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Blog post
Pandemics amidst fragilities: Implications and risks in the time of COVID-19
The challenges that conflict-affected and fragile settings face in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are distinct and arguably greater than in rest of the world. The current crisis could exacerbate on-going systemic fragilities to a breaking point if not managed promptly. It is critical for response policies in these settings to target contextual sources of fragility...
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Blog post
COVID-19: Pakistan’s preparations and response
The government of Pakistan has taken unprecedented steps to counter the effects of COVID-19 crisis, but is unclear if these will be enough given the challenges facing the country prior to the pandemic. Pakistan is amongst the 180+ countries dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. There are now clear warnings of a global economic recession as workers continue to fall sick,...
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Blog post
Debt relief for pain relief: Public finances and COVID-19 in low-income countries
As public health systems and economies grind to a halt, it is becoming increasingly clear that the impact of COVID-19 will reverberate throughout the global economy for years to come. Prior to this emergency, multilateral organisations were already warning that debt sustainability in low-income countries was deteriorating. Now, the World Bank and IMF have called on...
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Blog post
Could the economic cost outpace the health impact of COVID-19 in Africa?
The policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in African countries should not only factor in their weak health capacity, but also the extreme economic vulnerability of its population. It is April 2020 and nearly the entire world is under lockdown to fight COVID-19. Whole sections of the economy have effectively been put on pause. It took 67 days between the first reported...
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Blog post
Location, location, and information: Firm clustering in Kampala
A distinctive feature of business in Kampala is the clustering of similar products in particular areas of the city. Need a boda boda helmet to get to work? On Kyagwe Road in Old Kampala you’ll find any and all vehicle parts and accessories. Art supplies? Head straight to the shops on Nasser Road in Nakasero. For furniture, there are at least ten different suppliers along...
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Blog post
Increasing tariffs to prevent another electricity crisis in Zambia
Zambia’s state-owned power utility company, ZESCO, is consistently struggling to meet demand, plunging Zambia into one electricity crisis after another. The Government of Zambia’s acceptance of ZESCO’s application to increase tariffs is a step in the right direction. Access to reliable power remains a problem across sub-Saharan Africa. The latest data from the World...
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Blog post
Tendering trash: Lessons in urban waste management from Indian cities
South Asian cities are urbanising rapidly. With this, overflowing landfills and trash laden streets are becoming more common. Local governments and municipal corporations, many marred by inadequate financing and low capacity, are the first to be held responsible for this mismanagement, from which further negative spill overs occur. These can include high incidences of...
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Blog post
Each for equal: Bridging the gender gap and the data revolution
In 2018, ahead of International Women’s Day, the International Growth Centre (IGC) convened a high-level discussion exploring how we can address the biggest challenges that stop women all around the world from being able to access secure jobs in safe working environments, free from all forms of discrimination and violence. In 2019, we discussed the importance of...
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Blog post
Balance for better: Advancing women’s political leadership
“What we need is men and women in equal numbers, working as equals.” This statement by Clare Short, former Secretary of State for the International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) struck me for its revelatory simplicity. When more women work, economies prosper, productivity increases, and businesses benefit from organisational effectiveness and growth. If...
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Blog post
Social norms and firm productivity in Bangladeshi garment factories
Low firm productivity in developing countries presents a key barrier to economic development. Existing economic literature largely focuses on the effects of managers’ and workers’ behaviours on firm productivity (e.g., misallocation of female labour inside the firm). In contrast, we ask why certain behaviours that negatively impact firm productivity arise. We focus on...
Blog post
Pandemics amidst fragilities: Implications and risks in the time of COVID-19
The challenges that conflict-affected and fragile settings face in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are distinct and arguably greater than in rest of the world. The current crisis could exacerbate on-going systemic fragilities to a breaking point if not managed promptly. It is critical for response policies in these settings to target contextual sources of fragility...