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Blog post
Understanding Third Tier Organisations (TTOs) in Pakistan and their role in filling public delivery gaps at the community level
Research into Third Tier Organisations in Pakistan highlights the important work they carry out in spite of a lack of significant government funding. Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), a not-for-profit, along with its partner organizations has been working on social mobilization and development of voluntary organizations at community level across Pakistan. A...
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Blog post
Learning to teach by learning to learn: Measuring the effects of an innovative teacher training programme in Uganda
In 2007, Uganda became the first African country to introduce free universal secondary education. Yet, in 2017, 79% of students who began primary school, which is also free, did not make it to secondary school at all.[1] How can the delivery of education be improved to address this issue?A unique teacher training programme in Uganda has begun and is providing significant...
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Blog post
Improving Tanzania’s power quality: Can data help?
For many Tanzanians, the sun sets and it’s pitch black – in fact, according to government data at least two-thirds of Tanzanians don’t have access to electricity. For those who do, many experience problems with reliability and quality of service – i.e. power cuts, and fluctuations in power supply that can damage equipment. This affects people’s daily lives and...
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Blog post
Technology and the future of work in developing economies
2018 has been a year for critical debates on the impact of emerging technology on jobs and the imminent threats and challenges of automation. Although the prospects of development and fast-approaching opportunities are advocated by many tech optimists, they have often been eclipsed by gloomier forecasts, such as “The robots are coming”, “Underestimating AI could be...
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Blog post
Public finance to improve outcomes
Pakistan continues to face significant social and economic challenges. Provision of basic services such as health and education falls short of international standards, while women and the poor are often wholly excluded from accessing these services. At a time when the government is under pressure to demonstrate fiscal restraint, a strong public financial management system...
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From transport to growth corridor: Do communities benefit from the Central Railway Transit Corridor in Tanzania?
The government of Tanzania has embarked on a journey to revive the railways, through its investment in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on the central corridor. The 2,561 km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line will connect the port of Dar es Salaam to Tanzania's land-locked neighbours (Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Eastern DR Congo). The project is estimated to cost $14.2...
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Blog post
Is the rule of law good for women? Evidence from micro-entrepreneurs in Lusaka, Zambia
The rapidly growing cities of the developing world can be an engine for private sector growth (Krugman, 1991; Glaeser, 2011). However, the positive externalities of living in urban areas become lost opportunities when people cannot safely trade with each other. This can happen either because of lack of mutual confidence or weakness in the rule of law. Across countries,...
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Blog post
IGC Quick Clicks: Where are all the female economists?
“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders,” once said Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. Hopefully, yes. But today, this is not true in most fields and definitely not in economics. Why is this and how can we change it? Over the last few years, we have witnessed an uproar in many parts of the world. Women have...
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Blog post
Why reliability matters in expanding access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa
It is almost a cliché to state that electricity supply is a critical infrastructure. Without it, the quest for sustained and inclusive growth is sure to falter. Yet, across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), access to this critical piece of infrastructure is limited. Currently, two in five Sub-Saharan Africans lack access to electricity (IEA, 2018) While policymakers across the...
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Blog post
Improving land security through community-based organisations
Researchers and policymakers agree that secure land rights constitute a vital pillar for sustained livelihood improvements among marginalized populations, but existing solutions have been primarily top-down in orientation. Can community-based organisations help to improve land security from the ground up? Bihar state law guarantees each rural household the right to hold...
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Environmental personhood in India: A greener democratic approach
The genesis of the idea The world has witnessed different forms of government evolve in different countries over several centuries. These forms have changed from one to another with the changing needs of a particular society. Of the varied forms, democracy is largely considered the best due to a plethora of reasons, including freedom and representation of people,...