Huda | On 03 Jan 2011

Explaining Threshold Effects of Globalization on Poverty: An Institutional Perspective

The paper focuses on the non-linearity of the transmission of the impact of globalization on poverty and the existence of threshold effects. Institutions constitute a critical factor for the creatio...

by Alice Sindzingre | On 31 Dec 2010

Possession and Usage of Insecticidal Bed Nets among the People of Uganda: Is BRAC Uganda Health Programme Pursuing a Pro-Poor Path?

The use of insecticidal bed nets is found to be an effective public health tool for control of malaria, especially for under-five children and pregnant women. BRAC, an indigenous Bangladeshi non-gove...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 31 Dec 2010

Globalization, Local Ecosystems, and the Rural Poor

Livelihoods of the rural poor in developing countries are critically dependent on the health of the local ecosystems. In this paper they examine the various mechanisms through which globalization...

by Rimjhim M. Aggarwal | On 23 Dec 2010

Exploring Changes in the Lives of BRAC Women: A Gender Perspective

In Bangladesh, patriarchal norms, ideology and social institutions shape women's role and status in the society. Within this patriarchal system, some forces like NGOs may affect the relationship bet...

by Amina Mahbub | On 23 Dec 2010

Size Matters: The Impact of Aid on Institutions

This paper proposes that aid flowing to smaller (less populous) countries has a negative impact on the quality of institutions in terms of performance and policy as opposed to that flowing to larg...

by Chakriya Bowman | On 20 Dec 2010

Group-Oriented Values, Rules and Cooperation

This paper uses a game-theoretic framework to explain how collectivist values hamper societies’ efforts to elicit cooperation in inter-group games of prisoners’ dilemma (PD) and draws on the resul...

by Ke-young Chu | On 15 Dec 2010

The Change of the Financial System and Developmental State in Korea

This study examines the role of institutions and their change related to the rapid economic development and the 1997 Korean financial crisis. In Korea, the government built a state- led financial s...

by Kang-Kook Lee | On 13 Dec 2010

Aid and Development Policy in the 1990s

The 1990s will be the first decade after the revolutionary upheavals in the world economic and political system following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Democracy ha...

by Arjun Sengupta | On 13 Dec 2010

ICT and e-Governance for Rural Development

Rural e-Governance applications in the recent past have demonstrated the important role the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play in the realm of rural development. Several e-Governa...

by T.P. Rama Rao | On 07 Dec 2010

Dairy Information Services Kiosk and Dairy Portal

A proof of concept application using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the dairy sector was developed by the Centre for Electronics Governance at the Indian Institute of Management, Ah...

by T.P. Rama Rao | On 03 Dec 2010

Formal Bureaucracy and the Emergent Forms of the Informal Economy

The following essay has three parts. The first is a story about fluctuations in the balance of the relationship between impersonal and personal principles of social organization. This draws heavi...

by Keith Hart | On 01 Dec 2010

Frontline pay-off

The general assumption in New Delhi’s “strategic community” is that it is in India’s interest for Americans troops to stay on in Kabul. The theory is that the US is doing the hard work that is beyond...

by T.N. Ninan | On 11 Nov 2010

Auditor and Audit Committee Independence in India

This article reviews the regulations and governance reforms carried out in India with respect to auditor and audit committee independence. In doing so it critically compares them with the regulations...

by Jayati Sarkar | On 02 Nov 2010

Towards Understanding the Merger-Wave in the Indian Corporate Sector: A Comparative Perspective

The corporate sector in India has witnessed a substantial growth of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) during the 1990s, facilitated by the policy-shift under Structural Adjustment Program. During the...

by P.L. Beena | On 28 Oct 2010

Private Financing Firms in Karnataka: A Boon for Tax Dodgers

The growth of government financial institutions in India both in terms of number of branches and quantum of credit has been impressive, especially in the post-blank nationalisation period. [Working Pa...

by D. Rajasekhar | On 23 Oct 2010

Accelerating Economic Growth and Reducing Poverty: The Road Ahead

It outlines the broad framework and the strategy for poverty reduction based on four pillars: (a) accelerating economic growth while maintaining the macroeconomic stability; (b) improving the govern...

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, | On 19 Oct 2010

From Local to Global and Informal to Formal: Entering Mainstream Markets

This is a brief sketch of the Self Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) three- decade-long journey from the local to global and informal to formal sector in search of finding work and income for n...

by Reema Nanavaty | On 15 Oct 2010

Governance, Institutions, and Regional Infrastructure in Asia

This study is a comprehensive, empirical analysis of the linkages between governance, institutions, and regional infrastructure. The empirical results indicate that governance and institutions are cru...

by Prabir De | On 14 Oct 2010

A Macro Policy for Poverty Eradication through Structural Change

This paper argues that poverty originates in the structural injustices of a social order which incapacitates the poor from participating in the growth generating sectors of the economy and leaves th...

by Rehman Sobhan | On 13 Oct 2010

Collective Values, Behavioural Norms and Rules Building Institutions for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction

Economic growth and poverty reduction require for a country to establish efficient rules for economic and political transactions. Poor countries suffer from inadequate, inefficient transaction rules...

by Ke-young Chu | On 12 Oct 2010

Decent Work and the Informal Economy

The ILO was founded for social justice, a mandate expressed today in terms of decent work as a global goal, for all who work, whether in formal or informal contexts. In June 2002, the delegates to...

by Anne Trebilcock | On 08 Oct 2010

Big Push versus Absorptive Capacity: How to Reconcile the Two Approaches

In this paper they examine whether absorptive capacity can constitute sufficient justification for rejecting the proposal of a large aid increase to support the ‘big push’. They argue that the pro...

by Patrick Guillaumont | On 08 Oct 2010

Towards an Economic Approach to Sustainable Forest Development

The present paper looks at the various dimensions of contributions by forests in the context of the Indian economy. Based on a detailed review of literature on importance and valuation of forests, s...

by Archana S Mathur | On 08 Oct 2010

India as a Global Leader in Science: A Vision for India

In the next two decades, India is likely to become an economically prosperous nation and move significantly towards being a far more inclusive society, with the bulk of its population gaining acces...

