http://www.gsdrc.org Academic and policy-relevant publications on governance and international development. en-uk Copyright © 2012 Governance and Social Development Resource Centre Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:12 GMT Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:12 GMT http://www.gsdrc.org/rss/open george@gsdrc.org george@gsdrc.org http://www.gsdrc.org/images/logos/logo_gsdrc.gif http://www.gsdrc.org 205 90 GSDRC logo Ruth Stewart et al. This study finds that, while both micro-credit and micro-savings have the potential to improve the lives of poor people, micro-credit also has potential for harm. A growing micro-credit industry could therefore be a cause for concern and, if driven by people’s need to take out further loans after a default, it might in fact be a symptom of the failure of micro-credit. Micro-savings could be a safer investment for development agencies. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4225&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4225&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT OECD DAC Network on Gender Equality This paper highlights the need for innovative approaches and partnerships to scale up women's economic empowerment. Achieving women's economic empowerment will take sound public policies, a holistic approach and long-term commitment from all development actors. It is important to 'start with women' by integrating gender-specific perspectives into policy and programme design. More equitable access to assets and services – land, water, infrastructure, technology, innovation and credit – will strengthen women's rights, increase agricultural productivity and promote economic growth. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4224&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4224&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Claire L. Adida Why do some minority groups involved in South-South migration integrate into their host societies, whereas others face exclusion and hostility? Why, for example, are Nigerian Hausas integrated into Ghanaian society in Accra but rejected in Niamey (Niger)? This study draws on surveys of Nigerian Hausa and Yoruba immigrants and host populations in urban Ghana, Benin and Niger. Its findings suggest that cultural similarities may worsen, not improve, immigrant-host relations in sub-Saharan Africa: cultural similarities seem to motivate immigrant community leaders to preserve their group identities by highlighting group boundaries. In addition, host societies seem to reject groups that can easily blend in because those groups can access indigenous benefits in the competition for scarce resources. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4207&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4207&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Arjan de Haan This paper examines how India's Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories are applied in poverty analysis and social policy, including in India's targeted poverty programmes and BPL (Below Poverty Line) Census. It finds that, while Indian poverty debates highlight the severe inequalities between social groups, they pay insufficient attention to the nature of exclusion. In some respects, support to deprived groups has led to the opposite of what progressive legislators intended and has made social identities more deeply entrenched in political frameworks. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4202&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4202&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT World Bank What impact has globalisation had on gender equality? This study examines the impacts of economic integration, technical change and access to information on gender inequality. It argues that not everyone is benefiting from globalisation. Women, for whom existing constraints are most binding, are often left behind. While the forces unleashed by globalisation have lifted some of the barriers to greater gender equality, public action is needed to lift these further. In particular, public policy needs to address gender gaps in endowments, agency, and access to economic opportunities. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4201&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4201&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT World Bank This study notes that investments in health and education – human capital endowments – shape the ability of men and women to reach their full potential. It examines gender gaps in education and health, and progress in addressing them. It finds that great progress had been made in cases where removing a single barrier – in markets, households or institutions – is required. However, progress has been slower either where multiple barriers need to be lifted at the same time or where a single point of entry produces bottlenecks. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4200&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4200&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT World Health Organisation and the World Bank This report finds that more than a billion people, about 15 per cent of the world's population, are estimated to live with some form of disability. It synthesises the evidence on how to address the barriers they face in health, rehabilitation, support and assistance, environments, education and employment. It argues that many of the barriers are avoidable, and that the disadvantages associated with disability can be overcome. Multiple, systemic interventions are needed. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4193&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4193&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Social Protection Floor Advisory Group This report outlines recommendations on how to extend social protection coverage through the social protection floor approach. A social protection floor involves an integrated set of nationally-driven and tailored policies designed to guarantee a) income security (through social transfers in cash or in kind); and b) universal access to essential, affordable social services. The successful phasing-in of a social protection floor will require political will, fiscal space and effective institutions. Where low-income countries require some initial assistance for social protection floor initiatives, donors need to improve aid coordination and provide multi-year, direct budgetary support and capacity building. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4184&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4184&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Katherine Casey, Rachel Glennerster and Edward Miguel 'Community driven development' (CDD) has become a popular donor strategy in seeking to improve local institutions in developing countries. This study evaluates a CDD project in Sierra Leone that combined block grants for local public goods with intensive training and requirements for minority inclusion designed to catalyse collective action and empowerment. The study finds positive short-term effects on local public goods provision and economic outcomes, but no sustained impacts on collective action, decision-making processes, or the involvement of marginalised groups in local affairs. It also indicates the value of a pre-analysis plan in avoiding distorted results. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4182&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4182&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Anne Grandjean How can policy interventions help in securing children's access to justice? Widespread acceptance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) implies a profound change in attitudes to children, but obstacles remain for children in accessing justice. This chapter analyses initiatives targeting the 'demand-side' of justice for children. It highlights principles such as targeting the most excluded children, local ownership, and a multi-disciplinary, systemic approach. