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Matching keywords : BRICS, Developing Countries, Illicit Finance, Black Money, Global Financial Integrity

3rd Urban Economy Forum 2021:The Brampton Resolution

The 3rd Urban Economy Forum is one of the world’s most premier urban gatherings on sustainable urban economies and urban management. The collaborative approach for collective action taken by the organ...

by | On 07 Jan 2022

Climate finance for Cities and Urban Governments

Ambitious actions taken to reduce urban emissions and increase resilience can enhance cities’ quality of life and social equity in far-reaching ways.4 However, building just cities in an era of clim...

by | On 09 Nov 2021

IMF and Big Business for Universal Vaccination Better Red, than Dead

The me-first policy on vaccine sharing will bring losses of $203 billion to $5 trillion to rich countries, while the returns are the highest if they support global universal vaccination.

by Prabir Purkayastha | On 02 Feb 2021

Impact of Covid-19 on the Indian Economy: An Analysis of Fiscal Scenarios

Amidst the economic slowdown triggered by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in India there have been many demands for the government to announce a large fiscal stimulus to support the economy. E...

by Ila Patnaik | On 08 Oct 2020

Business Standard Weekend Ruminations: The seductiveness of borders

India has existed as a cultural entity from pre-historic times, but most people are not conversant with how and when the nation-state took shape.

by T.N. Ninan | On 28 Jun 2020

Book Review of 'Black Baseball's Last Team Standing'

The book is extraordinarily well researched, drawing from newspaper accounts in almost thirty different states, and probably the most comprehensive record of the Black Barons and their significance in...

by David Lee McMullen | On 12 Jun 2020

Post Covid-19: Recovering and Sustaining India’s Growth

The paper discusses past virtuous growth cycles in India and argues that the post Covid-19 macro-financial package is an opportunity to trigger another such cycle, by raising marginal propensities t...

by Ashima Goyal | On 14 May 2020

COVID-19 and Macroeconomic Uncertainty: Fiscal and Monetary Policy Response

The macroeconomic uncertainty created by COVID-19 is hard to measure. The situation demands simultaneous policy intervention in terms of public health infrastructure and livelihood. Along with the g...

by Lekha S. Chakraborty | On 29 Apr 2020

Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfers in the Presence of Revenue Uncertainty: The Case of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India

A comprehensive multistage Value Added Tax (VAT) system, viz., Goods and Services Tax (GST), is introduced in India since 1 July 2017. GST encompasses various taxes from Union and State indirect tax b...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 02 Apr 2019

Gender and Corporate Success: An Empirical Analysis of Gender-Based Corporate Performance on a Sample of Asian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The paper will provide policy suggestions, such as establishment of credit guarantee funds for easing the female-owned SMEs’ access to finance in Asia. Implementation of supportive policies for female...

by Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary | On 01 Apr 2019

Impact of Changes in Fiscal Federalism and Fourteenth Finance Commission Recommendations Scenarios on States Autonomy and Social Sector Priorities

This paper compares the additional gains from higher tax devolution in the post 14th FC period, with the additional burden due to the withdrawal of certain central schemes and the changes in the shar...

by Amarnath H. K. | On 30 Mar 2019

Improving Subnational Government Development Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies: Towards a Strategic Approach

This paper reviews the rationale and potential for improving subnational development finance, outlines the overall landscape of institutional arrangements available for this purpose, and considers bro...

by Paul Smoke | On 18 Feb 2019

Money and Central Bank Digital Currency

This paper takes an overview of the concepts and features of central bank money and private sector money and focuses on the actual performance of these types of money in selected advanced and emerging...

by Sayuri Shirai | On 18 Feb 2019

Innovation, Efficiency and Inclusion: Integration of Digital Technologies in the Indian Microfinance Sector

This paper explores how these mechanisms - innovation, inclusion and efficiency – have been integral to microfinance operations in the past, and how innovations in digital technology may be yet anothe...

by Saon Ray | On 04 Feb 2019

The Growing Importance of Consumer Finance for Financial Inclusion in India

This paper examines the role of consumer finance, a high growth segment of the Indian financial sector in promoting financial inclusion. Consumer finance involves granting credit to consumers to enabl...

by Saon Ray | On 03 Feb 2019

Testing the Friedman-Schwartz Hypothesis Using Time Varying Correlation

This study analyses the time varying correlation of money and output using the DCC GARCH model for the Euro, India, Poland, the UK and the US. Apart from simple sum money, this model uses Divisia mone...

by Taniya Ghosh | On 30 Jan 2019

Why is Green Finance Important ?

In 2017, global investment in renewables and energy efficiency declined by 3% and there is a risk that it will slow further; clearly fossil fuels still dominate energy investment. This could threaten...

by Jeffrey D. Sachs | On 28 Jan 2019

Responses to Trade Opening: Evidence and Lessons from Asia

In various Asian countries, international trade has raised productivity, lowered mark ups through import competition (while increasing them through cheaper inputs that can be imported), raised wages,...

by Devashish Mitra | On 22 Jan 2019

Green Finance in Singapore: Barriers and Solutions

This study reviews how green finance in Singapore is working, examines existing barriers, and suggests some solutions. Singapore, a well-established financial hub in Asia, aims to be a hub for green f...

by Youngho Chang | On 20 Jan 2019

Impact of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers on Gender Equality in India: An Empirical Analysis

Intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGFT) are, in theory, neither good nor bad for tackling gender inequalities. Fiscal federalism with asymmetry in revenue and expenditure assignments inevitably lead...

by Janet G. Stotsky | On 14 Jan 2019

Social Funding of Green Financing: An Application of Distributed Ledger Technologies

This paper contributes to the literature in two ways: First, it delineates a concrete application of DLTs in the field of green financing, which offers the potential to increase social welfare. Second...

by Naoyuki Yoshino | On 20 Nov 2018

Do Local Currency Bond Markets Enhance Financial Stability?

This paper empirically tests conventional wisdom on the stabilizing effect of LCBMs. To do so, it analyses and compare the financial vulnerability of developing countries during two episodes of financ...

by Donghyun Park | On 26 Oct 2018

Does Regional Integration Matter for Inclusive Growth? Evidence from the Multidimensional Regional Integration Index

This paper employs a multidimensional approach to gauge the degree of regional integration and analyze impact on growth, inequality, and poverty. It constructs a multidimensional regional integration...

by Cyn-Young Park | On 26 Oct 2018

Skewed Credit and Growth Dynamics after the Global Financial Crisis

A large empirical literature finds that financial development is beneficial for economic growth, although some recent evidence suggests otherwise. The paper contributes to the finance–growth literatur...

by Gemma Estrada | On 19 Oct 2018

Harnessing Technology for Moe Inclusive and Sustainable Finance in Asia and the Pacific

This brief report documents facts of financial innovation in Asia and the Pacific that include: • Fintech redefines a specific sector at the intersection of financial services and technology sectors....

by Asian Bank | On 09 Oct 2018

Debt Traps? Market Vendors and Moneylender Debt in India and the Philippines

A debt trap occurs when someone takes on a high-interest rate loan and is barely able to pay back the interest, and thus perpetually finds themselves in debt (often by re-financing). Studying such pra...

by Dean Karlan | On 04 Oct 2018

Sectoral Labor Income Share Dynamics: Cross – Country Evidence from a Novel Dataset

This paper overcomes the constraint and provides some preliminary outcomes from a novel dataset that the authors compile at the sectoral level (10 sectors) for 53 countries, including 20 developing co...

by Yoko Oishi | On 01 Oct 2018

Fiscal Challenges to Financing Social Protection to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: A Case of Three Countries

This working paper summarizes the findings from three of the countries chosen by the study—Mongolia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste—to represent the range of challenges countries face and need to contend wi...

by Sri Wening Handayani | On 27 Sep 2018

Infrastructure Financing in South Asia

This paper discusses public and private sector financing of infrastructure, and examines the factors driving infrastructure investment in this subregion. Using a panel of three large South Asian count...

by Shikha Jha | On 26 Sep 2018

Money and Business Cycle: Evidence From India

This paper takes a New Keynesian model with non-separable money in utility to Indian data using maximum likelihood. The identification problem in isolating the effect of money on output and inflation...

by Ashima Goyal | On 21 Sep 2018

Risk Management in Maldives: Sharing Practical Experience and Lessons Learned

Risk management is a systematic approach to determine which goods and passengers need to be examined in detail when entering a country. It involves (i) collecting, storing, and analyzing data to und...

by Asian Development Bank | On 19 Sep 2018

Rationale and Institution for Public – Private Partnerships

Private–public partnership (PPP) methods are considered to be an effective way to narrow the gap between demand and supply of social infrastructure. If successfully pursued, PPP can deliver benefits t...

by Jungwook Kim | On 19 Sep 2018

Bribes vs. Taxes: Market Structure and Incentives

Firms in developing countries often avoid paying taxes by making informal payments to tax officials. These bribes may raise the cost of operating a business, and the price charged to consumers. To dec...

by Francesco Amodio | On 17 Sep 2018

Market Expanding or Market Stealing? Platform Competition in Bike-Sharing

The recent rise of dockless bike-sharing is dominated by two platforms: one started first in 82 Chinese cities, 59 of which were subsequently entered by the second platform. Using these variations, th...

by Guangyu Cao | On 01 Sep 2018

Green Energy Finance in India: Challenges and Solutions

The paper presents a granular understanding of the associated challenges of mobilizing such finances, drawing from the Indian perspective. It contributes to the present understanding by identifying th...

by Gopal K. Sarangi | On 24 Aug 2018

An Empirical Analysis of the Factors that Influence Infrastructure Project Financing by Banks in Select Asian Economies

This paper analyzes a critical aspect of expanding private finance to infrastructure by examining the role of bank lending to public–private partnership (PPP) projects through the project finance moda...

by Vivek Rao | On 24 Aug 2018

Public–Private Partnership Development in Southeast Asia

Infrastructure development in Southeast Asia has been financed mainly by public funds, which leave wide gaps in majority of countries. Governments have tried to attract the private sector by offering...

by Fauziah Zen | On 16 Aug 2018

Financial Barriers to Development of Renewable and Green Energy Projects in Asia

The expansion of green renewable energy has been very limited in all the Asian countries, despite their various differences. The contributing factors are numerous, but, the financial factor has been t...

by Hooman Peimani | On 16 Aug 2018

Managing Credit Risk and Improving Access to Finance in Green Energy Projects

The cost of finance has a relatively high impact on the returns and viability of clean energy projects compared with fossil fuel-based energy projects, because the operating costs for renewable energy...

by Purkayastha Dhruba | On 13 Aug 2018

Deriving Macroeconomic Benefits from Public–Private Partnerships in Developing Asia

This paper develops a framework identifying channels through which economic gains can be derived from PPP arrangement. The framework helps derive an empirically tractable specification that examines h...

by Minsoo Lee | On 11 Aug 2018

Credit Risk Reduction Effect on Small and Medium- Sized Enterprise Finance Through the Use of Bank Account Information

This paper verifies the impact of bank account information, such as information on deposits and withdrawals, that is not necessarily fully accounted for in conventional internal ratings and that can a...

by Naoko Nemoto | On 10 Aug 2018

An Overview of Islamic Banking and Finance in Asia

The Islamic finance industry has grown substantially in Asia over the last 2 decades. The Muslim populations in different Asian countries, especially in Southeast Asia, are increasing. Rapid Muslim po...

by Akbar Komijani | On 27 Jul 2018

Analyzing Decisiveness of Migration Intentions: Social Kinship that Matters

This paper therefore argues that using aggregate measures like migration incidence in an area wherein homogeneity is assumed and obtaining a significant and positive effect may erroneously amplify the...

by Aubrey D. Tabuga | On 28 Jun 2018

A Framework for Understanding Climate Change Responsiveness of the Union Budget in India

This paper discusses the significance of considering climate change responsiveness in the Union Budget and what are the existing practices and gaps in documenting climate change financing in India. ...

by Jyotsna Goel | On 21 Jun 2018

Financial Globalisation and Economic Growth in South Asia

The paper examines the relationship between financial globalization and growth. While the existing literature suggests divergent conclusions and mostly in the case of developed countries, there is dea...

by N R Bhanumurthy | On 14 Jun 2018

Trade Costs, Time, and Supply Chain Reliability

This paper uses measures of international transport time, in median and standard deviation, based on shipment-level data from the Universal Postal Union, to analyze the effect of time on trade costs....

by Utsav Kumar | On 14 Jun 2018

Market Integration, Demand and the Growth of Firms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India

In many developing countries, the average firm is small, does not grow and has low productivity. Lack of market integration and limited information on non-local products often leave consumers unaware...

by Robert T. Jensen | On 12 Jun 2018

The Impact of Monetary and Tax Policy on Income Inequality in Japan

This paper assesses the effects of the most recent monetary policy behavior of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) (in particular, zero interest rate policy and negative interest rate policy) and Japanese tax pol...

by Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary | On 09 Jun 2018

Guidance for Investing in Digital Health

Digital technologies are increasingly underpinning almost all aspects of daily life, including health care. But there is not yet sufficient awareness of the issues to be considered when investing in d...

by Peter Drury | On 29 May 2018

Understanding Well-Being: An Indian Experience

Book Review of Sociology of Well-Being: Lession from India. by Steve Derne Sage India, 2017, Rs.850 INR, (Harcover) Pp.xv+327, ISBN: 9789385985720

by Kishor Podh | On 24 Apr 2018

International Commodity Prices and Domestic Bank Lending in Developing Countries

We study the role of the bank-lending channel in propagating fluctuations in commodity prices to credit aggregates and economic activity in developing countries. We use data on more than 1,600 banks...

by | On 30 Mar 2018

Money, Income, Prices, and Causality in Pakistan: A Trivariate Analysis

The report says that there has been a long debate in economics regarding the role of money in an economy particularly in the determination of income and prices.

by Fazal Hussain | On 27 Mar 2018

Analysing Institutional Set-up of Forest Management in Pakistan

This study will focus on the natural hill forests found in the northern region of Pakistan, particularly the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP).

by Lubna Hasan | On 26 Mar 2018

The Role of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Middle-Income Countries

We examine the importance of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in middle-income countries based on cross-country panel data for the period 1975–2014. We find that TFP growth contributed signific...

by | On 23 Mar 2018

Understanding Gendered Empowerment Through a Government-run Microfinance Programme: The case of Stree Shakti in Karnataka

The report indicated a widespread stagnation of women’s work participation in poorer districts, a narrowing of their work, income, prospects and opportunities, growing wage differentials between men a...

by Centre for Budget and Policy Studies CBPS | On 23 Mar 2018

Underground Economy and Tax Evasion in Pakistan: A Critical Evaluation

The paper says that the tax evasion refers to all the illegal actions taken to avoid the lawful assessment of taxes.

by M. Ali Kemal | On 21 Mar 2018

Gender Pay Gap: A Macro Perspective

This paper examines the factors influencing the gender wage gap by using an unbalanced crosscountry aggregated panel data set for a sample covering 53 economies for the period 1995–2010. Using robus...

by | On 20 Mar 2018

Least-Developed Countries, Transfer of Technology and the TRIPS Agreement

This paper examines the background of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, the nature of this obligation on developed country Members that pertains to the promotion of technology transfer to LDC Membe...

by Jayashree Watal | On 20 Mar 2018

Would UDAY Brighten Up Rajasthan Finances?

Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) required number of State governments to take over debt of power distribution companies in their books of accounts. Though this one time intervention made both debt...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 19 Mar 2018

Fiscal Policy Effectiveness and Inequality: Efficacy of Gender Budgeting in Asia Pacific

Gender budgeting is a fiscal approach that seeks to use a country’s national and/or local budget(s) to reduce inequality and promote economic growth and equitable development. While literature has exp...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 16 Mar 2018

Women Empowerment and Good Times: Which One Leads to the Other ?

Does substantial women empowerment lead to significant output, or do good times lead to women empowerment? Using a panel VAR study as well as a comprehensive gender gap index and its sub-indices fro...

by | On 12 Mar 2018

Budget 2018: Uttar Pradesh Budget Speech

The Finance Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mr. Rajesh Agarwal presented the budget for Uttar Pradesh, for the financial year 2018-19, on 16 February 2018. The total outlay for the year is Rs. 4,28,384.52 c...

by Ministry of Finance | On 12 Mar 2018

Measuring the Equilibrium Impacts of Credit: Evidence from the Indian Microfinance Crisis

In October 2010, the state government of Andhra Pradesh, India issued an emergency ordinance, bringing microfinance activities in the state to a complete halt and causing a nation-wide shock to the li...

by Emily Breza | On 10 Mar 2018

Managing Financial Globalization: Insights from the Recent Literature

This paper seeks to draw lessons for developing countries based on a survey of the recent literature on financial globalization. First, while capital account openness holds promises (by potentially lo...

by Shang-Jin Wei | On 10 Mar 2018

Female Labour Force Participation in India and Beyond

The participation of women in the labour market varies greatly across countries, reflecting differences in economic development, education levels, fertility rates, access to childcare and other suppo...

by | On 07 Mar 2018

What do Self-Reports of Wellbeing Say about Life-Cycle Theory and Policy?

The paper examines a measure of self-reported evaluative wellbeing, the Cantril Ladder, and use data from Gallup to examine wellbeing over the life-cycle. It assesses the validity of the measure, and...

by Angus Deaton | On 07 Mar 2018

Bali Ministerial of the WTO and the Way Forward: Safeguarding LDC Interests

The paper critically examines the outcomes of the Bali Ministerial of the WTO, held in December 2013, from the lens of issues of interest and concern to the least developed countries (LDCs). In this...

by | On 06 Mar 2018

The Multilateral Legal Instrument: A Developing Country Perspective

This paper makes an attempt to assess whether this instrument has succeeded in bringing about the desired changes. A unique database is constructed on the basis of these country positions. Using this...

by Suranjali Tandon | On 03 Mar 2018

Kerala’s Development Experience: Its Implications for Finance Commissions

This paper examines critically the awards of the recent Finance Commissions (FCs) in the specific context of the ongoing work of the Thirteenth Finance Commission (13FC).

by K.K. George | On 28 Feb 2018

Regaining the Constitutional Identity of the Finance Commission: A Daunting Task for the Thirteenth Commission

The paper argues that the Thirteenth Finance Commission has got to find its own track if it does not want to remain as a pale shadow of its constitutional self. It should ignore those terms of referen...

by K.K. George | On 28 Feb 2018

Microfinance and Women EmpowermentEmpirical Evidence from the Indian States

Microcredit is essentially utilised as the source of empowerment among the poor women in both rural and urban areas of the Indian states. Based on a panel of the Indian states for the period 2007 to...

by | On 27 Feb 2018

Micro Finance and Poverty Alleviation:The Case of Kerala's Kudumbashree

This paper says that micro finance is an emerging reality in contemporary development discourse and has come to occupy a significant place in financial intermediation in India.

by M.A. Oommen | On 27 Feb 2018

On Some Currently-Fashionable Propositions In Public Finance

The paper says that putting the matter differently, the price-system plays multiple roles: it acts as a signal for the use of available resources for producing at any particular point on the Productio...

by Prabhat Patnaik | On 19 Feb 2018

Budget 2018: Chhattisgarh Budget Speech

Budget presented Chhattisgarh Finance Minister.

by Finance Ministry Chhattisgarh | On 19 Feb 2018

Centre-State Relations, Finance Commissions and Kerala’s Fiscal Crisis

The paper takes a look at the past record of vertical transfers viz., transfers from the Centre to the States as a whole.

by K.K. George | On 16 Feb 2018

Missing Gaps in Indian Nanotechnology Development: Exploring Effective Policy Interventions for Innovation and Commercialisation

Nanotechnology is promising to be the “transformative” technology of the 21st century with its boundless potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries, perceived to provide novel innovative...

by | On 15 Feb 2018

Karnataka Electricity Demand Forecasting FY17-22

A study was conducted to forecast the electricity consumption and demand for Karnataka (as seen by the utilities) for 2017-2022.

by Arijit Chanda | On 13 Feb 2018

Financing Small and Medium Towns: An Action Research Study from Bemetara Town in India

This research project studied the emerging challenges of small and medium towns in India to improve their finances and provide good services to their inhabitants.

by Yogesh Kumar | On 02 Feb 2018

State of State Finances 2018

Several states such as Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka raise a majority of their revenue from their own taxes. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Bihar rai...

by Mandira Kala | On 01 Feb 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume II, Chapter 10: Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

The report says that investment in human capital is a prerequisite for a healthy and productive population for nation building.

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume II: Chapter 6: External Sector

India’s external sector continued to be resilient and strong in 2017-18 so far, with the Balance of Payments situation continuing to be comfortable with the Current Account Deficit at 1.8 percent of ...

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

China’s Development Finance to Asia: Characteristics and Implications

The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of possible shift in China's overseas development finance strategy since 2011.

by Oh Ah | On 31 Jan 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume I, Chapter 5: Is there a “Late Converger Stall” in Economic Development? Can India Escape it?

The first order fact about the developing world today is that this is an era of unprecedented prosperity. And that is true about India too which has been one of the most dynamic economic performers...

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments

There are today 264 million children and youth not going to school – this is a failure that we must tackle together, because education is a shared responsibility and progress can only be sustainable t...

by | On 22 Jan 2018

International Trade Governance and Sustainable Transport: The Expansion of Electric Vehicles

This paper has been conceived as an exploratory scoping exercise intended to identify and better understand trade-related issues and knowledge gaps, including how various types of trade measures and p...

by International Centre for Development (ICTSD) | On 22 Dec 2017

Guarantees to Finance Developing Cities: A Promising Tool for Donors ?

In an overridingly urban world, cities are key sites and crucial actors for sustainable development. Yet, in developing countries, they still often lack the resources that would enable them to tackl...

by | On 22 Dec 2017

Helping India Achieve 24x7 Water Supply Service by 2010

The period 2005–2015 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Decade for Action on “Water for Life” and was launched on World Water Day, 22 March 2005. The decade is designed to...

by | On 15 Dec 2017

Response of Firms to Listing: Evidence from SME Exchanges

Public equity markets have increasingly become accessible to small and medium firms with the introduction of dedicated exchange that lower listing criteria to allow such firms to list their equity. Th...

by | On 11 Dec 2017

Global Investment Competitiveness Report 2017/2018 : Foreign Investor Perspectives and Policy Implications

This inaugural issue of the World Bank Group’s Global Investment Competitiveness Report presents novel analytical insights and empirical evidence on foreign direct investment’s (FDI) drivers and contr...

by World Bank [WB] | On 08 Dec 2017

Socio-Economic Determinants of Educated Unemployment in India

Despite the presence of a large volume of sub-standard informal employment in India, the economy is not free from a perennial unemployment problem. As per the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSS...

by Indrajit Bairagya | On 06 Dec 2017

PPP Infrastructure Finance: An Empirical Evidence from India

Financing of infrastructure is vital for the creation and maintenance of adequate infrastructure. The present paper has attempted to analyse various infra financing methods practised in India, namely,...

by | On 04 Dec 2017

Relationship Between Fiscal Deficit Composition and Economic Growth in India: A Time Series Econometric Analysis

High and persistent fiscal deficit is one of the major macroeconomic problems in India since the mid-1980s. Fiscal consolidation is in the forefront of policy discussion in India not only at present b...

by | On 04 Dec 2017

Graduation Incentives Through Conditional Student Loan Forgiveness

The paper evaluates a Finish student financing reform which created substantial financial incentives for on-time graduation, and had the side effect of turning expected nominal interest rates on stude...

by Ulla Hämäläinen | On 01 Dec 2017

Effects Of Temperature Shocks on Economic Growth and Welfare in Asia

Using the Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel (2015) framework, we examine the nonlinear response effect of economic growth to historic temperature and precipitation fluctuations. We confirm that aside from the...

by | On 23 Nov 2017

Exploring the Trade– Urbanisation Nexus in Developing Economies: Evidence and Implications

Developing countries have seen a rapid rise in population urbanization in the past decades. At the same time, they have participated actively in the process of globalization. However, possible interli...

by | On 20 Nov 2017

Demonetisation Post-Truths

On the day when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) finally reported that almost 99% of the proscribed currency notes of ?500 and ?1,000 denomination had returned to the banking system by 30 June 2017, th...

by | On 17 Nov 2017

Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Microfinance in India

About two-thirds of microfinance clients in India are reported to be in Self-Help Groups (SHGs). These mostly women’s groups have been promoted by nationalized banks since the early nineties to improv...

by | On 08 Nov 2017

Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Micro-finance in India

About two-thirds of microfinance clients in India are reported to be in Self-Help Groups (SHGs). These mostly women’s groups have been promoted by nationalized banks since the early nineties to improv...

by Jean-Marie Baland | On 06 Nov 2017

From reference levels to results reporting: REDD+ under the UNFCCC

This report will also summarize experiences with the technical assessment process as of early 2017 and offer an overview of initial REDD+ results reporting and technical analyses of those reports.

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 31 Oct 2017

Daily Stock Market Movements: From the Lens of News and Events

This study analyzes the effect of daily movements in KSE-100 Index due to different policies announced as well as incidents/events happened in the country.

by Shahid Raza | On 31 Oct 2017

Opening the Black Box: Managing the Aid Policy Process in Pakistan

This research responds to this gap in the literature by exploring how donors and the Pakistan government interact in game and network settings to manage foreign aid in the complex aid policy network.

by Faheem Jehangir Khan | On 27 Oct 2017

BRICS AND Illicit financial flows

There is a growing sense of anguish among the citizens across the world with the increasing number of public disclosures exposing how a small group of global elite (individuals as well as MNCs) have b...

by | On 25 Oct 2017

Macroeconomic Impact of International Reserves: Empirical Evidence from South Asia

This paper constructs a dynamic macro model with new monetary policy rule to examine the implications of international reserve accumulation for macroeconomic outcomes such as economic growth and infla...

by Prakash Shrestha | On 18 Oct 2017

G-20: In Search of a Role

The Group of 20 (G-20) was formed in 1999 as a forum of Finance Ministers of the member countries to discuss issues in the areas of money and finance. The initiative for setting up the Group was tak...

by | On 17 Oct 2017

Undersea Pipedreams and Indian Energy Security

Iran’s game-changing nuclear deal with the West and imminent ending of the US-led sanctions open a window of opportunity for deeper Indo-Iranian relations. On the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Ufa...

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries | On 17 Oct 2017

Trade Misinvoicing: What can we measure?

The existing studies on trade misinvoicing have focussed on the discrepancy in reported trade statistics between developing and developed countries. The estimates based on such methods rely on the ass...

by Suranjali Tandon | On 10 Oct 2017

Selecting Appropriate Methodological Framework for Time Series Data Analysis

This paper discusses the properties of time series data, compares common data analysis methods and presents a methodological framework for time series data analysis

by Dr. Min Shrestha | On 09 Oct 2017

Relationship between Financial Literacy and Behavior of Small Borrowers

The analysis showed that the relationship of financial literacy of small borrowers was significant with their financial attitude and behavior.

by Ramesh Chaulagain | On 06 Oct 2017

Global Economic Prospects: A Fragile Recovery

The report says that the global growth is firming, contributing to an improvement in confidence.

by World Bank [WB] | On 04 Oct 2017

East Asian Financial and Economic Development

Japan, an isolated, backward country in the 1860s, industrialized rapidly to become a major industrial power by the 1930s. South Korea, among the world’s poorest countries in the 1960s,joined the rank...

by Randall Morck | On 25 Sep 2017

Money's Causal Role in Exchange Rate: Do Divisia Monetary Aggregates Explain More?

The paper investigate the predictive power of Divisia monetary aggregates in explaining exchange rate variations for India, Israel, Poland, UK and the US, in the years leading up to and following the...

by Taniya Ghosh | On 18 Sep 2017

The Operation of the Gold Standard in the Core and the Periphery Before the First World War

This paper examines the operation of the gold standard (GS) during the period 1870-1914, its heyday. It discusses the theory of balance of payments adjustment under the GS. Theory postulates automatic...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 06 Sep 2017

Culture and Food Security

This paper reviews available cross-disciplinary evidence on how culture affects food security. We discuss the impact of culture on all four dimensions (availability, access and choice, utilization, a...

by Elena Briones Alonso | On 31 Aug 2017

Economic Integration and Development Partnerships: Southern Perspectives

Regional integration (RI) is a process by which countries enter into an agreement to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules. The objectives of the agreement could range from economi...

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries | On 24 Aug 2017

Transformation Pathways And Investment Needs For The MultiPurpose Agricultural Sector

To meet the challenges of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agricultural and food systems requires fundamental changes. The FAO, the IFAD and the WFP (2015) estimate that around 60% of the...

by Marie-Hélène Schwoob | On 23 Aug 2017

Taking it to the Bank: Gender Issues at the New Development Bank

BRICS is a hot topic today. It is the new “kid” or the next big thing in global governance and in macro economics today. Set up in 2009, in the aftermath of 2008 global financial crisis with four coun...

by Shubha Chacko | On 22 Aug 2017

Access & Utilisation of Health Care Services in urban low-income settlements, Surat, India

The report says that the urban poor constitutes nearly one-fourth of India’s urban population and is growing at three times of the national population growth rate.

by Akash Acharya | On 22 Aug 2017

World Trade Statistical Review

The report provides a detailed analysis of the latest developments in world trade.

by World Trade Organisation WTO | On 17 Aug 2017

Automation, Women, and the Future of Work

Will women benefit from the rapid automation and digitisation that is set to change the world of work as we know it? How can we ensure that women’s economic interests are brought into focus, and that...

by Becky Faith | On 16 Aug 2017

Measuring Women’s Self-Help Group Performance in India

Women’s SHGs increasingly facilitate the decentralized delivery of agriculture and nutrition interventions around the world. Since their origins in the microfinance revolution of the 1980s, SHGs i...

by | On 04 Aug 2017

Trade in High Technology Products Trends and Policy Imperatives for BRICS

This paper examines the emerging strength of BRICS in hightechnology trade. We reviewed trends in high-technology trade primarily in BICS (excluding Russia). Given that China and India are leading e...

by | On 03 Aug 2017

What Explains Call Money Rate Spread in India?

The study focuses on various drivers of overnight inter-bank rate spread under the new liquidity management framework during July 2013 to December 2016. Applying OLS with Newey-West estimator and va...

by Sunil Kumar | On 03 Aug 2017

Reversing Pre-mature Deindustrialization for Jobs Creation: Lessons for ‘Make-in-India’ from Experiences of Industrialized and East Asian Countries

This paper presents new evidence on pre-mature deindustrialization being witnessed by India in terms of rising share of imports in final consumption. Given the compulsions of creation of jobs for 12...

by | On 03 Aug 2017

Manufacturing in India and Other BRICS Countries: A Stuttering Performance

There is a feeling among many analysts that the manufacturing sector in India has not done well as in other countries, particularly China. The sector accounts for a relatively small share of GDP i...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 02 Aug 2017

Aid for Trade in Action

The case stories show clear results of how aid for trade programmes are helping developing countries to build human, institutional and infrastructure capacity to integrate into regional and global ma...

by World Trade Organisation WTO | On 02 Aug 2017

Decoding the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) Report 2017: Structuring Partnerships, Changing Mindsets and Nurturing Creativity

The purpose of this research is to elucidate and analyse the underlying thinking behind the CFE strategies in order to determine potential gaps that could arise as the strategies are implemented in po...

by Tan Tai Loong Alex | On 01 Aug 2017

Rethinking Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Asia: Balancing Economic and Environmental Objectives

The OECD or ‘standard’ model of electricity sector reforms has been widely adopted in non-OECD Asian countries since the 1990s. However, despite two decades of attempts at reforms, no notable progress...

by Tooraj Jamasb | On 31 Jul 2017

Reconfiguring International Financial Institutions: The BRICS Initiative

This paper examines the implications of the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) for the international financial system and for the BRICS coun...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 31 Jul 2017

Sanitation Tool Compendium

This document provides a list of sanitation tools; organisation of the same based on their specific features; and factsheets corresponding to every tool, which cover the objectives, descriptions, ad...

by Shramana Dey | On 27 Jul 2017

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Bangladesh - Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Project

The report narrates that in Bangladesh, women-owned SMEs have different characteristics when compared with men-owned SMEs and tend to face specific challenges and obstacles.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 25 Jul 2017

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Nepal - Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project

The project developed a gender, caste, and ethnicity (GCE) strategy that sought to ensure the participation of women and ethnic minorities in decision-making processes, as well as their increased repr...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 25 Jul 2017

East Asia Department Knowledge Management Initiatives in 2014

This annual publication showcases the results of knowledge management initiatives of the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank in 2014.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 Jul 2017

Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2015 Supplement: Growth Prospects Soften for Developing Asia

The growth forecast for developing countries in Asia in 2015 is cut to 6.1% from 6.3%, amidst slower-than-expected economic activity in the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 21 Jul 2017

Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Thinking Forward About Trade Costs and the Digital Economy

This report takes stock of how AfT has contributed to these trends and considers some constructive ways to move forward, to continue to address trade costs in Asia and the Pacific.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Jul 2017

Assessing Financial Protection against Disasters: A Guidance Note on Conducting a Disaster Risk Finance Diagnostic

The purpose of this note is to help development practitioners gather relevant information, conduct analysis, and present both in a standardized diagnostic framework. In addition to the guidance note i...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jul 2017

Maldives: Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State

This report provides support to the Maldivian government in formulating its high-priority policies by identifying the critical constraints to achieving inclusive growth. The report also provides polic...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 Jul 2017

Harmonization and Standardization of Bond Market Infrastructures in ASEAN+3: ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum Sub-Forum 2 Phase 3 Report

This report is an outcome of Phase 3 discussions under the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum Sub-Forum 2, which have focused on making bond market infrastructures in the region more inter-operable through the...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 Jul 2017

Financial Soundness Indicators for Financial Sector Stability in Georgia

The results of this study can be used to strengthen the institutional and statistical capacities of Georgia to routinely collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate internationally comparable financial...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Jul 2017

Gender Mainstreaming Case Study: Sri Lanka - North East Coastal Community Development Project and Tsunami-Affected Areas Rebuilding Project

This case study looks at the gender dimensions of two projects that focus on the community development component that advocated community participation, social inclusion, and gender equality in commun...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 05 Jul 2017

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Indonesia: Trends, Impacts, and Reforms

This study measures the size of fossil fuel subsidies such as underpricing of petroleum products and electricity, tax exemptions, and subsidized credit; examines the potential economic, energy, and en...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 Jul 2017

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Thailand: Trends, Impacts, and Reforms

This study measures the size of fossil fuel subsidies such as tax breaks for diesel and natural gas, market price support for natural gas for vehicles, and free electricity for low-income consumers as...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 Jul 2017

Fiji: Building Inclusive Institutions for Sustained Growth

This study, using an inclusive growth framework, has identified the critical constraints that Fiji needs to address to strengthen investor sentiment even further and achieve inclusive growth.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 27 Jun 2017

Asian Development Outlook 2015 Supplement: Growth Holds Its Own in Developing Asia

The report says Asia’s developing economies remain on track to post growth of 5.8% in 2015 and 6.0% in 2016, as the region’s economies remain resilient to continued economic weakness in industrialized...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jun 2017

Timor-Leste: Development Effectiveness Brief

The report narrates that the related technical assistance has focused on infrastructure management, financial and private sector development, preparations for regional economic integration, and region...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Jun 2017

Thailand: Industrialization and Economic Catch-Up

This report identifies some of Thailand’s critical development constraints and discusses policy measures and economic reforms needed to accelerate economic transformation toward a more modern and serv...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 20 Jun 2017

The Asian Bond Markets Initiative: Policy maker achievements and challenges

This paper also provides recommendations for addressing new sources of market volatility and other challenges within and outside the framework of the Asian Bond Markets Initiative.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Jun 2017

Digital Financial Services in the Pacific: Experiences and Regulatory Issues

This report examines the current use of DFS in the Pacific, analyzes the issues that need to be addressed, and provides recommendations for increasing financial inclusion in the region.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jun 2017

Asian Development Outlook 2016: Highlights

The paper narrates that the risks are tilted to the downside as tightening US monetary policy may heighten financial volatility, further moderation in the People’s Republic of China could spill over i...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jun 2017

Emissions Trading Schemes and Their Linking: Challenges and Opportunities in Asia and the Pacific

The report as that there are currently 17 emissions trading systems (ETS) in place in four continents and account for nearly 40% of global gross domestic product. In Asia and the Pacific region, there...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 Jun 2017

Disaster-Resilient Microfinance: Learning from Communities Affected by Typhoon Haiyan

The report sets out the experience, analysis and conclusions of VisionFund International and their Philippine microfinance operation Community Economic Ventures Incorporated (CEVI). This analysis foll...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Jun 2017

Papua New Guinea: Development Effectiveness Brief

This report narrates that ADB has scaled up its assistance to Papua New Guinea for power infrastructure, with an emphasis on clean energy solutions, in line with the government’s prioritization of pow...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 08 Jun 2017

Asian Development Outlook 2016 Supplement: Asia's Growth Prospects Undimmed by Brexit Vote

Growth in Central Asia is weaker than predicted, while expansion in the Pacific is now expected to be a touch higher. Forecasts are unchanged for East, South, and Southeast Asia. While the Brexit vote...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 02 Jun 2017

Judicial Review and Money Bills

Under the Constitution of India, for a bill to be enacted into a law, it has to be approved by both Houses of the Parliament - the Lower House (Lok Sabha) and the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). There is o...

by Pratik Datta | On 26 May 2017

Tajikistan: Promoting Export Diversification and Growth

Tajikistan has sustained high economic growth since its civil war ended in 1997. Real gross domestic product (GDP) during 1997–2015 grew at an average 7.2% a year, driven mainly by agriculture and ser...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 May 2017