by Science Advisory Council to PM SAC to PM | On 01 Oct 2010

Macro-prudential Approach to Regulation - Scope and Issues

It is being acknowledged that a macro prudential perspective is critical in designing and pursuing micro prudential regulation of institutions and markets. Two distinct but highly inter-related constr...

by Shyamala Gopinath | On 28 Sep 2010

Higher Education in India: Seizing the Opportunity

This paper reviews the prevailing policy environment to evaluate its efficacy in ensuring that India is successfully able to address these challenges in the education sector. Given the well establishe...

by Sanat Kaul | On 17 Sep 2010

An Ethnography of Associational Life: Caste and Politics in India

In 1956 Susanne Rudolph and I arrived in India for the first of many research years there. We were among the second batch of Ford Foundation Foreign Area Training Fellows. As area scholars we were com...

by Lloyd I. Rudolf | On 15 Sep 2010

Economic Governance of MFIs: Inside the Black Box

This paper investigates a relationship between economic governance and the dual objectives of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): poverty reduction and financial viability. Using an unbalanced pan...

by Thankom Arun | On 06 Sep 2010

Leveraging the Integration of Sales Career Cycle with Brand Life Cycle in Indian Pharmaceutical Firms

Indian pharmaceutical sector is currently witnessing faster introduction of new drugs, with shorter life cycles, given the intense competition. Often, pharma companies fail to strategically align th...

by Basant Kumar Purohit | On 02 Aug 2010

Strategic Orientation of Outsourcing Firms: Demystifying Key Differentiators

Despite the importance of outsourcing firms and the highly competitive nature of the outsourcing industry, there has been minimal examination of outsourcing firm strategy. This paper investigates...

by Kirti Sharda | On 16 Jul 2010

Censorship: Free Dump of Expression

For a country to be a democracy, certain things are expected to be in place, such as freedom of expression and little or no censorship. While one person would find it perfectly acceptable to publici...

by Garima Gupta | On 15 Jul 2010

Innovations for Reviving Small-Scale Industries

Given the economic distress worldwide, the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) had been hit hard. Large numbers of workers have been laid off because of depressed demand, piled up inven...

by Anil K Gupta | On 14 Jul 2010

What is Wrong with the Constituency Development Funds?

This brief will argue that Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) have a negative impact on accountability and service delivery that most poor countries can ill afford. The risks associated with CDFs s...

by Albert van Zyl | On 08 Jul 2010

Analyzing Corruption Possibilities in the Gaze of the Media

In this paper analyze the economic incentives that govern the strategic relationship between the government and the independent media has been analysed using a consistent analytical framework.The an...

by Samarth Vaidya | On 17 Jun 2010

Commercialisation of Microfinance in India: A Discussion on the Emperor’s Apparel

The paper looks at the growth and commercialization of microfinance in India. It starts out be looking at how the commercial microfinance has evolved internationally by discussing two specific ex...

by M S Sriram | On 08 Jun 2010

The Economics of Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events in Developing Countries

Without a better understanding of the interactions between international players, households and public sector, it will be difficult for climate negotiators and donor institutions to determine the...

by Brian Blankespoor | On 01 Jun 2010

Cultures of Transport: Representation, Practice and Technology

It is argue that the so-called cultural‘ (and spatial‘) turn that has remodelled so many other areas of the humanities and social sciences over the last two decades might help answer Armstrong‘s plea...

by Colin Divall | On 21 May 2010

Urban Governance and Finance in India

Over 330 million people live in India’s cities; 35 cities have a population of over a million and three (Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata) of the 10 largest metropolises in the world are in India. India’s...

by M. Govinda Rao | On 21 May 2010

Which Asia?

Is Asia a cohesive analytical unit in any practical sense?

by T.N. Ninan | On 17 May 2010

OTC Derivatives Market in India: Recent Regulatory Initiatives and Open Issues for Market Stability and Development

The paper seeks to prove the point that the Indian OTC derivatives markets, unlike many other jurisdictions, are well regulated. Only contracts where one party to the contract is an RBI regulated e...

by Dayanand Arora | On 03 May 2010

Industrializing West Bengal? : The Case of Institutional Stickiness

The paper discuses the role played by institutional behavior in determining the policy outcomes of a state. Apart from secondary data the paper is also based on information collected from selected sta...

by Deepita Chakravarty | On 19 Mar 2010

State Business Relations and Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Andhra Pradesh

In this paper, an attempt is made to enquire into the politics of the government and business relation and how it affects the industrial development in general and expansion of manufacturing sector...

by Alivelu G | On 02 Mar 2010

What Determines the Success and Failure of ‘100 Days Work’ at the Panchayat Level? A Study of Birbhum District in West Bengal

West Bengal is not among the best performing states with regard to NREGA. The performance of all districts in the state is not equally discouraging. Some districts, in fact, have done well in gener...

by Subrata Mukherjee | On 19 Feb 2010

The World Bank: Toward a Global Club

In the light of this simple idea of the bank as a global credit club, what are the issues that arise with respect to its current governance structure? How might various proposals for reform strength...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 11 Feb 2010

Obstacles to Private Power Investments in India

This paper aims to highlight the critical importance of cost recovery in attracting and sustaining private investment for power development. Based on a brief review of Indian experience, it suggests...

by Vishvanath V. Desai | On 24 Dec 2009

Re-Activating Primary Health Centres Through Industrial Partnership in Tamilnadu Is it a Sustainable Model of Partnership?

