What is the interaction between financial development and democratisation in developing countries? This research examines whether institutional improvement (i.e. democratisation) stimulates financial development. Improved institutional quality is associated with increases in financial development – at least in the short run – especially for lower-income countries, ethnically ...» 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.
Improving Public Services
How can public services in developing countries be improved? How can poor people be encouraged to participate in service delivery? There is little evidence that market-oriented reforms have improved public services in developing countries. As a result, donors have begun emphasising the importance of strengthening service providers' direct accountability to users. Involving ...» more
Formal and Informal Institutions and Development
How do formal and informal institutions influence each other and the process of development? This paper presents a critical review of the literature on institutional change and the role of institutions. Issues of equity, economic rules and regulations, caste, religion, social capital and elite groups impact on the dynamics of institutions. It is necessary to further analyse the ...» more
Stemming Girls’ Chronic Poverty: Catalysing Development Change by Building Just Social Institutions
Do social institutions result in gender differences in the incidence of poverty? This paper finds that discriminatory family codes, son bias, limited resource entitlements, physical insecurity and restricted civil liberties play a role in chronic poverty, specifically that of young women. It is therefore important to: eliminate gender discrimination through legal provisions; ...» more
Development as Leadership-led Change
Development involves change, but what does it take to effect change and what role does leadership play? This paper examines literature on change in large organisations. Leadership is context-specific and about groups rather than individuals; leaders are not those who possess particular traits but those who provide a functional contribution which also helps to build 'change ...» more
Capacities for institutional innovation: A complexity perspective
How can institutional innovation be catalysed? This paper argues that societies' overall learning capacities need to be enhanced in ways that enable greater responsiveness and resilience to emerging risks. To change institutions, 'soft' capacities are needed: communication, trust-building, diplomacy, networking, making sense of messy social situations, political advocacy and ...» more
Quotas – Add Women and Stir?
Is women's empowerment directly related to the proportion of women in parliament? Have various forms of quota been successful in transforming gender relations? This article examines different pathways to women's empowerment and the assumptions about gender, power, and politics that underlie quotas. It concludes that the focus on women's representation in parliament is too ...» more
Gender Inequality and the MDGs: What are the Missing Dimensions?
What gender issues are hampering progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals? This paper uses the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) to examine gender inequality and the MDGs. It focuses on three MDGs: eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), achieving universal primary education (MDG 2) and improving maternal health (MDG 5). 'Missing dimensions' to ...» more
The Multiplicity of Rural Risk
How do the rural poor and the local institutions on which they rely manage multiple climate change, market and food security risks? How can research increase understanding of what climate change as a 'risk multiplier' means for local-level development policy? Climate risk reduction policies must become better aligned with the concerns of the rural poor, the organisations ...» more
Support to Legislatures: Synthesis Study
What is being done to support legislatures and by whom? What can be learned from experience so far? This study discusses different models of legislatures and political and electoral systems, with particular emphasis on fragile states. It also presents an overview of specialist agencies in this field, and of trends of donor support. While there are relatively few systematic ...» more
Measuring Empowerment? Ask Them – Quantifying Qualitative Outcomes from People’s Own Analysis
How can empowerment be measured? This paper presents the experience of a social movement in Bangladesh, which found a way to measure empowerment by letting the members themselves explain what benefits they acquired from involvement and by developing a means to measure change over time. These measures have also been subjected to numerical analysis to provide convincing ...» more
So What Difference Does it Make? Mapping the Outcomes of Citizen Engagement
This paper presents results from a meta-analysis of 100 research studies of citizen engagement in 20 countries. By mapping over 800 observable effects of citizen participation, the authors created a typology of four democratic and developmental outcomes – the construction of citizenship; the strengthening of practices of participation; the strengthening of responsive and ...» more
The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: problems and pitfalls for gender equality
Has the growing presence of religion in politics made it harder for women to pursue gender equity? This article explores how religion as a political force shapes the struggle for gender equality in developing and developed countries. It is based on studies in Chile, India, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia, Turkey and the United States. The political ...» more
At The Frontier of Practical Political Economy: Operationalizing an Agent-Based Stakeholder Model in the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Region
How is it possible to ensure that programmes are politically feasible? This paper documents findings from the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region's pilot of the Agent-Based Stakeholder Model. The study finds that this model helped construct policy debate on civil service reform in Timor-Leste; helped identify key coalition partners in Mongolia; and underscored the need to ...» more
The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Six, One, or None?
What is the validity and reliability of aggregate indexes of the quality of governance such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGIs)? This study uses factor, confirmatory factor and path analysis to test both measurement and causal models of the six WGIs. Rather than distinguishing among aspects of the quality of governance, this paper finds that they appear to be ...» more
Growth in a Carbon Constrained Global Economy
How will the economies of developing countries be affected by efforts to deal with climate change? This report examines the impact of international mitigation policies on economic opportunities in developing countries. Greater understanding of the impacts of different mitigation policies on developing countries is needed to inform the decision-making of developed country ...» more
Disaster Risk Reduction or Climate Change Adaptation: Are we Reinventing the Wheel?
What are the similarities and differences between Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA)? What can be learned from experiences of both approaches in Papua New Guinea (PNG)? This paper analyses the two approaches and draws on experience from PNG in recommending ways to integrate both in development policy. The research demonstrates the importance of a ...» more
Climate Finance Additionality: Emerging Definitions and their Implications
What are the emerging definitions of 'climate finance additionality'? What are the technical and political implications of these different definitions? This policy brief explores these questions and looks at their requirements in terms of tracking, measuring, reporting and verifying finance. Additionality is an important issue; sufficient finance must be channelled towards ...» more
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific: The Challenge of Integration
What are the challenges in integrating community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA)? This research investigates the current situation and thinking on integrating DRR and CCA in community based projects in the Pacific. A key finding is the importance of agency and the significance of building and maintaining good relationships between DRR and ...» more
Power, Politics, and Change: How International Actors Assess Local Context
Do assessments actually affect decision making, planning and programming? This report presents observations from an informal analysis of conflict, governance, and fragility/stability assessment tools developed by bilateral and multilateral actors. Use of assessments is affected by clarity of purpose, timing, incentives, staff competencies and linking assessment into a broader ...» more