Bangladesh: Consolidating Export-led Growth - Country Diagnostic Study

This study argues that some of the policies that allowed Bangladesh to prosper in the last few years will become less effective, and the economy will need to “switch gears” to consolidate the growth m...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 May 2017

Financing Asian Irrigation: Choices Before Us

The paper says irrigation schemes in the region are aging and underperforming, and, with land in short supply, there is little scope for creating major new schemes. Persistent inability to attract ade...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 19 May 2017

Quick Evaluation Study on Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is a Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) Scheme of the Government of India launched in 2010. The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Women and C...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 17 May 2017

Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update: Meeting the Low-Carbon Growth Challenge

This Update retains the projections previously published in Asian Development Outlook 2016 (ADO 2016) in March. Gross domestic product (GDP) in the region is expected to grow at 5.7% in 2016 and 2017,...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

Asian Development Outlook Supplement: Asia's Economies Steady Despite Global Uncertainty

The outlook for developing Asia remains broadly as forecast in Asian Development Outlook 2016 Update. Despite an extraordinary and temporary growth dip affecting one of the region’s largest economies,...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 May 2017

Philippines: Management of Contingent Liabilities Arising from Public-Private Partnership Projects

The paper says that the government has already initiated reforms to strengthen the institutional framework for managing contingent liabilities arising from PPP projects. Among these reforms are (i) es...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 May 2017

Structural Change and Moderating Growth in the People’s Republic of China: Implications for Developing Asia and Beyond

The paper states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is currently undergoing a number of important changes, which have wide-ranging implications for activity in the PRC, the rest of developing A...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 May 2017

Bangladesh: Development Effectiveness Brief 2017

The project has dramatically changed the life of Rabeya Sultana, chair of the women-led slum improvement committee formed under the project in Cox's Bazar. "Managing people and money gave me more co...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 08 May 2017

The Emerging Indonesian Data Center Market And Energy Efficiency Opportunities

This study contributes to a growing body of research demonstrating that adoption of internationally available and well-proven energy efficiency measures can improve the effectiveness, sustainability...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 May 2017

Compliance in Letter and Compliance in Spirit? - Evidence from Board and Audit Committee Meetings in India

This paper analyzes two notions of compliance, 'compliance in letter' and 'compliance in spirit', using data on Board and Audit Committee meetings from India under its Clause 49 corporate governance ...

by Subrata Sarkar | On 03 May 2017

Differential Impacts of Currency Undervaluation on Growth and Exports in Natural Resource vs. Manufacturing Exporting Countries

This paper aims to analyze the differential impact of exchange rate undervaluation on growth and exports in different countries. The paper considers two sets of countries in our dataset-18 countries a...

by Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake | On 03 May 2017

Role of Gender Gap in Economic Growth: Analysis on Developing Countries versus OECD Countries

This study investigates the effects of the gender gap on economic growth by using a composite gender gap index from the World Economic Forum. The index captures the multidimensional aspect of the gend...

by Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake | On 02 May 2017

Smart Cities Movement in BRICS

BRICS nations are today cooperating on numerous matters of mutual concern. The cooperation is the result of years of deliberation, hard work and commitment. Since the formation of the grouping in the...

by | On 14 Apr 2017

World Employment Social Outlook

Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in reducing poverty in the majority of countries. In emerging and developing countries, taken as a whole, it is estimated that nearly 2 bi...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 14 Apr 2017

Groundwater Depletion, Adaptation and Migration: Evidence from Gujarat, India

Increasing water scarcity is expected to impact food production and the livelihoods of millions of farmers in semi arid developing countries over the next decades. Multiple studies project that this a...

by | On 22 Mar 2017

Macroeconomic Impact of Demonetisation: A Preliminary Assessment

The analysis in this paper suggests that demonetisation has impacted various sectors of the economy in varying degrees; however, in the affected sectors, the adverse impact was transient and felt ma...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 21 Mar 2017

Marriage Markets in Developing Countries

This chapter reviews the literature on marriage in developing countries. We describe how marital matching occurs; the trends in age at marriage; assortative mating patterns; marriage payments; and spo...

by | On 16 Mar 2017

Macroeconomic Impact of Demonetisation-A Preliminary Assessment

Demonetisation announced on November 8, 2016 was aimed at addressing corruption, black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing. Although demonetisation holds huge potential benefits in the me...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 15 Mar 2017

Book Review: ‘Kadhakaran of Arabee Cundree’

Review of Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan, Restless Books, New York,USA 224 pp;To be released: March 14, 2017. USD 17.99. ISBN: 9781632061423

by Kavya Murthy | On 07 Mar 2017

Unexplored “Bill of Rights” : A Magna Carta for Gender Justice and Budgeting in India

This paper explores the “Bill of Rights” in the Justice Verma Committee Report as an analytical framework for gender budgeting in justice. Gender budgeting in justice, as a public good, needs effectiv...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 03 Mar 2017

Leave No One Behind : A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment

The report captures the importance of shaping macro-economic policies so they support inclusive growth, and ensuring that women entrepreneurs have access to technology and finance. It also highlights...

by | On 21 Feb 2017

Assam Budget: 2017-18

The Finance Minister of Assam , MrHimanta Biswa Sarma presented the Budget for Assam for financial year 2017-18 on February 7, 2017.

by Government of Assam | On 09 Feb 2017

The Cyber Command: Upgrading India's National Security Architecture

India is increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks that range from intrusions that affect the integrity of data to large-scale attacks aimed at bringing down critical infrastructure. This vulnerability...

by | On 03 Feb 2017

What Do the Numbers Tell? An Analysis of Union Budget 2017-18

Budget 2017-18 is placed at an important juncture when there has been a thrust by the government for a digitised and a consequent cashless economy with the demonetisation of high value currency note...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability CBGA | On 03 Feb 2017

Vital Stats: State of the Economy 2016-17

The Union Budget for 2017-18 will be presented on February 1, 2017. In this context, we present data regarding the state of the Indian economy in 2016-17, across indicators such as gross domestic pro...

by Tanvi Deshpande | On 01 Feb 2017

Budget in the Time of Demonetisation

Demonetisation is a weapon to stop the black money in the country. But cash is only a small portion of black money. Also the economy has been affected by this step. How will the government tackle this...

by Rakesh Mumbai | On 27 Jan 2017

Improving Farmers’ Income and Employment through Budget 2017

The 2017 Budget would be special in two ways – first, it would be presented by Finance Minister on 1st February, 2017. Usually, it was presented in the last week of February each year. It will give...

by Amarnath Tripathi | On 25 Jan 2017

Demonetisation: A Positive Effect on Budget to Channelise Nation's Growth Prospects

The aim of this article is to present that the Positive effect of demonetisation on upcoming budget for national growth. And demonetisation is one of the tools to be used for minimize the counterfeit...

by P Shekar | On 25 Jan 2017

The Influence of Gender Budgeting in Indian States on Gender Inequality and Fiscal Spending

This study investigates the effect of gender budgeting in India on gender inequality and fiscal spending. Gender budgeting is an approach to budgeting in which governments use fiscal policies and ad...

by Janet G Stotsky | On 23 Jan 2017

Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation in Developing Countries

Developing countries are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts because they have fewer resources to adapt: socially, technologically and financially. Climate change is anticipated to have far...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific | On 23 Jan 2017

Children 's Protein Consumption in Southeast Asia: Consideration of Quality as Well as Quantity of Children 's Protein Consumption in Southeast Asia

Inadequate dietary intake and prolonged undernourishment can lead to short term and long term consequences, which can deplete financial, physical, and social capital, further exacerbating the cycle of...

by | On 18 Jan 2017

Demonetization of Currency Notes: Significance and Challenges

Demonetization is the act of stripping a currency unit of its status as legal tender. Demonetization is necessary whenever there is a change of national currency. The old unit of currency must be reti...

by | On 18 Jan 2017

Unequal India in an Unequal World: Causes, Consequences & Policy Options

Disparities in income and wealth have all along been present in almost every society across the world. However, the rate of increase in inequality in the distribution of income and wealth has been ala...

by | On 10 Jan 2017

The Power of Social Pensions

This paper examines the impacts of social pension provision among people of different ages. Utilizing the county-by-county rollout of the New Rural Pension Scheme in rural China, we find that, among t...

by | On 10 Jan 2017

Going Cashless: Is India Ready for Digital?

Cash, alas, is not free; its use comes at a significant cost. I have studied the cost of cash in over 70 countries, in research outlined in a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, titled ‘The...

by | On 04 Jan 2017

Demonetization, the Cash Shortage and the Black Money

Demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 notes in India on November 8, 2016 is different from many other countries’ scrapping of high value notes in two respects – the withdrawal of their legal tende...

by Ashok K. Lahiri | On 02 Jan 2017

Vital Stats: Parliament functioning in the Winter Session 2016

Winter Session 2016 has been one of the least productive sessions for both Houses in the last 15 years, with repeated disruptions on the issue of demonetisation of currency. While eight Bills were int...

by Kusum Malik | On 19 Dec 2016

Inflation in Pakistan: Money or Oil Prices

The study attempted to investigate the determinants of inflation in case of Pakistan and to check the validity of monetarist stance that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon by i...

by Mehak Moazam | On 07 Dec 2016

E-governance, Accountability, and Leakage in Public Programs: Experimental Evidence from a Financial Management Reform in India

In collaboration with the Government of Bihar, India, a large-scale experiment is conducted to evaluate whether transparency in fiscal transfer systems can increase accountability and reduce corrupt...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 02 Dec 2016

What is Gender Budgeting: An Illustration though the Analysis of two Health-related Schemes in Karnataka (ThayiBhagya and Vajpayee ArogyashreeYojna)

Taking note of the limitations and challenges pertaining to gender budget exercise, the Government of Karnataka has set up a Task Force constituting of academics working in this area to review the p...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 29 Nov 2016

Demonetization and its Impact

The move by the government to demonetize Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes by replacing them with new Rs.500 and Rs.2000 notes has taken the country with surprise. The move by the government is to tackle the m...

by | On 18 Nov 2016

Demonetisation: Impact on the Economy

The argument posited in favour of demonetisation is that the cash that would be extinguished would be “black money” and hence, should be rightfully extinguished to set right the perverse incentive s...

by | On 17 Nov 2016

Report Summary: White Paper on Black Money

According to the Paper, black money is a serious issue because it has a ‘debilitating effect’ on governance and public policy and this affects the poor disproportionately. [PRS Report Summary].

by Vishnu Padmanabhan | On 17 Nov 2016

Evolution of Payment Systems in India: Or is it a Revolution?

A silent revolution is sweeping the country. That is because, the payment systems has been evolving and changes have been continuous over the last 35 years, it has rarely got noticed as a revolutio...

by R. Gandhi | On 17 Nov 2016

Black Money, Corruption and Demonetisation

The demonetisation of currency after a long period of 38 years was a welcome and bold step taken by the Government of India on November 8, 2016. The last demonetisation was implemented in 1978 by wi...

by Martin Patrick | On 11 Nov 2016

Strategies to Tackle the Issue of Black Money in India

Economists and social scientists have shown considerable interest in recent years to measure the gap between the observable economic activity and the actual economic activity. This has led to the conc...

by | On 09 Nov 2016

A Study on Widening of Tax Base and Tackling Black Money

Beyond the issue of unaccounted monies lying overseas, however, is the issue of unaccounted monies lying in India and what is perceived to be the parallel economy. There is, of course, this issue of w...

by FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Indu | On 09 Nov 2016

State of State Finances

Finances of states have been changing due to (i) increased devolution of central taxes, (ii) rationalisation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes, (iii) the introduction of the UDAY scheme, and (iv) the...

by Arvind Gayam | On 09 Nov 2016

Ease of Doing Business

When arriving at the ‘Doing Business’ rankings, the World Bank ranks 11 parameters that impact businesses across various stages of their lifecycle – at start-up, getting a location, getting financing,...

by | On 28 Oct 2016

Doing Business

Against the backdrop of the global financial and economic crisis, policy makers around the world took steps in the past year to make it easier for local firms to start up and operate. This is importan...

by World Bank [WB} | On 27 Oct 2016

Building BRICS in Goa

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa form the bloc of emerging economies, but is it still relevant? For several years now, the most talked-about trend in the global economy has been the rise...

by Al Jazeera . | On 25 Oct 2016

Female Literacy and Access to Drinking Water in Rural India

Women and girl children spend considerable time to collect water for meeting the domestic needs of the households in rural areas of many developing countries. Thus, scarcity of water can have dispropo...

by | On 25 Oct 2016

Rehabilitating Children in Conflict with the Law: Opportunities and Challenges

While discussing about the problems and issues faced by children in India, we have overlooked a category of children that are almost always overlooked are the ‘Children in Conflict with the Law’. Man...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 24 Oct 2016

The Causes and Consequences of Increased Female Education and Labor Force Participation in Developing Countries

This article describes recent trends in female education and labor force participation in developing countries. It also reviews the literature on the causes and effects of the recent changes in fema...

by Rachel Heath | On 21 Oct 2016

World Population Data Sheet 2016

The Population Reference Bureau informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and futu...

by | On 21 Oct 2016

Agriculture 2.0: Towards a Global Revolution for Sustainability

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on zero hunger is a top priority on the international agenda, and eliminating hunger globally is naturally and inevitably tied to farming. Therefore, the SDGs ha...

by | On 19 Oct 2016

On Measuring Uncertainty: Snakes and Ladders

The Global Crisis demonstrated to the world that Ratings Agencies had misled the public about the stability of financial institutions. The Finance literature had decided that it was impossible to have...

by | On 18 Oct 2016

Refugee Compacts: An Initial Framework

This brief outlines a particular iteration of a compact approach that incorporates critical components—such as shared outcomes for refugees, host country ownership and focus on longer-term transition,...

by Cindy Huang | On 10 Oct 2016

Glimpsing the End of Economic History? Unconditional Convergence and the Missing Middle Income Trap

This paper suggests a reinterpretation of global growth—encompassing notions of unconditional convergence and the middle income trap—in the past 50 years through the lens of growth theory. Two modes o...

by Sutirtha Roy | On 10 Oct 2016

Comparing Apples to Apples: A New Indicator of Research and Development Investment Intensity in Agriculture

It is conventional wisdom in the economic development literature that there is a significant underinvestment in agricultural R&D in developing countries. Evidence supporting this belief is provided,...

by Alejandro Nin Pratt | On 30 Sep 2016

India-Pakistan Bilateral Trade: Past, Present and Future

Formal trade between India and Pakistan due to tariff barriers and quota problems is not significant; significance is diminishing year after year.The reason for diminishing India-Pakistan bilateral...

by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry PHD Chamber | On 29 Sep 2016

Understanding why Black Women are not Working Longer

Black women in current cohorts ages 50 to 72 years have lower employment than similar white women, despite having had higher employment when they were middle-aged and younger. Earlier cohorts of older...

by Joanna Lahey | On 28 Sep 2016

Ambient Air Pollution: A Global Assessment of Exposure and Burden of Disease

This report presents a summary of methods and results of the latest WHO global assessment of ambient air pollution exposure and the resulting burden of disease. Air pollution has become a growing con...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 28 Sep 2016

Child Poverty, the Great Recession, and the Social Safety Net in the United States

This paper comprehensively examines the effects of the Great Recession on child poverty, with particular attention to the role of the social safety net in mitigating the adverse effects of shocks to e...

by Marianne Bitler | On 26 Sep 2016

Financial Inclusion in India – The Journey so far and the Way Ahead

RBI is on a journey towards the goal of universal financial inclusion in India. There are challenges encountered and the way forward. [Address delivered at at the BRICS Workshop on Financial Inclusio...

by S.S. Mundra | On 26 Sep 2016

Two Centuries of Finance and Growth in the United States, 1790-1980

Do efficient financial markets and institutions promote economic growth? Have they done so in the past? This essay, to be included in the Handbook of Finance and Development (edited by Thorsten Beck a...

by Howard Bodenhorn | On 22 Sep 2016

A Vision for the Least Developed Countries Fund in a Post-Paris Climate Regime

The 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are the only country grouping to have a dedicated article in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Article 4.9 commits all parties to the conv...

by | On 22 Sep 2016

Should Countries Be More Like Shopping Malls? A Proposal for Service Performance Guarantees

Many developing countries have made progress in political openness and economic management but still struggle to attract private sector investments, at least outside of narrow, resource-based enclaves...

by Alan Gelb | On 01 Sep 2016

Encouraging Women to be Entrepreneurs

There are many states in India which have high number of women entrepreneurs. There are states which have many policies to encourage women entrepreneurs.

by Lakshmi Priya | On 30 Aug 2016

Urban Governance for Adaptation: Assessing Climate Change Resilience in Ten Asian Cities

This paper examines how to manage urban climate-related impacts by promoting planned and autonomous adaptation to improve climate change resilience. An analytical framework is developed by combining u...

by | On 29 Aug 2016

Large-Scale Migration and Remittance in Nepal: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities

Almost half of all households have at least one migrant abroad or a returnee. Estimates of the number of Nepali migrants abroad vary widely, but the most frequently cited estimate, including seasonal...

by World Bank [WB] | On 25 Aug 2016

The Externalities of Civil Strife: Refugees as a Source of International Conflict

Domestic strife and civil war frequently produce large population dislocations and refugee flows across national boundaries. Mass refugee flows often entail negative consequences for receiving states,...

by | On 23 Aug 2016

Environmentally Induced Migration from Bangladesh to India

Environmental crisis in the rural areas of developing countries is increasingly becoming an important cause of cross-border migration of population and South Asia is no exception to this phenomenon. S...

by | On 22 Aug 2016

Credit Surety Fund: A Credit Innovation for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Philippines

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are a backbone of the Philippine economy. One factor that hinders the growth of these enterprises is their difficulty in accessing finance from banks and o...

by Gary V Maningo | On 19 Aug 2016

Opening the Black Box of the Matching Function: The Power of Words.

How do employers attract the right workers? How important are posted wages vs. other job characteristics? Using data from the leading job board CareerBuilder.com, this paper shows that most vacancies...

by Ioana Marinescu | On 17 Aug 2016

Vital Stats: Overview of Education Sector in India

The Ministry of Human Resource Development released a draft National Education Policy in July 2016. In this context, some data on education indicators such as enrolment of students, drop-out rates, a...

by Roopal Suhag | On 16 Aug 2016

Macroeconomic Determinants of Remittances in South Asian countries: A Dynamic Panel Study

The study attempts to identify the macroeconomic determinants of remittance inflows in South Asian countries. It uses additively separable utility function as theoretical framework and the Arellano-Bo...

by | On 16 Aug 2016

The Clinical and Public Health Challenges of Diabetes Prevention: A Search for Sustainable Solutions

The economic cost of dealing with the consequences of diabetes is not only a threat to health systems but is a far broader economic and social problem and thus a threat to future long-term sustainable...

by Nicholas J Wareham | On 16 Aug 2016

Migration and Global Environmental Change: Future Challenges and Opportunities

This report considers migration in the context of environmental change over the next 50 years. The scope of this report is international: it examines global migration trends, but also internal migrati...

by | On 10 Aug 2016

Social Development of SIDS, Health and NCDs, Youth and Women

SIDS underscore social development as one of the three dimensions of sustainable development key to ensuring results are achieved for most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Small island developing states...

by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA | On 09 Aug 2016

Will Services be the New Engine of Economic Growth in India?

This paper revisits the role of manufacturing and services in economic development in the light of the following new facts: (a) a faster growth of services than that of manufacturing in many developin...

by | On 08 Aug 2016

GST in India: A Big Leap in the Indirect Taxation System

The replacement of the Central excise duty of the government of India by Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) and sales tax system of the State governments by the VAT marked a major mile stone in the refo...

by | On 05 Aug 2016

First Discussion Paper on Goods and Services Tax in India

If the Value Added Tax (VAT) is considered to be a major improvement over the pre-existing Central excise duty at the national level and the sales tax system at the State level, then the Goods and Ser...

by Government of India | On 05 Aug 2016

Tobacco Regulation and Cost-Benefit Analysis: How Should we Value Foregone Consumer Surplus?

This paper outlines the history of the FDA’s recent attempts to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products and how they have valued foregone consumer surplus in cost-benefit analyses. It discusses...

by Helen Levy | On 03 Aug 2016

Problems of Internal Migrants in India

Migration from one place to other place is common in India. Migration generally take place from developing state to developed state for education or in the search of employment but it also take place...

by | On 01 Aug 2016

Bridging the Gap: Do Fast Reacting Fossil Technologies Facilitate Renewable Energy Diffusion?

This paper discusses the role of fossil-based power generation technologies in supporting renewable energy investments. It studies the deployment of technologies conditional on all other drivers in 26...

by Elena Verdolini | On 25 Jul 2016

Distributional Effects of Means Testing Social Security: Income Versus Wealth

This paper compares Social Security means tests that would reduce benefits for recipients who fall in the top quarter of the income distribution with means tests aimed at those in the top quarter of t...

by Alan Gustman | On 20 Jul 2016

Child Trafficking in India

Reports of raids in factories and workshops and rescue of children from different cities of the country appear with unfailing regularity. Children from disparate geographical regions: West Bengal, Bih...

by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral | On 20 Jul 2016

A Systematic Review of Cross-Country Data Initiatives on Agricultural Public Expenditures in Developing Countries

A number of data initiatives exist that assemble and make available public expenditure data on agriculture, in addition to other variables. Several of these data initiatives overlap in terms of which...

by Richard Anson | On 20 Jul 2016

Food Security and the Millennium Development Goal on Hunger in Asia

The MDG on hunger requires that the proportion of people suffering from hunger be halved between 1990 and 2015. Behind this apparently simple statement lies much complexity: the food intake required t...

by | On 19 Jul 2016

Reimagining India’s Urban Future: A Framework for Securing High-Growth, Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Urban Development in India

This paper reviews the current state of the literature on Indian urbanization to analyze existing urban development trajectories at the state level in order to understand the challenges Indian cities...

by Meenu Tewari | On 15 Jul 2016

Understanding the BRICS Evolving Influence and Role in Global Governance and Development

The BRICS Summit process was inaugurated in 2009 as a signal that the global governance system of the future would need to be constituted to reflect a politically diverse, multipolar world. At this...

by | On 15 Jul 2016

Indonesian Labor Migrants in Malaysia: A Study from China

Malaysia is now a major receiving country with estimated over 2 million migrant workers. Such large inflow was caused by scarcity of jobs in plantation, construction and domestic growth. Migrant worke...

by | On 08 Jul 2016

Migration of Highly Skilled Persons From Developing Countries: Impact and Policy Responses

The synthesis report prepared by Professors Lowell and Findlay addresses the issues of the impact of high skilled emigration on developing countries, and the policy mixes and options available to both...

by | On 06 Jul 2016

Perspectives on the Investigation, Prosecution and Prevention of Art Crime in Asia

Many art crimes exist in Asia, where looting and trafficking of regional artefacts have developed extensively in contemporary times. The sophisticated methods of looters and middlemen, the highly effi...

by Stefan Gruber | On 30 Jun 2016

Global Commodity Prices and Inflation in a Small Open Economy

Global commodity prices surge of 2007-08 sent an inflationary shock across the countries. 2014 global prices descend resulted in significant disinflation in many countries and even deflation in some ...

by Muhammad Nadim Hanif | On 30 Jun 2016

Global Economic Prospects at 25

Although global growth is projected to accelerate gradually, a wide range of risks threaten to derail the recovery, including a sharper-than-expected slowdown in major emerging markets, sudden escalat...

by World Bank [WB] | On 29 Jun 2016

Poverty, Markets and Elementary Education in India

Over the last decade, trans-national and local advocacy networks have been projecting the low-cost unregulated schools market in India as a cost-efficient, high-quality and equitable solution for educ...

by | On 22 Jun 2016

Urban Water Systems in India: A Way Forward

This paper provides a new presentation of the urban water problem and offers a set of solutions that are sustainable, both in ecological and financial terms, and seek to tackle the deep inequities in...

by Mihir Shah | On 16 Jun 2016

How to Encourage Farmers to Adapt to Climate Change?

This study is an attempt to use group information collected from different farmers (e.g.marginal, small, and medium farmers and tenants) in eastern Uttar Pradesh in India to address a question relevan...

by Amarnath Tripathi | On 16 Jun 2016

Evaluating Labour Market Policy

This pper reviews major approaches and findings on the evaluation of the impact of different labour market institutions but pays particular attention to active labour market policies that play an impo...

by Werner Eichhorst | On 15 Jun 2016

Budget Speech Jammu and Kashmir: 2016-17

The Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Haseeb A. Drabu, presented the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir for financial year 2016-17 on May 30, 2016.

by Hasseeb A. Drabu | On 13 Jun 2016

Role of Finance with a Special Focus on Microfinance in Enhancing Clean Energy Access

A number of initiatives have been taken by the government as well as the private sector to address the challenge of energy access in India. In this context, WWF-India conducted a study to measure/asse...

by | On 09 Jun 2016

Global Action on Climate Change in Agriculture: Linkages to Food Security, Markets and Trade Policies in Developing Countries

The objective of this report is to catalyse thinking about the ways in which agriculture – which has a vital role in global food security, development and natural resources use – can and must be fully...

by Aziz Elbehri | On 06 Jun 2016

Global Commodity Prices and Inflation in a Small Open Economy

Global commodity prices surge of 2007-08 sent an inflationary shock across the countries. 2014 global prices descend resulted in significant disinflation in many countries and...

by Muhammad Nadim Hanif | On 06 Jun 2016

Water: Facts and Trends

This working document provides an overview of some basic facts and societal challenges related to water. The emphasis in this initial document is on water availability and people’s use of water for ag...

by | On 06 Jun 2016

The Tradeoffs between GHGs Emissions, Income Inequality and Productivity

Rising emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and growing economic inequalities have emerged as key challenges for policymakers over the past two decades and the problems are likely to intensify in th...

by Unmesh Patnaik | On 03 Jun 2016

Righting the Wrong Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership to Save Lives and Strengthen Communities

The international humanitarian system—the vast UN-led network in which Oxfam and other international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, and others play key rol...

by Oxfam India | On 02 Jun 2016

Long-term Care of Older Persons in Japan

The ageing of Japan’s population occurred quickly. In 1970, the ageing rate exceeded 7 per cent, the threshold which used to be considered as the onset of population ageing. It took only 26 years befo...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 02 Jun 2016

Intellectual Property Rights and Preferential Trade Agreements: Data, Ceoncepts and Research Avenues

Today, more than half of international trade is regulated through preferential trade agreements (PTAs). While in the past, these agreements served as tools to eliminate further tariffs between the pa...

by | On 01 Jun 2016

Elephants in the Room: Challenges for India as an Emerging Development Partner

Emerging powers are re-shaping the norms and practices of international development. As the Indian economy continues to grow and the country bids for a seat at the great power table, the ambitions of...

by Tanoubi Ngangom | On 26 May 2016

Social Protection in East and South East Asia: A Regional Review

The paper starts with a discussion of the general context of growth and poverty across the region, exposure to risk or crisis, and the nature of vulnerability facing individuals, households and commu...

by | On 25 May 2016

Democratising Forest Business: A Compendium of Successful Locally Controlled Forest Business Organisations

This book presents 19 case studies from 14 developing countries that show how local people have been democratising forest business and draws a set of conclusions from analysis of these case studies wh...

by | On 25 May 2016

Organised Forest-Farm Producers Mitigate Climate Change Through Adaptive Resilience

Climate mitigation programmes and finance mechanisms like Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) must engage millions of forest farmers if they are to halt deforestation...

by Jeffrey Campbell | On 25 May 2016

Achieving More Together: Empowered Forest and Farm Producer Organizations

Getting organized puts smallholders in charge. Through farmers groups, cooperatives and networks, forest and farm producers can help each other not only through marketing advantages and access to fina...

by Jeffrey Campbell | On 25 May 2016

Search for Resources in a High Income State: A Study of State Finances of Sikkim

The paper examines the public financial management (PFM) of Sikkim focusing mainly on resources generation effort and budget management practices. We note that any deviation from the Central transfers...

by Pratap R Jena | On 23 May 2016

Innovation (and Upgrading) in the Automobile Industry: The Case of India

This paper focuses on the automobile industry and examines the nature of global value chains in it with reference to the case of India. The aim is to explore the relation between lead firms, particula...

by Saon Ray | On 23 May 2016

Puducherry: Analysis of Asset Comparison of Re-contesting MLAs in Puducherry Assembly Elections, 2016

This report provides an analysis of Asset Comparison of Re-contesting MLAs in Puducherry Assembly Elections, 2016

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 19 May 2016

Tamil Nadu: Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Candidates

This report provides an analysis about the financial, criminal and other backgrounds of the candidates contesting in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections.

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 19 May 2016

Biodiversity for Sustainable Development: Delivering Results for Asia and the Pacific

The aim is to develop capacity at the individual, institutional and systemic levels to identify and implement new options for effective democratic governance for biodiversity and ecosystem management...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 18 May 2016

Vital Stats: Parliament Functioning in Budget Session 2016

The Budget Session 2016 was scheduled from February 23 to March 16, and from April 25 to May 13, 2016. However, during the recess period, Parliament was prorogued to allow the government to issue an...

by Kusum Malik | On 17 May 2016

Plan vs. Performance Budget Session – February 23 to May 13, 2016

The Budget Session was originally planned to be held in two parts: from February 23 to March 16 and April 25 to May 13. However, at the end of March, the government decided to convert these into two...

by Kusum Malik | On 17 May 2016

Economic Incentives for the Conservation of Bharathapuzha River: Focus on Sand Mining

Rivers in Kerala are assailed by pollution, sedimentation, sand mining, and constriction of flows. The indiscriminate and unscientific sand mining, even in the midst of many regulatory and protective...

by Lakshmi Sreedhar | On 04 May 2016

Measures, Spatial Profile and Determinants of Dietary Diversity: Evidence from India

Food security policies in developing countries generally focus on calorie intake, which is not sufficient to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and...

by Mousumi Das | On 02 May 2016

Analyzing the Impact of Global Financial Crisis on the Interconnectedness of Asian Stock Markets using Network Science

This study shows how 13 important stock markets in Asia namely, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan, South Korea and Thailand...

by | On 02 May 2016

Impact of Trilemma Indicators on Macroeconomic Policy: Does Central Bank Independence Matter?

This paper shows that the institutional changes such as Inflation Targeting (IT) helps lower inflation without depending upon the level of Central Bank Independence (CBI) in a country as is suggested...

by | On 02 May 2016

Reassessing Exchange Rate Overshooting in a Monetary Framework

This paper revisits the Dornbusch exchange rate overshooting in a different model setting.

by Taniya Ghosh | On 02 May 2016

Weathering the Storm: Ownership Structure and Performance of Microfinance Institutions in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis

This study investigates the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis on the performance of different microfinance ownership types. The analysis in this study relies on a novel methodological frame...

by Mahinda Wijesiri | On 02 May 2016

A SVAR Approach to Evaluation of Monetary Policy in India

This paper rediscovers the efficacy of K&R contemporaneous restriction (customized for the Indian economy which is a developing G20 nation unlike advanced G6 nations that K&R worked wi...

by | On 02 May 2016

Tamil Nadu: State Income Report

This government report provides information about the state income of Tamil Nadu

by Tamil Nadu Government | On 29 Apr 2016

Stitches to Riches? Apparel Employment, Trade, and Economic Development in South Asia

This report is aimed at better informing that debate by demystifying the global and South Asian apparel markets, estimating the potential gains in exports and jobs (including for women), and identify...

by Gladys Lopez Acevedo | On 29 Apr 2016

Issues in SME Financing

This study has been undertaken to examine the maladies and conceivable remedies that associate with Small and Medium Enterprises and related establishments in India. The researcher uncovers a myriad o...

by | On 29 Apr 2016

Questions and Answers on the European Commission Communication: The Paris Protocol – A Blueprint for Tackling Global Climate Change beyond 2020

The Communication sets out the EU's vision for a transparent and dynamic, legally binding United Nations climate change agreement that sets the world on a pathway to prevent global warming from reachi...

by European union | On 26 Apr 2016

Increased Duration of Paid Maternity Leave Lowers Infant Mortality in Low- and MiddleIncome Countries: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Maternity leave reduces neonatal and infant mortality rates in high-income countries. However, the impact of maternity leave on infant health has not been rigorously evaluated in low- and middle-incom...

by Arjit Nandi | On 22 Apr 2016

Study on Copyright Piracy in India

Worldwide it is recognized that copyright piracy is a serious crime which not only adversely affects the creative potential of the society by denying the creators their legitimate dues, it also causes...

by Ministry of Human Resource Development, GOI | On 12 Apr 2016

State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2015-16

Empirical findings across a swathe of countries, advanced and emerging, confirm that the composition of government expenditure can have perceptible growth implications.

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 12 Apr 2016

Budget Speech Uttarakhand: 2016-17

Budget speech of Uttarakhand finance minister.

by Finance Minister Uttarakhand | On 30 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Uttar Pradesh: 2016-17

Budget speech of the finance minister of Uttar Pradesh.

by Uttar Pradesh Government UP | On 22 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Odisha Part II: 2016-17

Part II of the Budget speech of the finance minister.

by Pradip Kumar Amat | On 21 Mar 2016

Optimal Monetary Policy in the Presence of Sizable Informal Sector and Firm Level Credit Constraint

Optimality of pro-cyclical monetary policy in the presence of informal sector and firm level constraint is analysed. The findings suggest that in case of export demand shock pro-cyclical monetary pol...

by Waqas Ahmed | On 21 Mar 2016

Improving Rice Production and Commercialization in Cambodia - Findings from a Farm Investment Climate Assessment

In 2010, Cambodia outlined a plan aimed at developing its rice sector into a major rice exporting country. The rice sector was chosen due to comparative advantages in land, perceptions of significant...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 18 Mar 2016

Money Matters Local Government Finance in the People's Republic of China

Public finance systems in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have evolved substantially over the last three decades. The evolution is continuing, with wide-ranging reforms in budget and debt managem...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 18 Mar 2016

What Attracts FDI in Indian Manufacturing Industries?

This paper examines the pattern of inward FDI at the disaggregated industry level (NIC 3- digit), and test for the industry-specific characteristics that have been significant in attracting foreign in...

by Rashmi Rastogi | On 16 Mar 2016

Do Foreign Banks in India Indulge in Cream Skimming?

Foreign banks in developing countries are often found to indulge in cream skimming, a lending strategy that targets only wealthy segments of the credit market and exclude small and marginal borrowers...

by Mandira Sarma | On 16 Mar 2016

Impact of Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Regime on Income Inequality: An Econometric Analysis

This paper examines the impact of strengthening Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) on within-country income inequality for a cross-section of 65 developed and developing countries for the time period...

by Swati Saini | On 16 Mar 2016

R & D Sector Outsourcing, Human Capital Formation and Growth in the Context of Developed versus Developing Economies

This paper theoretically examines the impact of R & D outsourcing from an economy which is in the innovation-only regime to an economy which is in the imitation-innovation regime. It shows that depend...

by Sujata Basu | On 15 Mar 2016

Cross-Country Analysis of Composition of Human Capital and Total Factor Productivity Growth depending on its Distance to Frontier

This paper empirically examines human capital’s contribution to economy-wide technological progress and also on technical efficiency gain depending on its distance to frontier in a panel of 75 countri...

by Sujata Basu | On 15 Mar 2016

Corporate Governance, Competition and Firm Performance: Evidence from India

The aim of this paper is to show the interaction effect of product market competition and corporate governance variables on firm performance. While the linkage between internal governance mechanism an...

by Manoj Pant | On 15 Mar 2016

Structural Change and Non-Standard Forms of Employment in India

In the context of EU and OECD countries, formal employment contracts between the employer and employee for full time work can still be taken to be the norm, despite the growth of non-standard forms of...

by | On 15 Mar 2016

Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014

Asia has been continuously growing, and this growth has alleviated poverty and increased the number of middle income countries in the region. However, the recent regional and global economic slowdown...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Financial Soundness Indicators for Financial Sector Stability in Bangladesh

This report describes the development of financial soundness indicators for Bangladesh and analyzes how these can help identify key challenges to support financial sector stability in the country.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Global Spillovers and Monetary Policy Transmission in India

Do global spillovers clog transmission channels of monetary policy through domestic financial markets? Drawing on stylised facts and using a dynamic factor model to develop an indicator of global spil...

by Michael Debabrata Patra | On 14 Mar 2016

The Housing Market and Housing Policies in Japan

Housing policies in Japan after World War II were focused on the quantitative supply of houses with a wide range of targeted groups and public rental houses. The Japan Housing Corporation (now the Urb...

by Masahiro Kobayashi | On 14 Mar 2016

Debt Dynamics, Fiscal Deficit, and Stability in Government Borrowing in India: A Dynamic Panel Analysis

Despite the initiatives of the Finance Commission of India, fiscal performance has been deteriorating and increasingly diverging across Indian states. Given that the state governments are endowed with...

by Panchanan Das | On 14 Mar 2016

Srilanka Building on Success

Sri Lanka has emerged in recent years as one of the most dynamic countries in South Asia. With a rich cultural heritage, an increasingly sophisticated work force, and a strategic location that links A...

by Asian Bank | On 14 Mar 2016

Towards Rules of the Monetary Game

There are few areas of robust growth around the world, with the IMF repeatedly reducing its growth forecasts in recent quarters. This period of slow growth is particularly dangerous because both ind...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 14 Mar 2016

Dependence of States on Central Transfers: Aggregate and State-wise Analysis

This paper examines the dependence of states on central fiscal transfers. It particularly focuses on the role of transfers through tax devolution under the recommendation of the Finance Commissions. T...

by D K Srivastava | On 13 Mar 2016

Arsenic Contamination in Water: A Conceptual Framework of Policy Options

Arsenic contamination in water supplies continues to increase in many countries, especially in developing nations, thereby creating both environmental and health hazard. Its sources and effects are mu...

by Zareena Begum Irfan | On 13 Mar 2016

A Note on Excess Money Growth and Inflation Dynamics: Evidence from Threshold Regression

We test the effect of excess money growth on inflation using Threshold Regression technique developed by Hansen (2000). The empirical test is conducted using annual data from India for the period from...

by Saumitra N Bhaduri | On 13 Mar 2016

India's Shale Gas Boom: Dream or Reality?

