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Blog post
Evidence-based tax policy: A policymaker’s perspective
Collaborative research can play an important role in addressing the challenges that tax authorities in Africa face. IGC’s regional tax conference in Lusaka brought together tax authorities from several African countries to share their experiences and insights on using evidence in tax policy design and enforcement. Tax collection agencies across the world are facing...
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Blog post
“None of the above”: Protest voting, voter turnout and electoral outcomes in India
Indian voters can vote for “none of the above” in national and state elections. This option has raised voter turnout and provides insight into the behaviour of protest voters in elections that do not have an explicit protest option. In 2013, the Indian Supreme Court set out to increase political participation with an unusual policy: it mandated the introduction of a...
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Blog post
The economic impacts of investing in rural electrification in Ghana
Ending energy poverty is recognised by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. In Ghana, significant progress in extending electricity access across the country has been made, particularly in rural areas where access levels rose from 1% to 63% of the population between 1991 and 2014. However, evidence on the economic benefits of rural electrification projects remains...
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Blog post
Non-tradeables and low-income country growth
Transformation needs to be export led, so it might be tempting to think only about the needs of exporters. It might be tempting to see growth with very few new, export sector jobs as a failure. However, even in the most successful manufacturing-led transformatory growth episodes, most of the jobs and lots of the output are in non-tradeable sectors. Non-tradeable enterprises...
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Blog post
The promises and challenges of special economic zones
On Tuesday 29 May 2018, the Oxford Urbanists and Cities that Work hosted a panel event titled "Can Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Drive Growth in Developing Cities?” to discuss evidence for improved policy. How should we think about Special Economic Zones (SEZs)? What benefits can they bring to developing cities? Where do they fall short? How can...
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Blog post
Apples, oranges and other fruit: Different forms of poverty
US destitution is different to that found in developing countries, given the prevalence of social safety nets and better access to services. However, there are similar factors keeping people in poverty, such as poverty traps and inefficient government intervention. Better social safety nets are an important part of reducing the difference. In my last blog post, I touched...
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Blog post
Government decentralisation and reform in Myanmar’s roads sector
Myanmar is in the midst of an historic shift towards a more democratic and responsive government. In a radical departure from a highly centralised structure, the 2008 Constitution established 14 sub-national governments, with partially elected parliaments. In addition to their devolved political authority, a range of finance and administrative functions were ceded to this...
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Blog post
Bolstering firm productivity and growth through IGC research
A recent seminar organized by the International Growth Centre (IGC), in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), brought together key stakeholders from the spheres of knowledge creation and policy formulation. The purpose of this gathering was to build bridges between academia,...
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Blog post
Improving KP’s development outcomes
The idea that ICT facilitated and evidence-informed policymaking strengthens governance and improves service delivery is gaining momentum in the development discourse. In a first of its kind seminar held in Peshawar, solutions to removing governance and service delivery bottlenecks were presented and debated. Sessions on state capability, urban planning and growth...
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Blog post
Making land administration work for African cities
Rapid urbanisation has created a strong need to improve land administration in many African cities. Emerging research and policy experiences in countries such as Rwanda can guide policymakers across the continent as they seek to do this. Policy debates about land are often highly removed from the practical apparatus that determine how land is actually used – maps,...
Blog post
Evidence-based tax policy: A policymaker’s perspective
Collaborative research can play an important role in addressing the challenges that tax authorities in Africa face. IGC’s regional tax conference in Lusaka brought together tax authorities from several African countries to share their experiences and insights on using evidence in tax policy design and enforcement. Tax collection agencies across the world are facing...