This paper asks where do the world’s multidimensionally poor people live? The paper considers how the global distribution of multidimensional poverty differs from the global distribution of income poverty and assesses the sensitivity of findings to widely used (although somewhat arbitrary) country classifications. Surprisingly perhaps, only a quarter of multidimensionally poor ...» 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.
Gender Inequality in Multidimensional Welfare Deprivation in West Africa: The Case of Burkina Faso and Togo
The importance of gender equality is reflected not only in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but also in the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan launched in 2007, as well as in other treaties and actions undertaken at regional and international levels. Unlike other gender poverty studies, which are mostly based on monetary measurement, the present study employs a counting ...» more
“It’s dangerous to be the first”: Security barriers to women’s public participation in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen
Egypt, Libya, and Yemen are in the midst of unpredictable political transitions following the 2011 uprisings. This report examines the ways in which security concerns associated with this volatile environment impact women’s political participation, as well as the ways in which women’s participation in turn affects their security. Based on consultations with over 400 women and ...» more
Humanitarian Guidance Note: Cash Transfer Programming
This Guidance Note provides DFID staff with an overview of key components of cash transfer programming (CTP) in emergencies, including operational conditions required to assess its feasibility & effectiveness. There is a significant and growing body of experience demonstrating that cash-based interventions can act as an alternative or complement to in-kind assistance, although ...» more
Struggling for stability: International support for peace and democracy in post-civil war Nepal
How can countries emerging from a conflict be supported on their path towards peace and democracy? Although this question has been the focus of recent attention, it remains unclear exactly what factors are critical to the success of external engagement in fragile states. To this end, this study aims to learn from the relatively successful case of Nepal.In Nepal, the signing of ...» more
A new global partnership: Eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development
This report is the product of a panel of 27 eminent persons, which had the aim of shaping the post-2015 agenda. The panel concluded that given the remarkable success of the MDGs, it would be a mistake to simply tear up the MDGs and start from scratch. As world leaders agreed at Rio in 2012, new goals and targets need to be grounded in respect for universal human rights, and ...» more
Men as perpetrators and victims of armed conflicts: Innovative projects aimed at overcoming male violence
A more detailed analysis of various diverging war experiences of boys, male adolescents and men is essential for development cooperation in post-war societies and must be taken into consideration for project planning and implementation. Differentiated gender perspectives are required in order to put an end to tolerated, widespread gender-specific and sexualized violence. In ...» more
New actors, new money, new conversations: A mapping of recent initiatives for women and girls
Over the past several years, investing in women and girls as ‘smart economics’ has become a favored strategy in development and philanthropy. This has precipitated a host of campaigns and initiatives, including new private-sector involvement, dedicated to supporting women and girls. This publication presents the results of AWID’s mapping of new donors making major commitments ...» more
Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire? Migration from Fragile States to Fragile States
Fragile states contributed 18 million migrants and 8 million refugees in 2000. More than 20% of these migrants and more than half of the refugees settle in other fragile states. Thus, migration is likely to be both a consequence and a possible cause of conflict and fragility. This paper asks why people from fragile states would want to move to another fragile state. Is it ...» more
World Protests 2006-2013
This September 2013 study analyses 843 protests occurring between January 2006 and July 2013 in 84 countries covering over 90% of world population. The paper focuses on: (i) major grievances driving world protests (ii) who is demonstrating, what protest methods they use, and who are they opposed to (iii) achievements and repression of social movements in the short term, and ...» more
Savings by and for the Poor: A Research Review and Agenda
The poor can and do save, but often use formal or informal instruments that have high risk, high cost, and limited functionality. This could lead to under-saving compared to a world without market or behavioural frictions. Under-saving can have important welfare consequences: variable consumption, low resilience to shocks, and foregone profitable investments. This paper lays ...» more
Can Development Interventions Help Post-conflict Communities Build Social Cohesion? The Case of the Liberia Millennium Villages
This paper evaluates the efforts of one international development intervention — the Kokoyah Millennium Villages Project (KMVP) — to improve welfare and build social cohesion in post-conflict Liberia. The study is based on a preliminary analysis of survey data from a quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences (DID) research design, and shows that social cohesion was already ...» more
Africa Rising? Popular Dissatisfaction with Economic Management Despite a Decade of Growth
New findings from the Afrobarometer, based on surveys conducted in an unprecedented 34 African countries between October 2011 and June 2013,1 reveal widespread dissatisfaction with current economic conditions despite a decade of strong growth. Africans overwhelmingly reject their governments’ management of their economies, giving failing marks for job creation, improving the ...» more
Trial by Error: Justice in Post-Qadhafi Libya
This paper argues that there are many necessary cures to Libya’s pervasive insecurity, but few more urgent than repairing its judicial system. Qadhafi-era victims, distrusting an apparatus they view as a relic, take matters in their hands; some armed groups, sceptical of the state’s ability to carry out justice, arbitrarily detain, torture or assassinate presumed Qadhafi ...» more
Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2013
This year's GHA Report examines how international assistance has responded to the scale of recent global humanitarian crisis, with sections covering funding (response to need, donors and recipients, areas of expenditure and channels of delivery), recent emergencies, and action to strengthen response. It also features a number of ‘in focus’ reports, each providing an overview of ...» more
Randomized Impact Evaluation of Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Programme
The National Solidarity Programme (NSP) is the largest development program in Afghanistan. It seeks to improve the access of rural villagers to basic services and to create a foundation of village governance based on democratic processes and female participation. This impact evaluation (NSP-IE) is a multi-year randomized control trial designed to measure the effects of ...» more
Betrayed: Politics, Power and Prosperity
This book addresses the subject of global poverty, arguing that that the root problem lies in political and social discrimination hindering entrepreneurship. It draws on studies of China and Vietnam for good case practices, where the poor are able to seize business opportunities and drive wealth creation. Key findings:The poor are poor because they are excluded, deliberately or ...» more
The Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict: Domestic and Regional Ramifications and the Role of the International Community
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been locked in bitter conflict since 1998; a conflict that has exacerbated internal political crises in both states, split the two ruling parties, threatened regional peace and security, and cost tens of thousands of lives. This paper argues that the reasons for the conflict are far more complex than many have assumed, and are intrinsically embedded in ...» more
Writing the ‘Other’ into humanitarian discourse: framing theory and practice in South–South humanitarian responses to forced displacement
Although Southern-led development initiatives have enjoyed increasing attention by academics in recent years, there remains a relative paucity of research on South-South humanitarian responses. This paper investigates South-South humanitarian action because of the potential it has to demand a radical reconceptualization of dominant humanitarian theory. A preliminary mapping ...» more
Rewards for High Public Offices and the Quality of Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Increasingly, setting the institutional arrangements for remunerating high public officeholders (HPOs) is seen as a central design issue for improving governance. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), recent efforts to review and revise national constitutions and/or introduce new government structures have brought this issue to the fore. Changes in these “grand institutions” provide ...» more