As India prepares for the release of its long anticipated shale gas policy, pressure continues to mount on New Delhi. An increase in coal imports over the past 12 months has demonstrated the stress on...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

New Kid on the Block: South Korea as an Emerging ODA Player

South Korea has so far failed to fulfil its potential as an important player in Overseas Development Aid, with its aid having been too little and spread too thin. Meanwhile, China and other emerging d...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Japan and Illicit Drugs: A Neglected Success Story

While having witnessed three so-called epidemics in its postwar history, the prevalence of drug abuse in Japan is in fact remarkably low compared to most other countries and constitutes a relatively u...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

The Culmination of the MDG’s: A New Arena of the Sustainable Development

Established in 2000; the Millennium Development Goals had played a major role in bringing back the developmental issues to focus. Nearing the end of the stipulated time when they had to be achieved an...

by Zareena Begum Irfan | On 10 Mar 2016

Kerosene Consumption in India: Welfare and Environmental Issues

The adverse fiscal effects of fuel subsidies in developing countries like India are well documented. More recently, few studies have highlighted the fiscal, welfare and environmental effects of possib...

by Brinda Viswanathan | On 10 Mar 2016

The Transcending Power of Goods: Imaginative Value in the Economy

What do we value? For markets to operate and for economies to grow, producers must attract purchasers to the products they offer. In advanced capitalist economies, market saturation and decline of dem...

by Jens Beckert | On 09 Mar 2016

The Evolution of Gender Gaps in Industrialized Countries

Women in developed economies have made major inroads in labor markets throughout the past century, but remaining gender differences in pay and employment seem remarkably persistent. This paper documen...

by Claudia Olivetti | On 09 Mar 2016

Mass Education or a Minority Well Educated Elite in the Process of Development: the Case of India

This paper analyses whether in developing countries mass education is more growth enhancing than to have a minority well educated elite. Using the Indian census data as a benchmark and enrollment rate...

by Amparo Castelló-Climent | On 09 Mar 2016

Challenges for Urban Local Governments in India

The findings of this study show that urban local governments in India continue to remain plagued by numerous problems, which affect their performance in the efficient discharge of their duties. These...

by Rumi Aijaz | On 09 Mar 2016

Fiscal Austerity and Public Investment: Is the Possible the Enemy of the Necessary?

In most rich democracies one finds a tendency for the share in public finance that is available for discretionary spending to shrink. This is because tax revenues do not keep pace with simultaneous in...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Economic Nationalism, Network-based Coordination, and the Market for Corporate Control Motives for Political Resistance to Foreign Takeovers

Why does political resistance to foreign takeovers vary across countries and over time? Rational choice accounts of economic nationalism fail to provide an answer. The present article proposes an inst...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Mitigating the Financial Crisis in Asia

While there had been agreements that the current global financial crisis which originated from the United States (US) would not be akin to the Asian Financial Crisis back in 1997- 1998, the resultant...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

Climate Change Negotiations: The Road to Copenhagen

The year 2009 marks a new era of change. One would immediately associate it with the Obama administration and its promises for change, such as the US policies in addressing climate change. A shift has...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

Integrating Adaptation Into Development Policy In Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is potentially one of the more vulnerable regions to climate change impacts, as many of the countries in the region have relatively low levels of development, weak infrastructure, long...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Transparency International Releases Its Corruption Perceptions Index 2010

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index reveals that nearly three quarters of the 178 countries in the index have a score of below five, on a scale of 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Denmark, N...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

Exploring the Relationship between Health and Economic Development: The Case of China

Historical evidence suggests that economic development has been central to improving public health. This NTS Alert takes a closer look at the relationship between the two by reviewing the case of Chin...

by | On 03 Mar 2016

Recognising the Economic Relationship between Sex Workers and Sex Businesses

This NTS Alert discusses the economic relationship between sex workers and sex businesses in Southeast Asia in order to critically examine hitherto narrow interpretations which posit an integral link...

by Manpavan Kaur | On 03 Mar 2016

The Thai- ¬Cambodian Border Dispute – Challenges to ASEAN Diplomacy

The Thai-Cambodian border once again became the site of violent clashes between the countries’ militaries in April. Following bloody clashes at the disputed site adjacent to the PreahVihear temple on...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

An Asia Prepared for the Monsoon Season?

Several Asian countries have experienced flooding in recent weeks. While the monsoon rains – amplified by the La Nina effect -have been taking place as expected from the second to the third quarter o...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 02 Mar 2016

Decentralization and Local Service Provision : What Do We Know?

What do we know about the results of decentralized service delivery? Verifying outcomes and results of decentralized policies is a very challenging exercise, given the large number of stakeholders inv...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 01 Mar 2016

Madhya Pradesh Budget Analysis 2016-17

The Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister, Mr. Jayant Mallayya, presented the Budget for Madhya Pradesh for the financial year 2016-17 on February 26, 2016.

by Arvind Gayam | On 01 Mar 2016

An Assessment of the International Legal Obligations Owed to the Rohingya Refugees

This paper considers the issue of migration of the Rohingyas from the lens of international law. It evaluates the responses of the countries that have been the destination of these migration flows – n...

by Ramandeep Kaur | On 01 Mar 2016

Budget for Children 2016-2017: Not Even Halfway through its Demographic Dividend

The share of children in the Union Budget 2016-17 goes up to 3.32% showing a slight increase from 3.26% in the last years Budget 2015.

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 01 Mar 2016

Change and Continuity: Agriculture in Palanpur

A central theme in all the studies of Palanpur that have been undertaken to date has been the changing nature of agriculture. One of the reasons for selecting Palanpur from amongst the many villages t...

by Himanshu Prof | On 29 Feb 2016

Access to Finance: A Functional Approach to Supply and Demand

This paper provides a comprehensive description of the financial environment for households and small businesses in a defined geographical region. It develops a new, functional approach to financial a...

by Greg Fischer | On 29 Feb 2016

Tax Reforms in the Presence of Informality in Developing Countries: Incentives to Cheat in Mexico

In this paper we examine incentives to cheat in the Mexican tax system and argue that these are affected by interactions between taxes. We use variation in tax status between Mexican firms and variati...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 29 Feb 2016

Do Exporting Firms in the People’s Republic of China Innovate?

This paper undertakes econometric analysis of innovation, learning, and exporting in automobiles and electronics firms in the PRC using a large-scale dataset to identify the most appropriate innovatio...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 29 Feb 2016

Understanding Innovation in Production Networks in East Asia

This paper explores the “black box” of innovation in the electronics production network in East Asia through a mapping exercise of technological capabilities and an econometric analysis of exporting i...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 29 Feb 2016

Diet and Nutritional Status of Rural Population

Several sporadic studies carried out in the developing countries, including India have been reporting a steady increase in the prevalence of diet related chronic diseases like obesity, hypertension, d...

by National Institute of Nutrition | On 29 Feb 2016

GEF India Enabling Transformations

The GoI, in collaboration with Global Environment Facility (GEF), has been addressing critical gaps related to policy, regulation, capacity, technology, management and finance. The completed GEF proje...

by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Chang GOI | On 29 Feb 2016

"Direct Access" to Climate Finance: Lessons Learned by National Institutions

Implementation of the Adaptation Fund and GCF direct access modalities is still in a relatively early stage. (The Adaptation Fund accredited its first implementing entities in 2010; the GCF did so in...

by Indira Masullo | On 29 Feb 2016

Corporate Debt Market in India: Key Issues and Some Policy Recommendations

This paper presents an overview of the corporate debt market in India. A study of the structure and the status of the corporate debt market along with the current policies initiated by Securities and...

by M. T. Raju | On 28 Feb 2016

The New Economic Case for Migration Restrictions: An Assessment

In this paper, a review of the literature on the global efficiency consequences of migration and assess a new strand of that literature. This is the new economic case for migration restrictions, which...

by Michael Clemens | On 27 Feb 2016

The Green Climate Fund: An Opportunity to Rationalise Climate Finance?

Is the new Green Climate Fund (GCF) set to be yet another unwieldy addition to the climate finance web? While the form of the GCF, and its functions, has yet to be fully determined, it has been framed...

by Sofiah Jamil | On 27 Feb 2016

'Stock’ solution to regional food security: Which way forward?

Consumption patterns in Southeast Asia are changing rapidly. As the region becomes more affluent, demand for protein and wheat is expected to increase. Such shifts may leave countries with no choice...

by Belinda Chng | On 27 Feb 2016

Human Security 20 Years On: The evolution of human security

The latter part of the 21st century witnessed a shift in the understanding of international security. As tensions between countries eased with the end of the Cold War, new and significant security c...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Environmental Security

This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to int...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Progress of 10 Years Implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action for Disaster Risk Reduction in ASEAN

2015 marks the end of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) 10-year Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), an international disaster risk reduction plan that aimed to en...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Energy Sustainability in Southeast Asia: Towards the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

In Southeast Asia, primary energy demand is projected to increase from 554.8 Mtoe in 2010 to 1,110.2 Mtoe in 2035. Oil will continue to dominate the energy mix with coal share growing at the fastest a...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Networks of Experts and Non-Traditional Security in Asia

From the ‘migrant crisis’ to transboundary haze pollution and the Avian Influenza virus, Asian countries continue to face multiple new security threats which require international cooperation. These n...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

What is Title Guarantee Worth in Land Markets? Evidence from Bengaluru, India

Land reforms require urgent attention in emerging market economies, and there is a vast body of literature that deals with the economic impact land reforms, especially land titling (Acemoglu et al., 2...

by Madalasa Venkataraman | On 27 Feb 2016

Financing of Urban Local Bodies in India

The rising level of urbanisation in India draws attention to inadequate infrastructure levels in urban areas. While many factors play a role in infrastructure development, this paper examines the fina...

by Charan Singh | On 27 Feb 2016

Money, Output and Prices in India

The dynamics of the monetary system is undergoing significant changes in India. The entire concept and flow of money; narrow, broad or base, is being influenced by measures related to financial inclus...

by Charan Singh | On 27 Feb 2016

The Rush for Nuclear Energy in Southeast Asia: Promises and Pitfalls

THE WORLD’S surging demand for energy, coupled with the urgent need to mitigate the impact of climate change, has pressed many states to explore clean energy alternatives. For many developing countrie...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

Prospects for an ASEAN Nuclear Cooperation: A Common Nuclear Facility?

Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable option to provide base load power for many nations. However, countries in Southeast Asia planning to develop nuclear reactors could face a multitude of problems....

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Rohingya Muslims:Myanmar’s Forgotten People

The stateless Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have been discriminated and excluded by consecutive governments since the 1960s, causing an exodus to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and other count...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Local Property Taxation and Benefits in Developing Countries - Overcoming political resistance?

While property taxation has existed since ancient times, and the taxation of land has been a mainstay of public finances through the Middle Ages, in both Europe and Asia, it has all but ceased to be a...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 26 Feb 2016

Involving the Private Sector and PPPs in Financing Public Investments: Some Opportunities and Challenges

Given that public investment requirements far exceed available resources in most developing countries, there is a need to both channel public resources wisely and also best leverage the opportunities...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 26 Feb 2016

Social Innovation: A Guide to Achieving Corporate and Societal Value

As a central effort in the Global Challenge Initiative on Economic Growth and Social Inclusion, this is a “how to guide” for companies to create social and business value. Drawn from a series of works...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 26 Feb 2016

Economic Survey 2015-16-Volume II

India’s growth story has largely remained positive on the strength of domestic absorption, and the country has registered a robust and steady pace of economic growth in 2015-16 as it did in 2014-15....

by Arun Jaitley | On 26 Feb 2016

CO2 Emissions Reduction Strategies and Economic Development of India

This paper examines the consequences of alternative CO2 emission reduction strategies on economic development and, in particular, the implications for the poor by empirically implementing an economy-w...

by N. Murthy | On 25 Feb 2016

Underground Nuclear Power Plant: Why Not?

With the surge in energy demand in developing Southeast Asia, the propensity of using nuclear energy as an option is growing. Singapore needs to adapt itself and explore the benefits of a ‘nuclearised...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Nuclear Energy: Addressing the Not-in-my-Backyard Syndrome

The nuclear power states have not resolved the issue of permanent storage of nuclear spent fuel. Countries with existing nuclear facilities also face challenges to the temporary storage of their spent...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Trade Liberalization under New Realities

The last decade has witnessed significant influx of direct foreign investment in developing countries. The increased flow of foreign investment has contributed to the ability of developing countries t...

by Syed Ali | On 25 Feb 2016

Pandemic Preparedness in Asia

It is not known when, or where, the next deadly infectious disease will emerge, or how it will spread around the world. Are Asian countries prepared for a pandemic? How are National Pandemic Preparedn...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 24 Feb 2016

Copenhagen: A Missed Opportunity

The failure of the Copenhagen Climate Summit has come as no surprise, and unless major developing countries take a more principled stand for development, future summits can only serve as a stage for m...

by | On 24 Feb 2016

Scaling Up Carbon Finance in India

India’s performance in the early carbon market are analysed, and proposes a series of actions to be undertaken by both the Government of India, and the private sector, if India is to take full advanta...

by World Bank | On 24 Feb 2016

The Puzzle of Small Farming in Japan

Japan’s small farming represents a puzzle. Currently nearly three-quarters of farmland is operated by farmers whose farm size is well under optimal size. Being too small is the main reason for the hig...

by Yoshihisa Godo | On 24 Feb 2016

Financial Institutions and Structures for Growth in East Asia

The paper examines the changing size, shape and range of financial markets in the region indicates the extent to which regional markets have become more efficient and have improved in quality since th...

by Jenny Corbett | On 23 Feb 2016

Industrial Growth And Environmental Industrial Growth And Environmental Industrial Growth And Environmental Degradation: Degradation: Degradation: A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster

The rapid economic growth achieved after globalization by most of the developing countries, has imposed considerable social costs and has become a major threat to sustainable development. However it i...

by Prakash Nelliyat | On 23 Feb 2016

Development Strategy, Optimal Industrial Structure and Economic Growth in Less Developed Countries

In this paper, we develop an endogenous growth model that combines structural change with repeated product improvements. There are two sectors in the present paper, one is traditional sector, and the...

by Justin Yifu Lin | On 23 Feb 2016

Post-Crisis Investment Performance Of ASEAN Countries: Impact Of FDI

The paper studies the post-Asian crisis investment performance of crisis affected countries in ASEAN. The empirical evidence clearly indicates that the ASEAN and East Asian countries are emerging from...

by Aekapol Chongvilaivan | On 23 Feb 2016

Civil Society from the BRICS: Emerging Roles in the New International Development Landscape

There is a burgeoning literature on the (re)emergence of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – as significant actors in international development. To date, however, mos...

by Adele Poskitt | On 23 Feb 2016

Parliament Session Alert-Budget Session: February 23 – May 13, 2016

The Budget Session of Parliament will be held between February 23, 2016 and May 13, 2016. The session will have a recess from March 17 to April 24, when the Standing Committees will examine the Dema...

by Kusum Malik | On 23 Feb 2016

Food Production and Environmental Health in Southeast Asia: The Search for Complementary Strategies

Growing food demands and escalating environmental stresses create a series of challenges throughout Southeast Asia. Projected population and consumption patterns strongly suggest that food production...

by J. Ewing | On 22 Feb 2016

Tamil Nadu Interim Budget Speech 2016-2017

Budget speech by the Hon’ble Minister for Finance and Public Works, Government of Tamil Nadu

by O Panneerselvam | On 22 Feb 2016

Asymmetry In Government Bond Returns

Is there asymmetry in the distribution of government bond returns in developed countries? Can asymmetries be predicted using financial and macroeconomic variables? To answer the first question, we pro...

by Ippei Fuijwara | On 21 Feb 2016

Rural-Urban Migration, Poverty and Child Survival in Urban Banglades

Despite recent decline, infant and child mortality in Bangladesh is still one of the highest among the developing countries with strong urban-rural differentials. Nearly one in ten children in Banglad...

by M. Islam | On 21 Feb 2016

Causes and Consequences of Rural-Urban Migration: A Study of Migrant Street Vendors in Dhaka City

In developing countries like Bangladesh rural-urban migration affects development in both urban and rural areas. As such, this study focuses on establishing the major causes and consequences of the mo...

by Research Institute of Social Welfare and | On 21 Feb 2016

An Examination of the Least Developed Countries in the IPCC AR5 WGII

The Fifth Assessment Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5 WGII), on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released in March 2014. In providing the...

by Clare Stott | On 21 Feb 2016

Are Returns To Private Infrastructure In Developing Countries Consistent With Risks Since The Asian Crisis?

This paper presents a basic assessment of the financial performance of infrastructure service operators in developing countries. It relies on a new database of 120 companies put together to track the...

by Maria Pinglo | On 21 Feb 2016

Floods and Regional Disaster Preparedness: Too Little, Too Late?

As the floods in Thailand and Cambodia continue, the state of regional cooperation is proving critical in addressing the difficulties faced by affected countries. Disaster preparedness is increasingly...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

A Position Paper on World Rice Futures

There is a widespread belief that rice futures are not necessary for the Asian rice markets because these markets are not “broken.” In any case, it is not clear to many why a rice farmer would benefit...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Disasters in Southeast Asia’s Megacities: Protecting the Informal Sector

In the megacities of developing Southeast Asia, the important role of the informal sector in supporting economic development is often under-recognised. Cities seeking to address the economic risks and...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Destined for Destitution: Intergenerational Poverty Persistence in Indonesia

We estimate intergenerational poverty persistence in Indonesia using a panel dataset. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such study looking at the issue in the Indonesian context. Differe...

by Yus Pakpahan | On 19 Feb 2016

Mass housing requires mass housing finance

In this lecture Marja Hoek Smit argues that housing finance is critical to solve the housing problem, increasing, as it does, the number of households that can afford to acquire a house in the formal...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Addressing Global Land Challenges

This lecture is based on the realization that the current global approach to land systems cannot meet the needs of the majority of people in developing countries in regard to security of tenure and it...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Principles of Planned Urbanization

In this opening session for the second season of the Global Urban Lecture Series, Dr. Joan Clos introduces three fundamental principles behind planned urbanization: Rules and Regulations, Urban Design...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Rising Outbound Investment: Trends And Issues

This paper aims to facilitate China’s globalisation process and to enable destination countries to benefit from Chinese ODI potential by having a clear understanding of the institutional background ag...

by Mei Wang | On 19 Feb 2016

A Significant Shift in Casual Relations of Money, income, and Prices in Pakistan: The Price Hikes in the Early 1970s

This study extends the analysis of causality by Husain and Rashid (2006) by taking care of the shift in the variables due to the price hikes in the early 1970s. Casual relation between real income and...

by Fazal Husain | On 17 Feb 2016

Climate Change Impacts and Mitigation in the Developing World

This paper conducts an integrated assessment of climate change impacts and climate mitigation on agricultural commodity markets and food availability in low- and middle-income countries. The analysis...

by Petr Havlík | On 17 Feb 2016

Transboundary Pollution: Arrival of the Haze Refugee?

The ‘climate refugee’ is not a new phenomenon. We are most likely set to see thousands displaced within their own countries or across borders as a result of adverse weather in future. This year’s fore...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

COP21 Paris Climate Change Conference: Can Global Deal Be Achieved?

All eyes are on Paris where world leaders will meet for the much anticipated 2015 climate change conference. They are expected to reach a consensus on a legally-binding climate agreement for all count...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

State and Region Public Finances in Myanmar

This paper focuses on understanding the role of state and region governments in relation to Myanmar's public finances. This has been done to take stock of existing research, better understand the comp...

by The Asia Foundation | On 16 Feb 2016

Awareness and the Demand of Safe Drinking Water Practices

The demand for environmental goods is often low in developing countries. The major causes are awareness regarding the contamination of water and poverty, but less attention has been paid to the former...

by Eatzaz Ahmed | On 16 Feb 2016

Exchange Market Pressure and Monetary Policy: Evidence from Pakistan

The study employs Girton and Roper (1977) measure of exchange market pressure—sum of exchange rate depreciation and foreign reserves outflow, to examine the interaction between exchange market pressur...

by M. Idrees Khawaja | On 16 Feb 2016

National Finance Commission Awards in Pakistan: A Historical Perspective

This study explores the evolution of fiscal resource distribution in Pakistan. Pakistan is a federation comprising four provinces, federally administered areas, and the Islamabad Capital Territory. Be...

by Iftikhar Ahmed | On 16 Feb 2016

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank: Should Asia Have Both?

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) face three sets of challenges: those that are common to others in the official development finance community; those that are common to the World Ban...

by Vikram Nehru | On 16 Feb 2016

Supply Chains and Credit-Market Shocks: Some Implications for Emerging Markets

Driven by the increasingly important role of supply chains in global production, this paper studies empirical association between global credit-market shocks and firm behavior towards liquidity needs...

by Yothin Jinjarak | On 16 Feb 2016

Global Implications of the Renminbi’s Ascendance

This paper evaluates the prospects for the renminbi’s role as an international currency and the implications for global financial markets. Although the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not have e...

by Eswar Prasad | On 16 Feb 2016

Financial Stability and Financial Inclusion

Developing economies are seeking to promote financial inclusion, i.e., greater access to financial services for low-income households and firms, as part of their overall strategies for economic and fi...

by Peter J. Morgan | On 16 Feb 2016

The Taylor Rule and the Macroeconomic Performance in Pakistan

A widely agreed proposition in modern economics is that policy rules have greater advantage over discretion in improving economic performance. Simple monetary policy instrument rules are feasible opti...

by Wasim Shahid Malik | On 15 Feb 2016

Monetary Policy Objectives in Pakistan: An Empirical Investigation

The Taylor rule (1993) focuses only on two objectives: output and inflation. In practice, the central bank’s loss function (especially in developing countries) contains objectives other than these two...

by Wasim Shahid Malik | On 15 Feb 2016

Sharing the Burden of Carbon Emissions

Industrialized countries had their share of carbon emissions. Can the developing countries also get a fair share in their deal for reducing carbon emissions and clear their way to development?

by Aakriti Singh | On 15 Feb 2016

Impact Assessment of Bangladesh Bank's Re-finance Scheme for Financing Agricultural & Non-farm Rural Borrowers of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank

The main objective of this study report is to find out the impact(s) of the refinance scheme of Bangladesh Bank (BB) through comparing the economic well-being of the target group people who have taken...

by Md. Julhas Uddin | On 15 Feb 2016

Mainstreaming Children in the Union Budget 2016-17: The ‘Mantra’ of Inclusive Development

in order to ensure the inclusion and social security of children, the Central government must pay attention to the concerns raised by Sates and the upcoming Union Budget must include some of the point...

by Kumar Shailabh | On 15 Feb 2016

Basel II and Bangladesh: The Challenges Ahead

Basel II consists of three pillars such as Pillar I, II and III. Implementation of this New Accord is a challenge for many developing countries including Bangladesh. This study has made an attempt to...

by Md. Kabir Ahmed | On 15 Feb 2016

Recent Experiences in the Foreign Exchange and Money Markets

This paper attempts to analyze the underlying causes and impact of the recent developments in the foreign exchange and money markets.

by Md. Habibur Rahman | On 15 Feb 2016

Volatility in the Overnight Money-Market Rate in Bangladesh: Recent Experiences

This paper tries to investigate the pattern of volatility in the overnight money market rate (call money rate) in Bangladesh using subjective judgment as well as econometric techniques during the peri...

by Md. Shahiduzzaman | On 15 Feb 2016

Accountability and Transparency in Political Finance

When money corrupts campaigns and candidates, political finance can undermine the same democratic values and good governance that it also supports. To prevent and address the problem, transparency and...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Judicial Accountability and Discipline

The judiciary needs to be independent of outside influence, particularly of political and economic entities such as government agencies or industry associations. But judicial independence does not mea...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Corruption and (In)Security

For security policies to be effective states must recognise and respond to how corruption ignites and magnifies these dangers. In some countries and regions corruption is the facilitator of insecurity...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Building Integrity to Ensure Effective Water Governance

As with any governance framework, participation, transparency and accountability form the guiding principles needed for ensuring policies and decisions on water are responsive to citizens. When these...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

2008 Report on Revenue Transparency of Oil and Gas Companies

A majority of leading oil and gas companies are far from transparent when it comes to the payments they make to resource-rich countries, leaving the door open to corruption and hampering efforts to fi...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

National Integrity System Study Palestine 2009

The National Integrity System encompasses the key institutions, sectors or specific activities (the ‘pillars’) that contribute to integrity, transparency and accountability in a society. When it funct...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Political Finance Regulations: Bridging the Enforcement Gap

Political finance regulations have been introduced in a majority of democracies to promote fair political competition, but all too often political party and campaign finance laws are breached with imp...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Calibrating Law Enforcement and Its Purpose

In “Calibrating Law Enforcement and Its Purpose,” published by Addiction on November 10, 2014, Vanda Felbab-Brown comments on Harold Pollack and Peter Reuter’s article “Does tougher enforcement make d...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Horizontal and Vertical Inequalities in India

Indian income inequality reflects the high values typical of most low and middle income economies, well above those observed for the high income LIS countries. There is also substantial variation in i...

by Reeve Vanneman | On 14 Feb 2016

Living Arrangement: How does it relate to the Health of the Elderly in India?

India has the second largest population of elderly people after China. The living arrangement of the elderly is seen as a parameter of great importance in understanding their plight in developing coun...

by Mitali Sen | On 14 Feb 2016

Corruption and Sport: Building Integrity and Preventing Abuses

Whenever there is money, competition or power involved, corruption is a constant threat. The sporting industry is not immune from this reality. From match-fixing to stadium construction kickbacks, the...

by Transparency International TI | On 13 Feb 2016

Building Corporate Integrity Systems to Address Corruption Risks

Corporate integrity is often perceived to be the product of ethical leadership, strong compliance and effective regulations that prevent and sanction wrong-doing. While these elements are essential, e...

by Transparency International TI | On 13 Feb 2016

Public Policies For Facilitating Medical Tourism Industry In Asia

The paper attempts to analyze the role of public policy adjustments in facilitating the medical tourism sector in Asian countries in response to recent global economic events. While falling incomes ma...

by Vinay Singh | On 13 Feb 2016

The Government Budget : A Critical Appraisal with Reference to Transparency and Accountability

Budget is the major economic policy document of the government for a particular year and perhaps beyond. Therefore, it is imperative to study the processes, institutional mechanisms, and decision-maki...

by Muttukrishna Sarvananthan | On 13 Feb 2016

Disempowered by Whom? Gender vs. Generation in Family Decision making

The now-frequent use of decision-making questions in household surveys has greatly enhanced our understanding of intra-household power relations. While much of the research interest in these questions...

by Mitali Sen | On 13 Feb 2016

Youth and Corruption

Integrity, like corruption, is learned. Unfortunately, in many countries corruption has been tolerated for generations. Young people have the potential to transform this present reality and end corrup...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Monitoring Climate Adaptation Financing to Ensure Effectiveness

Financing efforts by countries to adapt to climate change will require enormous amounts of resources and investments, both from the public and private sectors. How climate financing is generated, gove...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Protecting Shared Traditional Knowledge: Issues, Challenges and Options

Shared and widely distributed traditional knowledge, among communities and across national borders is often the norm rather than the exception. However, it remains an area for which policy and legal s...

by | On 10 Feb 2016

Illegal Heroes and Victimless Crimes Informal Cross-border Migration from Myanmar

This paper highlights the perception of each and everyone involved in the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar in each step they, internationally or unintentionally, maintain the status of il...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Trade, Finance & Development: Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

Although there is an extremely robust positive correlation between various measures of trade and financial development on the one hand, and economic growth, on the other, the evidence concerning the d...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Trade and Sustainable Land Management in Drylands

This publication aims to provide a wide range of perspectives from various stakeholders on how trade policies and processes could contribute to advancing the objectives of sustainable land management...

by International Centre and Sustainable Development | On 08 Feb 2016

2009 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development: Women's Control over Economic Resources and Access to Financial Resources, including Microfinance

The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development is the flagship publication of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. It is presented to the Second Committee of the General Ass...

by UN Women | On 08 Feb 2016

Progress of the World's Women 2000

Launched in June of 2000, "Progress of the World's Women" is UNIFEM's biennial investigation of progress made towards a world where women live free from violence, poverty and inequality. The first iss...

by UN Women | On 08 Feb 2016

Local Labor Market Conditions and Crime: Evidence from the Brazilian Trade Liberalization

This paper estimates the effect of local labor market conditions on crime in a developing country with high crime rates. Contrary to the previous literature, which has focused exclusively on developed...

by Rafael Dix-Carneiro | On 07 Feb 2016

Bribe Payers Index 2011

The 2011 Bribe Payers Index ranks 28 of the world’s largest economies according to the perceived likelihood of companies from these countries to pay bribes abroad. It is based on the views of business...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Making Aid Effective: An Anti-Corruption Agenda

While aid flows topped US$ 128 billion in 2010, they have not always been good at achieving results due to corruption and mismanagement that arise from low levels of transparency, accountability and i...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Daily Lives And Corruption: Public Opinion In South Asia

Between 2010 and 2011, more than 7500 people were interviewed in six South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – on their views of corruption levels in their c...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Tackling Forestry Corruption Risks In Asia Pacific

This report is based on research carried out in five Asia Pacific countries – China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. This document should serve as an instrument to help...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Building Integrity And Countering Corruption In Defence & Security

This is the second edition of the TI Defence and Security Programme's Handbook, Building Integrity and Reducing Corruption in Defence and Security: 20 Practical Reforms. This Handbook has a simple pur...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Global Corruption Barometer 2013

The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 draws on a survey of more than 114,000 respondents in 107 countries. It addresses people’s direct experiences with bribery and details their views on corruption in...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Price Setting Behaviour of Pakistani Firms: Evidence from Four Industrial Cities of Punjab

Since the introduction of rational expectations in the literature, most of the research focus in the area of macroeconomics has been investigating micro foundations of macroeconomic theory and transmi...

by Wasim Shahid Malik | On 06 Feb 2016

A Dynamic Macroeconometric Model of Pakistan’s Economy

In this study, an attempt has been made of develop a dynamic macroeconometric model of Pakistan’s economy to examine the behaviour of major macroeconomic variables such as output, consumption, investm...

by Muhammad Arshad Khan | On 06 Feb 2016

Foreign Aid and Growth Nexus in Pakistan: The Role of Macroeconomic Policies

Despite receiving large quantities of foreign aid, Pakistan, like many other developing countries, has remained stagnant and become more aid dependent. This grim reality has provoked a vigorous debate...

by Muhammad Javid | On 06 Feb 2016

Fiscal Federalism in Pakistan: The 7th National Finance Commission Award and Its Implications

Pakistan is a federal country. Distribution of resources has a profound impact on income, development, backwardness, and poverty. The paper briefly discusses the federation, its needs and importance i...

by Usman Mustafa | On 06 Feb 2016

Business Principles for Countering Bribery

The Business Principles for Countering Bribery provide a framework for companies to develop comprehensive anti-bribery programmes. Whilst many large companies have no-bribes policies all too few imple...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Adaptation Fund

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Adaptation Fund is the first in a series of reports by Transparency International aimed at analysing the policies and practices that se...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Climate Investment Funds

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-corruption Assessment of the Climate Investment Funds is the second in a series of reports by Transparency International aimed at analysing the policies and practic...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Global Environment Facility's Least Developed Countries Fund & Special Climate Change Fund

Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-corruption Assessment of the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund is the third in a series of reports by Tra...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Bangladesh National Integrity System Assessment 2014

One of the key strategic areas of Transparency International Bangladesh's research has always been the institutions of democracy and specialized pillars of governance and accountability, which constit...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Pakistan National Integrity System Assessment 2014

The objective of the NIS report is to assess and evaluate the various key institutions of governance in the country. These institutions are responsible for integrity and the elimination of corruption....

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Corruption and Cambodia's Governance System: The Need For Reform

The 2014 Cambodia NIS assessment reveals that overall Cambodia has a weak integrity system. It is not strong enough to uphold the rule of law, ensure sustainable development and a good quality of life...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Nepal National Integrity System Assessment 2014

Transparency International Nepal’s (TIN) National Integrity System Assessment Nepal 2014 describes the latest status of 11 pillars of NIS in terms of their capacity, governance and role besides pointi...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms: Evidence from Developing Countries

This report aims to provide the emerging lessons from a representative sample of 20 country case studies that could help policy makers to address implementation challenges, including overcoming politi...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

How to Successfully Manage Conflicts and Prevent Dispute Adjudication in International Trade

The growing body of WTO jurisprudence can help facilitate rules-based negotiations as a way of avoiding formal litigation more than ever before, and developing countries are now in a position to reap...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

Curbing Illicit Financial Flows to Unlock A Sustainable Future

Achieving the sustainable development goals and countering climate change will require considerably more resources than what public finances alone can afford. By curbing illicit financial flows and re...

by Transparency International | On 05 Feb 2016

Incentivising Integrity in Banks

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, many different cases of malfeasance and corruption at banks have been exposed. To date, settlements worth more than US$ 230 billion have been agreed be...

by Transparency International | On 05 Feb 2016

Just For Show? Reviewing G20 Promises on Beneficial Ownership

Major corruption scandals hitting the news often share key commonalities: the people at the centre of the scandal use a complex web of anonymous companies, trusts and other legal entities situated acr...

by Transparency International | On 04 Feb 2016

The Golden Rule: A Remedy for Decadence in Global Health-ppt

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) conducted compared cervical screening to no screening whatsoever. All three RCTs included scientifically pointless unscreened control groups. All three RCTs incorpo...

by Eric Suba | On 04 Feb 2016

Rent Seeking Opportunities and Economic Growth in Transitional Economies

This study empirically explores the growth effects of rent seeking activity (RSA) for a group of 52 developing/transitional countries, using a dynamic panel data approach. The modelling framework is a...

by Nasir Iqbal | On 03 Feb 2016

Pak-SAARC Intra-industry Trade

This paper analyses country-specific and industry-specific determinants of intra-industry trade (IIT) between Pakistan and other SAARC countries using panel data techniques. This paper also disentangl...

by Adnan Akram | On 03 Feb 2016

Institutional Quality, Conflict and Aid Dependency

This study attempts to explore the impact of foreign aid on the quality of governance and how conflicts, whether internal or external affect the overall situation. Conflicts affect governance directly...

by Unbreen Qayyum | On 03 Feb 2016

Governance and the Effectiveness of Foreign Capital

This study empirically investigates the impact of foreign capital and governance on the economic growth by employing country level data from 1984 to 2010 for Asian developing countries. Governance; fo...

by Unbreen Qayyum | On 03 Feb 2016

Market Imperfections and Dividend Policy Decisions ofManufacturing Sector of Pakistan

Dividend policy is an important issue of corporate finance and the present study examines the effect of market imperfections such as asymmetric information, agency costs and transaction cost of issuin...

by Darakhshan Younis | On 03 Feb 2016

Trade Integration and Labour Market Trends in India: an Unresolved Unemployment Problem

This paper focuses on the Indian pre-crisis strategy of liberalization and integration into the world economy and its impact on labour market trends. It then examines the specific ways in which the cr...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | On 03 Feb 2016

Financial Flows, External Capital Structure, Institutions and Economic Growth in Asian Developing Economies

Present study is conducted to measure the impact of financial integration on economic growth in Asian developing economies using panel data of twelve Asian countries from 1984-2012. In first part of a...

by Madiha Bashir | On 03 Feb 2016

Does the Rise of the Middle Class Lock in Good Government in the Developing World?