Kerala’s success in human development demonstrated that efficient functioning of government health care delivery system opens the doors of prosperity for the poor and vulnerable sections of the popu...

by Varatharajan D | On 21 Dec 2009

Accounting for Results: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Financing for Climate Change

This brief seeks to address questions on how the funds are collected, dsitributes at the international level, mechanisms to ensure that the recipient countries are managing the funds in a transparent...

by Athena Ballesteros | On 15 Dec 2009

Democratic Citizenship: From Proportionality to a Continuum Approach to Political Participation

This paper is an attempt to explore the meaning and significance of political participation within (a) the conceptual framework of democratic citizenship and (b) debates surrounding representative d...

by Anupama Roy | On 10 Dec 2009

The Limits of Intellectual Property Rights: Lessons from the Spread of Illegal Transgenic Cotton Seeds in India

This paper examines these difficulties of regulation in the context of spread of unapproved transgenic Bt cotton seeds in India. This paper also examines the impact of the cultivation of approved and...

by Bharat Ramaswami | On 08 Dec 2009

Disowned Institutions in Hilaungad Watershed

The objective of the study is to undertake watershed based planning for integrated community management of natural resources for livelihood security. Separate studies were done in Nepal and in Uttarak...

by Debashish Sen | On 04 Dec 2009

Women’s Experience in New Panchayats: The Emerging Leadership of Rural Women

This paper presents some of the findings of our recent study on women’s representation and participation in panchayats. Some of the findings of the study (Buch; 1999) of women in panchayats after the...

by Nirmala Buch | On 04 Dec 2009

Flying with the Crane-Recapturing KMVS’s Ten-Year Journey

This document is at the behest of KMVS and is an effort to hold up a mirror to their journey. It is a documentation of their history, context, evolution, and experiences since its emergence in 1989. A...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 01 Dec 2009

Should Banking Be Made Boring? - An Indian Perspective

Ills of the banking system that caused the crisis. An extensive analysis of the causes is given. A brief synopsis to provide a backdrop for the ‘boring banking’ discussion is given. [Speech at the Int...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 25 Nov 2009

Regional Analysis of Gender-Related Development: Districts of Western India

In this paper the diverse dimensions of gender development are examined using individual indicators for the districts of the western region of India. The western region for the purpose of this study...

by Preet Rustagi | On 24 Nov 2009

Women in Self Help Groups and Panchayti Raj Institutions: Suggesting Synergistic Linkages

Questions about the processes of empowerment generated under each of these interventions and also suggests synergistic linkages between the two are raised.

by Joy Deshmukh Ranadive | On 13 Nov 2009

Track Record of Financial Institutions in Assisting the Poor in Asia

A variety of institutional forms of microfinance are being introduced in Asia including by the ADB-and financial institutions pursue different objectives, so it is difficult to assess how well micro...

by Richard L Meyer | On 13 Nov 2009

A Profession on the Margins: Status Issues in Indian Nursing

This joint paper attempts an unusual collaborative approach that offers an understanding of the problems that registered nurses of India have faced. Through this paper, the problem of ‘social status’...

by Sreelekha Nair | On 10 Nov 2009

Political Sociology of Poverty In India: Between Politics of Poverty and Poverty of Politics

This paper on political sociology of poverty in India is based upon the assumption that a) the caste system and economic inequality complement each other in the case of the poorer sections of Indian...

by Anand Kumar | On 10 Nov 2009

Book Review: A New Synthesis on the Renaissance Hospital

The Renaissance Hospital: Healing the Body and Healing The Soul by John Henderson. New Haven Yale University Press, 2006. xxxiv + 458 pp. $60.00 (cloth).

by Brian Nance | On 05 Nov 2009

Delegation and Emission Tax in a Differentiated Oligopoly

How product differentiation as well as strategic managerial delegation affects optimal emission tax rate, environmental damage and social welfare, under alternative modes of product market competiti...

by Rupayan Pal | On 04 Nov 2009

Rectifying the Anti-politics of Citizen Participation

Can ‘participatory’ approaches to development constitute a viable strategy for promoting citizenship? This paper addresses this question by scrutinising the equivocal reaction of a peasant community...

by Katsuhiko Masaki | On 13 Oct 2009

The Place of Nature in Economic Development

Review of the most salient issues in ecological economics when the subject is applied to the field of economic development. The aim here has not been to be scholastic but to examine the lives of the...

by Partha Dasgupta | On 06 Oct 2009

Are Gender Differentials in Educational Capabilities Mediated through Institutions of Caste and Religion in India?

In this paper, with empirical data, the Capabilities Approach to identify 'conversion factors' that are not typically addressed in the utility approach is used. The two approaches are juxtaposed to...

by Jeemol Unni | On 01 Oct 2009

Village Development Boards (VDBs) in Nagaland

The article describes the constitution and functions of Village Development Boards (VDBs) in NAGALAND where VDBs are considered as “Financial Intermediaries” or “Non-Banking Financial Intermediaries”....

by Karmakar K G | On 06 Aug 2009

The State and Civil Society in Disaster Response An Analysis of the Tamil Nadu Experience

The primary objective of this report is to bring together the experiences and learnings of a range of actors affected by, and involved in the disaster response in order to identify factors that have i...

by Tata Institue of Social Sciences TISS | On 28 Jul 2009

Nepal Budget 2009-10

Budget presented by Finance minister of Nepal.

by Surendra Pandey | On 27 Jul 2009

Financialization of Capital - Deterioration of Working Conditions

This paper addresses the issue of establishing a regulatory regime along the production, supply and value chains of multinational corporations in terms of setting labor standards and protecting worker...

by Fichter Michael | On 08 Jul 2009

Emerging Contours of Financial Regulation: Challenges and Dynamics

The paper attempts to analyse the emerging contours of regulation of financial institutions with an emphasis on the emerging challenges and dynamics. [Paper prepared for Financial Stability Review of...

by Rakesh Mohan | On 29 Jun 2009

Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas

Widespread discontent among the people has plagued the Indian polity for sometime now. It has often led to unrest, sometimes of a violent nature. Over the years, statutory enactments and institutional...

by Expert Group Planning Commission | On 06 Jun 2009

Initiatives of NGOs in Kutch Region

Many NGOs occupy a space between public and private sector organisations, and the papers in this special issue demonstrate that the mechanisms required for effective accountability by these NGOs are u...

by Kalpana C Satija | On 06 Jun 2009

Research Governance in Social Science and Social Care Research

The paper summarises the main ethical issues in social science and social care research. It outlines what is meant by research governance, especially as set out in the Department of Health Research Go...

by Jan Pahl | On 05 Jun 2009

Liberalization with Endogenous Institutions: A Comparative Analysis of Agricultural Reform in Africa, Asia and Europe

