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Publication - Policy Brief
Tax compliance and representation in Zambia’s informal economy
Despite conventional wisdom that informality is defined by being outside the tax net, informal workers in developing countries often encounter a range of taxes to community, municipal, and national authorities. They also can be coerced to make payments to non-state entities, such as party youth leagues and vigilantes, in exchange for security. This study examines...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Political decentralisation, women’s reservation and child health outcomes: A case study of rural Bihar
Research has shown that political decentralisation and female leadership at the local governance level can influence policy decisions in favour of women and children. This study analyses how decentralisation and women’s reservation (or quotas) at local levels of governance can improve health outcomes. The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Evaluating the Kisan Credit Scheme: Results from Bihar and India
The Government of India introduced the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme in its 1998-99 budget to provide timely, short-term agricultural credit to farmers through the banks under a single window system. By March 2011, more than 100 million KCC accounts had been issued nationwide. This brief outlines results from a study examining the impact of the KCC Scheme on...
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Publication - Synthesis paper
Addressing constraints to small and growing businesses
Salaried wage jobs are the distinguishing feature separating the middle class from the poor in developing countries (Banerjee and Duflo 2008). Where do salaried wage jobs come from, and how can small and medium-sized firms create more of them? This synthesis paper reviews the evidence on constraints to growth of small and medium enterprises. It first examines evidence on...
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Publication - Miscellaneous
A research agenda for the small and growing business sector: Summarising the current evidence and research needs
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and the IGC released the report A Research Agenda for the SGB Sector in November 2018. Hundreds, if not thousands, of programmes exist to help drive business growth in emerging markets. But what does the evidence actually tell us about whether these programmes help businesses grow? And what can practitioners learn...
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Publication - Working Paper
Does choice of procurement contract matter for cost and quality of infrastructure?
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Publication - Project Report
Estimating value added in Rwanda’s domestic trade
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Publication - Project Report
Review of industrial policy in Rwanda: Data review, comparative assessment, and discussion points
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Publication - Project Report
Decentralisation and candidate selection
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Publication - Working Paper
Tax compliance and representation in Zambia’s informal economy
Publication - Growth Brief
Value Added Tax in developing countries: Lessons from recent research
The Value Added Tax has become one of the most important instruments of revenue mobilisation in the developing world. A recent and growing body of research highlights its strengths and some of the challenges it faces. Today, Value Added Taxes (VAT) exist in more than 160 countries, including in many developing countries that have modernised their tax systems in the past...