The current size of the income-secure middle class and its likely future growth, suggest that optimism is indeed warranted for many of today’s middle-income countries. But it is not warranted for all...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 03 Feb 2016

Food Security Post-2015: What Countries Need to Do So That Regional Collaboration Can Be Effective

Attempts to explain why ending hunger has been so hard, so here the focus is on four main themes: the complex role of markets, the importance of government policies, the historical process of structur...

by C. Peter Timmer | On 03 Feb 2016

Structural Change, Global Imbalances, and Employment in the Least Developed Countries

This paper addresses the effects of changes in the level and composition of global demand, and especially of global rebalancing, on trade flows and employment from a demand perspective. It emphasizes...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | On 03 Feb 2016

Explaining the de facto Open-access of Public Property Commons

Public property common pool resources in many developing countries are manage them in a sustainable manner. While this explanation may have some merit, it is certainly inadequate. Instead, we argue th...

by Junaid Memon | On 03 Feb 2016

Infrastructure Investment, Private Finance, and Institutional Investors: Asia from a Global Perspective

This study evaluates infrastructure investment and finance in Asia from a global perspective. It provides an overview on infrastructure needs and the various sources of private finance, globally and w...

by Georg Inderst | On 02 Feb 2016

Patents and Clean Energy: Bridging the Gap between Evidence and Policy

Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time. Addressing it requires an unprecedented mobilisation of human and financial resources to alter our patterns of production, consumption and en...

by International Centre and Sustainable Development | On 02 Feb 2016

The 2014 Arab Opinion Index

The 2014 Arab Opinion Index is the third annual survey of Arab public opinion carried out by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. In 2011, the survey was carried out in 12 Arab countries,...

by Arab Center for Policy Studies | On 02 Feb 2016

A New Model for Constructing Poverty Lines

In this paper, we present a new model for constructing poverty lines. The model uses consumer theory to construct both food and nonfood poverty thresholds. Although one cannot completely eliminate the...

by Nanak Kakwani | On 02 Feb 2016

Remittances: An Unrecognised Support Mechanism During Humanitarian Crises

Remittances – money sent home by migrants – can help families survive conflicts or natural disasters. However, humanitarian agencies often fail to consider remittances when planning interventions. Thi...

by Paul Harvey | On 01 Feb 2016

The Armed Syrian Opposition: Common Aim but No Vision

In response to the dearth of academic studies written on the Syrian opposition, this study reviews the various Syrian military organizations that are currently active against the Syrian regime, and di...

by | On 01 Feb 2016

The Story of Primary Health Care : from Alma Ata to the Present Day

The idea of primary health care (PHC) emerged in the 1960s, in recognition of the shortcomings of the health systems inherited by developing countries after independence. The urban, centralised and cu...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 01 Feb 2016

Voices from the South: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Developing Countries

This report presents snapshots of the financial crisis as seen by 21 thinkers, academics and policymakers in 14 developing countries. IDS invited them to present their views on the likely impacts and...

by Neil McCulloch | On 01 Feb 2016

Financial Reforms - Past and Present

Industrial countries are still struggling, with a few exceptions, to grow. Our fellow BRICS all have deep problems, with confidence about China waxing and waning. India appears to be better in this l...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 01 Feb 2016

Research Imperatives for the Indian Banking Sector

In emerging economies like India, banking sector is very important. But banking sector is at 'crossroads'. There are many issues which this sector is facing and research which would generate fresh i...

by S.S. Mundra | On 01 Feb 2016

World’s Youth 2013: Data Sheet

Girls and boys in developing countries are enrolling in secondary school in greater numbers than ever before, giving them knowledge and skills for healthy, productive lives. While this is good news, m...

by | On 01 Feb 2016

A Taste of Success: Examples of the Budget Work of NGOs

This report is a compilation of examples of the budget work undertaken by nongovernmental organizations from around the world. Although many of these organizations are new to budget analysis, they h...

by International Budget Partnership IBP | On 01 Feb 2016

Massive, Globally Coordinated Fiscal Stimulus is Needed: Going From the Drawing Board to Swift Action

In just over a year, the mid-2007 sub-prime housing debacle in the United States has escalated into a global financial crisis and pushed the world economy into recession arguably the deepest since Wor...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Finance for Forests and Climate Change

In addition to providing multiple services and goods, forests can play a key role in tackling climate change. Forestry, as defined by the IPCC accounts for around 17.4 per cent of global GHG emissions...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Financing Mitigation and Adaptation by Developing Countries

There is a broad consensus that without the active participation of developing countries, global temperatures cannot be stabilized at a safe level. It is also agreed that even if temperatures are cont...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Is Sustainable Recovery Possible for Haiti?

In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, the earthquake of 7.0 on the Richter scale in early January 2010 had devastating effects. The Government estimates that more than 200,000 people (o...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Ocean Acidification: A Hidden Risk for Sustainable Development

The issue of climate change currently holds the attention of the international community. Worsening emissions predictions and a perception that impacts are occurring more rapidly than anticipated have...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Till Debt do us Part: the Urgency of a Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanism

The danger to global economic recovery posed by the European debt turmoil throws a spotlight on a key missing international institution critical to global finance a sovereign debt resolution mechanism...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Why Global Health Funds should be Consolidated

Over the past decade, international donors increased financing for health in developing countries substantively. Much of the additional support has come from the rapid expansion of so-called vertical...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

The Potential of Financial Transaction Taxes for Development Financing

Difficulties in raising sufficient resources to finance internationally agreed development goals and global objectives, such as combating climate change, have led the quest for new and innovative sour...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Global Liquidity for Global Development

Official development assistance declined in real terms in 2011 as a result, in part, of fiscal austerity in many donor countries. Traditional forms of funding have fallen well short of needs to financ...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Increasing Public Spending in Agricultural R&D to Ensure Food Security in Developing Countries

Arguably, ensuring food and nutrition security for all people in the coming decades is the major challenge for the global community. Food demand is increasing in aggregate and per capita values, in pa...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

The Limited Promise of Agricultural Trade Liberalization

It has become an article of faith in international trade negotiations that farmers in developing countries have much to gain from agricultural trade liberalization. This paper assesses the evidence fo...

by Timothy A. Wise | On 31 Jan 2016

Savings Behaviour In South Asia

Savings behaviour is important because of the close relation between savings and growth. Further, the direction of causality between savings and growth is of critical importance for development policy...

by Ranjan Kumar Dash | On 30 Jan 2016

Value Chains and Tropical Products in a Changing Global Trade Regime

In the last decade, the commodity issues have re-emerged as central to development initiatives and poverty alleviation strategies. The objective of this Issue Paper by Charles Mather is to contribute...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Trade Policy and Food Security: Farm Policies of Developed Countries: What Kind of Trade Policy Framework is needed to Support Food Security Goals?

Farm Policies in developed countries have been widely blamed for creating problems for food security in developing countries. These problems have included high barriers to developing country exports,...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Improving Tax Compliance in Bangladesh: A Study of Value-Added Tax (VAT)

In recent years, tax compliance has come to the centre of both academic and policy discourse for several reasons. In the first place, tax-GDP ratio in Bangladesh is very low (10.6%) when compared with...

by Nasiruddin Ahmed | On 30 Jan 2016

Impact of Debt on Aggregate Investment and Productivity in Developing Asian Countries

This study attempts to investigate the empirical relationship between debt and productivity and debt and investment for the Developing Asian Countries over the period of 1984-2007. The study uses two...

by Hasan Shahzad | On 30 Jan 2016

The Day-of-the-Week Anomaly in Market Returns, Volume and Volatility in SAARC Countries

This study investigates extent of market efficiency and presence of day of week effect in stock market indices and volume and volatility in four major SAARC countries, namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ind...

by Sumra Abbas | On 30 Jan 2016

The Impact of Formal and Informal Institutions on Economic Performance: A Cross-Country Analysis

This study is an attempt to understand the relative contribution of culture and economic freedom to economic growth. Through applying fixed effect to the panel of fifty four developed, developing and...

by Yasir Khan | On 30 Jan 2016

Monetary Paradoxes of Baby-Sitting Cooperatives

Many authors have described and modelled Keynesian effects in a Babysitting Cooperative (BSC), which has the underlying structure of a single good barter economy. A simple model of the BSC economy is...

by Asad Zaman | On 30 Jan 2016

Strategic Gender Interventions and Poverty Reduction: Principles and Practice

This manual has been written as a source book for gender interventions, an analysis of appropriate interventions giving various practical steps, rather than as a set of prescriptions. While the manual...

by Govind Kelkar | On 29 Jan 2016

Palestinian Public Opinion: Attitudes towards Peace Negotiations and National Reconciliation

This report presents selected results of the 2014 Arab Opinion Index from Palestine (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip). The Arab Opinion Index is the largest opinion poll of its kind in the Arab regio...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Industrial Policies in Lower-Middle-Income Countries

Lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are heterogeneous countries with various economic experiences. Many underwent different types of structural transformation from agriculture to manufacturing and s...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Trade Preferences for the Least Developed Countries: Opportunities Not Panaceas

One of the main aims of trade is to enable consumers to choose from a wider variety of goods at lower prices and firms to grow and create more jobs by becoming more productive and accessing larger mar...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Food Security and WTO Domestic Support Disciplines Post-Bali

Trade ministers in Bali agreed an interim solution to the problem of food security and WTO domestic support disciplines, but also committed to begin discussions on a "permanent solution" once the mini...

by Alan Matthews | On 28 Jan 2016

Climate Variability and Change in the Himalayas: Community Perceptions and Responses

Mountain communities in the developing world are often marginalised from political influence and economic opportunities and generally face high levels of poverty. The ecosystems they dwell in are amon...

by Mirjam Macchi | On 28 Jan 2016

Evidence from the Frontlines of Climate Change: Loss and Damage to Communities Despite Coping and Adaptation

New thinking and practical approaches are needed to address the threats to human security that climate change combined with social vulnerability pose for current and future patterns of loss and damage...

by Koko Warner | On 28 Jan 2016

A Legally Binding Agreement (LBA) - Growing Need for Air Pollution Reduction and Control in South Asia

With increasing urbanization and economic growth, air pollution is becoming an urgent concern in South Asian countries. The study upon which this paper is based has been conducted at SDPI, to look int...

by Mahmood Khwaja | On 28 Jan 2016

Internal Migration in Developing Economies: An Overview

An overview is provided of the state of knowledge on internal migration in developing economies, with particular emphasis on recent contributions to the literature. The overview is divided into five s...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Management by Participation? Village Institutions and Drinking Water Supply in Gujarat

One of the critical dimensions of rural water supply has been participation by the local community in managing the source and finances. Drawing upon case studies of 20 villages (spread across 17 distr...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Jan 2016

Building Human Capital in East Asia: What Others Can Learn

While recognizing that education contributes to economic growth, investments in human capital contributed to high economic growth and also to better income distribution in East Asia; and human capital...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Role of Gender in Health Disparity: The South Asian Context

South Asia's girls and women do not have the same life advantage as their Western counterparts. A human rights based approach may help to overcome gender related barriers and improve the wellbeing of...

by Omrana Pasha | On 28 Jan 2016

Promoting Agricultural Growth in Myanmar: A Review of Policies and an Assessment of Knowledge Gaps

This paper reviews the agricultural policy environment in Myanmar up until 2014 with an eye towards identifying policies that can help to accelerate productivity and profitability in the agricultural...

by Ulrike Nischan | On 28 Jan 2016

Health, Inequality and Economic Development

This article explores the connection between income inequality and health in both, poor and rich countries. Mechanisms like non-linear income effects, credit restrictions, nutritional traps, public go...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Triple Wins for Sustainable Development

As countries prepare for the ‘Rio+20’ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, UNDP is pleased to share this report. It sets out national examples of progress toward sustainable developme...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Synthesis of Important Discussions on Microfinance and Livelihood Support to Small and Marginal Farmers

This publication incorporates all the discussions on marginal and small farmers such as micro financing for agricultural value chains, MahilaKisanSashaktikaranPariyojna, MF for small farmers through e...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Consolidated Replies on State of the Sector Report 2012 for Microfinance

This document incorporates outputs of two discussions conducted on State of the Sector Report 2012. The summaries of the two discussions on SOS 2012 also find place in the State of the Sector Report...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Financial Inclusion and Livelihood Promotion of Rickshaw Pullers in India

The research study highlights the financial inclusion needs of cycle rickshaw pullers in India. These include access to service sectors; improvement of asset base; employment of their women; increase...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Financial Inclusion of Excluded Segments - Learning from Experience Delivery of Financial Services to People with Disabilities

The case study focuses on the unique initiative in India undertaken by the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion International in partnership with v-shesh Learning Services Pvt. Ltd. and three Micr...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

The Microfinance Bill: Need for a Fresh Outlook

This policy paper presents the past efforts of regulating the Microfinance sector, analyses the merits and demerits of various attempts beginning from the report of the Task Force1 in 1999 and present...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Migration of Indian Health Professionals to Selected European Nations: The Case of Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden

India’s comparative advantage in health care is due to a large resource pool and competence in English. Indian migration to the US, UK or Australia has been widely studied, but not much attention has...

by Ayona Bhattacharjee | On 27 Jan 2016

Civil Unrest and Government Transfers in India

This paper investigates empirically the role of government expenditure on social services in mitigating and preventing civil unrest (riots) in India. The empirical analysis makes use of a unique longi...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

The Determinants of Quality Specialization

A growing literature suggests that high-income countries export high-quality goods. Two hypotheses may explain such specialization, with different implications for welfare, inequality, and trade polic...

by Roberta Piermartini | On 26 Jan 2016

The Relationship Between Services Trade And Government Procurement Commitments: Insights From Relevant WTO Agreements And Recent RTAS

To date, government procurement has been effectively carved out of the main multilateral rules of the WTO system. This paper examines the systemic and other ramifications of this exclusion, from both...

by Robert Anderson | On 26 Jan 2016

Infrastructure Provision , Trade And Development Prospects: Potential Role And Relevance Of The WTO Agreement On Government Procurement (GPA)

The paper, nonetheless, acknowledges that delivering these benefits would involve significant practical and political challenges. It concludes that if the challenges can be overcome and the mutual ben...

by Kodjo Osei-Lah | On 26 Jan 2016

Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Export Diversification: the Application of Utility Model Laws

We examine in this paper the impact of the tightening of IPRs, notably patents rights, and the adoption of utility model laws on export diversification. To perform our analysis, we used panel data cov...

by Kimm Gnangnon | On 26 Jan 2016

Agricultural Trade And Development: A Value Chain Perspective

The system of global agricultural and food trade is undergoing rapid processes of change, with important implications for economic development. In this paper we document and discuss these changes; inc...

by Johan Swinnen | On 26 Jan 2016

Improving The Availability Of Trade Finance In Developing Countries: An Assessment Of Remaining Gaps

While conditions in trade finance markets returned to normality in the main routes of trade, the structural difficulties of poor countries in accessing trade finance have not disappeared – and might h...

by Marc Auboin | On 26 Jan 2016

Aid for Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and Export Upgrading in Recipient Countries

This paper examines empirically whether Aid for Trade (AfT) programmes and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows affect export upgrading and, if so, whether their effects are complementary or substi...

by Sèna Gnangnon | On 26 Jan 2016

TRIPS Plus Agreements and Issues in Access to Medicines in Developing Countries

Harmonisation of intellectual property rights among the members of WTO has in the recent years seen informed debates on access to medicines. While the developing countries are lured to such agreements...

by Samira Guennif | On 26 Jan 2016

International Success Stories in Reducing Undernutrition: Strategic Choices, Policy Actions and Lessons

Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam are examples of developing countries that have successfully reduced undernutrition. While each country used its own set of policies, strategies and approaches to address u...

by Sheila Vir | On 26 Jan 2016

Governance Structure and Labour Market Outcomes in Garment Embellishment Chains

Globalization has led to large scale outsourcing of production activities to developing countries manifesting in global commodity chains.The study shows that given a choice, enterprises and workers pr...

by Jeemol Unni | On 26 Jan 2016

Power to Women through Finance: Revisiting the Microfinance Promise

The relationship between women’s access to credit and their empowerment is a theme that seems to have lost much of its sheen and sharpness during the phase of commercialization of microfinance in Indi...

by Tara Nair | On 26 Jan 2016

India in the Emerging World Order: A status quo power or a revisionist force?

This chapter sets out to trace the changing contours of India’s foreign policy by throwing light on: (i) the historical and sociological compulsions shaping India’s strategic trends and the evolution...

by | On 25 Jan 2016

India-Korea CEPA: An Appraisal of Progress

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the Republic of Korea is the first such free trade agreement signed by India with an OECD country. It was signed in August 200...

by | On 25 Jan 2016

Ageing in Emerging Markets

This report describes the outcomes of a 2015 symposium on Ageing in Emerging Markets convened by the Emerging Markets Symposium at Green Templeton College, Oxford. It focusses on the causes and conseq...

by | On 25 Jan 2016

Foreign Direct Investment and Poverty Reduction: India in Regional Context

It is widely proclaimed that capital account liberalisation would immensely benefit developing economies because once capital controls are lifted capital would flow from the capital abundant rich cou...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 25 Jan 2016

Regulating Microfinance through Codes of Conduct: A Critical Review of the Indian Experience

The paper critically reviews the course of events that led to the development of codes of conduct for the microfinance industry in the country and examines their effectiveness in motivating microfinan...

by Tara S Nair | On 25 Jan 2016

Nexus among Output, Inflation and Private Sector Credit in Bangladesh

This study examines the relationship if any among economic growth (output), private sector credit and inflation in Bangladesh. In many developed and developing countries, private sector credit has pla...

by Sayera Younus | On 23 Jan 2016

Interest Rates and the Demand for Money in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation with Quarterly Data, 1997Q4-2006Q4

This paper investigates the sensitivity of money demand to interest rates on treasury bills in Bangladesh with quarterly data for the period 1997Q4-2006Q4. A standard demand for money function is spec...

by Akhand Akhtar Hossain | On 23 Jan 2016

The SLR as a Monetary Policy Instrument in Bangladesh

The statutory liquidity requirement (SLR), as a monetary policy instrument, has experienced infrequent changes in Bangladesh. Past evidence shows that reduction in SLR produced positive impact on bank...

by Sayera Younus | On 23 Jan 2016

Child Marriage In South Asia

The briefing paper primarily focuses on violations of women’s and girls’ reproductive rights and right to be free from sexual violence arising from child marriage in six South Asian countries—Afghanis...

by Center for Reproductive Rights CRR | On 23 Jan 2016

Better Ask the Parrot

It may be time to look at the market forecasts that pundits had made earlier.

by T.N. Ninan | On 23 Jan 2016

Economic Growth In South Asia: Role Of Infrastructure

The paper examines the output elasticity of infrastructure for four South Asian countries viz., India,Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka using Pedroni’s panel cointegration technique for the period 19...

by Ranjan Kumar Dash | On 23 Jan 2016

Ensuring Access for the Climate Vulnerable in Bangladesh

Drawing on secondary literature and interviews and discussions with community members, local government officials, and various experts, the report proposes a mechanism through which LGIs could provide...

by International Centre for Climate Change and Develo ICCCAD | On 23 Jan 2016

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Opportunities and Challenges for Bangladesh - Framework Issues

In the backdrop of rise in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in developing countries, particularly after the global financial and economic crisis, Bangladesh is still ambivalent in setting its strategies r...

by Khondaker Moazzem | On 23 Jan 2016

Prospects for Regional Cooperation on Cross-Border Electricity Trade in South Asia

Energy remains one of the key inputs to socio-economic progress in developing societies. South Asian nations, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lank...

by Anoop Singh | On 23 Jan 2016

Impact of Climate Change on Least Developed Countries: Are The SDGs Possible?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will define the priorities of the UN’s development agendabeyond 2015. But the reality of climate change impacts will render these aspirational goals almost imp...

by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC | On 23 Jan 2016

Five Fingers or One Hand? The BRICS in Development Cooperation

The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are increasingly prominent in development cooperation activities in low-income countries in Africa and worldwide, presenting a pote...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

National Development Banks in the BRICS: Lessons for the Post-2015 Development Finance Framework

While there is now broad agreement that National Development Banks (NDBs) have the potential to contribute positively to development objectives, it is less clear how this can best be done in practice....

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

Do Government Transfers Reduce Conflict?

Social conflicts have been solved through fiscal policy and the provision of public goods and services over the centuries. Data from India, too, show government expenditure on social services has had...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

Modeling Interest Rate Cycles in India

The present study tries to examine the behaviour of various Indian interest rates such as call money rate, and yields on secondary market securities with maturity periods of 15 to 91 days, 1-year, 5-y...

by B B Bhattacharya | On 22 Jan 2016

The E15 Initiative: Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century

World trade has experienced a significant slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis. Over this period, the global ratio of trade expansion to income growth has halved. An effective global trade and inv...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 22 Jan 2016

INDIA’S GHG Emissions Profile: Results of Five Climate Modelling Studies

The effort has been to ensure that these studies are fact-based and objective and are not seen as a “government study”. We believe that the debates and negotiations on climate change are best served b...

by Climate Modelling Forum CMF | On 22 Jan 2016

The Coordination of Climate Finance In India

In India, institutional arrangements around climate finance have mostly followed national policy responses to climate change. This paper maps the emergence of climate change policy in India and subseq...

by Vyoma Jha | On 21 Jan 2016

Emerging Powers in a Changing World

This is the second collective effort from the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies to address global issues that are largely unfamiliar to the Greek international affairs community. Last year we dealt wit...

by Stamatis Zachariadis | On 21 Jan 2016

Cohort Profile: The Consortium of Health-Orientated Research in Transitioning Societies

The experience of working together on the original paper, which was published in 2008,6 was highly positive. This motivated Cesar Victora, on behalf of the principal investigators, to apply for a rese...

by Linda Richter | On 21 Jan 2016

BRICS and South-South Cooperation in Medicine: Emerging Trends in Research and Entrepreneurial Collaborations

The research is a collaboration in health biotechnology and shows relatively strong involvement of the emerging economies BRICS, apart from some of the other economies such as Cuba, also actively purs...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 21 Jan 2016

Towards a More Equitable Outcome from Rio Plus 20

The “Rio plus 20” summit provides an opportunity to launch a process for forging a new global compact, underpinned by greater equity and policy space for the developing countries, for dealing with sus...

by Ambassador A. Gopinathan | On 21 Jan 2016

The Growth-Employment Relationship Since 2000

This discussion paper is a brief assessment of the employment challenge that become manifest in the Indian economy during the past decade. It analyses various available economic indicators and present...

by Shipra Nigam | On 21 Jan 2016

Statistics and Indicators for the Post-2015 Development Agenda

This report highlights the experience from the Millennium Development Goals has shown that well-defined, objectively measurable indicators can help to maintain focus on internationally agreed developm...

by United Nations (UN) | On 20 Jan 2016

India: Developing World’s Voice on Climate Issues

The Conference on climate change in Paris in December 2015 demonstrated what an uphill road it is for all nations to ‘come together and save the world’. India, the fourth-largest contributor to worldw...

by Chandrani Sarma | On 20 Jan 2016

Role of Private Sector in Higher Education

The Standing Committee on Human Resource Development is currently examining the subject 'Role of Private Sector in Higher Education'. In this context, an analysis of the role of the private sector...

by Apoorva Shankar | On 20 Jan 2016

Zinc Status in South Asian Populations—An Update

This article attempts to highlight the prevalence of zinc deficiency and its health and economic consequences in South Asian developing countries and to shed light on possible approaches to combating...

by S Akhtar | On 20 Jan 2016

Gendered Impacts of Globalization Employment and Social Protection

The last three decades have seen remarkable changes in economic structures and policies both within and across countries, loosely captured by the term globalization. This paper reviews evidence on how...

by Shahra Razavi | On 19 Jan 2016

Climate Impacts on Food Security and Nutrition

Among the most significant impacts of climate change is the potential increase of food insecurity and malnutrition. The aim of this primer is to summarise the current state of knowledge on the impacts...

by Richard Choularton | On 19 Jan 2016

Long-term care protection for older persons: A review of coverage deficits in 46 countries

This paper: (i) examines long-term care (LTC) protection in 46 developing and developed countries covering 80 per cent of the world’s population; (ii) provides (data on LTC coverage for the population...

by Xenia Scheil-Adlung | On 19 Jan 2016

Evolution of Capital Structure in East Asia: Corporate Inertia or Endeavours?

The present paper examines the capital structure adjustment dynamics of listed non-financial corporations in seven East Asian countries during 1994-2002. Compared to firms in the least affected countr...

by Sarmistha Pal | On 19 Jan 2016

Openness and Technological Innovation in East Asia: Have They Increased the Demand for Skills?

This paper asks whether the increased openness and technological innovation in East Asia have contributed to an increased demand for skills in the region. We explore a unique firm level data set acros...

by Rita Almeida | On 19 Jan 2016

Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia: Results from a Pilot Project in Vietnam

Human trafficking is one of the most widely spread and fastest growing crimes in the world. However, despite the scope of the problem, the important human rights issues at stake and the professed inte...

by Ngan Dinh | On 19 Jan 2016

Conducting Elections in the World’s Largest Plural Society

The paper discusses the need to have elections completely free of crime, and abuse of money, based on a perfect electoral roll, and with full voter participation.

by S. Y. Quraishi | On 19 Jan 2016

Indian Media’s Dickensian Age

What has allowed the Indian print media to grow, while newspapers are declining in the west? The first is literacy. Back in 1981, shortly after India’s magazine market got new life, only 40 percent of...

by T. N. Ninan | On 19 Jan 2016

Complaining to the State: Grievance Redress and India’s Social Welfare Programs

Poor implementation of social welfare programs is a chronic challenge in developing countries such as India. Yet, despite the large number of people affected and the serious consequences of implementa...

by Nicholas Robinson | On 18 Jan 2016

Crucial Collaborators or Petty Players? The Globalization of R&D and the Rise of China and India

In recent decades, research and development has become a key new arena of globalization. Whereas multinational corporations once conducted R&D primarily in their home countries, it is now often disper...

by Andrew Kennedy | On 18 Jan 2016

A Tale Of Two Villages: Kinship Networks And Political Preference Change In Rural India

This paper develops a theory on how voters form and change political preferences in democratic developing world contexts. In the developing world, where state institutions are often weak, voters tend...

by Neelanjan Sircar | On 18 Jan 2016

Why BRICS is no Longer a Saleable Idea

The Brics line-up has yielded to a shaky China-India story, with new question marks over China even as India remains a "B+" performer.

by T.N. Ninan | On 16 Jan 2016

The Role of Industrial Policy as a Development Tool: New Evidence from the Globalization of Trade-and-Investment

This paper identifies the ingredients for what it calls “light-handed” industrial policy to address these obstacles. To a certain extent, emerging market hosts can carry out the policy interventions r...

by Theodore H Moran | On 15 Jan 2016

A Survey of the Role of Fiscal Policy in Addressing Income Inequality, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth

A growing concern on widening income gap between the rich and the poor, the policy mismatch in tackling the relative poverty and income inequality have invited increasing volumes of research focusing...

by | On 15 Jan 2016

Rebalancing Growth in Asia

Rebalancing growth patterns of Asian economies is an important component of the overall rebalancing effort that will be required in the world economy. In this paper, I provide an empirical characteriz...

by Eswar S. Prasad | On 15 Jan 2016

A Profile of the World's Young Developing Country Migrants

Individual level census and household survey data are used to present a rich profile of the young developing migrants around the world. Youth are found to comprise a large share of all migrants, parti...

by David McKenzie | On 14 Jan 2016

Housing Policies in China: Issues and Options

This article consists in three parts. The first part deals with theory. We evaluate the pros and cons of government involvement in urban housing and of renting versus ownership. In the second part, we...

by Yves Zenou | On 14 Jan 2016

Reclaiming the Grassland for the Cheetah: Science And Nature Conservation In India

The role of scientists in influencing the aims and priorities of biological conservation in developing countries has been a topic of debate and needs elucidation. The Asiatic cheetah reintroduction pl...

by | On 14 Jan 2016

Introductory Guide to Gender and Climate Change

For years, civil society organisations and researchers have highlighted that, as weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable and extreme events such as floods, heatwaves or storms become more c...

by A Otzelberger | On 13 Jan 2016

Female Migrants and their Health in India: A Study of Kerala Women Working in Mumbai

In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the general, reproductive, and mental health status of migrant women from Kerala who stay in the working women’s hostels. The present study is bas...

by R. S. Reshmi | On 13 Jan 2016

Development

The study of international organizations inevitably leads to consideration of the role of several that have been at the heart of international efforts to promote development after World War II, primar...

by David Malone | On 13 Jan 2016

Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2016

Regional integration efforts have intensified at varying levels over the years to implement the regional integration initiatives of ASEAN, ASEAN+3 and ASEAN+6. Current efforts are still not enough to...

by OECD Development Centre | On 13 Jan 2016

Beyond Market Access: Trade-related Measures for the Least Developed Countries. What Strategy?

This paper assesses the effectiveness of non-tariff special and differential treatment (SDT) offered exclusively to the least developed countries by WTO agreements. SDTs are inefficient in at least fo...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Recipients and Contributors: Middle income countries and the future of development cooperation

The new role that middle-income countries (MICs) play in the global landscape obliges international community to review the configuration of the development cooperation system. On the one hand, MICs s...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Recent Downturn in Emerging Economies and Macroeconomic Implications for Sustainable Development: A Case of India

The paper discusses the progress of Indian economy and its policies since the broadbased structural reforms initiated in 1991 with a special focus on the recent downturn following the global financial...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Absorbing Innovative Financial Flows: Looking at Asia

This paper explores the scope for Innovative Development Finance (IDF) to compensate for declining Official Development Assistance (ODA) and/or to enhance the efficiency of ODA. It shows that IDF has...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Living on the Edge: Immunization Coverage among Children of Nomadic and De-notified Tribes in the Slums of M-East Ward, Mumbai

This study was carried out to assess the immunization status of the NT-DNT children in the 0 to 5 year age group and also to suggest an intervention strategy to immunize the non-immunized children....

by Praveenkumar Katarki | On 11 Jan 2016

The Effect of Childhood Migration on Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Rural-Urban Migrants in Indonesia

Developing countries are experiencing unprecedented levels of urbanization. Although most of these movements are motivated by economic reasons, they could affect the human capital accumulation of the...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Transmission of Volatility of Money Market Overnight Repo Rate along the Yield Curve in Pakistan

This paper presents the empirical results of the volatility transmission of money market overnight repo rate along the yield curve in Pakistan. The results indicate that the transmission of volatilit...

by Asif Mahmood | On 11 Jan 2016

The Least Developed Countries Report, 2004

The Least Developed Countries Report 2004 assesses the relationship between international trade and poverty within the LDCs, and identifies national and international policies that can make trade a mo...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

The Least Developed Countries Report, 2011

The least developed countries (LDCs) are a group of countries that have been classified by the United Nations as least developed in terms of their low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, weak hum...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

The Judicial Appointments Debate in India: The Need for Integrity and Transparency

The latest ruling by the Supreme Court of India against the government’s project of the National Judicial Appointments Commission has further stirred a public discourse on the best means to have the b...

by Vinod Rai | On 09 Jan 2016

Trade and Development Report, 2010

The Trade and Development Report 2010 focuses on the need to make employment creation a priority in economic policy. Unemployment is the most pressing social and economic problem of our time, not leas...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

Trade and Development Report, 2014

The Trade and Development Report 2014: Global Governance and Policy Space for Development examines recent trends in the global economy, with a focus on growth, trade and commodity prices.The Report hi...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

South Asia’s Economic Changes and Diaspora Groups

The paper looks at the flow of ideas from the South Asian Diaspora groups to their original homelands. This is occurring in the areas of economic management and political change. As a result of the in...

by Shahid Javed Burki | On 09 Jan 2016

Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Evaluation and Implications for East Asian Regionalism

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement seems to have reached a crossroads: it could either be a building block toward achieving economic integration in Asia and the Pacific, or trigger the form...

by Inkyo Cheong | On 07 Jan 2016

Plurilateral Agreements: A Viable Alternative to the World Trade Organization?

The paper looks at some issue-based plurilateral agreements — such as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), the Financial Services and Basic Telecommunication Services Agreements, and the Anti-C...

by Michitaka Nakatomi | On 07 Jan 2016

Antibiotics on the Farm: Agriculture’s Role in Drug Resistance

The evidence that antibiotic use in agriculture creates a pool of resistant bacteria in farm animals is not in dispute. The key questions relate to the magnitude of the risk to human health, and the p...

by | On 06 Jan 2016

Estimates of Urban Infrastructure Financing Requirements in India 2006-2031

The paper describes the estimation exercise, i.e. the Urban Infrastructure Per Capita Investment Cost estimation and projection of urban finance requirements for the period 2006-2031 referred to as th...

by Shubhagato Dasgupta | On 05 Jan 2016

Habitat III Issue Papers : 22 – Informal Settlements

Although some governments acknowledge the existence of slums and informal settlements, many do not. This lack of recognition and subsequent response directly undermines city-wide sustainable developme...

by | On 05 Jan 2016

Plan vs. Performance: Winter Session 2015

This note compares the legislative business planned by Parliament and compares it with the actual performance, during the Winter Session 2015.

by Kusum Malik | On 05 Jan 2016

Stories of Change in Nutrition: A Tool Pool

This paper—which draws on inputs to, and discussions at, a methods development workshop—highlights the various concepts, methods, and tools that SoC researchers are considering to measure nutrition-re...

by | On 04 Jan 2016

Financial Literacy for Increasing Sustainable Access to Finance in Nepal

This paper explores how far the expansion of Banks and Financial Institutions including cooperatives assures the access to finance and its sustainability. The study also explores the worth of financia...

by | On 01 Jan 2016

Indo-Nepal Trade Relation: The Phenomenon of Black Hole Effect

In the field of international trade, an economy is assumed to be reeling under the 'BLACK HOLE EFFECT' of another economy, if all the major variables of international trade, irrespective of in which c...

by | On 01 Jan 2016

The Relationship between Structural Change and Inequality: A Conceptual Overview with Special Reference to Developing Asia

Structural change has a far-reaching impact on inequality. Extensive structural change is both a cause and consequence of the exceptionally rapid economic growth, which enabled developing Asia to rais...

by Donghyun Park | On 30 Dec 2015

Public Debt Sustainability in Developing Asia: An Update

The paper updates debt sustainability analysis (DSA) for developing Asia, conducted in 2011. With the benefit of hindsight, the accuracy of the earlier debt ratio forecasts and underlying macroeconomi...

by Benno Ferrarini | On 29 Dec 2015

Myanmar’s Agriculture Sector: Unlocking the Potential for Inclusive Growth

Myanmar’s agriculture sector offers substantial unexploited potential to underpin the country’s inclusive economic development. With extensive land, water, and labor resources, as well as proximity to...

by Jindra Samson | On 29 Dec 2015

Financial Crisis as a Catalyst of Legal Reforms: The Case of Asia

This paper discusses how financial crises in emerging Asia and Japan worked as catalysts for legal reforms. Findings show that six Asian countries pursued significant legal and judicial reforms follow...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 29 Dec 2015

Income Distributions, Inequality, and Poverty in Asia, 1992–2010

In this paper, income distributions for developing countries in Asia are modeled using beta-2 distributions, which are estimated by a method of moments procedure applied to grouped data. Estimated par...

by Duangkamon Chotikapanich | On 24 Dec 2015

Financial Inclusion, Regulation, and Education in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has achieved a high level of financial inclusion compared to other South Asian countries. Its financial sector comprises a wide range of financial institutions providing financial services s...

by Saman Kelegama | On 23 Dec 2015

Understanding Developing Country Resistance to the Doha Round

The Doha Round negotiations at the World Trade Organization have come to a halt. The vast majority of analyses of the (at least temporary) demise of the Doha Round have focused on the lack of the Unit...

by Timothy Sturgeon | On 23 Dec 2015

Enhancing Youth Political Participation throughout the Electoral Cycle

This guide identifies key entry points for the inclusion of young people in political and electoral processes and compiles good practice examples of mechanisms for youth political empowerment around t...

by United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] | On 23 Dec 2015

Different Paths to Power: The Rise of Brazil, India and China at the World Trade Organization

New powers, such as China, India and Brazil, are challenging the traditional dominance of the US in the governance of the global economy. It is generally taken for granted that the rise of new powers...

by Kristen Hopewell | On 23 Dec 2015

Asymmetric Influence in Global Banking Regulation

Global regulatory standard setting is one of the most lucrative battlefields of the international political economy. Asymmetric influence and regulatory capture in setting such standards can undermine...

by Roman Goldbach | On 23 Dec 2015

Fiscal Decentralization And Tax Incentives In The Developing world

Many developing countries use tax incentives to attract foreign direct investment, sacrificing immediate revenue from foreign capital, even though the effects of tax incentives on investment, growth,...

by Quan Li | On 23 Dec 2015

Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh: An Overview of Market Development

The objective of this report is to share a market level overview of the early stage progress of MFS in Bangladesh up through the first quarter of 2012. With this goal in mind Bangladesh...

by Bangladesh Bank | On 22 Dec 2015

Cricket and Indian National Consciousness

It is recognized that there are close links between sport and politics, and in particular between sport and national consciousness. The Olympic Games and the football, rugby and cricket World Cups hav...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

Information Economy Report 2015 - Unlocking the Potential of E-commerce for Developing Countries

The 2015 edition of Information Economy Report examines electronic commerce, and shows in detail how information and communications technologies can be harnessed to support economic growth and sustain...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN | On 22 Dec 2015

Innovations in Knowledge and Learning for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific

The challenge of aligning higher education services (programs) with evolving labor market changes, and responding to knowledge-based economy of respective developing countries, has been difficult for...

by Jouko Sarvi | On 21 Dec 2015

Doing Business Differently with Subnationals: Recommendations for Global Health Donors in Highly Decentralized Countries

This note builds on lessons learned from the Center for Global Development’s work on intergovernmental fiscal transfers for health and lays out three strategies for donors that fund organizations and...

by Amanda Glassman | On 21 Dec 2015

The High and Low Politics of Trade

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in trouble. Its negotiating mechanism has mostly seized up, as reflected in the failure to conclude the long-running Doha Round. No obvious solution to this conun...

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Basic Entrepreneurship: A Big New Idea in Development

The question of what keeps people mired in poverty is one of great importance to policy-makers and economists alike. The world’s poor typically lack both capital and skills, and each of these two fact...

by Oriana Bandiera | On 18 Dec 2015

A Note on Reserve Currencies with Special Reference to the G-20 Countries

It is most likely that the current reserve currencies will retain their status in the near future, given the persistence in the composition of reserve holdings. However, since we do not have complete...

by Menzie D. Chinna | On 18 Dec 2015

The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the Front Line

The challenge of climate change is huge; it requires an urgent response from all generations. As the effects of climate change become more visible and extreme, they are likely to affect adversely the...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

The Economic Case for Devoting Public Resources to Health

Major health problems persist, particularly in tropical countries, which are still struggling with infectious diseases while increasingly having to deal with noncommunicable diseases. Several classic...

by David E. Bloom | On 17 Dec 2015

The Design and Implementation of Public Pension Systems in Developing Countries: Issues and Options

Developing countries are increasingly aware of the need to design and implement improvements in public systems for providing pensions to the elderly. Such systems may aim to smooth consumption and thu...

by David Bloom | On 17 Dec 2015

Will Changes to the international Tax System Benefit Low- income Countries?

