This rapid literature review collates academic and grey literature pertaining to the war economy in North-East Nigeria. The review finds the evidence base on this subject to be limited and disjointed. There are few regional analyses focussed on this issue, with those that exist approaching the subject from different thematic or sectoral positions. Sub-national (i.e. ...» more
Economic growth
Impacts of Covid-19 on Inclusive Economic Growth in Middle-income Countries
Covid-19 is likely to cause much greater economic damage than any recent disease outbreak or economic crisis (Shretta, 2020). As of April 2020, the IMF is forecasting that the global economy is likely to contract by -3% in 2020 (IMF, 2020c, p. 1) and that ‘the cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars’, making ...» more
Inclusive and Sustained Growth in Iraq
Iraq faces significant economic challenges, in particular stemming from its dependence on oil revenue and the country’s bloated public sector. Private sector growth is particularly constrained by the dominance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), restrictive regulations, lack of access to finance, shortage of skilled labour and inadequate infrastructure. This review drew ...» more
The Impact of Entrepreneurship Training Programmes
Entrepreneurship training programmes generally have a positive impact on existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in terms of promoting better business practices. Programmes which provide training for entrepreneurs often include other interventions such as micro-finance, grants, internships or mentorship (McKenzie & Woodruff, 2013). The varied content of the ...» more
Impact of lifting economic sanctions on poverty and growth
This rapid review synthesises findings from rigorous academic, practitioner, and policy references, focusing on recent and seminal works with the aim of highlighting the impact of lifting sanctions on poverty and economic development. There is a further aim of helping to inform policymakers in Sudan in the event of sanctions being fully lifted. Therefore, an analysis of the ...» more
Economic Situation in Jordan
Jordan has one of the smallest economies in the Middle East, and its lack of natural resources and water scarcity make it heavily dependent on foreign aid and foreign investment. Following the global financial crisis of 2008 growth slowed significantly; the deteriorating regional situation since 2011 and subsequent mass influx of Syrian refugees has made recovery difficult, ...» more
Impact of economic sanctions on poverty and economic growth
Key findings are as follows: Economic sanctions lead to an increase in the poverty gap and deprived sections of the population feel the most impact. For the most part sanctions fail to achieve their aims and elites manage to negotiate the adverse effects to a far greater level than poorer citizens. Sanctions have a damaging effect on income inequality and impact ...» more
Governance, politics and growth
In recent years, there has been an increasing realisation that political institutions and governance matter when explaining economic growth in developing countries. Here, political institutions refer to the process of collective decision-making and the checks on politicians and politically and economically powerful interest groups. Governance refers to the capability of the state to provide public…» more
Taxation, governance and growth
Historically, tax research has been dominated by two questions: how to enhance revenue collection in order to finance redistribution and public goods and services, and how to design tax policy to strengthen incentives for economic growth (Joshi et al. 2014; Moore 2013). However, the past decade has witnessed surging interests in a third possibility: that…» more
State-business relations
State-business relations in low income countries are seen as a key determinant of inclusive growth and of structural transformation – shifts in economic structure to more productive activities and sectors. Effective state-business relations can boost economic growth by increasing the rate and the productivity of investment. State-business relations can take the form of ...» more
Economic development in fragile and conflict-affected states
This Topic Guide draws on lessons from programmes and case studies to explore which types of economic development interventions can be effective in FCAS and which factors have contributed to successes and failures. ...» more
Economic growth and fragility
There is fairly consistent evidence of a correlation between low levels of economic development and state fragility. However, there is less comprehensive literature available looking at the role economic growth has played in helping countries break out of fragility. The strength and basis of the economy are important factors affecting the stability and resilience of states, ...» more
Women’s networks in MENA
There is a large number of women’s networks in the region, ranging in size and influence. Grassroots networks exist alongside high-level political and policy networks. Most are focused on women-only activities. The key areas of activity are: improving women’s entrepreneurship and developing women as business owners and business leaders; peacebuilding; reducing violence ...» more
Political economy of energy in southern Africa
Some African states, with encouragement from international donors, have developed regional power sharing arrangements as a strategy to deal with the continent’s energy problems. Power pools aim to balance electrical loads over a larger network, lower electricity prices, and expand access by encouraging trade and investment in the sector. The Southern African Power Pool ...» more
Inclusive growth
Absolute poverty has fallen substantially over the last 30 years, with most of this reduction attributable to rapid economic growth in developing countries. Yet growth often does not meet the needs of the poor. Economic growth in the absence of measures to ensure the sustained equitable distribution of its benefits has frequently perpetuated the concentration of wealth in the ...» more
Policy objectives and evidence of impacts
Social protection can have a wide range of objectives and impacts, from food security, access to services, gender equality, and state-building, to social transformation. The emphasis in developing countries has been on poverty and vulnerability reduction, and human development, for which there is good evidence. There is less evidence on longer-term developmental impacts such as ...» more
Donor action on women’s employment in ASEAN countries – update
This report updates on an earlier report on the same topic. It confirms that donor action on women’s employment and entrepreneurship has been limited or very recent in ASEAN countries. The ILO is the major aid entity involved. Other major ones include the Asian Development Bank, UN Women and the International Finance Corporation. Limitations and gaps in the literature are ...» more
Alternative dispute resolution for businesses in developing countries
Dispute resolution mechanisms can be arranged in a continuum. At one end are processes like which are formal, inflexible, and adversarial, and which depend on neutral third parties to decide the outcome of the process, such as litigation in court, where the outcome is decided by a judge. At the other end are increasingly informal, flexible, and consensual processes such as ...» more
Donor action on women’s employment in ASEAN countries
Donors have attempted little to improve women’s participation and conditions in the ASEAN workforce. Isolated cases highlight some findings: Success stories include donors action through: national policies (Cambodia); mandatory monitoring of working conditions (Cambodia); gender-sensitive design and evaluation of projects (Viet Nam, Cambodia); capacity development for ...» more
Benefits of urbanisation in Asia
This report reviews selected literature on urbanisation in East, South and South-East Asia, and draws out its developmental benefits and lessons for donors. There is a strong evidence base on urbanisation and urban poverty, but mostly looking at the development challenges of increasing urbanisation. Since the literature largely takes a negative or problem-solving approach to ...» more