Thirty years ago, a vast share of the poor and the middle income countries were heavily state-controlled. The effects of the liberalizations in the 1980s and 1990s differed strongly between regions in...

by Johan F.M. Swinnen | On 02 Jun 2009

Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries

The rapid spread of modern supply chains in developing countries is profoundly changing the way food is produced and traded. In this paper we examine the gender implications in modern supply chains. W...

by Miet Maertens | On 29 May 2009

If Technology is like Word, Institutions are like Grammar: Institutional Context of Technological Innovations and Knowledge Systems at Grassroots

Many developing countries have taken interest in learning from the Honey Bee Network experience for replicating the model. In a UNESCO conference, the author was asked to identify the key steps that...

by Anil K Gupta | On 21 May 2009

Economic Growth, Governance and Voting Behaviour: an Application to Indian Elections

The focus of this paper is on the potential economic factors underlying voter behaviour in a democracy. It develops a simplified model based on economic theory (welfare & conditional probabilities)...

by Arvind Virmani | On 28 Apr 2009

Controlling Money and Politics – An Exercise in Damage Control

In many countries political financial regulations have been introduced.

by Marcin Walecki | On 28 Apr 2009

Press Freedom: World Review:June-December 2008

Attacks on journalists throughout the world -- by organised crime groups in Latin America, autocratic regimes in the Middle East, repressive governments in Africa and by combatants in war zones -- pos...

by World Association of Newspapers WAN | On 28 Apr 2009

Making the Politician and the Bureaucrat Deliver: Employment Guarantee in India

The paper examines the division of tasks required between politicians and bureaucrats to run an effective rural employment guarantee scheme (EGS) in India, in the context of Indian history and habits.

by Ashima Goyal | On 21 Apr 2009

Sri Lanka Budget 2009

2009 Budget speech

by Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka | On 20 Apr 2009

The Indian Security State: Agendas of Concern

The indecent haste shown by Political Executive and Parliament on December16-17, 2008 while dealing with security related issues substantiates the argument that security and defence agenda of the Indi...

by C. P. Bhambhri | On 16 Apr 2009

EC Controversy: What are the Issues? EC Controversy: What Are the Issues

A comprehensive and logically rigorous analysis of the issues raised by the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner N.Gopalaswami for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, the...

by Ramaswamy R. Iyer | On 03 Apr 2009

Governance in Public Transport Systems: Comparing Indian Railways and Airways

The paper examines the basic reasons and feasible remedies for organizational weakness, and the possible contribution of ownership, industry and management structure, leadership, social norms, and i...

by Ashima Goyal | On 12 Feb 2009

Planning for Results: The Public Accountability Information System

The paper proposes a Public accountability information system (PAIS), with a web enabled public information system and a smart card recording all the benefits that the poor are entitled to receive thr...

by Arvind Virmani | On 22 Jan 2009

Some Reflections on the Recent Global Financial Turmoil – an Indian Perspective

The speech tries to underline some lessones that be drawn from the financial crisis relevant to regulation, financial markets and the market infrastructure and to reflect on these. [Annual Conference...

by Shyamala Gopinath | On 15 Jan 2009

Does Timing of Elections Instigate Riots? A Subnational Study of 16 Indian States, 1958-2004

Whether timing of the elections leads to riots or not within India. In other words, does timing of elections instigate riots? Using time series crosssectional data for 16 major Indian states for the...

by Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati | On 09 Jan 2009

The Economic Impact of Forest Hydrological Services on Local Communities: A Case Study from the Western Ghats of India

Building upon a larger research project at four sites in the Western Ghats of peninsular India, this study examines the link between stream flow, agricultural water use and economic returns to agric...

by SHARACHCHANDRA LELE | On 02 Jan 2009

Environmental Standards as Strategic Outcomes: A Simple Model

This paper examines the strategic nature of choice of environmental standards under different degrees of openness of countries. It also compares and contrasts equilibrium environmental standards and...

by Rabindra N Bhattacharya | On 23 Dec 2008

Reducing Currency and Maturity Mismatch

The main objectives of this report are to identify and propose policies, factors and conditions that could mitigate or avoid double mismatches. policies here means any course of action pursued and ad...

by Khee-Giap Tan | On 19 Dec 2008

Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects

This is an initiative by the Planning Commission to formulate “Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects in order to have a unified perspective by all ministries.These guidelines are theref...

by Government of India GOI | On 08 Dec 2008

Controlling Money and Politics – An Exercise in Damage Control

Whether there should be transparency in political finance? Whether there should be a control over the money that the political parties are receiving?

by Marcin Walecki | On 04 Dec 2008

Idealistic Images of Watershed Development- Constructive Engagement with Critiques on the Common Guidelines

This paper identifies the idealistic images driving the watershed programmes as a major stumbling block in sustainable natural resource management. It calls for building on the existing governance ins...

by Saravanan S | On 02 Dec 2008

Heterogeneity, Commons and Privatization: Agrarian Institutional Change in Goa

A case study in Goa is used to examine whether tenure security and asset re-distribution can lead to environmentally sustainable outcomes.

by Pranab Mukhopadhyay | On 28 Nov 2008

The Incidence and Performance Effects of Interlocking Directorates in Emerging Market Business Groups: Evidence from India

The structure and extent of interlocking directorates within Indian business groups is studied and analyses the performance effects of such interlocks. It finds that large groups tend to have more int...

by Bikram De | On 21 Nov 2008

FEER, November 2008: Contents

Can Asia Consume A Way Out of Crisis? Hugo Restall, editor of the REVIEW, looks at the prospects of Asian governments' efforts to jump start domestic demand through Keynesian stimulus packages. F...

by FEER | On 10 Nov 2008

Heterodox Macroeconomics and the Design of Monetary Institutions

Two agendas of the heterodox economics programme; the stock-flow consistent models pioneered by Wynne Godley, and the monetary circuit approach researched in France and Italy are discussed. The object...

by Romar Correa | On 10 Oct 2008

Informal Values and Formal Policies:A study of Japanese Technology Policy and Significance for India