In recent months tax has climbed up the political agenda in ways that would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago. Creating a fairer international tax system was a central ambition of both...

by Mick Moore | On 16 Dec 2015

Tax Revenue Mobilistation In Developing Countries: Issues and Challenges

In recent years, domestic revenue mobilisation in developing countries gained increasing prominence in the policy debate. Several factors explain this, including the potential benefits of taxation for...

by Mick Moore | On 16 Dec 2015

Building Tax Capacity in Developing Countries

The agenda for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development suggests there will be less focus on aid, and more on how developing countries can generate their own financial resources...

by Mick Moore | On 16 Dec 2015

Progress of the World’s Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty

This report marks the fifth anniversary of the UN Millennium Declaration and the tenth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. It argues that unless governments and policymakers pay more atten...

by Martha Chen | On 16 Dec 2015

Domestic Work, Wages and Gender Equality: Lessons from Developing Countries

The paper looks at the basic characteristics of female domestic workers, gaps in minimum wage coverage, compliance, and the extent of minimum wage violations. Presenting empirical evidence on labour m...

by | On 16 Dec 2015

Enabling war and peace: Drugs, logs, gems, and wildlife in Thailand and Burma

In this policy paper, Vanda Felbab-Brown explores the relationship between conflict, peace dynamics, and drugs and other illicit economies in Thailand and Myanmar/Burma since the 1960s through...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 16 Dec 2015

National Experiences in Building Social Protection Floors: India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

This study highlights three central themes of the MGNREGA: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights-based entitlements, demand-driven employment, and citizen-cen...

by Ellen Ehmke | On 16 Dec 2015

Is Access to Loan Adequate for Financing Capital Expenditure? A Household-level Analysis on Some Selected States of India

This paper attempts to identify the factors that determine access to credit for financing capital expenditures across selected developed, less developed and middle performing states in India. Using a...

by Meenakshi Rajeev | On 16 Dec 2015

Big Data and International Development: Impacts, Scenarios and Policy Options

Many people are excited about data, particularly when those data are big. Big data, we are told, will be the fuel that drives the next industrial revolution, radically reshaping economic structures, e...

by | On 15 Dec 2015

Does the Rise of Middle Class Lock in Good Government in the Developing World?

The current size of the income-secure middle class and its likely future growth, suggest that optimism is indeed warranted for many of today’s middle-income countries. But it is not warranted for all...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 14 Dec 2015

SkyShares: Modelling the Distributive and Economic Implications of a Future Global Emissions Budget

The SkyShares model helps policy-makers explore a range of diffe ent policy scenarios. It enables users to relate a target limit for temperature change to a global emissions ceiling; to allocate this...

by Owen Barder | On 11 Dec 2015

Comparing Emissions Mitigation Efforts across Countries

A framework for comparing mitigation effort is drawn, drawing from a set of principles for designing and implementing informative metrics. A template for organizing metrics on mitigation effort is pr...

by William Pizer | On 09 Dec 2015

Identifying a Fair Deal on Climate Change

A fair deal on climate change for developed and developing countries is identified by focusing not on equitable emissions quotas but on fair access to energy services.

by Nancy Birdsall | On 07 Dec 2015

The Future of Forests: Emissions from Tropical Deforestation With and Without a Carbon Price, 2016-2050

The future of tropical deforestation is projected from 2016-2050 with and without carbon pricing policies, based on 18 million observations of historical forest loss spanning 101 tropical countries.

by Jonah Busch | On 04 Dec 2015

Look to the Forests: How Performance Payments can Slow Climate Change

This report argues that what is urgently needed is a tested but far from fully exploited approach to funding forest conservation: pay-for-performance transfers, under which public (and private) funder...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 03 Dec 2015

Paris Climate Change Summit: Why it is Bound to Fail

Expectations are high for a good and fair new climate change agreement at the much anticipated on-going climate change summit in Paris. Such expectations are elusive if the negotiations fail to face...

by Raman Letchumanan | On 03 Dec 2015

Monitoring Mortality in Forced Migrants—Can Bayesian Methods Help Us to Do Better with the (Little) Data We Have?

The global number of forced migrants is currently the highest since the Second World War. This is a major concern to public health: lack of access to safe water, food, sanitation, and inadequate shel...

by Peter Heudtlass | On 30 Nov 2015

Key Indicators of Social Consumption in India: Education

Key Indicators of Social Consumption in India on Education Show Continued Gender Gap and Rural Urban Differences. In rural areas, literacy rate was seen as 71% compared to 86% in urban areas. Also amo...

by National Sample Survey Office NSSO | On 17 Nov 2015

Fiscal Seigniorage “Laffer-curve effect” on Central Bank Autonomy in India

It is often emphasised that seigniorage financing of public sector deficits is technically a “free lunch” if the economy has not attained the full employment levels. However, conservative macroecono...

by Lekha S. Chakraborty | On 16 Nov 2015

Towards a Greener Economy: The Social Dimensions

This report is the result of a cooperation project between the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion of the European Commission and the International Institute for Labour S...

by | On 16 Nov 2015

The Tax Puzzle

If the surge in tax collections is sustainable, the finance minister has the elbow room to shoot for a fiscal deficit that is significantly lower than the Budget's 3.9 per cent of GDP, or to bump up.

by T.N. Ninan | On 13 Nov 2015

Employment and Economic Class in the Developing World

This paper introduces a model for generating national estimates and projections of the distribution of the employed across five economic classes for 142 developing countries over the period 1991 to 20...

by | On 10 Nov 2015

Skyrocketing Prices of Pulses and the Agrarian Crisis: Impact of Neo-liberal Policies

This interview with Vijoo Krishnan, Joint Secretary All India Kisan Sabha, on the agrarian crises leading to farmer suicides and rising prices of food grains traces backs the agrarian crises to the ne...

by Vijoo Krishnan | On 02 Nov 2015

Development Central Banking: A Review of Issues and Experiences

The paper argues that central banks should play a broader role in helping developing countries meet their key challenges, such as generating productive employment, helping to allocate investment to pr...

by | On 28 Oct 2015

Integrating SMEs into Global Value Chains: Challenges and Policy Actions in Asia

Globalized production networks, or global value chains, provide an opportunity for small and medium enterprises to upscale their business models and to grow across borders, though with global opportun...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 Oct 2015

The Influence of Industry Financial Composition on the Exports from Pakistan

the influence of the industry financial composition on the export flow between Pakistan and its trading partners is determined. The importing countries are split according to their OECD membership st...

by Aadil Nakhoda | On 16 Oct 2015

Natural Interest Rate: Assessing the Stance of India’s Monetary Policy under Uncertainty

Using a theoretical framework that combines the essence of Ramsay’s growth model and the New-Keynesian macrodynamics, and applying the Kalman filter estimation technique, this paper finds that Indi...

by Harendra Behera | On 16 Oct 2015

Labour Market Reforms Since the Crisis: Drivers and Consequences

The paper analyses the determinants and effects of reforms of employment protection legislation (EPL), using a novel inventory that covers 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014....

by Clemente Pignatti Morano | On 15 Oct 2015

Bihar Ten Years of Election Watch: Comprehensive Reports on Elections, Crime and Money

Ten years of election watch in Bihar.

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 12 Oct 2015

Development Goals in an Era of Demographic Change

The 2015-16 Global Monitoring Report, produced jointly by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, details the progress the world has made towards global development goals and examines the impa...

by International Monetary Fund [IMF] | On 09 Oct 2015

Attempting the Production of Public Goods through Microfinance: The Case of Water and Sanitation

This paper evaluates the attempt to create public goods via microfinance loans. Microfinance loans in the production of goods with public goods characteristics signify an emergent micro-privatisation....

by Philip Mader | On 06 Oct 2015

Public Good Provision in Indian Rural Areas: The Returns to Collective Action by Microfinance Groups

Self-help groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. The authors provide evidence that SHGs, composed of women only, undertake collective actions for the provision of public good...

by | On 01 Oct 2015

The Effects of Climate Change on Internal and International Migration: Implications for Developing Countries

This synthesis paper informs the development community about the effects of climate change on migration patterns within and out of developing countries, concentrating on the economic aspects of migrat...

by | On 29 Sep 2015

Housing Finance Mechanisms in India

India is home to over 1.1 billion people. With about one in every sixth person in the world living in India, housing perforce assumes significant importance. Successive Indian governments have regarde...

by UN-HABITAT | On 25 Sep 2015

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Global Report on Human Settlements 2013

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility argues that the development of sustainable urban transport systems requires a conceptual leap. The purpose 'transportation' and 'mobility' is to gain...

by UN-HABITAT | On 25 Sep 2015

Technology, Development and the Role of the State

South Asian countries like India and Pakistan had in the beginning placed the State at the “commanding heights of the economy”. Later, the State was justifiably displaced from that high pedestal. Howe...

by | On 24 Sep 2015

Manufacturing or Services? An Indian Illustration of a Development Dilemma

Manufacturing has historically offered the fastest path out of poverty, but there is mounting evidence that this path may be all but closed to developing countries today. Some have suggested that ser...

by Amrit Amirapu | On 23 Sep 2015

The Nexus between Agriculture and Nutrition: Do Growth Patterns and Conditional Factors Matter?

This paper seeks to provide an overview of the complex and dynamic relationship between nutrition and growth, examine how different growth patterns lead to different nutritional outcomes, and identif...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Geo-economics: Seven Challenges to Globalization

This report from the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geo-economics maps out the challenges that current geo-economic trends pose for globalisation. Findings show that the rise in strat...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Building Tax Capacity in Developing Countries

The agenda for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development suggests there will be less focus on aid, and more on how developing countries can generate their own financial resources...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges

This Report draws on all of this experience, to make sharp recommendations for the place of education in the future global sustainable development agenda. The lessons are clear. New education targets...

by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultura [UNESCO] | On 22 Sep 2015

Designing and Evaluating Social Safety Nets: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Conclusions

This paper reviews the literature on the performance of commonly found social safety net programs in developing countries. The evidence suggests that universal food subsidies have very limited potenti...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

BRICS Development Bank an Instrument for Globalization

The establishment of a development bank by the BRICS association of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is being described by both proponents and opponents of globalization as a rebellion...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

The Bali Agreement: An Assessment from the Perspective of Developing Countries

This paper discusses the different agreements and decisions reached in the Bali Ministerial Conference and the potential implications for the post-Bali work program. The results of the Bali Minister...

by Eugenio Díaz Bonilla | On 16 Sep 2015

Losing Our Minds? New Research Directions on Skilled Migration and Development

This paper critiques the last decade of research on the effects of high-skill emigration from developing countries, and proposes six new directions for fruitful research. The study singles out a cor...

by Michael Clemens | On 16 Sep 2015

Evolution of Minimum Wage Policy and Regulatory Framework: An Inter Country Perspective

The issue of wages is perhaps the most vital issue for various categories of workers, especially those engaged in the informal and unorganized sector. This study points out that in spite of various d...

by | On 15 Sep 2015

Report of the National Consultation on Prevention of Child Marriage

The purpose of the national consultation was to bring together initiatives from across the country to share experience and challenges. This report is the final draft of the discussions and a common ag...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 14 Sep 2015

Money and Inflation: Evidence from P-Star Model

This study uses P-star model to examine the role of money in explaining inflation in India. In particular, we compare the performance of traditional Phillips curve approach against P-star model in for...

by Sunil Paul | On 14 Sep 2015

Developing Regional Value Chains in South Asian Leather Clusters: Issues, Options and an Indian Case

The possibility of developing regional production networks in specific sectors between nations of South Asia has been explored in this paper. The case of the leather and leather goods cluster in T...

by Keshab Das | On 11 Sep 2015

Rethinking Trafficking: Patriarchy, Poverty, and Private Wrongs in India

Human trafficking is a large and growing problem, and sex trafficking is a particularly egregious form of contemporary enslavement of the most vulnerable: women and children. Yet a decade of anti-traf...

by Aditee Maskey | On 10 Sep 2015

Social Security for International Labour Migrants: Issues and Policy Options

Cross-border population movement, an indispensible feature of the current phase of globalisation, has led to significant changes in the migration landscape. Factors like temporisation of labour flows,...

by | On 09 Sep 2015

Nursing Shortage in India with special reference to International Migration of Nurses

In any health system, the health worker determines the nature and quality of services provided. Data demonstrate that most health systems across the globe face nursing shortages, varying across region...

by | On 07 Sep 2015

Interrelation Between Growth and Inequality

The paper highlights the importance of “broad-based growth” as a framework to support economic growth and inclusiveness at the same time. Different countries show different dynamics between economic g...

by Jong Woo Kang | On 07 Sep 2015

Financial Inclusion in Asia: An Overview

This paper provides an analysis of financial development and inclusion in developing Asia using data from a wide array of sources. In terms of aggregate measures of financial development, the region a...

by | On 07 Sep 2015

Financial Market Regulation in India-Looking back, Looking Ahead

A broad assessment of the evolution of financial markets and the issues we are grappling with are given here. We can learn right lessons from other countries. There could be different view points and...

by Harun R Khan | On 31 Aug 2015

A Policy Mix for Gender Equality? Lessons from High-Income Countries

Over the past 15 years, important gains have been made in gender equality. Gender gaps in educational attainment have shrunk substantially. In fact, in many high-income countries, young women’s educat...

by Megan Gerecke | On 31 Aug 2015

Global Wage Report 2014/15: Wages and Income Inequality

The Global Wage Report 2014/15 presents both the latest trends in average wages and an analysis of the role of wages in income inequality. The first part of the report shows that global wage growth in...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 26 Aug 2015

Efficacy of New Monetary Framework and Determining Inflation in India: An Empirical Analysis of Financially Deregulated Regime

Against the backdrop of the new monetary policy framework, this paper analyses the determinants of inflation in the deregulated financial regime. The paper upfront has been kept free from adherence to...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 25 Aug 2015

Do Philanthropic Citizens Behave Like Governments? Internet-Based Platforms and the Diffusion of International Private Aid

Until recently, most aid from rich to poor countries was transmitted through official bilateral and multilateral channels. But the rapid growth in private development aid from foundations, charities,...

by Homi Kharas | On 25 Aug 2015

Strong Sustainable Growth for the Indian Economy

How is the RBI helping the government to create the conditions for a sustainable growth? Structural reforms will help strengthen this growth – two weeks ago, the Government announced Indradhanush, la...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 25 Aug 2015

Safety First

Global market is in a turmoil. How can India have a stable economy? There are no easy solutions but to play safe.

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 Aug 2015

On Reckoning Level Differentials in the Measurement of Progress: An Illustration in the Context of Deliveries Assisted by Skilled Health Personnel

The paper highlights that performance assessments should account for non-linear dynamics of progress, whereby an improvement at a higher level represents greater achievement than an equal improvement...

by William Joe | On 21 Aug 2015

The Challenge of Jobless Growth in Developing Countries: An Analysis with Cross-Country Data

Although high rate of economic growth is necessary condition for rapid poverty reduction on a sustained basis, this is not a sufficient condition, and the relationship between economic growth and pove...

by Rizwanul Islam | On 21 Aug 2015

Youth Employment in Developing Countries

This report tries to address youth employment challenges, and suggests measures that countries will need an integrated approach involving different levels of government and linking with overall develo...

by | On 20 Aug 2015

Case Studies of Policy Coherence Initiatives in Developing Asia

This paper highlights four case studies of national efforts in developing Asia towards greater policy coherence and coordination, ranging from institutional cooperation in poverty reduction programmes...

by Internaional Labour Organization [ILO] | On 19 Aug 2015

Regulatory Barriers to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Against the post-New Industrial Policy (1991) growth witnessed in large-scale industries, a corresponding boom in the small and mid-sized domestic industry has been conspicuously absent. The paper see...

by Amit Chandra | On 13 Aug 2015

The Rising Cost of a Healthy Diet – Changing Relative prices of Foods in High- Income and Emerging Economies

In 2014 our previous study ‘Future Diets’ (Keats and Wiggins 2014) described how across the world an increasing share of the population is overweight and obese, with the rate of increase particularly...

by Rafael Moreira Claro | On 12 Aug 2015

Economic Growth, Financial Development and Income Inequality

The central objective of the paper is to empirically examine the relationship between financial development and income inequality. Theoretically, there are grounds for both a positive and negative re...

by Donghyun Park | On 12 Aug 2015

Land Marked by Policy Distortions

Of all the markets in which politicians interfere with prices, the land market is probably the last that will be reformed.

by T.N. Ninan | On 08 Aug 2015

Careful with Those Surveys

A survey's design determines its findings; understanding the logic behind measurement is key to interpretation.

by T.N. Ninan | On 01 Aug 2015

Can GDP-Linked Official Lending to Emerging Economies and Developing Countries Enhance Risk Management and Resilience?

This paper considers whether GDP-linked official external public debt can help address some of the challenges that developing countries face when managing international financial flows. GDP-linked off...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 20 Jul 2015

Weather Variability, Agriculture and Rural Migration: Evidence from State and District Level Migration in India

This study explores the three-way linkage between weather variability, agricultural performance and internal migration in India. It estimates a two-equation model, which examines variations in weather...

by | On 17 Jul 2015

Articulating a Vision for a Progressive BRICS Development Bank

Amidst calls for reform of international financial institutions and failure of existing development banks to satisfy the development financing needs of developing countries in general, and BRICS in pa...

by | On 16 Jul 2015

The Role of Subsidy Uncertainty in Mission Drift of Microfinance Institutions of Asia

This study sheds light on the mission drift arguments for 149 MFIs working in continent Asia over the period 2003 to 2013. The mission drift is captured by average loan size, total number of borrower...

by | On 08 Jul 2015

The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing

Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stre...

by Anant Sudarsan | On 07 Jul 2015

Financial Frauds-Prevention: A Question of Knowing Somebody

Banks and financial institutions are easy prey to fraudsters. As long as banks and financial institutions handle huge sums of money as financial intermediaries they will always be the target of ingeni...

by R. Gandhi | On 06 Jul 2015

Education and Academic Entrepreneurship in India

The paper aims to explore few aspects of academic entrepreneurship. Besides dwelling upon the conceptual definition, there is an attempt to understand the processes and stages of academic entrepreneur...

by Deepthi Shanker | On 30 Jun 2015

The Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2012): Measuring the Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

The Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2012) measure what governments achieve and where they fail in addressing hunger and undernutrition providing greater transparency and public accountabi...

by | On 23 Jun 2015

How Empowered is Microfinance in Empowering Women ? Evidence from India

Drawing upon the data from the recent period, this paper explores the relationship between women’s involvement in microfinance programs and improvement in their empowerment status. The significant d...

by | On 19 Jun 2015

Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) of Ministry of Public Administration Bangladesh

The statement discusses the need of development of a competent and accountable public service by attracting, developing, engaging and managing an efficient and innovative organizational, functional an...

by Ministry of Finance Bangladesh | On 18 Jun 2015

Inflation Targeting India: Select Issues

The adoption of inflation targeting in India has been a much debated topic which also becomes a challenge for the emerging economy. Though inflation targeting has already been adopted in many emerging...

by Charan Singh | On 18 Jun 2015

Medium Term Budget Framework: Pre Budget Document 1390-1392

This Pre Budget Report incorporates the Medium-Term Budget Framework (MTBF). The MTBF links the spending plans of budgetary units to overall government policy objectives.The purpose of the Report is t...

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 16 Jun 2015

Afghanistan Quarterly Fiscal Bulletin, 1390

This edition of the Afghanistan bulletin provides a snapshot of the actual domestic revenues collection and core budget execution during the quarter. An attempt has been made to provide analytical ana...

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 16 Jun 2015

Assessing Development Assistance for Mental Health in Developing Countries: 2007–2013

Despite an expanding body of evidence suggesting that sustainable mental health care can be effectively integrated into existing health systems at relatively low cost, mental health has not received s...

by Barnabas J Gilbert | On 16 Jun 2015

Monetary Policy and Informal Finance

This article utilises state-level data for 1961–2012 to examine the interlinkage between informal finance and monetary policy. The analysis suggests that in response to a monetary contraction, borrowi...

by Saibal Ghosh | On 15 Jun 2015

A Study on Present Scenario of Child Labour in Bangladesh

The problem of child labour is a socio-economic reality of Bangladesh. This issue is enormous and cannot be ignored. This study indicates the child labour increase in a developing country like Banglad...

by | On 12 Jun 2015

Budget FY11: Report on the Implementation Status, Income and Expenditure Trend and Macroeconomic Analysis (up to December 2010)

Budget FY11 contains Speech of the Bangladesh Finance Minister on the implementation status and macroeconomic analysis up to second quarter (July-December).

by | On 12 Jun 2015

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 1390 Citizens Budget

The Government’s main budgetary objective is to allocate fiscal resources in line with Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). In this way, it will be assured that resources are allocated to...

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 11 Jun 2015

Citizens’ Guide to the 1390 National Budget

This guide explains, in simple and easily understood language, the 1390 Budget Statement presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance on 5 February 2011. The guide is designed to help the genera...

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 11 Jun 2015

Making It Happen: Technology, Finance and Statistics for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

This report assesses the state of progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and then considers how the international community can embark on a post-2015 development agenda and do so in an in...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 Jun 2015

Fourteenth Finance Commission: Continuity, Change and Way Forward

In preparation of its report, the Fourteenth Finance Commission was guided by the terms of reference; the approach of the previous finance commissions; the prevailing macroeconomic situation in the co...

by | On 03 Jun 2015

The Double Burden of Malnutrition: Case Studies from Six Developing Countries

This Food and Agriculture Organization publication assesses the extent of the "double burden" of malnutrition in six developing countries – China, Egypt, India, Mexico, the Philippines and South Afric...

by Food and Nutrition Division FAO | On 01 Jun 2015

Making it Happen: Technology, Finance and Statistics for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific:Asia-Pacific Regional MDGs Report 2014/15

This is a historic year: the end of 2015 is the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. Since 2001, governments across Asia and the Pacific have been striving to meet ambitious goals that ai...

by Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific ESCAP | On 31 May 2015

Report of the Working Group on Outreach of Institutional Finance, Cooperatives and Risk Management for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The working group is of the opinion that the credit strategy should be aligned to agriculture growth strategy which in turn has to address broader macro economy concerns of supply management and issu...

by Planning Commission | On 21 May 2015

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011

This Bill is further amendment to the constitution on levy and collection of goods and service tax and trade in India. It provides the parliament with exclusive powers to make laws with respect to goo...

by Ministry of Finance | On 19 May 2015

Infrastructure Gap in South Asia: Infrastructure Needs, Prioritization, and Financing

If the South Asia region hopes to meet its development goals and not risk slowing down or even halting growth, poverty alleviation, and shared prosperity, it is essential to make closing its huge infr...

by World Bank | On 27 Apr 2015

Budget 2015 - What's In It For the Common Man ?

This is analysis of this year's Union Budget in Hindi. This video discusses on how the government categories budget and how the budget document should be viewed.

by | On 13 Apr 2015

Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2014-15

Maharashra Government, State Economy, Population, State income, Prices & Public Distribution System, Public Finance, Institutional Finance & Capital Market, Agriculture & Allied Activities, infrastru...

by Government of Maharashtra | On 09 Apr 2015

State Effectiveness, Growth, and Development

This paper discusses recent developments in the literature on state effectiveness. Each section covers the relevant theory with a special focus on the current knowledge about the mechanisms highlighte...

by | On 01 Apr 2015

Two Decades of Indian Microfinance: Trajectory and Transformation

This paper critically reviews the major trends in the trajectory of evolution of Indian microfinance since the early 1990s. The debates on Indian microfinance reflect the myriad imaginations and perc...

by | On 31 Mar 2015

Financial Inclusion, Poverty, and Income Inequality in Developing Asia

Understanding the link between financial inclusion, poverty, and income inequality at the country level will help policymakers design and implement programs that will broaden access to financial serv...

by | On 27 Mar 2015

Banker-Borrower Interplay: Synergies and Challenges

A determining aspect of the banker-borrower relationship is built on trust and understanding. It is also important that these relationships neither get too cosy nor do they get too strained as either...

by S.S. Mundra | On 27 Mar 2015

Outcome Budget 2015-2016

The “Outcome Budget” reflects the endeavour of the Government to convert “Outlays” into “Outcomes” by planning expenditure, fixing appropriate targets and quantifying deliverables of each scheme. The...

by Ministry of Finance | On 26 Mar 2015

Developing the Financial Sector and Expanding Market Instruments to Support a Post-2015 Development Agenda in Asia and the Pacific

The study discusses complementary initiatives in terms of legal and regulatory reforms necessary to sustainably support market-oriented financing options. Given market orientation, the paper is comple...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

BRICS Trade Policies, Institutions and Areas for Deepening Cooperation

This document studies the Trade Policies and Institutions of BRICS, India and BRICS: issues of trade and technology; and examines the scope for deepening cooperation in services among BRICS members. T...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

Kerala Budget 2015-16

Budget speech of Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani.

by K.M. Mani | On 13 Mar 2015

Finance Commission of India’s Assessments: A Political Economy Contention between Expectations and Outcomes

The objective of this study is to examine the structural basis on which Finance Commissions make their awards rather than examining the predictability of the forecasts. The story of Finance Commission...

by | On 12 Mar 2015

Investing to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases

This report repositions a group of 17 neglected tropical diseases on the global development agenda at a time of profound transitions in the economies of endemic countries and in thinking about the ove...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 09 Mar 2015

Road Infrastructure: Issues in Financing

Equity and efficiency are two issues that arise again and again the area of infrastructure finance. If the financing of infrastructure projects is to be sustainable the private sector must be entruste...

by Sudakshina Gupta | On 25 Feb 2015

Report of the Fourteenth Finance Commission

The Fourteenth Finance Commission (FC-XIV) was constituted by the President under Article 280 of the Constitution on 2 January 2013 to make recommendations for the period 2015- 20. Dr. Y. V. Reddy w...

by Finance Commission | On 24 Feb 2015

Budget Transparency and Participation: Recommendations to the Fourteenth Finance Commission

This paper explores the need for a Pre-Budget Statement, sub-national transparency and civil society participation to make the budgetary process in India more transparent, accountable and participator...

by Ravi Duggal | On 20 Feb 2015

Policy Asks and Expectations from Union Budget 2015-16

Important processes relating to government budgets in India have been constrained by some widely-acknowledged challenges in governance in the country. These challenges pertain to lack of adequate tran...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 20 Feb 2015

Report of the High Powered Expert Committee on Making Mumbai an International Financial Centre (Percy Mistry Report)

In the recent decade, India has made significant strides in the financial sector. Some of the important developments are strengthening of banks, de-regulation of interest rates and sector competition...

by Ministry of Finance | On 19 Feb 2015

Budget Track - Issues before the 14th Finance Commission

This edition of Budget Track focuses on the ‘Issues before the 14th Finance Commission’, which is due to submit its report to the Union Government this year. The Finance Commission of India, a Constit...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 19 Feb 2015

Policy Framework for Finance SEZs

India is a large user of financial services, by virtue of a large and growing GDP and a high rate of investment and savings. At present, India is con- suming financial services produced onshore as wel...

by Ministry of Finance | On 19 Feb 2015

Microfinance for Decent Work – Enhancing the Impact of Microfinance: Evidence from an Action Research Programme

In many emerging markets, Micro FinanceInstitutions have significant outreach, providing financial services to thousands, if not millions of small and micro enterprises. Since their primary relationsh...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 18 Feb 2015

The Paradox of Gender Responsive Budgeting

Despite the steps towards gender responsive budgeting, the budgetary allocations for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment show a decline. Not only has the magnitude of the gender budget a...

by | On 17 Feb 2015

Financing for Infrastructure Investment in G-20 Countries.

This study looks into various sources of financing infrastructure and the demands for infrastructure investments and highlights the mismatch between demand and supply of funds for infrastructure finan...

by Ramprasad Sengupta | On 11 Feb 2015

Indian Public Finance Statistics 2013-14

Indian Public Finance Statistics' is an annual publication prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. This provides a comprehensive overview of the b...

by Ministry of Finance | On 10 Feb 2015

Determinants of Regional Patterns of Manufacturing Exports: Indian Firms since the Mid-1990s

A preliminary analysis of the spatial determinants of firms’ export activities by Indian states has been undertaken in this study. Thus, the present study attempts to fill the gap by focusing on issue...

by Jaya Prakash Pradhan | On 06 Feb 2015

Impending Water Crisis in India and Comparing Clean Water Standards among Developing and Developed Nations

This paper is an overview of the issues surrounding India’s water scarcity, and also comparison of clean water standards between developing and developed nations. Water security is emerging as an incr...

by | On 06 Feb 2015

Hurdles in Rural e-Government Projects in India: Lessons for Developing Countries

Rural Electronic Government (e-government) projects are aimed at providing government services and information to rural public. The e-government initiatives have not been very successful in developing...

by | On 04 Feb 2015

World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2015

Formerly entitled Global Employment Trends, the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015 includes a forecast of global unemployment levels and explains the factors behind this trend, includin...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 22 Jan 2015

Global Economic Prospects

The report argues the recent setback in global economy and ways to strengthen the growth in developing countries. with a view to undertake growth and recovery in high-income countries, there is need t...

by World Bank | On 14 Jan 2015

Last Call to Get Climate Deal Right

The US “peaked” its emissions in 2012. Countries which were required to cut emissions did not do so at the scale or pace needed. The Durban CoP agreed that the world would work to finalise a new agree...

by Sunita Narain | On 03 Dec 2014

Measures, Spatial Profile and Determinants of Dietary Diversity: Evidence from India

Food security policies in developing countries generally focus on calorie intake, which is not sufficient to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and...

by Mousumi Das | On 14 Nov 2014

Eliminating forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization

Among other contraceptive methods, sterilization is an important option for individuals and couples to control their fertility. Sterilization is one of the most widely used forms of contraception in t...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 13 Nov 2014

Analysis of Criminal and Financial Details of Candidates and MLAs from Jharkhand: Based on 2009 Assembly Elections

Jharkhand Assembly elections 2009 were held in five phases from November 16, 2009 to December 13, 2009. This report includes the analysis of voting trends, criminalization, money power, gender etc in...

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 05 Nov 2014

International Migration and Development in East Asia and the Pacific

The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region has an international emigrant population of more than 21 million people who remitted US$112 billion to their home countries in 2013. The region also hosts more t...

by Ahmad Ahsan | On 31 Oct 2014

Spillover Effects of Exchange Rates: A Study of the Renminbi

This paper estimates the impact of China’s exchange rate changes on exports of competitor countries in third markets, which is called as the “spillover effect. Recent theory is used to develop an id...

by Aaditya Mattoo | On 29 Oct 2014

Ozone-smart, climate-cool

HFC has been a bugbear in the India-US relationship. One item on the agenda of the much-discussed Narendra Modi-Barack Obama meeting that has Indian commentators flummoxed is hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)...

by Sunita Narain | On 29 Oct 2014

Technology Intensity and Global Competitiveness: Issues in Labour Cost and Employment

Productive employment generation is an important objective in most of the developing countries this motivation has probably induced firms to adopt capital intensive techniques. Based on the country s...

by Arup Mitra | On 29 Oct 2014

Employment for Youth – A Growing Challenge for the Global Community

Social and economic challenges facing young people today must be understood in terms of the complex interaction between unique demographic trends and specific economic contexts. There has been an...

by Ragui Assaad | On 27 Oct 2014

WTO Promotes Trade "strongly, but unevenly"

This paper furnishes robust evidence that the WTO has had a strong positive impact on trade, amounting to about 120% of additional world trade (or US$ 8 trillion in 2000 alone). The impact has, howeve...

by Arvind Subramanian | On 22 Oct 2014

World Trade Report 2014: Trade and Development- Recent Trends and the Role of the WTO

The World Trade Report 2014 looks at how four recent major economic trends have changed how developing countries can use trade to facilitate their development. These trends are the economic rise of de...

by World Trade Organisation WTO | On 21 Oct 2014

What Undermines Aid’s Impact on Growth?

Why it is so hard to find a robust effect of aid on the long-term growth of poor countries, even those with good policies. A possible offset to the beneficial effects of aid is examined using a meth...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 20 Oct 2014

Youth in Transition: The Challenges of Transitional Change in Asia

This book originates from a conference of the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils and contains writings and research reports on Youth in Transition in the Asia and Pacific region. Th...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 16 Oct 2014

Financing Migration, Generating Remittances and the Building of Livelihood Strategies: A Case Study of Indonesian Migrant Women as Domestic Workers in Singapore

Using the case study of Indonesian women migrating as domestic workers to Singapore, this paper draws on a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews to examine the migration trajectories...

by Maria Platt | On 24 Sep 2014

Deforestation in the Himalayas: Myths and Reality

Deforestation in developing and middle income countries is an urgent global problem, affecting climate change, soil erosion, major river basins, and livelihoods of poor households living near the fore...

by Jean Marie Baland | On 24 Sep 2014

Production, Procurement and Inflation: A Market Model for Food Grains

Rapid rise in the price of food grains and their continued upsurge is a matter of concern for not only the government and policy makers but also for all concerned with social welfare. This is particul...

by Gopakumar K.U. | On 15 Sep 2014

A BRIC Development Bank: A Dream Coming True?

BRICS leaders have approved creating a new development bank which would fund long-term investment in infrastructure and more sustainable development. This paper documents the scale of unmet needs in t...

by Stephany Jones | On 21 Aug 2014

Integrated Health and Microfinance in India, Volume II: The Way Forward

Integrated Health and Microfinance in India: The Way Forward is a follow-up report that highlights the context of integration of health and microfinance in light of India’s journey towards universal h...

by Somen Saha | On 11 Aug 2014

The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries

Is the high degree of gender inequality in developing countries in education, personal autonomy, and more explained by underdevelopment itself? Or do the societies that are poor today hold certain cu...

by Seema Jayachandran | On 11 Aug 2014

Creative Budgeting or Actual Deficit Reduction? The case of FRBM Act

The FRBM Act was reflective of the shared commitment across political parties towards fiscal conservatism. A decade later, the picture, as reflected in the Union Budget, is yet to change for the bette...

by Surajit Mazumdar | On 07 Aug 2014

India Science Report - Science Education, Human Resources and Public Attitude towards Science and Technology

The present report focuses on science education, human resources in science & technology and public understanding of science. A custom-designed survey, the India Science Survey 2004, funded by INSA, w...

by Rajesh Shukla | On 28 Jul 2014

Union Budget 2014: New Government, Same Ol'Budget

If the Union Budget 2014 is anything to go by , the fiscal policy of the new government shows no change. In fact, there is an amazing continuity with the previous few Budgets. Significantly however,...

by Ravi Duggal | On 23 Jul 2014

Improving Educational Outcomes in Developing Countries: Lessons from Rigorous Evaluations

This paper describes four lessons derived from 115 rigorous impact evaluations of educational initiatives in 33 low- and middle-income countries. First, reducing the costs of going to school and provi...

by Richard Murnane | On 17 Jul 2014

New Government Gives Little Hope to Children: Budget for Children 2014-15

Children have been given only 4.6 per cent of the total budget of 2014 -15. In fact the share of children in has decreased. Is this the Finance Minister’s gift to children on India?

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 17 Jul 2014

Horizontal Devolution of States in India-Suggestions Before the Fourteenth Finance Commission

The focus of the paper is to suggest an alternate methodology for horizontal devolution from divisible pool of Central taxes and disbursement of grants. Tax devolution criteria suggested are populat...

by R. Mohan | On 16 Jul 2014

Union Budget 2014 - Education, Employment and Skill Building

According to Census estimates, more than half the population of the country, 51.8 per cent, to be precise, is less than 35 years of age, while the population in the critical demography category of 18-...

by Nandini Bhattacharya | On 16 Jul 2014

Vital Stats: Union Budget 2014-15

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, presented the Union Budget 2014-15 to Parliament on July 10, 2014. In this context, some statistics related to budget expenditures, receipts and deficits.

by Saumya Vaishnava | On 16 Jul 2014

Marrying Too Young End Child Marriage

Despite near-universal commitments to end child marriage, one in three girls in developing countries (excluding China) will probably be married before they are 18. One out of nine girls will be marrie...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 11 Jul 2014

State of the Economy: Economic Survey Report

In 2014-15, the Indian economy is poised to overcome the sub-5 per cent growth of gross domestic product (GDP) witnessed over the last two years. The growth slowdown in the last two years was broad ba...

by Planning Commission | On 10 Jul 2014

India's Public Distribution System: A National and International Perspective

This study examines the impact of India's Public Distribution System (PDS) on poor households in terms of income gains, reductions in the incidence and severity of poverty, as well as nutritional impr...

by R. Radhakrishna | On 07 Jul 2014

Quality Healthcare and Health Insurance Retention: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in the Kolkata Slums

Healthcare in developing countries is often unreliable and of poor quality, thus reducing individuals incentives to use quality health services. This paper examines an innovative approach to access to...

by Clara Delavallade | On 12 Jun 2014

PRS Legislative Research: Annual Policy Review-April 2013 – March 2014

The PRS Annual Policy Review aims to capture the key legislative and policy developments in India during the fiscal year 2013-14. The objective of this document is to summarise all the major devel...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 05 Jun 2014

Deregulating the Transfer of Agricultural Technology: Lessons from Bangladesh, India, Turkey, and Zimbabwe

Many transition and developing economies have reduced direct public involvement in the production and trade of seed and other agricultural inputs. This trend creates opportunities for farmers to reali...

by David Gisselquist | On 23 May 2014

The Employment Imperative: Report on the World Social Situation 2007

The report closely examines four areas of increasing concern that of particular importance when addressing the issue of employment: jobless growth, global informalisation of the labour market, economi...

by United Nations UN | On 16 May 2014

The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World

The 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World looks at the evolving geopolitics of our times, examining emerging issues and trends and also the new actors...

by Khalid Malik | On 06 May 2014

Soil Degradation : A Threat to Developing-Country Food Security by 2020?

