Key finding: Policymakers have been concerned about the effects of the seemingly high interest rates typically charged by microfinance institutions (MFI) lending money to poor people. Available data indicates that microfinance interest rates typically fall between 20 and 50 per cent per year (in places where inflation runs no higher than 10 per cent per year). It has been ...» more
Social Development
Interventions to tackle sex selection in Asia
The key finding of the literature is that the most effective strategies address social norms and beliefs, as well as providing technical solutions. Strategies need to take into account the specific drivers and expressions of sex selection in each context. The effective interventions identified are:Restricting the use of sex-selection methods: Restricting technology and ...» more
Sex selection – micro-level drivers and enabling/preventive factors
Key findings: Prenatal sex selection results in distorted sex ratios at birth (SRB). In many countries there are currently 110-120 male births per 100 female births (in contrast to the standard biological level of 104-106 male births). Postnatal sex selection also persists in several countries, measured by excess deaths among female infants and young girls. Sex selection is ...» more
Evaluation of programmes related to violence against women and girls
Key findings: Despite the growing number of interventions related to violence against women and girls (VAWG) during recent years, to date, few rigorous evaluations have been carried out of related programmes. The quality of existing evaluations is also variable. Experts have observed that efforts to address violence against women in recent years have been relatively small ...» more
PNPM/Community-driven development in Indonesia
Key findings: The National Program for Community Empowerment Mandiri (PNPM Mandiri) was launched by the Government of Indonesia in 2007. It is a national programme within the overall policy framework established to implement programmes aimed at poverty alleviation, and strengthening local governance and service delivery. PNPM adopts a community-driven development (CDD) ...» more
Conflict, Exclusion and Livelihoods in the Sinai Region of Egypt
The most rigorous academic research on these issues focuses on changes in Bedouin livelihood strategies, with a particular focus on South Sinai. This literature draws some links between Bedouin livelihoods and patterns of exclusion and conflict in the Sinai region. A large body of more recent literature, drawn mainly from news and policy reports, focuses on growing violence and ...» more
Social Exclusion Approaches to Poverty Analysis
This report identifies and reviews a selection of tools and methods used by bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental development agencies to conduct social exclusion and other social approaches to poverty analysis. In recent years, development agencies have grown increasingly dissatisfied with income-only approaches to understanding poverty, and have begun to focus on the ...» more
Economic Benefits of Disability-Inclusive Development
Key findings: The economic benefits of adopting a disability-inclusive approach to development are widely acknowledged, but these benefits are complex and difficult to quantify. As a result, few empirical studies provide a sustained analysis of them. Furthermore, there are few reports or evaluations from implementing agencies that present evidence on the economic impacts of ...» more
Violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste
Key findings: The high prevalence of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, in Timor-Leste is considered to be a key challenge for the country. Not only is the extent of gender-based violence a serious concern, but also the severity of the violence. Most of the available information on Timorese women and girls from 1975 to 1999 concerns experiences of sexual ...» more
Successful Gender Ministries
Gender ministries can simultaneously perform a variety of different roles and functions in pursuit of gender equality and empowerment goals. However, the literature does not characterise particular ministries as being generally ‘successful’, though there are cases where gender ministries have helped push through significant advances in specific areas of gender policy and have ...» more
Employment Intensity of Growth in Agriculture
Key findings: Employment intensity of growth of the agricultural sector is a measure used to quantify the effect from growth in the agricultural sector on levels of employment. Existing research suggests that growth of the agricultural sectors in middle- and low-income countries (including fragile and conflict affected states) does not necessarily lead to increased employment. ...» more
Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Pacific
Much of the available evidence on women’s economic situation in the Pacific comes from household income and expenditure surveys (HIESs), which do not usually disaggregate on the grounds of gender. While there are some data about women’s income, most analysis of expenditure is conducted at the household level and it is therefore difficult to examine trends in women and men’s ...» more
Changing attitudes and behaviours in relation to gender equality
This helpdesk report surveys literature on strategies and initiatives designed to increase awareness and to change attitudes and behaviours in order to promote greater gender equality. The structure of the report is based on the following areas: religious influences; community-level processes, alongside media and social campaigning; and activities targeting men’s attitudes and ...» more
Measuring and Evaluating Women’s Economic Empowerment
Women’s economic empowerment is a complex process involving improvements in the economic resources and skills available to them, their access to economic institutions, their ability to make decisions for themselves, and the degree of control they possess over key resources (Kabeer 2001, McDevitt 2010, Golla et al 2011, Mahmud et al 2011). Section two of this report provides a ...» more
Measuring and Evaluating Women’s Leadership
As donors have become increasingly interested in promoting women’s leadership, a growing range of measures and indicators have emerged to measure and evaluate these efforts. Despite growing interest, however, there has been little sustained analysis of the issues associated with measuring women’s leadership in the literature. Because of the lack of analysis in this area, this ...» more
Gender Inclusive Urban Planning
A gender- and socially-inclusive city promotes equitable rights and provides opportunities and support for all residents to participate in urban life. Although there are encouraging urban initiatives in various cities in South Asia, there is not yet a consolidated approach to inclusive urban policy and governance. This report looks at information on the key interrelated ...» more
Potential benefits of part-time working
This report outlines general trends in part-time working in the UK and internationally. It also considers the potential benefits of part-time working, and policies/strategies that have supported its development. General trends in part-time working include: Globalisation and associated changes in the organisation of production has been driving the need for more flexible ...» more
Literature and debates around ‘choice’ as a notion in development
The concept of choice has informed the development literature in a number of areas. It has been important in informing theoretical frameworks that underpin much development policy (through rational choice, public choice and social choice theory). From these theoretical foundations, the notion of choice has been central to defining key concepts such as human development and ...» more
Youth unemployment and livelihoods
In 2010, over 75 million young people were unemployed across the world. The global youth unemployment rate was 12.6 per cent, against a global adult unemployment rate of 4.8 per cent (UNDESA, 2012). Why are young people less likely to find a job or source of livelihood than their prime-age counterparts? There are currently a number of barriers to youth employment: Excess ...» more
Economic Empowerment and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)
The link between women’s economic empowerment and violence against women and girls (VAWG) complex and nuanced. While some studies have found that when women gain employment, own property or land they have a lower incidence of VAWG, other studies show a higher, or no difference. Key findings from this report include: Several studies have suggested that there is an ...» more
