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Blog post
Intermediate cites and climate action: Driving change through urban land use and governance
In the first blog of this two-part series, it was argued that especially in low-income settings, intermediate cities, through strong rural-urban linkages, can provide an important social safety net in addition to their potential to alleviate poverty in the long-term. Moreover, and although largely undervalued by the international community and countries, intermediate cities...
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Blog post
Intermediate cities: A missing piece in the climate change puzzle
Research and debate on climate change currently underestimate the importance of a key group of players: intermediate cities. Currently conversation and studies on climate change often centre on large and relatively wealthy capital cities. Their size in population, data availability and comparatively higher energy use per person are factors that draw attention. In...
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Blog post
Environmental judicial activism: Bridging gaps in Pakistan’s environmental protection strategy
In low-income countries, the role of the judiciary in mitigating the effects of climate change often faces significant hurdles in resources, capacity, and political will. In Pakistan, however, the establishment of several judicial commissions are tackling these challenges by supporting climate research, developing proactive approaches to climate issues, and creating...
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Blog post
The growing concerns around vaccine hesitancy in India
Vaccine hesitancy will prolong the return to normalcy, and abysmal figures such as a mere 10% having been fully vaccinated in India by early August of this year, are a wakeup call for policymakers and healthcare administrators. Health workers face stiff resistance from people who believe that vaccines cause impotence, lack of trust in vaccine efficacy, serious side...
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Blog post
Can consumer incentive schemes enhance VAT revenue collections in developing countries?
There has been a resurgence in the adoption of consumer incentive schemes within the realm of revenue collection in recent years, due in part to technological advancement, digitisation of records, and the rise in digital payment platforms such as mobile money. These schemes can help address evasive practices that some retail firms currently engage in. Their success however,...
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Blog post
How COVID-19 lockdowns and car-free days affected air pollution in Rwanda’s capital
Rising levels of vehicle traffic, industrial activity and urban sprawl are contributing to rising levels of air pollution across the global South. This is particularly the case in cities where urbanisation is progressing fastest. In Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, the population has surged from less than 500,000 in 2000 to more than 1 million today. It is set to increase to...
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Blog post
Part 1: Smallholder farmers, biodiversity, and agricultural sustainability
In Part 1 of this series, we discuss policy steps that could be taken by the world's least developed countries (LDCs) to ensure farmers can grow genetically diverse crops. In Part 2, we discuss the global community’s role in ensuring this is economically sustainable, including trade and domestic policy considerations for high- and middle-income countries that affect...
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Blog post
BREAD 2021: Insights on mobility, health, and infrastructure
The IGC hosted the BREAD Conference on Economics of Africa from 7-9 July and our new blog series explores key findings from research presented during the conference, including the following publicly available papers on topics such as mobility, health, and infrastructure. Perpetual motion: Human mobility and spatial frictions in three African countries (Blanchard, Gollin,...
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Blog post
Vaccine uptake and resistance: Lessons and policy levers
As new variants of COVID-19 are disrupting global efforts to end the pandemic, governments need to work faster to immunise populations and curtail the spread. This blog examines lessons and policy solutions for global immunisation efforts, drawing from recent evidence on vaccine acceptance in low- and middle-income countries. With the urge to vaccinate their populations...
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Blog post
BREAD 2021: Insights on family planning and marriage
The IGC hosted the BREAD Conference on Economics of Africa from 7-9 July and our new blog series explores key findings from research presented during the conference, including the following publicly available papers on family planning and marriage. Some interesting findings are below. Many women in sub-Saharan Africa wish to avoid or delay pregnancy but are unable to use...
Blog post
Intermediate cites and climate action: Driving change through urban land use and governance
In the first blog of this two-part series, it was argued that especially in low-income settings, intermediate cities, through strong rural-urban linkages, can provide an important social safety net in addition to their potential to alleviate poverty in the long-term. Moreover, and although largely undervalued by the international community and countries, intermediate cities...