Remittances – the money sent home by migrant workers – play a vital role in Africa. They help to pay for health, education and productive investment in agriculture. During periods of crisis they provide a financial lifeline. For many economies in the region, remittance transfers now occupy an important position in the balance of payments. Yet Africa is failing to secure all of ...» 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.
Learning from disaster: How governments gain insight and how regional and international bodies can help
This study explores how National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMAs) and other state actors learn and improve their humanitarian response activities. The study finds that NDMAs generate knowledge through a variety of methods including evaluations, AARs and formal and informal reflection. However, many lack the resources to consistently apply these methods. Among its ...» more
Freedom in the World 2014
For the eighth consecutive year, Freedom in the World showed an overall erosion in global freedom, with 54 countries registering declines and 40 earning gains in the report’s scoring system. The events of 2013 were shaped in part by authoritarian powers’ active resistance to democratic change and a crisis of confidence among leading democracies, particularly the United ...» more
Reclaiming the Streets for Women’s Dignity: Effective Initiatives in the Struggle against Gender-Based Violence in between Egypt’s Two Revolutions
This paper is about the struggle to combat gender-based violence in public space in Egypt through the sustained collective action of vigilante groups who organically formed to respond to the increasing encroachment on women in public space from 2011 onwards. The study examines the emergence of a distinct form of collective action (informal youth-led activism aimed at addressing ...» more
Extortion with Protection: Understanding the effect of rebel taxation on civilian welfare in Burundi
This study was conducted to answer the question: Does payment to rebels insure against future welfare loss and does the nature of payment matter? It tests the relationship between payments, the nature of extraction by the rebels, and welfare outcomes, by using a panel dataset from Burundi where information on protection payments during the 10 year civil war were collected. It ...» more