This comprehensive paper explains why and when soil degradation should be of particular concern to policymakers interested in assuring food security. The inferences in this paper are based on research...

by Sara J. Scherr | On 05 May 2014

Achieving Urban Food and Nutrition Security in the Developing World

Growth in urban poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition and a shift in their concentration from rural to urban areas will acompany urbanisation. This is a series of briefs covering various aspects...

by James L. Garrett | On 02 May 2014

Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh

This paper uses long panel survey data spanning over 20 years to examine the dynamics of microcredit programs in Bangladesh. With the phenomenal growth of microfinance institutions representing...

by Shahidur R. Khandker | On 26 Apr 2014

Humanity Divided: Confronting Inequality in Developing Countries

This report demonstrates that inequality in society is an old and fatal phenomenon. If left unchecked, it can undermine the very foundations of development and social and domestic peace. This Report r...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 18 Apr 2014

Market Opportunitiesin Environmental Goods And Services, Renewable Energy,Carbon Finance And CATS

The report considers the general market opportunities presented in the selected countries. It is based on desk research that drew on the most readily available and accessible information sourced from...

by UK DEVELOPMENT | On 12 Mar 2014

Human Rights and Public Finance: Budgets and the Promotion of Economic and Social Rights

Is there sufficient allocation for children in the budgets? [HAQ CRC].

by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral | On 05 Mar 2014

Equity and Health Sector Reforms: Can Low-Income Countries Escape the Medical Poverty Trap?

The paper discusses two of the trends in market-oriented health-sector reforms pushed forward from the international institutions, namely: the introduction of user fees for public services and the gro...

by Margaret Whitehead | On 04 Mar 2014

Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy

In 2001, 1.458 million American families filed for bankruptcy. To investigate medical contributors to bankruptcy, we surveyed 1,771 personal bankruptcy filers in five federal courts and subsequently c...

by Himmelstein DU | On 04 Mar 2014

Vital Stats: Performance of Parliament during the15th Lok Sabha

Over its five year term, the 15th Lok Sabha was disrupted frequently and witnessed a decline in time spent on legislation and oversight of the government. Disruptions over the allocation of 2G spectru...

by Kusum Malik | On 25 Feb 2014

Urbanization beyond Municipal Boundaries: Nurturing Metropolitan Economies and Connecting Peri-Urban Areas in India

This study identifies three priority areas for India's policymakers as they try to harness economic efficiency and manage spatial equity associated with urbanization. First, to enhance productivity, i...

by World Bank | On 28 Jan 2014

India’s Role For Promotion of Human Rights in Third Countries Through Universal Periodic Review

This report analyses India’s Role For Promotion of Human Rights in Third Countries Through Universal Periodic Review. Under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the United Nations Human Righ...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 23 Jan 2014

Financing Infrastructure in Bangladesh – Some Options

This paper seeks to outline the infrastructure needs of Bangladesh with respect to domestic sources of finance. While infrastructure encompasses energy, transportation, telecommunications, water and...

by Ishraq Ahmed | On 22 Jan 2014

Television as a public health awareness tool to reduce tobacco use in India

Tobacco continues to be a major social and health menace across the globe. It is estimated that by 2030, it would account for the death of about 10 million people per year; half of them aged between 3...

by Dr. Pragati Hebber | On 09 Jan 2014

Economics of Migration and Remittances: A Review Article

The aim of this paper is to analyse the different generations of migration theory and remittances from the development economics perspective, examining in particular the dichotomy between economic a...

by Puja Guha | On 02 Jan 2014

The Return of the Prodigy Son: Do Return Migrants Make Better Leaders?

This paper investigates the impact of political leaders’ migration experience on the quality of their leadership. A database is constructed on the personal background of 932 politicians who were at...

by Marion Mercier | On 20 Dec 2013

When and Why does Bangladesh’s Inflation Differ from India’s?

India and Bangladesh share a common historical background, geographical proximity, institutional similarities, and a policy shift towards economic liberalization since the early 1990s. Inflation betw...

by Biru Paksha Paul | On 05 Dec 2013

The World Trade Organization and the Post-Global Food Crisis Agenda

This policy note offers a preliminary assessment of the compatibility between the WTO and efforts to protect the human right to adequate food as part of the post-crisis food security agenda. Existing...

by Olivier Schutter | On 02 Dec 2013

Migrants' Private Giving and Development: Diasporic Influences on Development in Central Gujarat, India

The paper addresses the migration-development debate by developing a framework for understanding who are the migrants, what they are sending back, and how these transfers are being utilised in the lo...

by Puja Guha | On 28 Nov 2013

The Future of the World Trade Organization

The continued difficulties of the World Trade Organization to achieve further multilateral trade liberalization in the Doha Round negotiations have raised questions about its continued relevance. This...

by Biswajit Dhar | On 19 Nov 2013

The Rebirth of Education: Why Schooling in Developing Countries Is Falling; How the Developed World Is Complicit; and What to Do Next

More than a billion children worldwide—95 percent—are in school. That’s due in part to steady progress toward the second Millennium Development Goal that every child “be able to complete a full course...

by Lant Pritchett | On 15 Nov 2013

In Search of Inclusion: Informal Sector Participation in a Voluntary, Defined Contribution Pension System

This paper examines who contributes and who persists in contributing in a national, voluntary, defined contributory pension program, where the government provides the incentive of matching contributi...

by Renuka Sane | On 28 Oct 2013

Performance Lessons from India’s Universal Identification Program

India’s Unique Identification (UID) project offers important lessons for other countries. UID’s performance data show that large countries can implement biometric ID programs with low levels of excl...

by Alan Gelb | On 07 Oct 2013

Learning and Earning: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in India

This paper estimates the short-and-medium-run effects of participating in a sub- sidized vocational training program aimed at improving labor market outcomes of women residing in low-income househol...

by Pushkar Maitra | On 30 Sep 2013

A Study on Fiscal Space

In the study states’ finances is analysed to see whether all states have been able to create a fiscal space and whether their fiscal capacities have increased over time. Then the states’ spending is l...

by Kim Robin | On 23 Sep 2013

The Power and Peril of Rape Myths in American History

Review of Rape in Chicago: Race, Myth, and the Courts by Dawn Rae Flood.: University of Illinois Press, Urbana; 2012. 272 pp. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-252-03689-7.

by Kathleen Cairns | On 13 Sep 2013

Bridging Education Gender Gaps in Developing Countries: The Role of Female Teachers

Recruiting female teachers is frequently suggested as a policy option for improving girls' education outcomes in developing countries, but there is surprisingly little evidence on the effectiveness of...

by Karthik Muralidharan | On 06 Sep 2013

Preliminary Evidence on Internal Migration, Remittances, and Teen Schooling in India

Migration can serve as an outlet for employment, higher earnings, and reduced income risk for households in developing countries. The 2004–2005 Human Development Profile of India survey is used to exa...

by Valerie Mueller | On 06 Sep 2013

Statement by Dr. Raghuram Rajan

Statement by Dr. Raghuram Rajan on taking office on September 4, 2013. [RBI Press release].

by Sabeeta Badkar | On 05 Sep 2013

Obituary: Narendra Dabholkar

An obituary and tribute to the rationalist, social activist and crusader against superstition and black magic who was murdered in broad daylight in Pune, India.

by Anant Phadke | On 24 Aug 2013

Anti-Superstition Bill

To bring social awakening and awareness in the society and to create a healthy and safe environment. This is done with a view to protect common people in the society against evil and sinister practice...

by Maharashtra Cabinet Sectretariat | On 23 Aug 2013

Essays on Banking

This thesis comprises three essays on various aspects of the relationship between a firm or a country and its creditor banks. The first essay focuses on a firm's choice between borrowing from banks an...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 19 Aug 2013

Historical Changes in Relations Between China and Neighboring Countries (1949–2012)

In China’s foreign affairs and security studies, the concept of the ‘neighborhood’ (zhoubian) has a special meaning that has changed gradually over time. As China has developed, its leadership has be...

by Zhang Chi | On 12 Aug 2013

For Love or Money? Motivating Workers

An analysis of the ability of employers to provide care and attention as a way to motivate their employees is done. Workers not only compare their wages, as pointed out in previous literature, but als...

by Saima Naeem | On 09 Aug 2013

Role of Culture in Celebrity Endorsement: Brand Endorsement by Celebrities in Indian Context-A Review, Synthesis and Research Propositions

This paper uses the lens of culture to develop propositions on how customer attitude towards celebrity endorsements is a function of cultural parameters in emerging countries like India. [W.P. No. 201...

by . Abhishek | On 08 Aug 2013

Cyberwarfare: Logged and Loaded, but Wither Asia?

Cyber operations could have as devastating an impact on populations as conventional military weapons. With militaries already in the process of developing cyberwarfare as a means of battle, there is a...

by Elina Noor | On 26 Jul 2013

Rural Migration, Weather and Agriculture: Evidence from Indian Census Data

This study explores the three way linkage between weather variability, agricultural performance and internal migration in India at state and district level using Indian Census data.[MSE].

by Brinda Viswanathan | On 06 Jun 2013

Weather and Migration in India: Evidence from NSS Data

The present study attempts to, (a) analyse the broad patterns of temporary and permanent migration in India; and (b) explore the determinants of temporary and permanent migration with special focus...

by K S Kavi Kumar | On 06 Jun 2013

Vital Stats: Parliament Budget Session 2013

Parliament convened for the Budget Session 2013 for 32 days between February 21 and May 8. Both Houses were adjourned sine die on May 8, two days ahead of the planned schedule. There was a month long...

by Priya Soman | On 03 Jun 2013

Revisiting the Growth-Inflation Nexus: A Wavelet Analysis

Motivated by the concern that the recent surge in inflation could retard growth, the paper revisits the nexus between inflation and growth from the perspective of an emerging economy, India. Examining...

by Saumitra N Bhaduri | On 23 May 2013

What Is Wrong With Kerala’s Education System?

The question that is increasingly being posed is whether Kerala's education can continue to play a major role in the future without keeping up with the vast changes taking place in all disciplines. It...

by K.K. George | On 25 Apr 2013

Policy Gaps for Promoting Green Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge in Developing Countries: Learning from Indian Experience

In this paper, the building blocks of a sustainable innovation eco system have been identified. The concept of National Innovation System [NIS], which ignored the knowledge of informal sector, has b...

by Anil K Gupta | On 20 Mar 2013

Repayment and Exclusion in a Microfinance Experiment

The experiment is designed to explore the effectiveness of such sanctions in improving repayment incentives. Groups of 10 members are provided with joint-liability loans for a specific investment pr...

by Jean Marie Baland | On 07 Mar 2013

Explaining Access to Credit by Rural Households: Results based on a Study of Several States in India

Against the backdrop of evolution of rural credit system in India as well as its observed failure to be inclusive in character, this paper makes use of a fairly large data set of the Center for Manage...

by Saugandh Datta | On 07 Mar 2013

Analysis of Railway Budget 2013

The Minister of Railways, Pawan Kumar Bansal, presented the Railway Budget 2013 to Parliament on 26th February. In his address, he commented on the performance of Railways in 2012-13 and laid out his...

by Vishnu Padmanabhan | On 28 Feb 2013

Nine years later…

Is the Finance Minister going to do a salvage operation? [BS week end ruminations].

by T.N. Ninan | On 27 Feb 2013

Evaluation Study of Tribal/Folk Arts and Culture in West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgrah and Bihar

The status of various forms of tribal and folk art and culture are explored. The influence of tribal and folk art & culture on the socio-economic conditions of the subjects covered under survey are...

by Gramin Vikas Seva Sanshtha GVSS | On 26 Feb 2013

Lifestyle Choices and Societal Behavior Changes as Local Climate Strategy

This paper attempts to identify lifestyle changes at the individual level, and behavioral changes at the community level that could offer high carbon abatement potential. It also provides some good pr...

by Brahmanand Mohanty | On 22 Feb 2013

Address by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee to Parliament

Reviving economic growth is the priority of the government. [http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp210213.html].

by Pranab Mukherjee | On 22 Feb 2013

The Distributional Impacts of Climate Change on Indian Agriculture : A Quantile Regression Approach

Using a 30-year dataset on district level yields with more than 200 districts and pairing it with a newly available gridded weather data set this paper estimates the impact of climate change on major...

by Chandra Kiran B Krishnamurthy | On 12 Feb 2013

Standing Committee on Finance on Companies Bill

The Companies Bill, 2009 was introduced on August 3rd 2009. The Standing Committee presented its report on August 31st 2010. The central government withdrew this Bill in the winter session of 2011. I...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 11 Feb 2013

Property Tax System in India: Problems and Prospects of Reform

This paper analyses the property tax system in India, examines the reasons for its low revenue productivity, reviews the recent reform initiatives and identifies further reform areas. [NIPFP Working P...

by M. Govinda Rao | On 06 Feb 2013

Microfinance in Evolution: An Industry Between Crisis and Advancement

Following the international financial crisis that started in 2007, market growth and MFI performance started to deteriorate. Over the last decade the market has matured and become more efficient. Is...

by Cédric Lützenkirchen | On 14 Jan 2013

Political Clientelism and Capture: Theory and Evidence from West Bengal, India

There are relatively few theoretical models or empirical analyses of clientelism which analyse the sources and consequences of clientelism. Data from household surveys in rural West Bengal are used t...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 14 Jan 2013

How to Tackle Food Insecurity in Asia

Review of the book Food Security in Asia, by Amitava Mukherjee Sage Publications India 2011 pp. xix+392, Rs 895/-.

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 04 Jan 2013

The Real Exchange Rate and Export Growth: Are Services Different?

The determinants of exports of services, distinguishing between modern and traditional services are considered. The growth of export volumes and so-called export surges – periods of rapid sustained...

by Barry Eichengreen | On 02 Jan 2013

Vital Stats: Parliament in Winter Session 2012

The first half of the Winter Session of Parliament, 2012 was dominated by disruptions over and discussion on the government's notification to allow 51% FDI in the retail sector. The issue was finally...

by Devika Malik | On 21 Dec 2012

Foreign Investment in Farmland No Low-hanging Fruit

A key driver of foreign investment in land, food security is a challenge mankind has been confronted with in various times and places. Wherever human societies have developed, growing needs have led t...

by Claire Schaffnit Chatterjee | On 15 Nov 2012

WEATHER VARIABILITY AND AGRICULTURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR LONG AND SHORT-TERM MIGRATION IN INDIA

While a wide range of factors influence rural-rural and rural-urban migration in developing countries, there is significant interest in analyzing the role of agricultural distress and growing inter-re...

by K S Kavi Kumar | On 05 Nov 2012

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE INDIAN ECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM FOODGRAIN YIELDS

This paper estimates the impact of climate change on food grain yields in India, namely rice and millets. We estimate a crop-specific agricultural production function with exogenous climate variables...

by Shreekant Gupta | On 05 Nov 2012

The Buoyant Billions: How “Middle Class” Are the New Middle Classes in Developing Countries? (And Why Does It Matter?)

Middle-income countries (MICs) are now home to most of the world’s extreme poor—the billion people living on less than $1.25 a day and a further billion people living on between $1.25 and $2. At the s...

by Andy Sumner | On 05 Nov 2012

Demographics, Labor Mobility, and Productivity

This paper considers two major issues that need to be treated as matters of urgency. First, internal (within country) migrations in the Asian (ACI) region are mostly undocumented and large. It is show...

by E J Wilson | On 05 Nov 2012

Diesel Pricing in India: Entangled in Policy Maze

This paper identifies the important economic activities that use diesel and discusses the contribution of those sectors in GDP. Other important petroleum products and, their limited substitution possi...

by Mukesh Kumar Anand | On 17 Oct 2012

The Gender Gap in Mathematics: Evidence from Low-and-Middle Income Countries

Is there a gender gap in mathematics across many low- and middle-income countries? A detailed, comparable test score data is used to analyze this. Micro level data on school performance linked to h...

by Prashant Bharadwaj | On 04 Oct 2012

Examining the Effect of Household Wealth and Migration Status on Safe Delivery Care in Urban India, 1992–2006

Although the urban health issue has been of long-standing interest to public health researchers, majority of the studies have looked upon the urban poor and migrants as distinct subgroups. Another co...

by Prashant Kumar Singh | On 24 Sep 2012

Property Rights and Intra-Household Bargaining

This paper examines whether an individual-level transfer of property rights increases the individual's bargaining power within the household. The question is analyzed in the context of a housing ref...

by Shing-Yi Wang | On 18 Sep 2012

Recent Developments in Kerala State Finances

This paper covers recent trends in a series of broad indicators of the financial health of the Government of Kerala with its developmental policy as the backdrop. It examines fiscal balances in Kerala...

by Tapas K. Sen | On 30 Aug 2012

Budget 2012-13, Nepal

Statement Delivered by Finance Minister Mr. Barshaman Pun on 15 July 2012. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.np/ajw/uploads/uploaded_image/Main_text.pdf].

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal | On 28 Aug 2012

Network Structure and the Aggregation of Information: Theory and Evidence from Indonesia

A unique data-set from Indonesia is analysed to understand what individuals know about the income distribution in their village to test theories such as Jackson and Rogers (2007) that link informatio...

by Vivi Alatas | On 23 Aug 2012

Economic and Financial Developments in Odisha

The economic and financial structure of Odisha is highlighted. Various financial inclusion initiatives are taken by the Reserve Bank with a particular reference to Odisha. The macroeconomic policy cha...

by Deepak Mohanty | On 22 Aug 2012

The Group of Twenty: Input and Output Legitimacy, Reforms, and Agenda

The paper examines the debates and makes specific policy recommendations by which regionalism, the engagement of small states (through the role of Singapore and the 3-G coalition), and the expansion o...

by Andrew F Cooper | On 09 Aug 2012

Constraints Faced by Industry in Punjab, Pakistan

What are the main impediments to investment and industrial productivity in Punjab which have contributed to this unprecedented decline in growth? This is done by analyzing the 2007 Investment Climate...

by Syed Turab Hussain | On 08 Aug 2012

Consequences of Gestational Diabetes in an Urban Hospital in Viet Nam: A Prospective Cohort Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing and is a risk for type 2 diabetes. Evidence supporting screening comes mostly from high-income countries. Prevalence and outcomes in urban Viet Nam ar...

by Jane E Hirst | On 03 Aug 2012

Agricultural Credit - Accomplishments and Challenges

Agriculture’s share in GDP is less than 15 per cent but it still remains the direct domain of over half of the population whose economic prospects are linked to the performance of agriculture. There a...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 03 Aug 2012

New Thinking on Corporate Bond Market in India

What are major factors behind underdevelopment of corporate bond market in India? One of the major bottlenecks to the development of this market lies in relatively larger costs of financing which diss...

by Sanjay Banerji | On 17 Jul 2012

Climate Change Mitigation and Green Growth in Developing Asia

Developing Asia is the driver of today's emissions intensive global economy. As the principle source of future emissions, the region is critical to the task of global climate change mitigation. Reflec...

by Stephen Howes | On 16 Jul 2012

Reexamining the Finance–Growth Relationship for a Developing Economy: A Time Series Analysis of Post-reform India

The cross-country empirical literature on the finance-growth relationship has debated three propositions: (i) financial deepening has a strong impact on the growth process; (ii) measures of financia...

by Sabyasachi Kar | On 13 Jul 2012

Domestic Violence Prevention Bill 2012: Bhutan

This Act ensures a prompt and just legal remedy for the victims of domestic violence; facilitate access to remedies for immediate and effective assistance, shelter homes and protection to the victims...

by National Assembly of Bhutan | On 11 Jul 2012

Political Strongholds and Budget Allocation for Developmental Expenditure: Evidence from Indian States, 1971-2005

This paper examines the effects of political factors on allocation of revenue budget for developmental expenditure by the sub-national governments, using data from 15 major states in India during the...

by Arun Kaushik | On 10 Jul 2012

Priority-Setting in Health: Building Institutions for Smarter Public Spending

Creating and developing fair and evidence-based national and global systems to more rationally set priorities for public spending on health. An interim secretariat should be there to incubate a global...

by Amanda Glassman | On 10 Jul 2012

School Libraries and Language Skills in Indian Primary Schools: A Randomized Evaluation of the Akshara Library Program

A randomized evaluation of a school library program on children’s language skills is conducted. The program had little impact on students’ scores on a language test administered 16 months after implem...

by Evan Borkum | On 09 Jul 2012

Intrinsic Inflation Persistence in a Developing Country

This study estimates degree of intrinsic inflation persistence in Pakistan using aggregate price index, group level price indices, and individual commodity prices. Monthly data from 1959 to 2011 is us...

by Muhammad Nadim Hanif | On 09 Jul 2012

Cultural Proximity and Loan Outcomes

Evidence is presented to show that shared codes, religious beliefs, ethnicity - cultural proximity - between lenders and borrowers improves the efficiency of credit allocation. In-group preferential t...

by Raymond Fisman | On 05 Jul 2012

The Military along the Security Development Frontrier: Implications for Non-Traditional Security in the Philippines and Thailand

This paper focuses on development missions carried out by the armed forces of the Philippines and Thailand in and out of conflict zones, and provides an analysis of the causes behind the re-emergence...

by Aries A Arugay | On 20 Jun 2012

What Should Regulation do in the Field of Micro-finance?

Recent events in India have brought a fresh focus on the appropriate regulatory stance towards micro-finance. In this paper, facts and recent experience about Indian microfinance is reviewed. The puz...

by Renuka Sane | On 19 Jun 2012

Climate Change Vulnerability of Mountain Ecosystems in the Eastern Himalayas

The ecosystem of the Eastern Himalayas are vulnerable to climate change as a result of their ecological fragility and economic marginality. The conservation policies at national and regional levels ar...

by Karma Tse-ring | On 28 May 2012

The Impact of 1998 and 2008 Financial Crises on Profitability of Islamic Banks

The paper investigates the profitability of 78 Islamic banks in 25 countries for the period of 1992-2009. The Fixed Effect Model (FEM) used to analyse profitability shows that profit efficiency is pos...

by NOR HAYATI BT AHMAD | On 24 May 2012

Vital Stats: Parliament Budget Session 2012

Parliament met for the Budget Session between March 16 and May 22 with a three-week recess in April. Both Houses met for 35 days each. A special sitting was convened on Sunday, May 13 to commemorate 6...

by Rohit Kumar | On 23 May 2012

Black Money

The objective of this paper is to place in the public domain various facets and dimensions of black money and its complex relationship with the policy and administrative regime in the country. The pa...

by Ministry of Finance | On 22 May 2012

Group Norms and the BRAC Village Organization – Enhancing Social Capital Baseline

This study used social capital as an organizing framework to capture VO members’ group behaviour, and their current status along programme activities. The study compared the status of intervention...

by Nayma Qayum | On 22 May 2012

Adolescent Fertility in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Effects and Solutions

Adolescent fertility in low- and middle-income countries presents a severe impediment to development and can lead to school dropout, lost productivity, and the intergenerational transmission of pover...

by Kate McQueston | On 15 May 2012

Internal vs. International Migration: Impacts of Remittances on Child Well-Being in Vietnam

This paper focuses on the effects of domestic and international remittances on children’s well-being. Using data from the 1992/93 and 1997/98 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys, an investigation of the...

by Michele Binci | On 11 May 2012

Where There Is No Health Research: What Can Be Done to Fill the Global Gaps in Health Research?

Efforts to strengthen capacity in health research have, so far, concentrated on countries where there is existing capacity rather than those where it is almost completely lacking. Judged by absolut...

by Martin McKee | On 10 May 2012

Dispute Settlement in the WTO, Developing Countries and India

The paper undertakes an examination of the experience of developing countries with dispute settlement vis-à-vis developed countries during the 17 years since the entry into force of the WTO Agreement....

by Anwarul Hoda | On 08 May 2012

Corruption

In this paper, a new framework for analyzing corruption in public bureaucracies is provided. The standard way to model corruption is as an example of moral hazard, which then leads to a focus on bette...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 24 Apr 2012

Behavior of Remittance Inflows and its Determinants in Bangladesh

The paper examines the determinants of remittance inflow by applying ordinary least square method (OLS). The model include the weighted average GDP of the six (Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirat...

by Mst. Nurnaher Begum | On 24 Apr 2012

The Negative Consequences of Overambitious Curricula in Developing Countries

Learning profiles that track changes in student skills per year of schooling often find shockingly low learning gains. Using data from three recent studies in South Asia and Africa, it is shown that ...

by Lant Pritchett | On 23 Apr 2012

Exports of Services: Indian Experience in Perspective

India’s experience with exporting services is examined. The country’s experience is distinctive in that services, especially modern tradable services, comprise a significantly larger share of GDP tha...

by Barry Eichengreen | On 23 Apr 2012

The BRICS Report: A Study of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with Special Focus on Synergies and Complementarities

Th is study, which is supported by the ministries of fi nance and the central banks of the BRICS, focuses on synergies and complementarities between the economies, highlighting their role as growth ...

by Ministry of Finance | On 18 Apr 2012

Innovative Approaches to Managing Longevity Risk in Asia: Lessons from the West

This paper discusses what is longevity risk, why it is important, approaches used by the West to manage longevity risk and what lessons can be learnt by Asian countries from the experiences of the Wes...

by Amlan Roy | On 18 Apr 2012

Approaches to Food Security in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico and Nigeria: Lessons for Developing Countries

This paper provides a synthesis of the experiences of six countries (Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Nigeria) in enhancing food security of their population. Approximately 46 per cent of t...

by Pooja Sharma | On 16 Apr 2012

Development Trajectory, Emission Profile, and Policy Actions: Thailand

Thailand has made significant progresses toward green and low-carbon development; however, there is a need to further address the issue. The country has to focus on the implementation of no-regret pol...

by Qwanruedee Chotichanathawewong | On 16 Apr 2012

Construction and Seasonal Patterns of Islamic Hijri Calendar Monthly Time Series: An Application to Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Pakistan

Time series data are compiled and analysed in accordance with Gregorian calendar, given its world-wise use. This paper presents a simple method of constructing time series in accordance with Hijri Cal...

by Riaz Riazuddin | On 13 Apr 2012

What is the Role of Social Pensions in Asia?

The main objective of this paper is to explore the potential role of social pensions and other noncontributory schemes in Asia, informed by insights from theory and international experience. The paper...

by Armando Barrientos | On 13 Apr 2012

India’s Call on BRICS : Aligning with China without a Deal

China–India association in the BRICS bloc of countries is an example of multilateralism at its height. For China, the BRICS group holds a strategic significance as it is targeted towards the Western...

by Jagannath P Panda | On 04 Apr 2012

Highlights of Madhya Pradesh Budget 2012-13

The salient features of the budget estimates of 2012-13 of Madhya Pradesh. [Ministry of Finance Madhya Pradesh]. URL:[http://www.mp.gov.in/finance/index.htm].

by Madhya Pradesh Government | On 04 Apr 2012

State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2011-12

The budgetary data for 2011-12 indicates the commitment of States to carry forward fiscal correction, as evident from the emergence of revenue surplus after a gap of two years and consequent reductio...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 03 Apr 2012

Comparative Rating Index for Sovereigns (CRIS): A Report Based on “The Relativity of Sovereigns: A New Index of Sovereign Credit Ratings and an Analysis of How Nations Fared over the Last Six Years”

Major credit rating agencies give out the sovereign credit rating of each nation as an absolute grade. How other nations fare over the period under consideration does not matter in a particular nation...

by Kaushik Basu | On 02 Apr 2012

Approaches to the Development of Renewable and Clean Energy in Brazil, China, Egypt, India and South Africa: Lessons of Emerging Countries

The populous, fast growing emerging economies of Brazil, China, Egypt, India and South Africa face daunting challenges on the energy, environment and climate change fronts. These five countries accoun...

by Kirit Parikh | On 02 Apr 2012

National Budget of Bhutan-2011-12

Budget speech by the Finance Minister of Bhutan. [Budget Speech]. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.bt/downloads/Budgetreport2012.pdf].

by Minister of Finance Bhutan | On 22 Mar 2012

BMC Budget 2012-13

Budget presented to Municipal Commissioner. . [BMC Annual Reports]. URL:[http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Chief%20Accountant%20(Finance)/Budget/Complete%20Engli...

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 22 Mar 2012

How Much Does Natural Resource Extraction Really Diminish National Wealth? The Implications of Discovery

The paper considers the process of discovery for subsoil resources, including both hard minerals and hydrocarbons and estimates its magnitude in recent years, as derived from the sum of extraction an...

by Alan Gelb | On 20 Mar 2012

Kerala Budget 2012-13

Minister for Finance, Sri. K. M. Mani presented his 10th Budget for the year 2012-13. The Kerala government raised the retirement age of government employees from 55 years to 56 years. [Budget Spe...

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 20 Mar 2012

Health Care Financing Reforms in India

The transfer system in India is discussed and analyses expenditure needs of States to provide essential health infrastructure. It also analyzes the fiscal space for health care in terms of stimulati...

by M Govinda Rao | On 19 Mar 2012

Prevalence, Distribution, and Impact of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Latin America, China, and India: A 10/66 Population-Based Study

Rapid demographic ageing is a growing public health issue in many low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a construct frequently used to define groups of people...

by Ana Luisa Sosa | On 19 Mar 2012

Not the Remembered Country

The food security Bill's focus ignores changes in agriculture and eating habits. [BS editorial]. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/t-n-ninan-notremembered-country/467874/].

by T.N. Ninan | On 19 Mar 2012

Budget for Children (BfC) in the Union Budget 2012-13

What the Budget of India, 2012-13 has got for children? [HAQCRC]. URL:[http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/BfC%202012-13_0.pdf].

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 19 Mar 2012

Close Eye or Closed Eye: The Case of Export Misinvoicing in Bangladesh

The effect of export subsidies on the under-invoicing of exports in Bangladesh is analyzed. In a framework that allows for unobserved heterogeneity among importing countries and product specificities,...

by Pranav Kumar Gupta | On 16 Mar 2012

Report on China's Central, Local Budgets (2012)

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2011 AND ON DRAFT CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2012. [Ministry of Finance Report]. URL:[http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/news/...

by Ministry of Finance China | On 15 Mar 2012

Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan: Plan for Development of Trade in Services

To greatly develop trade in services and realize the transition from a big trade country to a strong trade country, the 12th Five Year Plan is formulated based on Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan f...

by Ministry of Commerce China | On 15 Mar 2012

Towards Building A Happy, Prosperous and Caring Bangladesh: Budget Speech 2011-12

Budget speech 2011-12 by Finance minister. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/budget/11_12/budget_speech/speech_en.pdf].

by Abul Maal Abdul Muhith | On 14 Mar 2012

The Union Budget: A Primer

This week, the finance minister presents a statement to Parliament of how much money the central government expects to raise in the next financial year, and how it will spend that money. The budget sp...

by Avinash Celestine | On 12 Mar 2012

Final Report-Water Security and Climate Change: Challenges and Strategies

The main objectives of this seminar has been to contribute to the understanding of the development processes and problems related to water security and climate change; to focus on studies relating t...

by Gursharan Singh Kainth | On 12 Mar 2012

The Global Race for Excellence and Skilled Labour: A Status Report

In this context, higher education as well as research and development (R&D) have long since ceased to be purely the domain of the developed Western economies. Numerous regions of the world, some in th...

by Ingo Rollwagen | On 09 Mar 2012

The Age Distribution of Missing Women in India

Relative to developed countries, there are far fewer women than men in India. Estimates suggest that more than 25 million women are "missing". Sex selection at birth and the mistreatment of young g...

by Siwan Anderson | On 09 Mar 2012

Tax Policy in Developing Countries: Looking Back and Forward

The changing nature of tax policy in developing countries over the last 30 years is reviewed and studied the factors determining the level and structure of tax revenues in such countries and how such...

by Roy Bahl | On 07 Mar 2012

Theft and Loss of Electricity in an Indian State

Utilizing data from the power corporation of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the politics of electricity theft over a ten year period (2000–09) is studied. It is seen that electricity the...

by Miriam Golden | On 06 Mar 2012

Issues and Challenges with the Philippines' Public Corporate Sector

Government-ownedand- controlled corporations were initially created as solutions to market imperfections. It is ironic therefore, that in recent years, they have come to be seen as problems t...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 06 Mar 2012

Taiwan’s Role in the Breakout of the Taiwan Strait Crises: A Historical Perspective

The implications of the rule of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo in Taiwan (1950–1988) for the Taiwan Strait Crises is examined, especially the third one af??ter the Cold War and potenti...

by Lu Jinghua | On 05 Mar 2012

Penance time

The time has come for the governmant to make up for its sins of the past three years. The Budget must be judged on whether it shows that the govt is in the mood to recognize its follies, and in a posi...

by T.N. Ninan | On 05 Mar 2012

Socioeconomic Factors and All Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Older People in Latin America, India, and China: A Population-Based Cohort Study

The vital status of 12,373 people aged 65 years and over was determined 3–5 years after baseline survey in sites in Latin America, India, and China. Crude and standardised mortality rates are reporte...

by Cleusa P Ferri | On 05 Mar 2012

What is the (New) Deal with Fragile States?

Poor governance and lack of state capabilities in around 45 countries pose a threat to global security and development. The involvement of the international community is required to help these st...

by Wim Naudé | On 02 Mar 2012

Failed Mechanism: How the CDM is Subsidizing Hydro Developers and Harming the Kyoto Protocol

Five years age, International Rivers started monitoring the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), concerned that funds marked for climate change mitigation would be used to encourage c...

by Barbara Haya | On 01 Mar 2012

Why Does Mental Health Not Get the Attention It Deserves? An Application of the Shiffman and Smith Framework

More than 13% of the global burden of disease for mental disorders is due to neuro psychiatric disorders, and over 70% of this burden lies in low- and middleincome countries. Suicide is one of the...

by Mark Tomlinson | On 01 Mar 2012

More Money or More Development: What Have the MDGs Achieved?

What have the MDGs achieved? And what might their achievements mean for any second generation of MDGs or MDGs 2.0? We argue that the MDGs may have played a role in increasing aid and that developmen...

by Charles Kenny | On 24 Feb 2012

The Public Procurement Bill, 2012

A bill to regulate public procurement with the objectives of ensuring transparency, fair and equitable treatment of bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy and safeguarding...

by Ministry of Finance | On 24 Feb 2012

Terms of Trade and Its Implications: Bangladesh Perspective

This paper explores the key reasons behind the movements in the terms of trade and the real net gain and loss from trade in the long run. Like some selected Asian countries (Vietnam, China and South...

by Mohammad Masuduzzaman | On 23 Feb 2012

Study on Impact of Micro Finance in Reduction of Domestic Violence Against Women

The main objective of the study is to investigate whether there is any evidence to support the view that the disbursement of micro finance to women reduces the incidence of domestic violence, and if...

by Institute of Social Studies Trust ISST | On 23 Feb 2012

Myanmar Economy: A Comparative View

A stated objective of Myanmar is to become a modern developed nation that will stand shoulder to shoulder – proud, dignified and tall – with the countries of the world. How far has Myanmar come in a...

by U Myint | On 15 Feb 2012

Are Saving and Investment Cointegrated? A Cross Country Analysis

Saving is an important part of the economic process that gives rise to investment and economic growth. In this paper an attempt is made to explore the relationship between saving and investment in t...

by Sanjib Bordoloi | On 14 Feb 2012

Comparing the Technical Efficiency of Indian Banks Operating Abroad and Foreign Banks Operating in India: A Stochastic Output Distance Function Approach

The aim of this paper is to compare the technical efficiency of Indian Banks operating abroad and foreign banks operating in India and to investigate the effect of openness of the country, ownership...

by Vivek Kumar | On 08 Feb 2012

Bank Lending and Monetary Shocks: Evidence from a Developing Economy

This paper investigates the role of credit market frictions in the transmission of monetary shocks in Pakistan. First, using macro data, it is shown that banking spreads are countercyclical, even it i...

by M. Ali Choudhary | On 08 Feb 2012

The Euro Zone Crisis and its Dimensions and Implications

The sovereign debt problems in the peripheral economies of the euro zone has started to pose a serious threat to the main economies of the Europe and perhaps to the future of the 'euro‘ itself. Such a...

by M R Anand | On 06 Feb 2012

Consumer Responses to Incentives to Reduce Plastic Bag Use: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Urban India

In this paper a test for appropriate policies is done that could help control the use of plastic bags in Delhi. In January 2009, the Government of Delhi introduced a wide-ranging ban on the use of p...

by Kanupriya Gupta | On 03 Feb 2012

Shaking Embedded Gender Roles and Relations: An Impact Assessment of Gender Quality Action Learning Programme

The Gender Quality Action Learning programme initiated a village level intervention in 2007 in 10 districts to increase knowledge, change perception, attitudes, and practice/behaviour of the villagers...

by Md. Abdul Alim | On 03 Feb 2012

How is Financial Regulation Different for Micro- Finance?