The main objective of this paper is to analyse some aspects of Japanese policy in the post World War-II period and understand how the various informal institutions (shared mental models) have influen...

by Saradindu Bhaduri | On 02 Sep 2008

Tax Challenges Facing Developing Countries

Most developing countries continue to face serious problems in developing adequate and responsive tax systems. This paper reviews the three principal ways in which developing countries may expand and...

by Richard M. Bird | On 25 Aug 2008

The Indian Banking Industry – A Retrospect of Select Aspects

A broad overview of the achievements and progress made by the Indian banking sector in the last two decades and the emerging frontiers of the Indian banking system, in the post-reform era. [Address d...

by Leeladhar V | On 11 Aug 2008

Managing Capital Flows: The Case of India

From the early 1990s, India embarked on easing capital controls. Liberalization emphasised openness towards equity flows, both FDI and portfolio flows. In particular, there are few barriers in the fa...

by Ajay Shah | On 24 Jul 2008

Who is Worried about the National Interest?

Given the strategic long run character of the nuclear deal, the decision on it should nor be hurried. Nor is it one that can be taken without seeking wider public consensus than is available to the...

by Arun Kumar | On 21 Jul 2008

Between Citizens and Institutions: The Dyamics of the Integration of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Hyderabad

The purpose of this study is to review the changes that have taken place recently in water supply and sanitation services and examine the role of various stakeholders involved in urban governance in...

by Agnes Huchon | On 15 Jul 2008

At a Glance -- Peace Process in Nepal

King Gyanendra of Nepal took over as a king after the royal massacre incidence in 2007. But soon after taking the power people of Nepal were fed up of his authoritarian tendencies and the continuous u...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 24 Jun 2008

Changing Paradigm of Indo-Japan Relations: Opportunities and Challenges

This paper presents an overview of Indo-Japan cooperation since late 18th and early 19th century till date. In the light of the changing paradigm in India-Japan relations over the past several years,...

by PG Rajamohan | On 23 Jun 2008

Book Review: Inside the Indian Family

Review of: Democracy in the Family: Insights from India. Edited by Joy Deshmukh-Randive Sage Publications. New Delhi 2008.

by Tulsi Patel | On 26 May 2008

In the Balance: Press Freedom in South Asia 2007-2008

The challenges for journalists and the media community in South Asia encompass a range of factors that indicate the level of press freedom in any country: Physical attacks, threats and questionable le...

by Sukumar Muralidharan | On 04 May 2008

Book Review: Psychoanalytic Polyclinics: Progressive Institutions?

Review of Freud's Free Clinics: Psychoanalysis and Social Justice, 1918-1938 by Elizabeth Ann Danto. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

by Eric J. Engstrom | On 14 Apr 2008

India, Democracy and the Press

The impressive growth of the Indian media is largely taking place outside of the voting classes, ensuring that the media are not playing a significant public service role. Ultimately, the author sugge...

by James Mutti | On 11 Apr 2008

Regulation of Informal Financial Institutions: A Study of Money Lenders in Kerala

The working of money lenders in Kerala are analysed. Based on a sample survey, the paper has estimated the volume of deposits and credits extended by money lenders in Kerala and has brought out the un...

by P D Jeromi | On 13 Feb 2008

Livelihood Risks and Coping Strategies: A Case Study in the Agrarian Village Of Cherumad, Kerala

The various dimensions of livelihood risk as informed by a in-depth case study of an agrarian village namely, Cherumad in Kerala is examined. [WP no. 394].

by K.N. Nair | On 06 Feb 2008

Requirement of Public Holding for Listing

It is proposed to amend the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 (SCRR) to make provisions to implement the proposals as suggested at Para 11 in the paper. The comments on these proposals are...

by Ministry of Finance | On 05 Feb 2008

Gender Planning, Budgeting and Auditing

This manual is intended to help local governments to uphold the human rights of women, by involving them in identifying their needs and with their participation, to find possible solutions and move to...

by Aleyamma Vijayan | On 04 Feb 2008

Review of Globalisation and Opening Markets in Developing Countries and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The Case of India

Review of Globalisation and Opening Markets in Developing Countries and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The Case of India by Jean-Francois Huchet & Joel Ruet, Scientific Coordinators,...

by Lakshmanan L | On 19 Jan 2008

Each day Binayak Sen spends in jail is one day less for democracy in India

That Sen, in May, chose to return and face the law should have been reason enough for any court to grant him bail. Reposted with permission from Tehelka Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 50, December 29, 2007

by Apoorvanand | On 24 Dec 2007

Understanding Gujarat Elections: What Does it Portend for Indian Democracy?

With the re-election of Narendra Modi and the BJP will the current disarray in the party give way to strong optimism to strive for power at the centre?

by Ram Puniyani | On 24 Dec 2007

Urbanisation and Globalisation in the Twenty First Century: Emerging Challenges

The speech mainly gives insights into aspects like what is globalisation, urban growth in the next 30 years, new challenges of Globalisation for Cities, the poor that emerges along with the cities, th...

by Rakesh Mohan | On 06 Dec 2007

The Growing Importance of Emerging Economies in the Globalised World and its Implications for the International Financial Architecture

The growing importance of India and other emerging economies in the globalized world are given in this lecture. This group of economies is not easy to define. However, some reflections on the implicat...

by Jean-Claude Trichet | On 30 Nov 2007

Pakistan’s Last Bid for Democracy

This Essay examines the factors retarding democracy in Pakistan and asserts that now, more than ever, the country’s political forces must work together to fight common foes.

by Colum Murphy | On 27 Nov 2007

Decentralisation and Issues in Self Governance in Tribal Areas of South Gujarat

To examine the functioning of Gram Sabha and participation of tribal communities therein to asses the status of self governance under the “Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) A...

by Ratnawali Sinha | On 14 Nov 2007

The New Mumbai: Defining Systemic Reforms for the Governance of Mumbai City and Mumbai Metropolitan Region

The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India were made with an express objective or purpose of restoring power back to people by legally encouraging “local self-governance”. At the same...

by A.K. Shende | On 08 Oct 2007

Model Nagara Raj Bill

Model bill to amend the laws relating to the Municipalities and to institutionalise citizens’ participation in municipal functions, e.g. setting priorities, budgeting provisions, etc. by setting up of...

