Some of the global statistics included in this report are: A gap in access to justice exists for a majority of the people in the world, perhaps even as many as two thirds, according to an estimate by the Hague Institute for the Internationalization of Law. Preventing and redressing violence against women and girls is now on the public policy agenda, but abuse and violence ...» more
Governance
The social impact of private sector development
The private sector can have a transformational impact on peoples’ lives as a creator of jobs and producer of goods and services that poor people use. Donor agencies are paying increasing attention to how private sector development can be leveraged to support poverty reduction and sustainable, equitable and inclusive economic growth. Making use of social development thinking is ...» more
Restricting space for civil society
There is consensus in the literature reviewed for this rapid query that the space for civil society to act has been increasingly restricted in the past decade. This is a global phenomenon – occurring in different ways and not in all countries – but in all regions of the world. It is occurring in all regime types – not just authoritarian countries. However, at the same time, in ...» more
Increasing youth participation in accountability mechanisms
The literature argues that empowering, organising, capacity-building and partnering with young people can contribute to good governance and improved accountability of governments (DANIDA, 2007; UNDP, 2006; Walton, 2010). To this end, governments, donors and NGOs have supported a variety of interventions that encourage youth participation both formally and informally. The extent ...» more
Public financial management in fragile states
Effective Public Financial Management (PFM) in fragile states is a critical foundation for basic economic governance and in establishing the performance, legitimacy and accountability of functional states. Extreme poverty is increasingly located in these countries, which face multiple challenges of ongoing conflict, instability and resource constraints, both financial and human. A June 2015 summary ICAI…» more
Transporting materials to schools
Most programmes have faced similar challenges and limitations in transporting materials to schools, and have found transferable approaches to what works. These are: Financing: the burden of paying for delivery falls on different actors. The literature is clear that either the government or the publishers should cover the costs, but often it has been teachers who travel to ...» more
Political Economy and Governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
This report is an update of a 2010 report, ‘Political Economy and Governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’, and is based on some of the recent literature on governance and political economy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The report outlines the following key governance and political economy issues discussed in the literature: Political ...» more
The legitimacy of states and armed non-state actors
Legitimacy is a crucial aspect of all power relations. Without legitimacy, power is exerted through coercion; with legitimacy, power can be exerted through voluntary or quasi-voluntary compliance. Legitimacy lies at the core of state-citizen relationships and thus of the whole state-building agenda. This Topic Guide explores the meaning of legitimacy in relation to state and ...» more
Fragility, violence and criminality in the Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is rich in oil and gas, and a major international trade route. While oil wealth in the context of weak governance and under-development is creating tensions leading to criminality and violence, high geostrategic stakes provide the incentives for national, regional and international actors to seek solutions. This rapid literature review analyses the causes, ...» more
Links between the rule of law and conflict and peace in Afghanistan
A plurality of legal and judicial institutions exist in contemporary Afghanistan, but none meet minimal definitions of the rule of law – this is a matter of consensus. In particular, formal and informal laws and mechanisms do not enforce common rules equally over both elites and the less powerful, and men/boys and women/girls. The State only has a very limited presence, ...» more
Influencing laws and guidelines on humanitarian assistance
International humanitarian law (IHL) and international disaster response laws, rules and principles (IDRL) set out rules and guidance on how to access affected populations, and how to deliver humanitarian assistance, during armed conflicts and disasters. This includes guidance on customs clearance and the taxation of relief, among other areas. IDRL is a fragmented collection of ...» more
Evidence for the added value of an inclusive societies approach
There is little direct evidence on the added value of an inclusive societies approach for increasing the effectiveness of poverty reduction efforts. The state of research in this area is predominantly theoretical and not empirical, although there is a clear normative consensus that poverty reduction and sustained economic growth is contingent upon the development of ...» more
Urban governance in Tanzania
Urbanisation has been increasing quickly in Tanzania with population growth in cities twice that of the national rate. Despite this, there is a small body of knowledge about urban governance comparative to the large number of references on urbanization in the country. This literature predominantly focuses on Dar es Salaam, and fails to disaggregate findings through the lens of ...» more
Evidence on programmes’ effectiveness on horizontal political inclusion
There is very little evidence on what role donors can play in making political settlements more horizontally inclusive. The state of research on this area remains theoretical and not empirical, although there is a clear normative consensus that international actors need to consider inclusivity in political settlements. The three areas of inquiry in this report (political ...» more
Indicators for conflict, stability, security, justice and peacebuilding
There are a range of indicators that have been used to measure progress in these themes, and increasing recognition of the merits of measuring achievements and progress toward goals. Global targets and indicators can play an important role in fostering collaboration, aiding prioritisation, and informing and directing flows of resources to particular contexts or problems. The ...» more
Implementing integrated financial management information systems
What do we know about what has worked, what has failed, and why? What lessons does the literature identify? Expensive integrated financial management information systems (IFMIS) have frequently failed to realise the promised benefits of reforming public financial management (PFM). There is a dearth of conclusive evidence to explain why this is the case. IFMIS are complex, ...» more
Transparency and participation in public financial management
The idea that citizens should have access to detailed information about how governments use public resources is not a new one. In fact, it has a long and distinguished history. As far back as 350 BC, Aristotle’s Politics suggested that ‘… to protect the Treasury from being defrauded, let all money be issued openly in front…» more
Climate finance and public finance management
Much attention has been directed at the international commitments to assist developing countries respond to climate change. This is reflected in the debate over the commitments made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: at the UNFCCC negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to jointly mobilise $100 billion climate finance per…» more
Comprehensive sexuality education
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has strong support in the international discourse, and is supported by a relatively robust evidence base. In general, the evidence suggests that CSE has positive impacts on behaviour change, such as increased condom use, girls’ empowerment and delayed sexual debut. This is achieved through increasing knowledge and changing attitudes. ...» more
Public sector institutional reform
The public sector is the single most important investment instrument for the state, and improving the way it is managed is critical for development outcomes including service delivery, social protection and private sector regulation. Public sector governance reform involves institutional reform – that is, changing the rules and norms that govern public sector activity. How can ...» more