What is the role of financial regulation in the field of micro- finance? This paper identifi es two features of micro- finance which call for unique treatment in policy considerations as compared...

by M Sahoo | On 03 Feb 2012

International Competitive Strategy Choices: Comparing Firms in China and India

The international business literature has yet to adequately explore international competitive strategy choices made by firms in developing countries. This study aims to address this gap by investiga...

by Ping Lv | On 02 Feb 2012

Inflation in Nepal

A large number of studies in Nepal have been conducted to identify the factors responsible for inflation based on the different theories of inflation. Although these studies provide insight into the...

by Nepal Rastra Bank Research Department NRB | On 02 Feb 2012

Global Health and the New Bottom Billion: How Funders Should Respond to Shifts in Global Poverty and Disease Burden

After a decade of rapid economic growth, many developing countries have attained middle-income status. But poverty reduction in these countries has not kept pace with economic growth. As a result, mos...

by Amanda Glassman | On 31 Jan 2012

Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2011-12

This policy review is set in the context of a highly uncertain global environment and a delicately poised domestic balance between growth and inflation. It should be read and understood together...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 25 Jan 2012

Energy in the Development Strategy of Indian Households-The Missing Half

The present paper explores the nexus between gender-energy-poverty, highlights areas of gender concern, and suggests actions. It is analyzed how women from rural areas and low income households are...

by B. Sudhakara Reddy | On 19 Jan 2012

Inter-connectedness of Banks and NBFCs in India: Issues and Policy Implications

The recent global financial crisis (2007-09) has clearly highlighted the gravity of high financial inter-connectedness within the financial system. In the Indian context, this brief study attempts to...

by Karunagaran A | On 05 Jan 2012

The Primacy of Public Health Considerations in Defining Poor Quality Medicines

Poor quality essential medicines, both substandard and counterfeit, are serious but neglected public health problems. Anti-infective medicines are particularly afflicted. Unfortunately, attempts...

by Paul N Newton | On 03 Jan 2012

Vital Stats: Parliament in 2011

The year in Parliament was characterised by frequent disruptions and protests over a host of issues. The issue of the establishment of a Lokpal prompted both disruption as well as intense debate. A...

by Rohit Kumar | On 02 Jan 2012

Plan vs. Performance Winter Session – November 22 to December 29, 2011

This note lists the legislative business planned by Parliament and compares it with the actual performance during the Winter Session. [PRS Note]. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/ge...

by Kusum Malik | On 30 Dec 2011

Seasonal Migration and Risk Aversion

Pre-harvest lean seasons are widespread in the agrarian areas of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, these seasonal famines force millions of people to succumb to poverty and hunger. An incentive...

by Gharad Bryan | On 20 Dec 2011

Monetary Neutrality in the Nepalese Economy during 1975-2008

One of the methods of measuring the effectiveness of monetary policies is via inspection of monetary neutrality in the economy. It is a concept from classical economics and it suggests that changes...

by Mukesh Khanal | On 16 Dec 2011

High Level Expert Group Report on Universal Health Coverage for India

The recommendations that follow take cognizance of the extraordinary opportunities that India offers – and the possibility for India to take a lead in introducing a well-designed UHC system that i...

by Planning Commission | On 15 Dec 2011

Union Power November 2011

The three year journey of the G-20 Heads of Government Summit from Washington in 2008 to Paris this November is signified by two markers of the depth of the global capitalist crisis. First, that the c...

by Louise Ross | On 14 Dec 2011

A China Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Until recently, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been an effective framework for cooperation because it has continually adapted to changing economic realities. The current Doha Agenda is an ab...

by Aaditya Mattoo | On 13 Dec 2011

Where Socrates Fears to Tread……

Review of the book 'Social Income and Insecurity: A Study in Gujarat' by Guy Standing, Jeemol Unni, Renana Jhabvala, and Uma Rani Routledge India, 2010 216 pages.

by N. Vijayamohanan Pillai | On 12 Dec 2011

Estimating the Value of Statistical Life in Pakistan

The study estimates the Value of Statistical Life and Limb in Pakistan based on the compensating wage differential among blue-collar industrial workers in the city of Lahore. The data for this study...

by Mohammad Rafi | On 07 Dec 2011

'You Want to Win, Don't You?' Need for a Psychological Model of PED Use in Developing Countries

The social, cultural, economic and demographic context of a country need to be integrated with a psychological paradigm for examining PED use especially in developing countries i.e. The models ...

by Kaveri Prakash | On 01 Dec 2011

Fifth Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series: Moving Towards Universal Access to Health Care- 3

The Fifth Anusandhan Trust’s Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences was held on January 5, 2011. The speakers were Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (Chairperson o...

by Hansa Thapliyal | On 29 Nov 2011

Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well a...

by Charles Kenny | On 25 Nov 2011

Wrong Climate for Big Dams: Destroying Rivers will Worsen Climate Change

P roponents of large dams, hoping to capitalize on concern for climate change, are promoting a major expansion of large dams in developing countries. Yet large dams are highly vulnerable to climate ch...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 24 Nov 2011

How Prudent are Rural Households in Developing Transition Economies: Evidence from Zhejiang, China

Rural households in developing economies frequently use precautionary saving to cope with income risk. Such prudent behavior can be strengthened in transition economies where more risks are typically...

by Ling Jin | On 23 Nov 2011

Development and Health in Poor Countries: Role of Interntional Organizations and Switzerland

The study tries to better understand three fields which seems to be essential with respect to the problem of a facilitated access to medicines : 1. the ambiguous position of intellectual property...

by Bastein Briand | On 17 Nov 2011

Where is the Virtue in the Middle Class?

It is widely agreed by economists and political scientists that the middle class is vital to progress because of its many virtues. But it is difficult to define a middle class by income in a manner t...

by Charles Kenny | On 16 Nov 2011

Millenium Development Goals: How is India Doing?

This paper evaluates the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) as a framework for measuring development and, subject to qualifications arising from that evaluation, assesses how India is doing in terms o...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 11 Nov 2011

Predicting Calendars (and saving money if you want to)

How calendars are repeated in some years can be understood by doing simple calculations.

by S Srinivasan | On 10 Nov 2011

Consumption and Social Identity: Evidence from India

Spending on consumption items is examined which have signaling value in social interactions across groups with distinctive social identities in India, where social identities are defined by caste an...

by Melanie Khamis | On 10 Nov 2011

Financing Infrastructure for Connectivity: Policy Implications for Asia

This paper discusses Asia’s infrastructure needs and its corresponding financing needs and challenges. It proposes ways to address financing gaps by identifying potential financing sources and instr...

by Biswa Nath Bhattacharyay | On 09 Nov 2011

The G20: Engine of Asian Regionalism?

The paper scrutinizes the functioning of the G20 and its role in increasing coordination. and cooperation between Asian countries. It highlights divergent agendas amongst the A6 as regards the future...

by Hugo Dobson | On 09 Nov 2011

Dial “A” for Agriculture: A Review of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Extension in Developing Countries

This article outlines the potential mechanisms through which ICT could facilitate agricultural adoption and the provision of extension services in developing countries. It then reviews existing prog...

by Jenny C Aker | On 07 Nov 2011

Monetary Operating Procedures: Principles and the Indian process

As markets deepen and interest elasticities increase it is optimal for emerging markets to shift towards an interest rate instrument since continuing monetization of the economy implies money demand...

by Ashima Goyal | On 04 Nov 2011

Economic and Financial Developments in Goa

Goa is celebrating the Golden Jubilee Year of its Liberation. The recent economic achievements of the state are highlighted. The economic and financial structure of the state as well as the various fi...

by Deepak Mohanty | On 04 Nov 2011

Hospital based Crisis Centre for Domestic Violence: The Dilassa Model

The brief is based on the experience and the success of a hospital based Crisis Centres for women facing domestic violence in Mumbai - Dilaasa. It is a joint initiative of the MCGM and CEHAT, establ...

by ... CEHAT | On 02 Nov 2011

Agriculture, Food, and Water Nanotechnologies for the Poor: Opportunities and Constraints

This brief presents a review of the potential opportunities and challenges of using nanotech applications for agriculture, food, and water in developing countries. [IFPRI Policy Brief 19]. URL:[http...

by Guillaume Gruère | On 01 Nov 2011

Unilateral Carbon Border Measures: Key Legal Issues

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been engaged in discussions on the future of the climate change regime. While the principle of “common but differenti...

by Anuradha R. V. | On 01 Nov 2011

Growth and Election Outcomes in a Developing Country

With the exception Brander and Drazen (2008), who use a comprehensive cross-country database consisting of both developed and developing countries, the hypothesis that rapid growth helps incumbents...

by Poonam Gupta | On 31 Oct 2011

Discount Rate for Health Benefits and the Value of Life in India

This study contributes to the literature by estimating discount rate for environmental health benefits and value of statistical life of workers in India. The discount rate is imputed from wage-risk...

by K. R. Shanmugam | On 19 Oct 2011

Voice and Accountability: The Role of Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Committee

The study aims to explore how the MNCH committee encouraged community participation and how its communication activities empowered the community people to ensure the healthcare needs of the poor and...

by Margaret Leppard | On 17 Oct 2011

An Economic Policy and Legal Analysis of The Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill, 2011

In response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010, the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) ...

by Shubho Roy | On 17 Oct 2011

Global Economic Crisis: Impact and Restructuring of the Services Sector in India

The Indian economy has shown considerable resilience to the global economic crisis by maintaining one of the highest growth rates in the world. The services sector accounted for around 88 per cent of...

by Abhijit Das | On 13 Oct 2011

Populations at Risk: Other End of Youth Bulge

While there is much written on the youth bulge in developing countries, little is being done to address the problems of the elderly. And yet demographically, it is this section that is showing high gr...

by Lakshmi Priya | On 10 Oct 2011

Urban Transport Sustainability Indicators – Application of Multi-view Black-box (MVBB) Framework

In a recent work Nathan and Reddy (2011a) have proposed a Multi-view Black-box (MVBB) framework for development of sustainable development indicators (SDIs) for an urban setup. The framework is flex...

by Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan | On 10 Oct 2011

User-based Financing of Marine Protection in the Maldives

This paper provides an economic valuation of the recreational uses of atoll-based marine resources in the Republic of the Maldives. A travel demand model to estimate the benefits of atoll-based marin...

by Mahadev G Bhat | On 30 Sep 2011

Openness, Economic Growth and Labour Migration in times of Global Downturn: with Special Reference to Asian Examples

This paper starts by examining some of the variables that have been considered important determinants of openness and how views of these have changed over the last twenty years. It then considers th...

by Kenneth E Jackson | On 29 Sep 2011

Global Production Networks in Electronics and Intra-Asian Trade

The growth of East Asia’s intra-regional trade is driven largely by increased component trade within global electronics production networks. Data on both electronics trade and production elucidate a...

by Byron Gangnes | On 29 Sep 2011

Rights, Responsibilities and Resources: Examining Community Forestry in South Asia

This paper seeks to understand whether decentralized management of forests can reduce forest loss in developing countries. [SANDEE Working Paper, No 59 - 11]. URL:[http://www.sandeeonline.org/upload...

by Priya Shyamsundar | On 28 Sep 2011

Civil Service and Military Pensions in India

The New Pension System in India and the progress that has been made since its introduction in 2004 is described. It then identifies the challenges ahead. It also documents the state of military pens...

by Renuka Sane | On 26 Sep 2011

Integrated Financial MIS for Local Government Public Expenditure Management - A Case Study of Khajane in Karnataka

Expenditure Management is critical to effective public service delivery, especially at the local government level. Leveraging on information systems to aid in expenditure management is viewed as an ...

by Sandeep M S | On 20 Sep 2011

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

How does innovation impact on development? How, and under what conditions, do entrepreneurs in developing countries innovate? And what can be done to support innovation by entrepreneurs in develo...

by Wim Naude | On 16 Sep 2011

Pakistan: 10 Year Banking Strategy Paper for the Banking Sector Reforms

This paper maps out a strategy for banking sector reforms over the next decade. It is formulated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and is centered on reforms involving the SBP. But the Banking Secto...

by State Bank of Pakistan SBP | On 15 Sep 2011

Agricultural Productivity and Credit- Issues and Way Forward

Certain trends in agricultural productivity, agricultural finance are outlined. Recommendations for improving agricultural productivity are given here. [Address at The National Seminar on Productivity...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 12 Sep 2011

Fertility Regulation in an Economic Crisis

Substantial international aid is spent reducing the cost of contraception in developing countries, as part of a larger effort to reduce global fertility and increase investment per child worldwide....

by Christopher McKelvey | On 09 Sep 2011

Plan vs. Performance: Monsoon Session – August 01 to September 08, 2011

This note lists the legislative business planned by Parliament and compares it with the actual performance during the Monsoon Session. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/general/13154...

by Kusum Malik | On 08 Sep 2011

Agricultural Economy of India and Macro-Economic Effects: Some Empirical Results and a Research Agenda based on the Literature

This paper focuses on macroeconomic linkages with agriculture. From an extensive literature review the question that emerges is: is there a structural constraint in Indian agriculture or does Indian...

by Munish Alagh | On 02 Sep 2011

The Price and Trade Effects of Strict Information Requirements for Genetically Modified Commodities under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

This paper assesses the global economic implications of the proposed strict documentation requirements on traded shipments of potentially genetically modified (GM) commodities under the Cartagena Prot...

by Antoine Bouët | On 31 Aug 2011

Achieving Progress for Development Effectiveness in Busan: An Overview of CSO Evidence

The global Reality of Aid Network has been working in preparation for Busan alongside CSO colleagues from women’s rights organizations, trade unions, farmers’ organizations, faith-based organizations...

by Brian Tomlinson | On 30 Aug 2011

Evolution of Property Rights Regimes in the Groundwater Economy of India-Constraints on Moving Towards a Common Property Regime

The paper paper reviews the 'model' central and state government bills, pertaining to groundwater, through a conceptual framework and discusses the Andhra Pradesh experience in the developing governme...

by G.Ananda Vadivelu | On 30 Aug 2011

Status of Micro Finance 2009-10

The data presented covers information relating to savings of Self Help Groups (SHGs) with banks as on 31 March 2010, loans disbursed by banks to SHGs during the year 2009-10, loans outstanding of th...

by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Devt NABARD | On 29 Aug 2011

Infrastructure Investment and Regional Economic Growth: A Case Study of Maharashtra

The study initially reviews the infrastructure facilities for the 33 districts of Maharashtra for one year i.e.1999-2000. Using this, the extent of disparities between these regions is found. Further...

by A M Swaminathan | On 29 Aug 2011

Institutional Innovations and Models in the Development of Agro-Food Industries in India: Strengths, Weaknesses and Lessons

Agro-industries are given high priority in India particularly because of their great potential for contributing to development. The emphasis on village-based agro-industries was introduced almost a...

by Vasant P Gandhi | On 29 Aug 2011

The Gender Implications of Large-Scale Land Deals

Whether viewed as “land grabs” or as agricultural investment for development, large-scale land deals by investors in developing countries are generating considerable attention. However, investors,...

by Julia Behrman | On 29 Aug 2011

The Insider: Parasite or Legitimate Profit-Maker?

In the lore of finance and investing, the insider takes his place alongside embezzlers, frauds, and all other varieties of scam artists. He uses privileged knowledge gained from executive friends tol...

by Mark Miller | On 24 Aug 2011

From Economic Meltdown to Social Crunch – Impact of the Global Economic Recession on Social Capital Building in Developing Countries and What We still Don't Know!

This paper draws on the experiences of the Far East Economic Crisis in 1998 and argues that: (1) the poor depended heavily on bonding social capital during the Crisis, but the crunch-point beyond wh...

by Sam Wong | On 22 Aug 2011

Urbanization in India: Evidence on Agglomeration Economies

The paper examines the urbanization pattern with context of India. The paper deals with various demographic aspects of urbanization. Also the paper focuses on characteristics and classes of cities, an...

by Arup Mitra | On 19 Aug 2011

Predicting Recessions and Slowdowns: A Robust Approach

This paper defines business and growth rate cycles and describes the importance of key coincident indicators and reference chronologies, following reflections on the definition of a recession. The rob...

by Pami Dua | On 18 Aug 2011

Fertilizing Nature: A Tragedy of Excess in the Commons

Globally, we are applying excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizers to our agricultural crops, which ultimately causes nitrogen pollution to our ecosphere. The atmosphere is polluted by N2O and NOx gas...

by Allen G Good | On 17 Aug 2011

Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillover: An Evaluation Across Different Clusters in India

The paper attempts to explore the technology spillover effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian manufacturing industries across different selected clusters in India. To measure the spillov...

by Pami Dua | On 12 Aug 2011

India-Pakistan Trade

On the basis of a survey conducted in three cities viz., Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar the paper examines the characteristics of firms engaged in Indo- Pakistan trade. It also estimates the transaction...

by Nisha Taneja | On 11 Aug 2011

Bond Market Development in Asia: An Empirical Analysis of Major Determinants

This study attempts to identity the major determinants of bond market development in Asian economies, through examining its relationship with selected key financial and economic factors, and to provid...

by Biswa Nath Bhattacharyay | On 10 Aug 2011

Food Quality in Domestic Markets of Developing Economies: A Comparative Study of two Countries

Food quality has become an important determinant of success in global food trade and growers for international markets have to continuously adjust to buyers’ requirements. It is however not clear to w...

by Anneleen Vandeplas | On 03 Aug 2011

Financial Inclusion in India: A case-study of West Bengal

The study seeks to examine the extent of financial inclusion in West Bengal. It is observed from the study that although there has been an improvement in outreach activity in the banking sector, the...

by Sadhan Kumar Chattopadhyay | On 03 Aug 2011

India’s Low Carbon Inclusive Growth Strategy

This paper reviews India.s low-carbon high growth inclusive policy initiatives, comments on their financial sustainability and environmental sustainability and suggests desirable changes. The focus...

by U. Sankar | On 29 Jul 2011

Fair Shares: Crediting Poor Countries for Carbon Mitigation

Focusing on the power sector, Wheeler estimates energy growth and incremental costs for six low-carbon energy technologies (biomass, solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and nuclear) in 174 countries from...

by David Wheeler | On 25 Jul 2011

Shocks, Economic Growth and the Indian Economy

This paper analyses the impact of domestic and external shocks on the Indian economy. A macro-modelling framework is developed that evaluates the impact of two domestic shocks (rainfall shortfall an...

by B B Bhattacharya | On 15 Jul 2011

Speed of Adjustment and Inflation – Unemployment Tradeoff in Developing Countries – Case of India

This paper estimates the short-run aggregate supply curve for the Indian economy over the period 1950-51 to 2008-09. Methodological improvements in this paper include the technique of estimating adapt...

by Ravindra H Dholakia | On 14 Jul 2011

Deprivation and Vulnerability Among Elderly in India

A documentation of different aspects of human deprivation in the old age other than the measurement of income poverty is done. Aspects of economic, health and social aspects of deprivation and how i...

by Syam Prasad | On 14 Jul 2011

Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India

Using the most comprehensive data file ever compiled on air pollution, water pollution, environmental regulations, and infant mortality from a developing country, the paper examines the effectivenes...

by Michael Greenstone | On 11 Jul 2011

Mutual Funds and Market Development in India

A brief description of the role of Mutual Funds in money markets and government securities makets are provided. Some of the regulatory issues that arise are discussed. The role of Mutual Funds in fina...

by Subir Gokarn | On 08 Jul 2011

A Framework for Developing a Research Agenda for Diseases Disproportionately Affecting the Poor:The Cases of Malaria, Diabetes, Rotavirus

In this paper three diseases- malaria,diabetes and rotavirus- selected because of their contrast. The paper examines the severity of their presence in developing countries and suggests viable solution...

by Alyna C Smith | On 07 Jul 2011

Groundwater: Development, Degradation and Management (A Study of Andhra Pradesh)

This study attempts to highlight the importance of hydrological information to the user communities from a socio-economic perspective. It shows, based on the evidence, how groundwater is depleting a...

by M Srinivasa Reddy | On 06 Jul 2011

Barriers to Household Risk Management: Evidence from India

Why do many households remain exposed to large exogenous sources of non-systematic income risk? Why don’t financial markets develop to pool these risks? This paper uses a series of randomized field...

by Shawn Cole | On 06 Jul 2011

Detection and Forecasting of Islamic Calendar Effects in Time Series Data: Revisited

This paper is an attempt to revisit the pioneering work of Riazuddin and Khan (2002). A complete business cycle has been elapsed (2002-2010) since their study, so there is need to review the results ...

by Syed Kalim Hyder Bukhari | On 05 Jul 2011

Fisher’s Equation: Some Methodological Doubts

The Fisher's equation has become a foundation stone of modern macroeconomic, monetary and financial theories. Here it is shown that despite the estabilished status of Fisher's equation, it stands on...

by Rajas Parchure | On 04 Jul 2011

Investing in Youth Employment Report

Approximately three-fourths of the world’s 1.5 billion young people live in developing countries. Globally, young people make up nearly half of the ranks of the world's unemployed. Unemployment rates...

by CommonWealth Secretariat | On 01 Jul 2011

A De Facto Asian-Currency Unit Bloc in East Asia: It Has Been There but We Did Not Look for It

Pegging in a coordinated way to a regional basket currency is considered by many as optimal for east-Asian countries. By contrast, according to existing empirical studies, these countries have most of...

by Eric Girardin | On 29 Jun 2011

The Wide Angle: The End of Population Growth

The the population dynamics of the 21st century is shown here.

by Sanjeev Sanyal | On 21 Jun 2011

Rising Spatial Disparities and Development

The UNU-WIDER project on 'Spatial Disparities in Human Development' has collected and analysed evidence on the extent of spatial inequalities within developing countries. The studies find that spatial...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 15 Jun 2011

Escaping Violence, Seeking Freedom: Why Children in Bangladesh Migrate to The Street

In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, there is a widespread belief amongst the public, policymakers and social workers that children ‘abandon’ their families and migrate to the street beca...

by Alessandro Conticini | On 14 Jun 2011

Frontier Issues on the Global Agenda- Emerging Economy Perspective

The article is a report of RBI Minister Duvvuri Subbarao on issuesing concerning the G-20 countries and also issues effecting all the countries collectively.

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 13 Jun 2011

The Financial Crisis of 2008 and the Developing Countries

Following the financial crisis that broke in the US and other Western economies in late 2008, there is now serious concern about its impact on the developing countries. The world media almost daily...

by Wim Naudé | On 13 Jun 2011

Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery

After a natural catastrophe in a developing country, international migration can play a critical role in recovery. But the United States has no systematic means to leverage the power and cost-effecti...

by Royce Bernstein Murray | On 08 Jun 2011

Adoption of Safe Drinking Water Practices: Does Awareness of Health Effects Matter?

The demand for environment quality - clean air, potable water, sanitation, food - is often presumed to be low in developing countries due to poverty. A recent SANDEE study demonstrates that awareness...

by E. Somanathan | On 06 Jun 2011

Cash at Your Fingertips: Biometric Technology for Transfers in Resource-Rich Countries

Cash transfers are often a good way for developing countries to address economic and social problems. They are less expensive than directly providing goods and services and allow recipients the flex...

by Alan Gelb | On 06 Jun 2011

New SME Financial Access Initiatives: Private Foundations’ Path to Donor Partnerships

In recent years, a number of private foundations and organizations have launched ambitious initiatives to support promising entrepreneurs in developing countries, on both a for-profit and not-for-prof...

by Ben Leo | On 01 Jun 2011

Working Effectively in Conflict-affected and Fragile Situations

Getting analysis right in conflict-affected and fragile situations is a critical starting point for developing effective responses. Analysis serves a number of important purposes, including develo...

by International Growth Centre | On 26 May 2011

Ideas, Innovation, Impact: Annual Report 2009-2010

IDRC builds the skills and expertise of people and institutions in developing countries to undertake the research that they believe is most needed. The Parliament of Canada created IDRC as a Crown cor...

by International Development Research Centre | On 16 May 2011

The Future of Development Finance

Development finance is at a turning point. There is talk about a “triple revolution of goals, actors and tools.” As much of Asia grows its way out of poverty, aid will increasingly be focused on Afr...

by Nemat Shafik | On 13 May 2011

Impact and Sustainability of SHG Bank Linkage Programme

Microfinance programmes are known for their potential to generate income and employment and alleviate poverty in developing countries. They are considered for an important approach to poverty alleviat...

by National Council of Applied Economic Research | On 13 May 2011

Ministry of Finance and Planning Annual Report

This paper contains the annual report of Ministry of Finance and Planning, Government of Sri Lanka. URL: [http://www.treasury.gov.lk/FPPFM/fpd/pdfdocs/annualreports/annualreport2009-eng.pdf]

by Ministry of Finance and Planning, Govt of Sri Lanka | On 10 May 2011

Statement Delivered by Secretary of the Ministry of Finance

This paper presents the Statement Delivered by Mr. Krishna Hari Baskota, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance in the 44th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development in the capa...

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal | On 09 May 2011

Federalism and Fiscal Reform in India

This paper attempts to analyse the experience of incentivising economic reforms at the state level through central transfers to states. It reviews the experiences of the central government introdu...

by M. Govinda Rao | On 09 May 2011

Growing Business or Development Priority? Multilateral Development Banks’ Direct Support to Private Firms

Direct support to private firms in developing countries constitutes a large and growing share of multilateral development banks’ financial activities. This trend contrasts with the advice MDBs gave de...

by Guillermo Perry | On 05 May 2011

Toward Results-Based Social Policy Design and Implementation

This paper analyzes some of the elements that cause the apparent perception in the realm of social policy, and in particular in the case of poverty alleviation and education policies in developing ...

by Miguel Székely | On 02 May 2011

The Quality of Medical Care in Low-Income Countries: From Providers to Markets

The excellent systematic review in this week’s PLoS Medicine by Paul Garner and colleagues focuses discussion on this critical issue. Their finding of poor quality in both the public and private s...

by Jishnu Das | On 29 Apr 2011

Report of the Task Force on Credit Related Issues of Farmers

The Task Force visited 45 villages across 17 states and held state and regional level consultations to understand from women and men farmers, bankers, civil society, academicians, planners, activists,...

by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Devt NABARD | On 27 Apr 2011

Local Knowledge and Agricultural Sustainability: A Case Study of Pradhan Tribe in Adilabad District

The paper presents some empirical data from the Pradhan Tribe of Andhra Pradesh which highlights the community's indigenous agricultural knowledge and the changes over time. These custodians of indi...

by Anil Kumar K | On 25 Apr 2011

Find Me the Money: Financing Climate and Other Global Public Goods

In this paper, four categories of existing resource-mobilization options are examined, including (1) transportation levies; (2) currency and financial transaction taxes; (3) capitalization of IMF S...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 21 Apr 2011

Did the Indian Capital Controls Work as a Tool of Macroeconomic Policy?

In 2010 and 2011, there has been a fresh wave of interest in cap- ital controls. India is one of the few large countries with a complex system of capital controls, and hence others an opportunity to...

by Ila Patnaik | On 21 Apr 2011

Statement by Governor, RBI

There have been significant developments in the global economy since we met in the fall of 2010. The IMF too has moved on several fronts under its mandate which has strengthened its position in a chan...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 20 Apr 2011

Unique Identity Project in India: A Divine Dream or a Miscalculated Heroism?

This paper, tries to put the current Unique Identity Project (UID) project of India into a perspective to evaluate the set of issues and concerns, as pointed by various stakeholders and try to under...

by Rajanish Dass | On 19 Apr 2011

Maharashtra Budget 2011-2012 Part I

Part I of the Budget speech by Finance Minister

by Maharashtra Government | On 18 Apr 2011

A Policy Reponse to the Indian Micro-finance Crisis

Recent events in India have brought a fresh focus upon the problem of regulation in the field of micro-finance. This paper delineates the three distinct aspects where government needs to play a role...

by Renuka Sane | On 13 Apr 2011

Financial Regulatory Harmonization in East Asia: Balancing Domestic and International Pressures for Corporate Governance Reforms

Focusing on corporate governance, which many see as a critical part of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and which is also seen as unresponsive to calls for change, this paper argues that such harmoniz...

by Richard W Carney | On 12 Apr 2011

How to Read the Budget

This note is intended as a brief guide on how the budget papers are organised, and how to find the exact information that a reader wants (expenditure on a particular scheme of interest, or total budge...

by Avinash Celestine | On 12 Apr 2011

Micro-loans, Insecticide-Treated Bednets and Malaria:Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Orissa (India)

Many severe health risks in developing countries could be substantially reduced with access to appropriate preventive measures. However, the associated costs are often high enough to restrict access...

by Alessandro Tarozzi | On 12 Apr 2011

Economic Survey 2010-11

This paper contains the economic survey report for the state of Haryana. URL: [http://web1.hry.nic.in/budget/Economic%20Survey%202010-11.pdf]

by Haryana Government | On 06 Apr 2011

Deficit Fundamentalism vs Fiscal Federalism: Implications of 13th Finance Commission’s Recommendations

The important recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission (THFC) can be categorised under the following heads: • Enhanced vertical devolution from 30.5 to 32 per cent of divisible pool of ...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 31 Mar 2011

Assessing East-Asian Export Performance

For decades until the crisis hit in mid-1997, East Asian economies led the developing world in achieving high rates of economic growth, accomplishing what had come to be known as the East Asian Mira...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 30 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Meghalaya

Budget 2011-12 presented by the Finance Minister.

by Government of Meghalaya Govt | On 28 Mar 2011

Economic Survey, 2010-11, Maharashtra

State income, public finances, agriculture and animal husbandry, education, health, population etc are given importance in the economic survey. URL: [http://mahades.maharashtra.gov.in/files/publicatio...

by Maharashtra Government | On 23 Mar 2011

Reforming Indirect Taxes in India : Role of Environmental Taxes

Extensive reforms of India's indirect taxes at the central and the state levels has prepared the necessary ground for the implementation of a comprehensive goods and services tax (GST). The Empowere...

by D K Srivastava | On 23 Mar 2011

Issues Before the Eleventh Finance Commission: Presented and Discussed at the Seminar on The Issues Before the Eleventh Finance Commission

In their tasks to fulfill their constitutional obligations, the Eleventh Finance Commission have to face and solve two broad group of issues. The first relates to the basic principles that ought to go...

by Chelliah Raja J | On 21 Mar 2011

The New Bottom Billion: What If Most of the World’s Poor Live in Middle-Income Countries?

Most of the world’s poor no longer live in low-income countries. An estimated 960 million poor people—a new bottom billion—live in middle-income countries, a result of the graduation of several populo...

by Andy Sumner | On 21 Mar 2011

Do Interest Rates Matter? Credit Demand in the Dhaka Slums

The advent of microfinance lending in the last two decades has been hailed as a key development in the fight against poverty. The New York Times (1997), for example, on its editorial page, has promote...

by Rajeev Dehejia | On 17 Mar 2011

Sri Lanka Budget 2011-12

Budget speech by Finance Minister.

by Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka | On 17 Mar 2011

Where are Food Prices Heading?

This paper aims to review the main considerations around food price movements. It includes a discussion on the impact of speculation. URL:[https://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-PROD/PROD00...

by Claire Schaffnit Chatterjee | On 16 Mar 2011

A Green Venture Fund to Finance Clean Technology for Developing Countries

A structure for the green venture fund (GVF) and explain the design rationale, operating principles and key parameters for two funds of funds for technology innovation and deployment is proposed. Some...

by Darius Nassiry | On 16 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Punjab

Budget speech by Finance minister. URL:[http://punjabgovt.nic.in/departments/Budget/budget/budget.htm].

by Government of Punjab | On 16 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Rajasthan

Budget speech by Finance minister. URL:[http://www.finance.rajasthan.gov.in/speech/budget2011.shtm].

by Rajasthan Government | On 15 Mar 2011

Stimulus, Recovery and Exit Policy G20 Experience and Indian Strategy

There are large variations among the G20 countries in their deceleration experiences, transmission mechanisms and their current macroeconomic outlook. Hence, this paper argues that each country nee...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 14 Mar 2011

Enhancing Development through Policy Coherence

Policy coherence implies that donors in pursuing domestic policy objectives should avoid adversely affecting the development prospects of poor countries. To achieve policy coherence donors and multila...

by Amelia U. Santos Paulino | On 14 Mar 2011

Track Record of Microfinance for the Poor

Major investments have been made in developing microfinance in Asia with reducing poverty as one of the frequently stated objectives. A variety of institutional forms of microfinance are being introdu...

by Richard Meyer | On 14 Mar 2011

The Global Impact of the Southern Engines of Growth: China, India, Brazil and South Africa

This Policy Brief focuses on links between the developing countries of Brazil, India, China and South Africa and the global economy, with a special emphasis on the implications of China’s spectacular...

by Amelia U. Santos Paulino | On 11 Mar 2011

The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation

Microcredit has spread extremely rapidly since its beginnings in the late 1970s, but whether and how much it helps the poor is the subject of intense debate.This paper reports on the first randomize...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 10 Mar 2011

Open Markets for the Poorest Countries: Trade Preferences That Work

Many rich countries provide special market access for exports from least developed countries (LDCs), but the trade preferences are often inhibited by tough restrictions and do not extend to the produc...

by Kimberly Ann Elliott | On 10 Mar 2011

Gender Responsive Budgeting: The Case of Kerala

This paper we make an attempt to understand and analyze the budget from a gender perspective. The paper looks into the different areas of allocations, how far it is ‘pro woman’ budget or a ‘gender re...

by Aleyamma Vijayan | On 08 Mar 2011

Madhya Pradesh Budget 2011-12

Budget speech by Finance Minister. URL: [http://www.mp.gov.in/finance/index.htm].

by Madhya Pradesh Government | On 04 Mar 2011

Orissa Budget 2011-2012

This paper contains the budget speech of Sri Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, Minister Finance, in the Orissa Legislative Assembly on the occasion of presentation of budget for the year 2011-2012. URL: [http:...

by Government of Orissa | On 03 Mar 2011

BMC Budget 2011-12

Budget presented to Municipal Commissioner

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 01 Mar 2011

Andhra Pradesh: Budget Speech 2011-2012

The Budget Speech by the State Finance Minister tabling the Finance Bill asserted that all welfare programmes like Rs.2 per KG rice, free power supply to the farmers, Rajiv Arogyasri, old age pensions...

by Sri Anam Ramanarayana Reddy | On 25 Feb 2011

Measuring Accuracy of Projections of Central Taxes by the Finance Commission

This paper looks at the quality of forecasts/assessments made by some of the recent Finance Commissions for the shareable central taxes and own tax revenues of selected states. The Commissions cover...

by D K Srivastava | On 22 Feb 2011

Emerging Issues for Regional Cooperation in Asia-Pacific

Dynamic human resources are one of the dominant factors for developing countries (DMCs) to achieve sustainable economic growth. Donors, including the ADB, are eager to help teach DMC policymakers ho...

by Toshiki Kanamori | On 21 Feb 2011

Experiences of Contracting Health Services: an Overview of the Literature

Recent health policy debates in both developed and developing countries have been strongly influenced by a trend towards ‘marketisation’, involving the selective introduction of a range of market me...

by Anne Mills | On 18 Feb 2011

Informal Regulation of Pollution in a Developing Country

Recent literature has not only recognized the implementation limitations of formal regulation, but also appreciated the significance of informal regulation for achieving environmental goals for develo...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 18 Feb 2011

Improving the Efficiency of Public Sector Health Services in Developing Countries: Bureaucratic versus Market Approaches

There is widespread concern over the efficiency of public sector health services in developing countries. To some the main problem is allocative efficiency: the distribution of resources between dif...

by Anne Mills | On 17 Feb 2011

Punishing the Poor? A Look at Evidence and Action Regarding User Fees in Health Care

This policy brief aims to summarise evidence and discuss various concerns about charging user fees from a low-income perspective.

by ... CEHAT | On 16 Feb 2011

Fertility Transitions in Developing Countries: Progress or Stagnation?

Over the past quarter century fertility has declined rapidly in many developing countries. Projections typically assume that this trend will continue until the replacement level is reached. However,...

by John Bongaarts | On 16 Feb 2011

Industrial and Competition Policy: Conflict or Complementarity?

Developing countries in Asia debate the following policy question: Should we allocate scarce resources to promote competition and thereby procure resulting efficiency gains, or would we do better to f...

by Douglas H. Brooks | On 15 Feb 2011

Sustainability of External Development Financing to Developing Countries

External development finance consists of those foreign sources of funds that promote or at least have the potential to promote development in the destination countries if delivered in the appropriate...

by Matthew Odedokun | On 14 Feb 2011

Tamil Nadu Budget Speech

Tamil Nadu Budget Speech of the Finance Minister.

by Government of Tamil Nadu | On 14 Feb 2011

Kerala Budget 2011-12

The Minister for Finance, Dr. T. M. Thomas Issac presented the Budget for the financial year 2011-2012.