by Ministry of Urban Development MoUD | On 08 Oct 2007

Governance and Health

As we celebrate 60 years of political independence and take pride in our dynamic private sector, our remarkable IT successes and all the other usual dimensions of success, let us remind ourselves that...

by Shankar Acharya | On 08 Oct 2007

Inititaing Public Debate on Reforms in Higher Education

Idea on National Knowledge Commission, what it is and what are they trying to accomplish, ask for the audience support, understanding and also talk about the need for major reforms in University educa...

by Sam Pitroda | On 05 Oct 2007

Burma: Member States of the UN must Intervene: ACHR Weely Review

Reports have been pouring in that the Burmese soldiers today used baton and tear gas against the Buddhist monks and civilian protesters at Shwedagon pagoda, the holiest Buddhist place in Rangoon. The...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 26 Sep 2007

What can be...

Examples of various initiatives for e-governance from Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are given. The application of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology in different sectors can impr...

by T.N. Ninan | On 04 Sep 2007

Reforming the WTO: Toward More Democratic Governance and Decision-Making

This paper takes a critical approach to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and proposes a radical solution involving more direct involvement of civil society and the private sector in WTO governing...

by Saif Al-Islam Alqadhafi | On 27 Aug 2007

Better Than the Rest

India’s good economic performance and friendlier ties with important countries that have been either distant or hostile, is achieved by a leader with whom the country can feel at ease. But Dr. Manmoha...

by T.N. Ninan | On 06 Aug 2007

Book Review: Debating India's Future

Review of: The Future of India – Economics, Politics and Governance by Bimal Jalan, Penguin books, New Delhi.

by G Narasimha Raghavan | On 03 Aug 2007

De-risking the System

The advent of political uncertainties has led to questions about poor governance which can lead to economic under performance.

by T.N. Ninan | On 31 Jul 2007

Governance Institutions and Development

The problem of corruption has become very important in recent thinking on development policy. But corruption is only a part of the more general issue of economic governance, and of more general policy...

by Avinash K Dixit | On 17 Jul 2007

Understanding Chronic Poverty in South Asia

South Asia has the largest number of chronically poor people in the world –an estimated 135 to 190 million people. Chronic poverty in the region is most renounced in areas that have significant minori...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 02 Jul 2007

Improving Delivery of Programmes Through Administrative Reforms

India is showing signs of poor delivery of governance. In almost all states people perceive bureaucracy as wooden, disinterested in public welfare and corrupt. It must be recognized that improvement i...

by Naresh C. Saxena | On 02 Jul 2007

Good Urban Governance as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Global Health

Risk and chances of urban sustainability are presented. The new concepts of urban governance and its implications are also explained [Power point Presentation].

by Frauke Krass | On 28 Jun 2007

Lesons Government Failure: Public Goods Provision and Quality of Public Investment

This paper focuses on government investment and expenditure policies. Going beyond the growth experience, the author also tries to relate the policy experience to the issues of aggregate poverty, in...

by Arvind Virmani | On 25 Apr 2007

Policy, Economic Federalism & Product Market Entry: The Indian Experience

Productivity growth has long been associated with, among others, contestability of markets which, in turn, is dependent on the ease with which potential competitors to the incumbent firms can enter t...

by Sumon Kumar Bhaumik | On 11 Jan 2007

Global Patterns of Income and Health: Facts, Interpretations, and Policies

People in poor countries live shorter lives than people in rich countries so that, if we scale income by some index of health, there is more inequality in the world than if we consider income alone. S...

by Angus S. Deaton | On 28 Dec 2006

Pro-Poor Targeting and Accountability of Local Governments in West Bengal

A commonly alleged pitfall of decentralization is that poverty, socio-economic inequality and lack of political competition allow local elites to capture local governments. This hypothesis is empirica...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 27 Dec 2006

Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Level Gender Responsive Budgeting in Morocco: Some Observations

During the last few years there has been a significant attempt to change the status of women in Morocco. Considerable efforts have been made to incorporate mainstream gender in socio-economic policies...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 27 Dec 2006

Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Level Gender Responsive Budgeting In The Philippines: An Empirical Analysis

With the strengthening of the fiscal decentralisation process in the Philippines, local government units (LGUs) were provided with more opportunities in terms of local level gender responsive budge...

by Lekha S. Chakraborty | On 27 Dec 2006

Telecommunications privatisation in Taiwan: A beautiful mistake?

This paper examines the changing role of the government and market in regulating the telecommunications sector since 1996 in Taiwan. It also explores changes in the institutional framework for regula...

by Kuo-Tai Cheng | On 22 Dec 2006

Beyond the Buzz: Panchayats, Water User Groups and Law in India

Close observers especially in the water and forestry sector point out that user organizations may not fit well within the system of local governance and “linking them to Panchayats may undermine thei...

by Videh Upadhyay | On 20 Dec 2006

Modernity with Democracy?: Gender and Governance in the People's Planning Campaign, Keralam

This paper takes advantage of the possibility of a critical perspective afforded by the feminist perspective in analyzing the interactions between political and civil societies in the shaping of spe...

by J Devika | On 19 Dec 2006

Nuclearisation, Human Rights, and Ethics

Nuclear weapons have security, economic and political implications. In the ultimate analysis, however , the issue of nuclear weapons is an ethical question. It is question or right and wrong, good and...

by Amulya K.N. Reddy | On 14 Dec 2006

India’s Rising Role in Asia

This paper strongly suggests that India has been far more intricately integrated with the rest of Asia than has commonly been perceived or acknowledged. This is particularly the case if overall value...

by Mukul Asher | On 12 Dec 2006

Decrypting E-Governance: Narratives, Power play and Participation in the Gyandoot Intranet

The mapping of the social and political constraints that marginalized communities and individuals encounter in their interface with e-governance projects, perhaps, has implications for the optimistic...

by T.T. Sreekumar | On 27 Nov 2006

Mahatma Gandhi and the Prisoner’s Dilemma: Strategic Civil Disobedience and Great Britain’s Great Loss of Empire in India

