GSDRC newsfeed on All Themes

Debt Relief Effectiveness and Institution Building

Andrea Presbitero — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What effects have recent debt-relief programmes had? Does debt relief promote institutional change? This article from the Development Policy Review provides new evidence on debt-relief programmes in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). It shows that debt relief is only weakly associated with subsequent improvements in economic performance and is correlated with increasing domestic debt. But donors are moving towards a more sensible allocation of debt forgiveness, rewarding countries that have better policies and institutions.

Development Assistance, Institution-Building and Social Cohesion after Civil War: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Liberia

James Fearon, Macartan Humphreys, Jeremy M. Weinstein — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Can brief, foreign-funded efforts to build local institutions have a positive effect on governance, cooperation and well-being? This paper from the Center for Global Development reports on a project carried out by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in northern Liberia. This community-driven reconstruction (CDR) project attempted to build democratic, community-level institutions for making decisions about local public goods. The project was successful in increasing social cohesion, with some evidence that it reinforced democratic political attitudes and confidence in local decision-making. Evidence on improved material well-being was weak.

Legitimacy and Context: Implications for Public Sector Reform in Developing Countries

Christine Andrews — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can successful public sector reform be achieved in developing countries? This article from Public Administration and Development argues that understanding the interplay between public institutions and the surrounding social context is fundamental to developing a reform strategy. Poorer and socio-economically stratified countries face greater reform challenges owing to public institutions' lack of legitimacy. Reforms should focus on areas of governance that impact on poverty and inequality.

Armed Violence Reduction: Enabling Development

OECD-DAC — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Integrated, comprehensive and inclusive armed violence reduction (AVR) programmes are an emerging and growing area of development practice around the world. This paper, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, discusses the components of a multi-level AVR approach. Adopting integrated AVR programmes requires understanding of the multi-faceted, multi-level nature of armed violence, application of rigorous diagnostics of local situations and incorporation of local ownership at all levels of programme design and implementation.

Public Sector Capacity Reform in Ethiopia: A Tale of Success in two Ministries?

Getachew Hailemariam Mengesha, Richard Common — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How successful has Public Sector Capacity reform been in Ethiopia? This article from Public Administration and Development assesses the outcomes of the Public Sector Capacity reform in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). It finds a remarkable transformation of service delivery in both organisations. The introduction of business process reengineering (BPR) brought high levels of user satisfaction and spectacular improvements in performance. However, the government will need to maintain the momentum of reform and extend it. Incentive schemes and a monitoring system could prevent regression.

How to Bring About Change in the Bangladesh Civil Service? Attempts to Change Mindsets, Behaviours and Practice

Colin Jacobs — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the way forward for civil service reform in Bangladesh? This article from Public Administration and Development looks at the role that the Bangladesh civil service might play in enabling pro-poor reform and growth. It explores how a senior leadership programme, such as Managing at the Top (MATT2), can create a critical mass of reform minded civil servants. Developing leaders, reforming their attitudes and providing practical skills are all critical aspects of enabling change. However, a single programme is unlikely to be successful. Furthermore, while an incremental approach to reform may be realistic it should not fall into an acceptance of the current status-quo.

Citizen Mobilisation in Nepal: Building on Nepal�s Tradition of Social Mobilisation to Make Local Governance more Inclusive and Accountable

C. Jha, S. Prasai, M. Hobley and L. Bennett — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How can citizen mobilisation be supported to make local governance more inclusive and accountable in Nepal? This report from the Local Governance and Community Development Programme (LGCDP) analyses social mobilisation in Nepal. Transformational mobilisation processes are needed to build peoples� capacity to actively participate in their own governance. Lessons learned include providing evidence of change in the 'capability to demand' and addressing obstacles in processes that target the disadvantaged by engaging the elites as �champions of the poor�.

Pakistan State-Society Analysis

Marco Mezzera, Safiya Aftab — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is the impact of deep structures, formal and informal institutions, and current events on the nature of the state in Pakistan and its relations with society? This report from The Initiative for Peacebuilding analyses the causes of weak state-society relations in Pakistan and explores the complex power dynamics that underpin them. Despite the bleak picture that emerges, a better understanding of the context can help the international community to engage with Pakistan on a constructive and long-term basis, with the overall objective of supporting genuine democratisation and building substantive citizenship.

Nigeria: The Political Economy of Reform - Strengthening Incentives for Economic Growth

Pat Utomi, Alex Duncan, Gareth Williams — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How does reform take place within the constraints of political and economic processes? What has driven recent policy and institutional reforms in Nigeria, and how can Nigeria's reform process be sustained and extended? This briefing paper from the Policy Practice argues that the failure to achieve sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria is linked to institutional and incentive problems. Efforts are needed to strengthen incentives for economic growth and public accountability in Nigeria. All stakeholders must recognise the realities and risks to sustainable reform, as well as the long time-scale required.

