This paper examines the limitations of private-sector-oriented solutions to water supply in informal settlements and argues that market-oriented solutions are inappropriate for sub-Saharan African countries where over two-thirds of the urban population live in squatter settlements with multidimensional challenges. There are particular concerns over the pricing, regulation, and ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
Understanding and Improving Accountability in Education: A Conceptual Framework and Guideposts from Three Decentralization Reform Experiences in Latin America
This paper builds a framework for understanding accountability reforms in the education sector and develops three illustrative Latin American cases of governance reform in the education sector (Chile, Nicaragua and Bogotá, Colombia). This framework pays attention to exit and voice alternatives (where exit alternatives introduce competition between providers and voice ...» more
The World Bank’s Approach to Public Sector Management 2011-2020: “Better Results from Public Sector Institutions”
‘Public sector management (PSM) reform is concerned with improving public sector results by changing the way governments work. It is a challenging reform area in which to offer assistance. Sustainable institutional change often requires that thousands of public agents alter their behaviour, and political incentives may be at odds with improving public sector performance. ‘What ...» more
Pipe Dreams? The Governance of Urban Water Supply in Informal Settlements, New Delhi
Based on fieldwork on urban water supply in New Delhi, this paper shows that while informal providers fill a gap left by the public utility, residents can remain captive consumers with limited ability to influence service quality or price.In this case, residents were successfully able to organise themselves to drive improvements to services through a gradual evolution of their ...» more
School Governance, Teacher Incentives, and Pupil- Teacher Ratios: Experimental Evidence from Kenyan Primary Schools
This paper assesses a programme that allowed Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) to recruit novice teachers in Kenya. The study found that despite only receiving a quarter of the pay of government-employed teachers, these PTA-hired teachers had fewer days off and achieved better results for their students.The study found that the benefits of the programme were limited by the fact ...» more