This paper examines the relationship between statutory monopoly and collective action as a multi-person assurance game culminating in an end to British Empire in India. In a simple theoretical model,...

by Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky | On 27 Nov 2006

Report on a Strategic Approach to Research Publishing in South Africa

The effect of globalization on knowledge exchange, which is mediated very largely through scientific journals being published in English, and having their origins in Europe and North America, has resu...

by Academy of South Africa | On 27 Nov 2006

Ministries must stop being regulators

Regulation that is working well, as well as others that plainly speak of misgovernance, are both instructive; the road forward lies in separating regulation from the government, and vesting this inste...

by Subramaniam Vincent | On 21 Nov 2006

Urban Studies: An Exploration in Theory and Practices

What is the character of our cities? What are the attributes of inequalities and social exclusions in towns, metropolises and mega cities? How do urban structures and forms characteristic of pre capit...

by Sujata Patel | On 18 Nov 2006

Review of Development and Change: Volume XI Number 1 January - June 2006

Highlights: Cultural Politics of Environment and Development: The Indian Experience Amita Baviskar Participatory Governance and Institutional Innovation – A Case of Andhra Pradesh Forestry Project...

by Madras Institute of Development Studies | On 08 Nov 2006

Policy Brief: OECD: Decentralisation in Asian Health Sectors: Friend or Foe?

Decentralising health services – the transfer of power and responsibility from the central to the local level should help the poor if local resources, accountability and governance are in good shape....

by Hiroko Uchimura | On 25 Oct 2006

Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages

In "Bowling Alone," Putnam (1995) famously argued that the rise of television may be responsible for social capital's decline. I investigate this hypothesis in the context of Indonesian villages. To i...

by Benjamin A. Olken | On 13 Oct 2006

Ethics in Social Science Research: Reflections from a Student of Economics

If poverty and nutrition are issues also of social justice and the commitment that a democratic state makes to its citizens (namely, ridding the country of hunger and malnutrition and also of ensuring...

by Padmini Swaminathan | On 19 Jul 2006

The Challenges and Opportunities for International Civil Society in Promoting Ethical Globalisation

This paper explores some of the challenges ahead in terms of strengthening civil society networks working for ethical globalisation and in turning their shared vision of ethical globalisation into an...

by Maureen Leen | On 23 May 2006

Dynamics of Irrigation Institutions: Case Study of a Village Panchayat in Kerala

Based on field work in a village panchayat in Kerala, analyzing the complex issues concerning the development and working of irrigation institutions, the present study reveals that successful manage...

by Vineetha Menon | On 27 Apr 2006

Nepal/SouthAsia Beat: From the Underbelly of the Beast

Kanak Dixit was arrested in Kathmandu on Saturday, April 8, with a host of other professionals for defying curfew to press for democratic rights in Nepal. He remains in detention still. This column wa...

by Kanak Mani Dixit | On 14 Apr 2006

Democracy and People’s Rights in the Neo-Liberal Era: Role of Judiciary

The recent judgments and orders from various levels of higher judiciary indicate a drastic shift in their outlook and approach. A close look reveals two trends developing within the judiciary. Firstly...

by M.B.Rajesh | On 31 Mar 2006

The Persistence of Underdevelopment:Institutions, Human Capital or Constituencies?

Why is underdevelopment so persistent? One explanation is that poor countries do not have institutions that can support growth. Because institutions (both good and bad) are persistent, underdevelopmen...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 26 Mar 2006

The Budget, Outlays, and Inequality

Growth, or more accurately, the quality of growth, is intricately linked to inequality and so the Finance Minister and the government need to do more by addressing problems of governance as well.

by Errol D'souza | On 06 Mar 2006

Editorial: Union Budget: Securing its Legacy

Union Budget 2006-07 breaks new ground in many areas, and continues on the path of modernizing the tax system. It also gives deserved recognition to key allocation priorities. But its legacy will be...

by Mukul Asher | On 05 Mar 2006

Decentralisation on Fallow and Fertile Ground: Preparing the Population for Democratic Self-Governance

Decentralizing authority to democratically elected local government is advised for reasons of efficiency and good governance, but equity may suffer if elites capture decision making at the local level...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 16 Feb 2006

Reproductive Health Services and Role of Panchayats in Karnataka

The paper presents an analysis of the reproductive health care services available to women in rural areas in Karnataka, and the various factors influencing them. Based on survey data on the status o...

by Poornima Vyasulu | On 19 Jan 2006

A test of Governance: Education, Health and Family Planning in Areas Annexxed toKarnataka, Maharashtra and AP from Hyderabad State

At the time of reorganization of states on the basis of the linguistic formula, the territory that belonged to erstwhile state of Hyderabad was broken down to three parts and annexed to Andhra Prade...

by P. N. Mari Bhat | On 19 Jan 2006

Communication, Democracy and Evasive Silences:A Preliminary Report on the Public Sphere in Karnataka

This paper looks at one of the most important conditions that defines democracy as a system of self-governance. This condition is that all individuals in a society must have the right to communicate f...

by Dattathreya Subbanarasimha | On 13 Jan 2006

Institutionalising Citizen Participaion in Urban Governance

The twin concepts of a federal arrangement – a structure for a multi-tiered form of government with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, as well as active citizenship are like the two strands...

by Ramesh Ramanathan | On 12 Jan 2006

Corruption and Local Governance: Evidence from Karnataka

The paper examines corruption in the institutions of local government in Karnataka, using a Logit model. One of the arguments in favour of decentralisation in developing countries is that it provide...

by V. Vijayalakshmi | On 09 Jan 2006

Dynamics of Local Governance in Karnataka

The objective of this paper is to unpack the dynamics of local governance in Karnataka by studying the interaction between two sets of rural institutions, (a) the formal, elected Gram Panchayats(GPs...

by Kripa Ananthpur | On 09 Jan 2006

Improving governance using IT systems

The main argument of this paper is that in many situations, dicult puzzles of governance can be solved in dramatically new ways using modern IT systems. Nationwide centralised databases, coupled with...