Community-based Approaches to Peacebuilding in Conflict-affected and Fragile Contexts

Huma Haider — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The �community� has often been resilient in conflict-affected and fragile contexts, providing survival and coping mechanisms for violence, insecurity and fragility. Growing attention has thus been paid to the adoption of community-based approaches to help address the extensive needs in these contexts. This paper from the GSDRC explores the principal aims of community-based approaches and key challenges and considerations in designing and implementing such approaches, particularly in environments of conflict and fragility.

Political Economy

World Bank — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What hinders growth-supporting policy reform in Ghana, and how can these obstacles be addressed? In recent years, Ghana has experienced relative macroeconomic stability and growth. However, accelerating and sustaining growth requires significant policy change across a range of areas. This extract from the World Bank�s Country Economic Memorandum of Ghana examines the political incentives of policymakers to pursue such change. Clientelism undermines progress in pro-growth reforms. Reform should focus on: education; improving the collection of and access to government information; and ensuring that policy does not favour particular ethnic groups.

The Role of Scholars and Scholarship in Economic Development

Mary Shirley — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What is the role of scholars and scholarship in institutional change? How do shared beliefs shift so that self-enforcing and persistent institutions change radically? This chapter from Institutions and Development, published by Edward Elgar, argues that the impetus for changing institutions must come from within a society. When leaders believe that their present policies cannot cope with an economic shock or an external threat, local scholars can act as institutional entrepreneurs by devising and disseminating a new conceptual model of how the world works and a related set of policy reforms. Under the right circumstances the initial reforms institute a persistent and gradual transformation of institutions.

Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for Practitioners

Bettye Pruitt, Philip Thomas — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What is dialogue and how can it respond to the need for wider participation in the public sphere? The first section of this handbook from CIDA, International IDEA, OAS and the UNDP outlines the need for dialogue and how it can make a difference in pursuit of peace, development and democratic governance. The number of dialogue processes taking place around the world has increased, as has the need for a greater understanding of effective dialogue.

The Politics of What Works in Reducing Chronic Poverty

Sam Hickey — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

What forms of politics are most likely to reduce chronic poverty in developing countries? This working paper, published by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, uses comparative case-study analysis to argue that a shift is needed in donor policy. Greater attention should be paid to political instead of civil society, to the link between political discourse and poverty analysis rather than simply to poverty data, and to the importance of political contracts in sustaining pro-poor policies.

Accountability: The Core Concept and its Subtypes

Staffan Lindberg — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The concept of accountability has become increasingly popular in diverse fields including development policy. This working paper from the Overseas Development Institute argues that new meanings and dimensions risk diluting its content and creating conceptual confusion - with significant implications for empirical analysis. A classic approach to concept formation is required, which suggests that accountability refers to a class of concepts under the category �methods of limiting power�. It is important to distinguish between accountability and responsiveness.

Peacekeepers Among Poppies: Afghanistan, Illicit Economies and Intervention

Vanda Felbab-Brown — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What have been the effects of counter-narcotics policies in Afghanistan since 2001? Have eradication campaigns been successful? This article from the Journal of International Peacekeeping argues that aggressive opium poppy eradication programmes have been premature and counterproductive. They have not increased stability or undermined the counter-insurgency. The most important role peacekeeping forces can play is providing security.

Policies Towards Horizontal Inequalities

Frances Stewart, Graham Brown, Arnim Langer — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What are the most effective strategies for reducing Horizontal Inequalities (HIs)? This book chapter assesses the range of policies that could alleviate the impact of political, cultural and socioeconomic HIs on conflict likelihood. While there may need to be trade-offs with other policy objectives, there is no evidence that reducing HIs needs to reduce growth.

State Growth and Social Exclusion in Tibet: The Challenges of Recent Economic Growth

Andrew Martin Fischer — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

How has economic growth and transformation in China influenced structural marginality in Tibetan areas? This book uses a macro socio-economic perspective to trace how economic growth and transformation interact with social change and population transitions in the Tibetan areas, and how these processes influence the emergence or exacerbation of structural marginality and social exclusion. It argues the most pressing economic issues facing the Tibetan regions relate to the socio-economic marginalisation of the majority of Tibetans from rapid state-led growth.

With the State against the State? The Formation of Armed Groups

Klaus Schlichte — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How do armed groups develop? This article from Contemporary Security Policy investigates the formation of armed groups using the concept of figuration, which emphasises the interdependence of individuals. There are three main ways by which armed groups come into being: in response to violent repression, through exclusion from the ruling class and when government-created informal armed forces become free from state control. These mechanisms provide insights into the conditions under which armed groups are likely to form and whether they become institutionalised.

From �Refugee Warriors� to �Returnee Warriors�: Militant Homecoming in Afghanistan and Beyond

Kristian Berg Harpviken — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Why do some refugees, upon return to their countries of origin, engage in violent action? This paper from George Mason University assumes that in some refugee situations a significant share of returnees engage in militant action. It examines three sets of explanatory factors (enabling environment, ideology and organisation) in order to contribute to an expanding analytical framework for refugee warrior phenomena, and to identify an agenda for future research.