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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,...
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Blog post
Do cash transfers make the poor work less?
Analysing the impact of cash transfers in Iran helps to dispel the myth that they encourage the poor to work less. Admittedly, these transfers occurred in the context of rising bread and energy prices, meaning the lessons are particularly important for oil-rich countries that subsidise energy. In December 2010, Iran raised prices for bread and energy products by factors...
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Blog post
Trade liberalisation in developing countries: The importance of roads
Research on Ethiopia shows that trade liberalisation can boost the productivity of firms in developing countries, but only if they have access to good roads. Gains from trade liberalisation are not uniform within countries Many developing countries have liberalised trade in the hope that greater international exposure will improve the performance of local firms. Lower...
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Blog post
Congestion pricing to solve peak-hour traffic jams? Not so fast!
Evidence from Bangalore shows that congestion pricing is not as effective in reducing travel times as one might presume. Peak-hour pricing only marginally improved travel times, whilst also triggering schedule costs for commuters induced to change their travel times. Traffic congestion is a chronic problem in large cities across the world. Millions of urban commuters...
Blog post
Is GDP an adequate measure of development?
An increasing GDP is often seen as a measure of welfare and economic success. However, it fails to account for the multi-dimensional nature of development or the inherent short-comings of capitalism, which tends to concentrate income and, thus, power. In this blog post, André Castro and Manish Prasad, make a case for using alternate measures of development such as the...