by Ajay Shah | On 12 Dec 2005

Supreme Court Judgement on Unaided Private Colleges

The Supreme Court judgement of Augutst 12, 2005 on four questions regarding higher education in unaided educational institutions including quota and fee structure. Q.1. Unaided educational instituti...

by Supreme Court of India | On 08 Dec 2005

Dictatorship, Democracy and Institutions: Macropolicy in China and India

We explore the hypothesis that macroeconomic polices are influenced by political structure, through a systematic comparison of reform period macroeconomic policy choices and outcomes, in China and Ind...

by Ashima Goyal | On 23 Nov 2005

Political Selection and the Quality of Evidence: Evidence form South India

This paper uses household data from India to examine the economic and social status of village politicians, and how individual and village characteristics a®ect politician behavior while in o±ce. Ed...

by Timothy Besley | On 22 Nov 2005

Policy Processes and Policy Advocacy

The development process in the present context where economic and governance reforms are emphasized tends at times to by-pass the concerns of the marginalized and the voiceless. It is precisely to bri...

by V. Anil Kumar | On 19 Nov 2005

Realising The Potential Of Panchayati Raj In India

Rural decentralisation and panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) are a profound change in the Indian rural institutional scene. They may ultimately offer a better option for rural development and poverty...

by Naresh C. Saxena | On 10 Sep 2005

American Psychological Associaltion Code Of Ethics:Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Marriage And Family Counsellor

The Ethics Code is intended to provide standards of professional conduct that can be applied by the APA and by other bodies that choose to adopt them. Whether or not a psychologist has violated the Et...

by American Psychological Association | On 01 Sep 2005

New Institutionalism And Legislative Governance In Indian States: A Comaparitive Study Of West Bengal And Uttar Pradesh

In contrast to behaviouralism, which held that institutions reflect the society in which they are embedded, New Institutionalists argue that institutions have an inner logic of action, enjoy autonomy...

by Sudha Pai | On 01 Sep 2005

Further Reading

On political and social developments in Nepal

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

The Problem

Trapped for close to a decade in a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence, the royal proclamation of 1 February 2005 declaring an emergency, suspending the constitution and fundamental rights,...

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

Interview

Pradeep Giri is a central committee member of the Sher Bahadur Deuba led Nepali Congress (Democratic).

by Prashant Jha | On 30 Aug 2005

Comment: The Indian Media: Time To Retrospect

The Indian media has reported the major events and developments in Nepal. Editorial stands of some newspapers have consistently urged the parties to be wary of an autocratic monarch, an advice that th...

by Prashant Jha | On 30 Aug 2005

Dialogues: The Monarchy And Demovracy In Nepal

THE project on the State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) is a 30 month study undertaken to evaluate the democratic enterprise in five South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sr...

by Peter Ronald deSouza | On 30 Aug 2005

Neighbourly Concerns

India has repeatedly asserted that there is no military solution to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. It is time that concrete and relevant initiative is taken by India in the direction of a viable poli...

by S. D. Muni | On 30 Aug 2005

The Working Of Democracy

Despite its many limitations, the processes of mobilization of socially diverse groups representing diverse constituencies and interests itself manifest a democratic practice at the lower level. Metho...

by Mukta Singh Lama | On 29 Aug 2005

Clarity Amidst Extremism

Another solution is needed now. An honest solution, a lasting one. One that might bring with it a republican Nepal. For this, certainly, is the call of the times: the monarchy must retreat to a strict...

by Manjushree Thapa | On 29 Aug 2005

The Future Of Democracy

This paper examines the future of democracy in Nepal against the current debate on political reforms, referred to in popular discourse as ‘restructuring the state'

by Krishna Khanal | On 29 Aug 2005

An Unavoidable Force

The ideological antipathy towards Maoism in particular and the left in general, forces international architects of Nepali democracy to conceal the monarchy's record of tyranny and bloodshed that far...

by Hari Roka | On 29 Aug 2005

Royal Regression

There is no doubt that the supine parliamentary democratic system has been snuffed out and autocratic monarchy restored in Nepal. Hence the questions arise: How could the limited bourgeois democratic...

by Baburam Bhattarai | On 29 Aug 2005

Will The Monarchy Survive?

Nepal's democratic order faces a serious setback with King Gyanendra's decision to assume all powers on 1 February 2005 for a period of three years. Now with a despotic monarch at the helm of politica...

by B. C. Upreti | On 29 Aug 2005

The Word And The World

This paper examines two sets of questions related to the meanings of ‘democracy' in Nepal. The first explores the various meanings that different groups of people currently attach to democracy. The se...

by Anil Bhattarai | On 29 Aug 2005

No 548 Democracy Derailed :a symposium on the subversion of democracy by the monarch in Nepal

THE PROBLEM A short statement of the issues involved CLARITY AMID EXTREMISM Manjushree Thapa, author and political commentator, Kathmandu WILL THE MONARCH SURVIVE? B.C. Upreti, Senior Facul...

by Anonymous | On 29 Aug 2005

SAARC and India: Policy Issues hinge on Security and Democracy

The entire project of SAARC is dependent on India’s capacity to bind the neighbouring states in multiple networks of ties to promote regional cooperation. India not only shares frontiers with all the...

by Rajen Harshe | On 13 Aug 2005

BACKPAGE

The frequency with which ‘innocents’ are charged, sometimes even convicted only to be let off later is alarming. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has demanded an impartial and speedy enquiry into the Ge...

by Harsh Sethi | On 08 Aug 2005

The Problem

Introduction to the issue on Revitilising Science, a symposium on the importance of science and technology in our society.

by Anonymous | On 08 Aug 2005

Informal Governance and Organizational Success: The Effects of Noncompliance among Lima’s Street Vending Organizations

The successful representation of poor people on the part of membership based organizations depends partly on internal governance structures that are responsive to members’ needs and aspirations. Among...

by Sally Roever | On 31 Mar 2005

Internal Control Of Community Finance Institutions In Cambodia

The working paper offers a conceptual basis for action research on internal controls in community finance institutions (CFIs) in rural Cambodia. A CFI is defined as “an institution that specializes in...

by Brett Matthews | On 31 Mar 2005