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4176&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4176&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT World Bank There are a number of pathways back from the brink of violent conflict, but there are two common elements in successful cases. The first is building 'inclusive-enough' coalitions, and identifying the signals and commitment mechanisms that can galvanise support for change. Pacts to end violence need not be all-inclusive, and can promote peace if they are minimally inclusive at the beginning. The second element is delivering results on the ground to build confidence in citizen security, justice and economic prospects. For both elements, successful transitions have made astute use of capacity from the private sector, traditional institutions and non-governmental organisations. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4145&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4145&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Kirsty Martin and Michael Wilmore Do community radio stations achieve the levels of representation and community engagement that they claim? This article describes the experience of the Hamro Lumbini ('Our Lumbini') series in Nepal, developed in response to differing local views on the development of the Buddhanagar World Heritage Site (WHS). The programme received positive feedback for its inclusion of local voices and the opportunity it provided to comment on and shape future local development. It was criticised for not providing enough content in local language and has struggled with financial sustainability. The government needs to provide a more sustainable enabling framework for community radio. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4139&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4139&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT UNESCO How can intercultural dialogue be promoted? This chapter examines cultural interactions and the barriers to dialogue such as stereotyping and intolerance. It argues that the perceived traits or identities that can lead to isolation and stereotyping can also be the bases for dialogue. The success of intercultural dialogue is dependent on the ability to listen with empathy. Support should continue to be given to networks and initiatives for intercultural and interfaith dialogue at all levels. It is important to ensure the full involvement of new partners, especially women and young people. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4136&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4136&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability This report synthesises the findings of ten years of research from the Development Resource Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability. Findings suggest that governments often become more capable, accountable and responsive when state-led reform to strengthen institutions of accountability and social mobilisation occur simultaneously. Further, change happens not just through strategies that work on both sides of the governance supply and demand equation, but also through strategies that work across them: it is important to link champions of change from both state and society. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4123&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4123&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Andrew Fischer This paper argues that social exclusion should be clearly differentiated from poverty. It proposes a reconceptualisation of social exclusion, not as a static state, but as 'structural, institutional or agentive processes of repulsion or obstruction'. This definition encompasses processes occurring vertically throughout social hierarchies, not just in their lower strata. It enables social exclusion to inform analyses of stratification, segregation and subordination, especially within contexts of high or rising inequality. Three strengths of this redefinition of social exclusion are that it can be applied to situations: 1) where exclusions lead to stratifying or impoverishing trajectories without any short-term poverty outcomes; 2) where the upward mobility of poor people is hindered by exclusions occurring among the non-poor; and 3) to situations of inequality-induced conflict. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4118&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4118&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Kate Higgins, Kate Bird and Dan Harris How should public policy address the spatial dimensions of poverty? This paper reviews policy documents and eight country cases to identify how the spatial dimensions of poverty are reflected in development policies. Lessons include the need to: 1) balance universalism and targeting; 2) manage the form and processes of integration in the economy; 3) use both short-term and longer-term policies; and 4) respond to different scales and settings of spatial poverty traps. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4110&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4110&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT Andrea Cornwall and Karen Brock What do 'poverty reduction', 'participation' and 'empowerment' really mean? Has their use influenced mainstream development policy? This paper argues that the terms we use are never neutral. Different configurations of words frame and justify particular kinds of development interventions. Terms are given meaning as they are put to use in policies, and the policies influence how those who work in development come to think about what they are doing. 'Poverty reduction', 'participation' and 'empowerment' have been emptied of meaning by a lack of specificity that masks differing opinions. This 'one size fits all' apolitical approach undermines their ability to deliver the aspirations that they promote. Significant difference could be achieved in policies and actions if greater attention were paid to specificity in choosing words. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4059&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4059&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT Nazneen Kanji et al. This research examines the current processes of land rights registration in Ethiopia, Ghana and Mozambique and assesses their outcomes for vulnerable groups. It shows that land registration is not inherently anti-poor. The distributional consequences of land registration depend on the design of the registration process and of the institutions responsible for its management. It is important to design land registration systems that secure the land rights of marginalised groups in specific geographic and historical contexts, rather than adopting blueprint solutions based on Western models. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4050&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=4050&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT Nicola Jones et al. Do social institutions result in gender differences in the incidence of poverty? This paper finds that discriminatory family codes, son bias, limited resource entitlements, physical insecurity and restricted civil liberties play a role in chronic poverty, specifically that of young women. It is therefore important to: eliminate gender discrimination through legal provisions; support girls' participation in decision-making; invest in child- and gender-sensitive social protection; extend services to hard-to-reach girls; strengthen girls' resource access; and promote girls' control over their bodies. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3996&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3996&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT Mariz Tadros Is women's empowerment directly related to the proportion of women in parliament? Have various forms of quota been successful in transforming gender relations? This article examines different pathways to women's empowerment and the assumptions about gender, power, and politics that underlie quotas. It concludes that the focus on women's representation in parliament is too narrow; gender hierarchies that have remained unchallenged in other key power bases (such as key ministries) must be identified and targeted. Further, women's representation must be viewed in terms of the agendas pursued and their influence. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3993&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3993&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gsdrc&utm_source=newsfeed Social exclusion Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT