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Blog post
Money or power? Choosing COVID-19 aid in Kenya
Participants in an experiment comparing demand for cash transfers and electricity subsidies in urban Kenya, overwhelmingly prefer cash given the proliferation of mobile money via platforms like M-PESA and preference for short-term liquidity. Conversely, in rural Kenya, slightly more respondents opted for electricity token transfers given that they face saving constraints...
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Blog post
Women and work: How much does measurement matter?
Female labour force participation in India has been on the decline – dropping from an already low 29% in 2004-05 to 17% in 2017-18. However, the extent of women’s economic participation depends on how it is measured, and who is doing the measuring. In this context, this article uses survey data from four north Indian urban clusters, to demonstrate the role of instrument...
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Blog post
Informing youth about job opportunities to make training programmes more effective
Launched in 2014 by the central government, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Garmeen Kaushalya Yojana seeks to provide skills-based training to rural, marginalised youth, and to place them in salaried jobs. Based on an experiment conducted in Bihar and Jharkhand, this article shows that providing detailed information about the programme and prospective jobs to the trainees, helps align...
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Blog post
The resilience of informal labour markets: Insights from Uganda
While the lockdown in Uganda resulted in a large but temporary shock to SME activity, mature labour relationships were highly resilient to the lockdown, and a large share of workers were able to temporarily engage in alternative income generating activities during the lockdown. On 30th of March 2020, the Government of Uganda implemented a hard lockdown for a 14-day...
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Blog post
Projecting emissions: Assessing strategies to protect the planet and the poor
While the poorest countries should prioritise climate resilience, fast growing economies must better complement growth with strategies to reduce emissions. Growth, poverty, and climate change are possibly the three most crucial considerations guiding development aid discussions. Thus, green growth strategies for lower-middle and low-income countries must be responsive to...
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Blog post
Climate change mitigation and adaptation is not enough to restore our Earth
Climate change solutions typically fall into one of two categories: mitigation and adaptation. While critics argue that such categorisation is too narrow, I draw upon findings from an IGC country-wide consultation to explore climate change policies and priorities across our partner countries. I argue that although mitigation and adaptation are important policy themes,...
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Blog post
Can growth truly be sustainable?
A sustainable approach to growth provides economic opportunities for the poor, builds resilience, and prepares low-income countries for the impacts of climate change while limiting current emissions and environmental degradation. Yet as massive investments roll out to support the global COVID-19 recovery, 2021 is projected to be the second highest year in history for global...
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Blog post
Making the Green Revolution greener: Agricultural adaptation and climate change
Climate change poses a striking threat to the livelihoods of rural farmers in low-income countries. As weather patterns become more volatile, agriculture will be disrupted, worsening food security and poverty. In response, farmers will be forced to adapt. Increasing agricultural productivity and introducing climate-resilient practices through technology can support incomes...
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Leaders and citizens: Women’s political participation in India
Women’s political participation has emerged as a key element of the discourse around the upcoming state elections in India. In this post, Nalini Gulati and Ella Spencer explore the evidence on various aspects of women’s political engagement in the country – representation in government, women as political leaders, and women as active citizens. According to the WEF...
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Blog post
Building back better: Fostering gender equality in Bangladeshi readymade garment industry
Post-COVID-19 recovery in one of Bangladesh’s largest industries could lead to increased inclusivity thanks to external market pressures. Editor's note: This blog is part of our International Women's Day campaign and contains findings from this IGC project. In Bangladesh, inclusive and resilient employment generation has received considerable policy focus as a...
Blog post
Learning from Lagos
How a "lite" rapid transit system in the Nigerian city transformed commuting. In many emerging cities, public transit is informal and unregulated. Considerable quality of life, environmental, and health consequences result from this. At an individual level, many people are unable to afford public transit and must walk to work, which reduces their career opportunities,...