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Blog post
Enhancing the benefits of formalisation under a new status in Benin
Providing information and assistance to informal firms increases formalisation, but the cost of the intervention is likely prohibitively high Existing evidence suggests that easing entry regulations and providing information on the formalisation process has had only a very limited impact on the formalisation of existing informal firms, especially with regards to tax...
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Blog post
Breaking the clientelist trap: Creating demand for good governance in India
A perennial challenge for reformist politicians is how to sustain their governance reforms beyond their first term in office. In poor contexts, clientelist politicians can out-compete reformers by threatening to exclude those who vote against them from accessing public benefits. How can reformers in office counter these tactics, break the clientelist trap and create a...
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Blog post
Why are there no microgrids in Pakistan?
Solar microgrids, with higher voltage distribution and decentralised generation, present a viable alternative to grid electricity in Pakistan. What’s more, demand exists for services beyond basic electrification. However, there are hurdles for microgrid deployment in the country. Namely, sophisticated demand, technological barriers, and legal constraints. An International...
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Blog post
Property rights and poverty reduction: Effects of land titling on Argentina’s urban poor
Reducing the cost of land titles and simplifying the systems can improve land security and livelihoods of the poor Land rights are a crucial component of economic development. Property rights have the potential to fundamentally improve resource allocation and increase investment in a given society by limiting expropriation and facilitating market transactions. Moreover,...
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Blog post
Harnessing technology for public sector reform: Procurement in Pakistan
Procurement decision making and access to information “Procurement decisions take up 20-25% of my time in a week, and given my other obligations, I cannot afford to spend more time on this activity”, explains Mr. Ashraf, an Executive Engineer in the Communication and Works Department in Punjab. His task at hand today is to procure more printing paper for his subsidiary...
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Blog post
Reducing under-age marriage and school dropout in West Bengal
Under-age marriage and adolescent school dropout is a serious problem in India. It is most critical in West Bengal, an Eastern state of India, bordering Bangladesh. According to the 2011 Indian Government Census, West Bengal has the highest incidence of child marriage among girls (7.8%), much higher than the national average of 3.7%. It also has a low mean average of years...
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Blog post
Can India reap the demographic dividend in higher education?
India’s population is going through a ‘demographic bulge’, with an increase in the proportion of the working age group and a decrease in that of dependents. In this article, Shivakumar Jolad computes the demographic changes due to fertility decline and attempts to forecast the demand and supply of higher education over the period 2016-2031, across Indian...
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Blog post
Roads to trade: Connecting mines versus cities in West Africa
A recent project aims to decipher what kind of transport infrastructure West African countries need most to generate economic growth. The relative gains of prioritising internal market potential (cities) versus the export of natural resources (mines to ports) are calculated through a counterfactual comparative analysis with actual road and track building that took place...
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Blog post
Financial inclusion: Concepts, issues, and policies for India
The International Growth Centre recently brought out a synthesis paper (Singh 2017) that lays out the basic concepts surrounding financial inclusion, and reviews a wide range of IGC and other studies on financial inclusion. At a workshop organised by the IGC in collaboration with Ideas for India and Indian Statistical Institute, Rohini Pande (Harvard Kennedy School), S....
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Blog post
Governance and public service delivery in India
The International Growth Centre recently produced a synthesis paper (Afridi 2017) bringing together insights from its research on governance and public service delivery in India, over the past seven years. At a workshop organised by the IGC in collaboration with Ideas for India and Indian Statistical Institute, Amarjeet Sinha (Ministry of Rural Development), Rajesh...
Blog post
Breaking the clientelist trap: Creating demand for good governance in India
A perennial challenge for reformist politicians is how to sustain their governance reforms beyond their first term in office. In poor contexts, clientelist politicians can out-compete reformers by threatening to exclude those who vote against them from accessing public benefits. How can reformers in office counter these tactics, break the clientelist trap and create a...