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Reinvigorating Yemen’s electricity system: Avenues for reform in the midst of war
The power generation system in Yemen is in a very poor state and urgently needs to be resuscitated. Achieving this will require switching to cheaper and renewable energy sources like solar, making key repairs to the transmission and distribution system, restoring livelihoods to off-grid communities through decentralised renewable energy systems, and making fundamental...
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The promise and pitfall of technology: Evidence from tax collection in Ghana
Information technology (IT) systems are potentially transformative tools to increase local tax capacities. However, they must be carefully designed not only to increase tax collection but to minimise unintended outcomes. From a field experiment in Ghana, we find that technology improves local tax collection by expanding the effective tax base and improving compliance....
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العنوان الرئيسي: المشكلة الأكثر إلحاحًا في اليمن ليست الحرب، بل الاقتصاد. العنوان الفرعي: تركز جهود الوكالات الدولية على الأزمة الإنسانية بدلًا من الظروف الاقتصادية التي تسببت بها.
To read this blog in English click here. بقلم: رأفت الأكحلي في 22 سبتمبر، تعهد المانحون في اختتام اجتماع الأمم المتحدة الرفيع المستوى، والذي استضافته السّويد وسويسرا والاتحاد الأوروبي معًا، بتقديم 600 مليون دولار...
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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,...
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Yemen’s most pressing problem isn’t war. It’s the economy
To read the blog in Arabic click here /انقر هنا للقراءة باللغة العربية On Sept. 22, a high-level United Nations meeting co-hosted by Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Union concluded with donors pledging an additional $600 million toward the U.N.’s $3.85 billion humanitarian response plan for Yemen. These pledges are vital, but...
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Working in a greener world: Tackling climate change and unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa
In the run up to World Cities Day and COP26, we take stock of the current predicaments of sub-Saharan African cities vis-à-vis sustainable growth needs, and the role that climate-sensitive industrial policy, diversified local economies, efficient governance, and decentralisation can play in helping Africa grow without sidelining the urgent and important issue of climate...
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Not by growth alone: The salience of redistribution in poverty eradication
Recent studies posit that the per capita incomes of developing countries are at last on track to catch up to those of industrialised countries as policies and institutions in these countries are converging to those of the rich world. In this post, Enevoldsen and Pande contend that this country-level catch-up will not be sufficient to eradicate extreme poverty, as the...
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India’s rising unpaid care crisis: Prioritising social protection investments for inclusive economic growth
With India performing dismally in the domain of care work, and the pandemic having worsened the care crisis due to school and child care centre closures, along with mounting domestic work, it is imperative for policy responses to recognise and address the disproportionate burden of care on women. Low female labour force participation rates are a direct manifestation of this...
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Increasing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: Evidence from Mozambique
The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with widespread food insecurity and falling living standards. To fully recover, countries will need not only an effective rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, but also significant public trust and acceptance to ensure that they are taken up. In Mozambique, we conducted a study on how the...
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Timeliness and coverage of child vaccinations across India
Despite free vaccinations for children below 12 years of age under the Universal Immunisation Programme, one-third of global child deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases occur in India. In this article, Debnath and Chaudhuri use nationally representative data from 2005-06 and 2015-16, to examine the timeliness and coverage of routine immunisation in the country....
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Overcoming barriers to access and agency for women entrepreneurs in India
Despite various policies aimed at fostering women entrepreneurship in India, few women-led businesses reach the same scale as their male counterparts. Traditional gender roles often inhibit women’s agency, risk-taking, and decision making in business, thereby necessitating policies that are specifically aimed at helping women achieve their entrepreneurial potential. In...