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 14 Feb 2011

Linking Globalization to Poverty

Globalization provides a strong potential for a major reduction in poverty in the developing world because it creates an environment conducive to faster economic growth and transmission of knowledg...

by Machiko Nissanke | On 10 Feb 2011

Scaling Up the Fight Against Rural Poverty: An Institutional Review of IFAD’s Approach

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has for many years stressed innovation, knowledge and scaling up as essential ingredients of its strategy to combat rural poverty in developi...

by Johannes F. Linn | On 10 Feb 2011

Capitalizing on the Demographic Transition: Tackling Noncommunicable Diseases in South Asia

Increasing life expectancy in South Asia is resulting in a demographic transition that can, under the right circumstances, yield dividends through more favorable dependency ratios for a time. With ag...

by Michael Maurice Engelgau | On 10 Feb 2011

Key Principles Underlying the New Modes of Aid Governance in Asia

Based on the recent experience of several Asian developing countries and interviews in Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos with aid practitioners from donor institutions and Non Government Organizations (NGOs...

by Caroline Brassard | On 10 Feb 2011

Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: Need for Clarification and Improvement

This study is aimed at assessing the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) from the perspective of the developing countries such as India and identifying the improvements and clari...

by Anwarul Hoda | On 08 Feb 2011

Advanced Economies Pose Three Financial Risks to Developing Countries in 2011

As in recent years, the major risks for emerging market economies in 2011 will come not from the policies and actions of the countries themselves, but from developments in advanced economies. There...

by Liliana Rojas Suarez | On 03 Feb 2011

Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaptation Assistance

The effects of climate change have been and will be worse in poor countries and small-island states, those least able to adapt to the climate-related disasters. In this paper, senior fellow David Whee...

by David Wheeler | On 01 Feb 2011

Report of the Sub-Committee of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India to Study Issues and Concerns in the MFI Sector

While this growth is impressive, a number of studies both in India and abroad have questioned whether growth alone is effective in addressing poverty and what the adverse consequences of a too rapid g...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 30 Jan 2011

Presence of Foreign Banks in India

This discussion paper on the form of presence of foreign banks in India has been prepared taking into account, inter-alia, the lessons learnt from the recent global financial crisis and the practice...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 26 Jan 2011

Oil to Cash: Fighting the Resource Curse through Cash Transfers

Many of the world’s poorest and most fragile states are joining the ranks of oil and gas producers. These countries face critical policy questions about managing and spending new revenue in a way tha...

by Todd Moss | On 25 Jan 2011

Growth, Inequality, and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries: Recent Global Evidence

The study presents recent global evidence on the transformation of economic growth to poverty reduction in developing countries, with emphasis on the role of income inequality. The focus is on the p...

by Augustin Kwasi Fosu | On 25 Jan 2011

Beyond Cancún: Market Opportunities Trump Multilateral Discourse

Despite low expectations, the UN climate change negotiations in Cancún made important progress thanks to decisive Mexican diplomacy and a renewed conviction that reducing emissions can drive green gro...

by Caio Koch Weser | On 25 Jan 2011

Remittances and Financial Inclusion in Development

In this paper they focus on the relationship between remittance inflows and financial inclusion in developing countries. They present single equation estimates on remittances and financial inclusi...

by Helen S. Toxopeus | On 21 Jan 2011

Monitoring and Evaluation Reform under Changing Aid Modalities: Seeking the Middle Ground in Aid-Dependent Low-Income Countries

This paper grew out of our bewilderment with the insouciance with which some in the donor community seem ready to abandon accounting for the use of aid. If one listens to the rhetoric surrounding...

by Nathalie Holvoet | On 20 Jan 2011

The Impact of Social and Economic Development Programmes on Health and Well-being: a BRAC-ICDDR,B Collaborative Project in Matlab

ICDDR,B is an international health research institution. It is equipped with necessary research facilities including excellent field study areas. The field areas are specifically designed for resear...

by Abbas Bhuiya | On 14 Jan 2011

Foreign Direct Investment in Small Island Developing States

The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in small island developing states (SIDS) is an issue that has been neglected until relatively recently. The reasons for this lack of interest are unsurp...

by Robert Read | On 12 Jan 2011

Firm Location Choice in Cities: Evidence from China, India, and Brazil

In this paper they use large survey data sets of firms provided by the World Bank for China, India, and Brazil—Investment Climate Surveys—to address the important question: what determines the loc...

by Kala Seetharam Sridhar | On 12 Jan 2011

The Race Against Drug Resistance

The Center for Global Development’s Drug Resistance Working Group urges pharmaceutical companies, governments, donors, global health institutions, health providers, and patients to collectively and...

by Rachel Nugent | On 10 Jan 2011

The Financial Crisis in the Gulf and its Impact on South Asian Migrant Workers

The impact of the global crisis on the (Gulf Corporation Council) GCC economies is first analyzed in terms of the sectors of the economy affected, the changes in GDP growth and employment of expatr...

by S. Irudaya Rajan | On 08 Jan 2011

The Report of the Thirteenth Finance Commission Conundrum in Conditionalities

The focus of this paper is to examine the approach of the Commission in regard to its Terms of Reference (ToR) and analyse the recommendations relating to its main task, namely tax devolution and gr...

by M Govinda Rao | On 07 Jan 2011

Financing SMEs and its Effect on Employment Generation: A Study of Brac Bank’s SME Lending

Financial and development assistance designed specially for small and medium enterprises in Bangladesh is a new and upcoming trend. After the surge of micro-finance in the last two decades, small and...

by Mehnaz Rabbani | On 05 Jan 2011

Learning about Schools in Development

There has been considerable progress in school construction and enrollment worldwide. Paying kids to go to school can help overcome remaining demand-side barriers to enrollment. Nonetheless, the qual...

by Charles Kenny | On 29 Dec 2010

Psychological Well-being Of Rural Women: Developing Measurement Tools

The study was designed with the intention of developing a viable scale, for measuring psychological well-being as an indicator of the quality of life of rural women. A scale was prepared and finalised...

by Mohsina Khatun | On 27 Dec 2010

The Political Economy of Poverty Reduction

Large-scale antipoverty programs have achieved significant and positive results in many developing countries around the world in the past decade. This paper explores the challenges of “scaling up” sma...

by Raj M. Desai | On 21 Dec 2010

The Political Economy of Urban Poverty in Developing Countries: Theories, Issues, and an Agenda for Research

The implications of urban development for overall economic prosperity are well known. Employment, housing, policing, infrastructure and social policies in cities have been shaped and institutionalized...

by Raj M. Desai | On 21 Dec 2010

Urban Poverty in Developing Countries: A Scoping Study for Future Research

This paper is a scoping exercise to explore options for research on urban poverty in developing countries. Based on a review of the literature and experience, the first part of the paper reviews the c...

by Johannes F. Linn | On 21 Dec 2010

Monetary Policy Considerations after the Crisis: Practitioners’ Perspectives

Economic stability can be seen as an essential component of any strategy for inclusive development. To the extent that central banks play a role in providing that stability, the experience of the cris...

by Subir Gokarn | On 21 Dec 2010

Economic Aspects of Access to Medicines after 2005: Product Patent Protection and Emerging Firm Strategies in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

An analysis of the innovation in the Indian pharmaceutical industry is done. This section traces the origins, the strengths and weaknesses of the innovation system in the pharmaceutical sector in In...

by Padmashree Gehl Sampath | On 17 Dec 2010

Integration of the Ultra Poor into Mainstream Development: How Effective is CFPR?

This paper aimed to understand the dynamics of participation of the TUP (Targeting the Ultra Poor) members of CFPR (Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction) phase I in the financial market sin...

by Raniya Shams | On 16 Dec 2010

Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water: Forgotten Foundations of Health

Health evidence confirms that the burden of disease associated with inadequate Hygience, Sanitation, Water (HSW) is overwhelmingly (although not exclusively) carried by the poor and disadvantaged...

by Jamie Bartram | On 16 Dec 2010

Low birth weight in offspring of women with depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy: results from a population based study in Bangladesh

There is a high prevalence of antepartum depression and low birth weight (LBW) in Bangladesh. In high- and low-income countries, prior evidence linking maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms with i...

by Hashima E Nasreen | On 14 Dec 2010

The Future of Financial Liberalization in South Asia

The paper defines financial liberalization, distinguishing between liberalization of domestic financial markets and capital account convertibility. It then examines the stages and the strategy of Ind...

by Ashima Goyal | On 14 Dec 2010

Venture Capital and Micro-finance Instituted Business Plan for a School Edupreneur

The report is a study of possibilities for the institutionally disabled entrepreneurs to raise capital from private players like venture capitalists and micro-finance institutions.

by Mallika Chawla | On 13 Dec 2010

Cash on Delivery: A New Approach to Foreign Aid

Foreign aid often works, but it is often criticized for being ineffective or even for undermining progress in developing countries. This brief describes a new approach, Cash on Delivery Aid, which...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 13 Dec 2010

The Asian Currency Crisis: Origins, Lessons and Future Outlook

This paper has three objectives. First, to explain what led to the crisis in the East and the South East Asia in the 1990s and how did this spread throughout the region; second, to analyse the lessons...

by Abdur R. Chowdhury | On 13 Dec 2010

Policy Principles for Expanding Financial Access

Despite the rapid growth in finance worldwide over the past quarter- century—now interrupted by the global financial crisis—many low-income households and small firms remain excluded from access to...

by Centre for Global Development | On 10 Dec 2010

Egovernment: Lessons from Implementation in Developing Countries

E-government applications from a large number of developing countries are reviewed. Different models of electronic delivery of services are compared. Delivery through conveniently located service cent...

by Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar | On 06 Dec 2010

When index dissemination goes wrong: How fast can traders add and multiply?

This paper studies an episode of dissemination of wrong stock index values in real time due to a software bug in the Indian Nifty index futures market on the morning of January 18, 2006. The episod...

by Jayanth R Varma | On 01 Dec 2010

Partnerships with the Private Sector in Health: What the International Community Can Do to Strengthen Health Systems in Developing Countries

The private sector plays a significant role in delivering health care to people in developing countries. By some estimates, more than one-half of all health care—even to the poorest people—is provided...

by (Centre for Global Development) Advisory Faculty | On 26 Nov 2010

Quality of Official Development Assistance Assessment

In 2010, many questions have come up regarding the actual practices of different donors— those over which they have control and those that are likely to affect their long-run effectiveness in term...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 26 Nov 2010

Economic Growth and Financial Depth: Is the Relationship Extinct Already?

Although the finance–growth nexus has become firmly entrenched in the empirical literature, studies that question the strength of the empirical results have appeared and seem to have become more f...

by Peter L. Rousseau | On 26 Nov 2010

Loans or Grants?

In this paper they argue that cancelling the debt of the poorest countries was a good thing, but that it should not imply that the debt instrument should be foregone. Debt and debt cancellations...

by Daniel Cohen | On 25 Nov 2010

Intellectual Property Protection, Regulation and Innovation in Developing Economies: The Case of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Historically, nations have modified their IP policies to support their development agenda. With the advent of TRIPS, the ability of countries to choose between different IP policy options has reduce...

by Rakesh Basant | On 23 Nov 2010

Determinants of Trade Misinvoicing

Traditional explanations for trade misinvoicing -- high custom duties and weak domestic economies — are less persuasive in a world of high growth emerging markets who have low trade barriers. A 35- ...

by Ila Patnaik | On 22 Nov 2010

India's Twelfth Finance Commission:A View from Kerala

The focus of the paper is to review the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Twelfth Finance Commission with special reference to Kerala. It also critically examines the emphasis on fiscal deficit reduct...

by K. P. Kannan | On 18 Nov 2010

Determinants of Fixed Investment:A Study of Indian Private Corporate Manufacturing Sector

This paper analyses the determinants of fixed investment in the Indian Private Corporate Manufacturing sector for the period 1973-2002, using Annual Survey of Industries Data. It is argued that econ...

by V.R. Prabhakaran Nair | On 16 Nov 2010

Social Responsibility of Indian Microfinance: A Critical Review

This paper discusses the issue of social responsibility of Indian microfinance using two theoretical streams from business social responsibility research – stakeholder theory and social contract the...

by Tara S Nair | On 15 Nov 2010

The Financial Crisis, Rethinking of the Global Financial Architecture, and the Trilemma

This paper extends their previous paper (Aizenman, Chinn, and Ito 2008) and explores some of the unexplored questions. First, they examine the channels through which the trilemma policy configurations...

by Joshua Aizenman | On 08 Nov 2010

Kerela's Gulf Connection: Emigration, Remittances and their Macroeconomic Impact 1972-2000

This paper attempts to construct a time series estimation of remittances from abroad to the Kerala economy for the period 1972 to 2000. It is now widely acknowledged that foreign remittances in the ...

by K. P. Kannan | On 04 Nov 2010

Macroeconomic Impacts of Foreign Exchange Reserve Accumulation: Theory and International Evidence

Recently, a dramatic accumulation in foreign exchange reserves has been widely observed in developing countries. This paper explores the possible long-run impacts of this trend on macroeconomic variab...

by Shin-ichi Fukuda | On 01 Nov 2010

Impact of Remittances on Poverty in Developing Countries

Remittances are increasingly becoming an important source of external financing for the developing countries. For some of the developing countries, it forms almost 40-50% of their GDP. Though there is...

by Rashmi Banga | On 29 Oct 2010

The Rationale and the Result of the Current Stabilisation Programme

Apart from the episode of the mid-sixties, macroeconomic crises have not played a major part in India's economic development. A certain sort of stability had accompanied the lack-lustre grow...

by Pulapre Balakrishnan | On 23 Oct 2010

Are Inequality and Trade Liberalization Influences on Growth and Poverty?

There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the relationship between income inequality and growth, manifested in a number of important publications. In parallel with this, concern with the imp...

by Jennifer Mbabazi | On 19 Oct 2010

China, India, Brazil and South Africa in the World Economy: Engines of Growth?

This paper attempts to analyse the economic implications of the rise of China, India, Brazil and South Africa, for developing countries situated in the wider context of the world economy. It exami...

by Deepak Nayyar | On 15 Oct 2010

Asian Property Markets: No Significant Bubbles-Yet!

After house price bubbles burst in many OECD countries, investors are keeping a very watchful eye for price developments on asset markets that signal a bubble.

by Steffen Dyck | On 08 Oct 2010

Special and Differential Treatment in Agricultural Negotiations

Over the past four decades or so, the issues that have dominated WTO/GATT negotiations have generally fallen in the prototype of either a transatlantic conflict or a North-South divide. The latter has...

by Anwarul Hoda | On 07 Oct 2010

Aid to Fragile States: Do Donors Help or Hinder?

The record of aid to fragile and poorly-performing states is the real test of aid effectiveness. Rich countries can justify aid to fragile states both through altruism and self-interest. But, wit...

by Stephen Browne | On 06 Oct 2010

Developing Asia’s Competitive Advantage in Green Products: Learning from the Japanese Experience

Right now, governments around the world are spending record amounts of money to kick- start their economies in response to the financial crisis. Fortunately, a great opportunity exists for this fis...

by Fukuya Lino | On 06 Oct 2010

Beyond Short-Term Thinking: How to Spend Billions Well in Pakistan, for Them and for Us

This essay draws on the work of the Center for Global Development’s Study Group on U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan and on the ideas in the group’s open letters to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 05 Oct 2010

Fiscal Management in Haryana: A Review

An attempt has been made to understand the factors leading to the worsening situation of the state finances. Investigations reveal that the revenue receipts of the state could not keep pace with ex...

by N K Bishnoi | On 05 Oct 2010

Trends in National and Regional Investors Financing Crossborder Infrastructure Projects in Asia

This study examines a range of crossborder infrastructure development issues related to the Asian countries. Despite active pursuit of private investment in infrastructure by most developing count...

by Prabir De | On 01 Oct 2010

Public Debt Management in Sri Lanka-Performance in 2009 and Strategies for 2010 and Beyond

The information included in this publication covers the public debt management strategies adopted in 2009, the movements in debt stock during the year and the related costs and risks and the primar...

by Central Bank of SriLanka CBSL | On 30 Sep 2010

HANTEX: An Economic Appraisal

Most Governments in the Third World Countries have actively promoted cooperatives in the traditional sectors of the economy with a view to overcome the diseconomies of small size. Characterised as the...

by Mridul Eapen | On 27 Sep 2010

Quantifying Spatial Mislocation in Centrally Provided Public Goods

In this paper they show how an optimization algorithm can be used to approximately quantify the costs to users of spatial misallocation in centrally provided public goods. This method can be employed...

by Siva Athreya | On 23 Sep 2010

Impact of Remittances on Poverty in Developing Countries

This study undertakes impact analysis of remittances on poverty in developing countries at two levels. Firstly, it estimates the impact of remittances on poverty in 77 developing countries; Secondly,...

by Rashmi Banga | On 17 Sep 2010

Intellectual Property Protection and the Licensing of Technology to Developing Countries

In this paper, the influence of stronger intellectual property protection on technology transfer into developing countries via licensing is analyzed. Using panel data for the post-TRIPs period 1995-20...

by Sunil Kanwar | On 09 Sep 2010

Economic Governance of MFIs: Inside the Black Box

This paper investigates a relationship between economic governance and the dual objectives of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): poverty reduction and financial viability. Using an unbalanced pan...

by Thankom Arun | On 06 Sep 2010

How Much Should You Own? Cross-ownership and Privatization

This paper examines the interdependence of cross-ownership and level of privatization in case of differentiated products mixed duopoly. It shows that it is optimal for the private firm not to own any...

by Rupayan Pal | On 03 Sep 2010

Concentrating Solar Power in China and India: A Spatial Analysis of Technical Potential and the Cost of Deployment

This study provides an in-depth assessment of Concentrating solar power (CSP) potential in China and India using high-resolution spatial data for site selection and modeling of plant performance, ass...

by Kevin Ummel | On 03 Sep 2010

'Follow the money'

This editorial is about understanding the mining business in the state of Orissa by following the money.

by T.N. Ninan | On 30 Aug 2010

Do Emotions Improve Labor Market Outcomes?

Traditionally, models of economic decision-making assume that individuals are rational and emotionless. This chapter argues that the neglect of emotion in economic models explains their inability to...

by Lorenz Goette | On 06 Aug 2010

Sand in the Wheels of International Finance: Revisiting the Debate in Light of the East Asian Mayhem

The turmoil that has characterised the global financial markets since the 1990s, and particularly the crisis in East Asia, has generated a great deal of support for proposals to add some frictions t...

by Ramkishen Rajan | On 21 Jul 2010

What is Wrong with the Constituency Development Funds?

This brief will argue that Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) have a negative impact on accountability and service delivery that most poor countries can ill afford. The risks associated with CDFs s...

by Albert van Zyl | On 08 Jul 2010

Microfinance Engagements of the ‘Graduated’ TUP Members

This study takes a look at the beneficiaries who were selected at the first round in 2002 to explain various dimensions of their engagement with microfinance. With a lower borrower-member ratio and re...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 02 Jul 2010

Assessing the Economic Vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and the Least Developed Countries

Macro vulnerability of the small island developing states (SIDS) as well as of least developed countries (LDCs) has been an increasing concern for the international community. This concern has led...

by Patrick Guillaumont | On 30 Jun 2010

Sex Workers and Condom Use-the Political Economy of HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh

A study was undertaken in Madaripur brothel to understand condom use reality within the social context of the commercial sex workers' (CSW) lives in brothel and to critically analyze BRAC's HIV/AIDS...

by Raihana Karim | On 29 Jun 2010

The Distributive Impact of Reforms in Credit Enforcement: Evidence from Indian Debt Recovery Tribunals

It is generally presumed that strengthening the legal enforcement of lender rights increases credit access for all borrowers, by expanding the set of incentive compatible loan contracts. This presu...

by Ulf Lilienfeld Toal | On 28 Jun 2010

Aid, Debt Relief and New Sources of Finance for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have lofty expectations regarding the impact of official development aid. Are these expectations valid? This paper surveys the literature on aid and growth...

by Tony Addison | On 21 Jun 2010

How Long Can The G20 old Itself Together?A Power Analysis

Since its emergence before the Cancun Ministerial in September 2003, the Group of 20 developing countries (which includes South Africa, India, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan) has become an im...

by Prabhash Ranjan | On 21 Jun 2010

Impact Assessment of CFPR/TUP: A Descriptive Analysis Based on 2002-2005 Panel Data

This paper looks at the overall performance of the CFPR/TUP programme using the 2002 baseline survey and 2005 repeat survey. All the topics covered in this study could be analysed more deeply, but tha...

by Mehnaz Rabbani | On 15 Jun 2010

Providing Microfinance and Social Space to Empower Adolescent Girls: An Evaluation of BRAC’s ELA Centres

Lately there has been a surge in the variety of approaches to assist the adolescents, specially the girls, in building up their lives and livelihoods. With financial assistance from Nike Foundation,...

by Rizwana Shahnaz | On 10 Jun 2010

Commercialisation of Microfinance in India: A Discussion on the Emperor’s Apparel

The paper looks at the growth and commercialization of microfinance in India. It starts out be looking at how the commercial microfinance has evolved internationally by discussing two specific ex...

by M S Sriram | On 08 Jun 2010

Affordability to Finance Poverty Reduction Programmes

This paper addresses the question of affordability to finance poverty reduction programs in a dynamic context. In doing so, it stresses the need for approaching the problem from a human rights perspec...

by Omar Haider Chowdhury | On 04 Jun 2010

The Economics of Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events in Developing Countries

Without a better understanding of the interactions between international players, households and public sector, it will be difficult for climate negotiators and donor institutions to determine the...

by Brian Blankespoor | On 01 Jun 2010

The (Indispensable) Middle Class in Developing Countries; or, The Rich a the Rest, Not the Poor and the Rest

In this paper an argument is made that the concept of inclusive growth should go beyond the traditional emphasis on the poor (and the rest) and take into account changes in the size and economic c...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 31 May 2010

All the PM's men

In this article TN Ninan looks at the how the 15 economic ministers have performed. He starts with the finance minister whose record seems very patchy as he has not been able to deal with inflation an...

by T.N. Ninan | On 27 May 2010

Urban Governance and Finance in India

Over 330 million people live in India’s cities; 35 cities have a population of over a million and three (Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata) of the 10 largest metropolises in the world are in India. India’s...

by M. Govinda Rao | On 21 May 2010

Improving Newborn Survival in Low-Income Countries: Community-Based Approaches and Lessons from South Asia

Obstacles to improving survival include: many newborn infants are invisible to health services; care-seeking for maternal and newborn ailments is limited; health workers are often not skilled and co...

by Nirmala Nair | On 03 May 2010

The Flight from Defence to Civilian Space: Evolution of the Sectoral System of Innovation of India’s Aerospace Industry

India is one among the few developing countries that have sought to establish an aerospace industry. The industry has two components, namely aeronautical and astronautic. The sectoral system of inn...

by Sunil Mani | On 30 Apr 2010

Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities

The principal constraint to raising living standards in this century will come neither from scarce resources nor limited technologies. Rather it will come from our limited capacity to discover and i...

by Paul Romer | On 12 Apr 2010

Vulnerability and Coping to Disasters: A Study of Household Behaviour in Flood Prone Region of India

This paper attempts to understand the various risks faced by households living in disaster prone regions of rural India and specifically examine the effectiveness of coping mechanisms adopted by ho...

by Unmesh Patnaik | On 12 Apr 2010

Preventing Road Deaths—Time for Data

The editors stress the impact of inadequate road safety on global health, in both developed and low- and middle-income countries. "Research into the risk factors for injury from road traffic crashes,...

by PLoS Medicine | On 08 Apr 2010

Karnataka Budget 2010-11

Budget speech by finance minister of Karnataka

by Government of Karnataka GoK | On 05 Mar 2010

Now for the Hard Part

Cutting the deficit this year was the easy part; the real fiscal challenge lies ahead

by T.N. Ninan | On 03 Mar 2010

Climate Change and the Future Impacts of Storm-Surge Disasters in Developing Countries

The implications of sea-level rise and storm surges for 84 developing countries and 577 of their cyclone-vulnerable coastal cities with populations greater than 100,000 are explored. Combining the mos...

by Susmita Dasgupta | On 25 Feb 2010

Railway Budget 2010-11

Railway Budget 2010-11.

by Mamata Banerjee | On 25 Feb 2010

Graduating to Globalisation: A Study of Southern Multinationals

FDI by firms in developing countries is a recent phenomenon and demands a study of relationship between firm productivity and different modes of globalisation activities. This paper attempts to unde...

by Dilek Demirbas | On 16 Feb 2010

Tax Devolution and Grant Distribution to States in India Analysis and Roadmap for Alternatives

The paper attempts to analyse the impact of devolution of taxes and distribution grants by the Centre to the States in India by taking fourteen major States for the time period 1980-81 to 2006-07. T...

by R Mohan | On 15 Feb 2010

Transport Infrastructure and Poverty Infrastructure

The main issues surrounding this concern and provides a range of policy, regulatory, and institutional measures that could help strengthen the impact of transport infrastructure on poverty reduction...

by Sununtar Setboonsarng | On 10 Feb 2010

Factor Employment, Sources and Sustainability of Output Growth: Analysis of Indian Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector in India is crucial for two main reasons: It has significant potential to provide modern employment to a growing labour force, especially that of less skilled type and second...

by Arvind Virmani | On 09 Feb 2010

Asia Confronts the Impossible Trinity

Capital account openness and exchange rate flexibility in 11 Asian countries are examined. Asia has made slow progress on de jure capital account openness, but has made much more progress on de facto...

by Ila Patnaik | On 04 Feb 2010

Dilli Sarkar’s Advertisement Expenditure: Information or Publicity?

To find out whether our government is spending an astronomical amount of taxpayer’s money publicising itself rather than disseminating information, facts and figures were assimilated. By tracking f...

by Kumar Gaurav | On 29 Jan 2010

Human Resources for Health: Requirements and Availability in the Context of Scaling-Up Priority Interventions in Low-Income Countries

The purpose of this study was to explore the role and importance of human resources for the scaling up of health services in low income countries. In the case studies, the following have been analyze...

by Christoph Kurowski | On 28 Jan 2010

Assessing the Fiscal Capacity of Indian Governments

The record of different post reform governments in meeting their targets and improving both delivery and finances is assessed. A variety of indices are constructed, and consistency checks devised to m...

by Ashima Goyal | On 27 Jan 2010

Where Are India’s International Reserves Invested?

Most standard indicators suggest that India’s reserve stock is more than adequate. The rapid stockpiling of foreign exchange reserves implies that the RBI has been leaning-against-the-wind to keep dow...

by Ramkishen S. Rajan | On 25 Jan 2010

Microfinance and the Millennium Development Goals in Pakistan: Impact Assessment Using Propensity Score Matching

Using data from a survey of clients of a microfinance bank, Khushhali Bank, in 2005, the study revisited the survey data and found that despite the Bank’s strict poverty-targeting program used in cl...

by Sununtar Setboonsarng | On 25 Jan 2010

Productivity of Pesticides in Vegetable Farming in Nepal

This paper examines the effectiveness of damage control mechanisms to reduce crop losses from agricultural pests. It uses data from a sample of Cole crop (Cauliflower and Cabbage) growing households...

by Ratna Kumar Jha | On 22 Jan 2010

Book Review: Microfinance-Is it a means of Empowering Women?

Multiple Meanings of Money: How Women See Microfinance by Smita Premchander, V. Prameela, M. Chidambaranathan, L. JeyaseelanSage publication, 2009, Pp 264, Rs. 595/-

by Sanchita Das | On 20 Jan 2010

Can Global De-Carbonization Inhibit Developing Country Industrialization?

In this paper, we seek to make a twofold contribution. On outcomes, we focus on manufacturing exports as well as on manufacturing output both in the aggregate and in selected sectors. On policy, the i...

by Aaditya Mattoo | On 19 Jan 2010

Japan’s Foreign Direct Investment Experiences in India: Lessons Learnt from Firm Level Surveys

The paper first gives a brief history and comparison of Japanese foreign direct investment into India and other Asian countries, highlighting the fact that Japanese investment into India is quite lo...

by Srabani Roy Choudhury | On 19 Jan 2010

Why India Choked when Lehman Broke

India has an elaborate system of capital controls which impede cap- ital mobility and particularly short-term debt. Yet, when the global money market fell into turmoil after the bankruptcy of Lehman...

by Ila Patnaik | On 19 Jan 2010

India-Korea Trade and Investment Relations

The present paper analyses trade and investment relations and explores future areas of potential co-operation between India and Korea. The study also suggests the areas where there is huge scope for i...

by Pravakar Sahoo | On 14 Jan 2010

Obstacles to Private Power Investments in India

This paper aims to highlight the critical importance of cost recovery in attracting and sustaining private investment for power development. Based on a brief review of Indian experience, it suggests...

by Vishvanath V. Desai | On 24 Dec 2009

Many Poverties

Discusses about the different poverty measuements.

by T.N. Ninan | On 22 Dec 2009

Key Copenhagen Messages

Climate change is one of the most important issues of the next decades and has the potential to severely impact societies, economies and human wellbeing.

by Caio Koch-Weser | On 16 Dec 2009

A Marketing Scheme for Making Money off Innocent People: A User’s Manual

Firms often give away free goods with the product that they sell. Firms often give stock options to their top management and other employees. Mixing these two practices—giving stock options to consu...

by Kaushik Basu | On 15 Dec 2009

Contract Farming in Thailand: A View from the Farm

The study presents an initial assessment of the situation and to raise the main issues in terms of farmers’ and workers’ rights. It is part of a long term process involving farmer movements, trade un...

by Isabelle Delforge | On 15 Dec 2009

Accounting for Results: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Financing for Climate Change

This brief seeks to address questions on how the funds are collected, dsitributes at the international level, mechanisms to ensure that the recipient countries are managing the funds in a transparent...

by Athena Ballesteros | On 15 Dec 2009

The Effect of Direct Foreign Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies

This paper uses firm level panel data to investigate empirically the effects of direct foreign investment (DFI) on the productivity performance of domestic firms in three emerging economies of Centr...

by Jozef Konings | On 11 Dec 2009

The Limits of Intellectual Property Rights: Lessons from the Spread of Illegal Transgenic Cotton Seeds in India

This paper examines these difficulties of regulation in the context of spread of unapproved transgenic Bt cotton seeds in India. This paper also examines the impact of the cultivation of approved and...

by Bharat Ramaswami | On 08 Dec 2009

A Note on Estimating Tax Elasticities

The most popular technique for estimating tax elasticities is the “Proportional Adjustment” method. This paper shows that the standard methodology used will almost invariably lead to biased elastici...

by Pronab Sen | On 04 Dec 2009

Climate Change and India-Some Major Issues and Policy Implications

The paper examines the genesis of Climate Change which has been referred to as the defining human development issue of our generation. Also studied is the impact of this problem in the global as well...

by H A C Prasad | On 01 Dec 2009

The Difficulties of the Chinese and Indian Exchange Rate Regimes

China and India have both attempted distorting the exchange rate in order to foster exports-led growth. This is described as the Bretton Woods II framework, where developing countries buy bonds in the...

by Ila Patnaik | On 30 Nov 2009

Climate Conference in Copenhagen Success is a Political Must

This conference is one of the most important and most complex in the history of climate policy negotiations. The objective is to form a treaty as a successor for the Kyoto Protocol. To enable a breakt...

by Eric Heymann | On 26 Nov 2009

Statistical Trends in Pharmaceutical Research for Poor Countries

Introducing patent rights in developing country markets might stimulate greater R and D investment targeting their specific health needs – areas long neglected. This paper examines this argument using...

by Jean O Lanjouw | On 26 Nov 2009

Agricultural Subsidies and Negotiations: Strategies and Options

The paper points out that some provisions of the framework will allow developed countries to maintain and, in some cases, even increase domestic farm support and still remain WTO-compliant. In most ca...

by Parthapratim Pal | On 25 Nov 2009

Think the Future

The time may have come to stop thinking of five-year plans, and to focus instead on 10- and 20-year scenarios.

by T.N. Ninan | On 23 Nov 2009

Low Income Shelter Financing in Slum Upgrading: India Urban Initiatives

This report summarises findings from the USAID-sponsored project on models of financing for slum upgrading in India, undertaken on behalf of SPARC,a Mumbai-based NGO involved in slum upgrading and th...

by Sally Merrill | On 19 Nov 2009

Start With a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health

Sheds light on the realities of girls' health and wellbeing in developing countries, on the links between the health of girls and the prospects for their families, and on the specific actions that wil...

by Miriam Temin | On 17 Nov 2009

Migration and Urban Poverty in India Some Preliminary Observations

Migration decisions to urban areas that are backed by economic rationale and attempts to understand gains accruing to individuals from migration, in terms of poverty outcomes are analysed. The analy...

by William Joe | On 16 Nov 2009

Women in Self Help Groups and Panchayti Raj Institutions: Suggesting Synergistic Linkages

Questions about the processes of empowerment generated under each of these interventions and also suggests synergistic linkages between the two are raised.

by Joy Deshmukh Ranadive | On 13 Nov 2009

Track Record of Financial Institutions in Assisting the Poor in Asia

A variety of institutional forms of microfinance are being introduced in Asia including by the ADB-and financial institutions pursue different objectives, so it is difficult to assess how well micro...

by Richard L Meyer | On 13 Nov 2009

The Chinese Aid System

Questions about Chinese aid—how large it is and how fast it is growing; how decisions are made on how much aid is provided each year; which countries receive it and how much they get; how the aid is m...

by Carol Lancaster | On 10 Nov 2009

New Steps to Faster and Broader Debt Relief for Developing Countries

This paper mainly describes he concepts of FTAP and explains the current political state of affairs in the international discussions. [FES]

by Jürgen Kaiser | On 09 Nov 2009

Government vs Weather The True Story of Crop Insurance in India

The government of India started offering widespread crop in insurance in 1985, with the Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme. The CCIS has been replaced by the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme....

by Jennifer Ifft | On 06 Nov 2009

Horizontal Equity and the Thirteenth Finance Commission: Issues and Ponderables

An attempt has been made in this paper to critically analyse the parameters/ criteria on which basis awards are finalized. With special reference to poorer states, the following aspects have been di...

by Keshab Das | On 03 Nov 2009

Intellectual Property Rights in Indian Agriculture

This paper distinguishes the Intellectual Property Rights relevant to agriculture and explain these rights. The international intellectual property law for these rights will be described. India's in...

by Jayashree Watal | On 03 Nov 2009

The Deluge of Debt: Understanding the Financial Needs of Poor Households

This paper is about the financial lives of poor households. It examines the different sources of income and expenditure of the poor households residing in a coastal settlement in Kerala. The method...

by B. S. Suran | On 29 Oct 2009

Environmental Sector China: From Major Building Site to Growth Market

China’s economy is booming at the expense of its environment. The country’s resource efficiency is nowhere near the level of western nations. Per unit of gross domestic product China consumes more tha...

by Eric Heymann | On 22 Oct 2009

Learning from Crises

Recollect and recount lessons from crises. The key lessons are how to anticipate and take pre-emptive action and equally important, once you are in the middle of it, how to respond effectively namely,...

by Usha Thorat | On 22 Oct 2009

Warming to Hope

Did you know that there has been no warming of the globe over the past decade?

by T.N. Ninan | On 16 Oct 2009

Drug Regulation and Incentives for Innovation: The Case of ASEAN

The focus of this paper is to examine the ways in which regulatory framework affect the pharmaeutical innovations in developing countries using member countries of the Association of South-east Asian...

by Sauwakon Ratanawijitrasin | On 16 Oct 2009

Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries

Simultaneous relationship between telecommunications and the economic growth, using data for developing countries are examined. Using 3SLS, a system of equations that endogenize economic growth and...

by Kala Seetharam Sridhar | On 15 Oct 2009

Financing the Panchayati Raj Institutions: Flagging Some Issues For The 13th CFC

The Finances of the PRIs are looked into. The role of 13th Finance Commission is explained. Some ‘learnings’ from International experience is given.

by Abhay Pethe | On 15 Oct 2009

Rural Health Services at Cross-Roads: Insights from Gujarat

The objective of the paper is to i) understand and document the morbidity profile, ii) examine utilisation of health services, and iii) estimate approximate expenses on health care by th...

by Ratnawali Sinha | On 07 Oct 2009

Emerging Asia's Middle Class-A Force to be Reckoned With

The emergence of a large and dynamic middle class raises Asia’s profile as an attractive market destination for products ranging from consumer goods to financial services. There are even hopes that th...

by Steffen Dyck | On 06 Oct 2009

Assessing the Impact of Fiscal Policy on Poverty

Fiscal policy measures are a key means by which governments can influence distribution and poverty, but in fact the relationships between fiscal policy and poverty are not well understood. The most c...

by Andrew McKay | On 05 Oct 2009

Global Warming and Agriculture: New Country Estimates Show Developing Countries Face Declines in Agricultural Productivity

There is a growing recognition that global warming is a problem, but little attention has been paid to the likely impact at the country level, especially in the developing world. The stakes for worl...

by William R Cline | On 23 Sep 2009

Doha Declaration and Compulsory License for Access to Medicines

The Doha Declaration provides for access to medicines particularly by simplifying the compulsory licensing (CL) clause. This paper tries to provide a comprehensive review of the working of CL in the d...

by Lalitha N | On 21 Sep 2009

Monetary Policy, Forex Markets and Feedback Under Uncertainity in an Opening Economy

Options for monetary policy arising from interactions between it and Indian foreign exchange (FX) markets. A brief survey covers recent rapid changes providing a snapshot of current microstructure, ...

by Ashima Goyal | On 14 Sep 2009

UCLG Policy Paper on Local Finance

The Policy Paper seeks to give voice to a local government vision on financing and stems from a shared understanding of the challenges we face. The Policy Paper contains 25 concrete recom- mendations...

by UCLG Committee on Local Finance and Development UCLG | On 12 Sep 2009

Middlemen Margins and Globalization

A theory of trading middlemen or entrepreneurs who finance and market goods produced by workers are developed. A two sector two country model of competitive equilibrium, with endogenous sorting of age...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 02 Sep 2009

Ethics and the World of Finance

How do we, as individuals, approach issues of ethics and values? Are our approaches different in our personal and professional lives? Are issues of ethics different in the financial sector? What are t...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 02 Sep 2009

Do Remittances Impact the Economy? Some Empirical Evidences from A Developing Economy

The study attempts to examine the impact of remittances on macroeconomic activities (private consumption and investment) and its implications on economic growth in India for the period from 1966-67 to...

by Hrushikesh Mallick | On 01 Sep 2009

WCD Thematic Review V.2:Contributing Paper: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Large Dams -Thematic Review from the Point of View of Developing Countries

It presents an overview of the theme based on the author’s experience on EIA in developing countries. In many of these countries, a holistic approach has been adopted to EIA requiring the consideratio...

by Iara Verocai | On 31 Aug 2009

Introducing Expenditure Quality in Intergovernmental Transfers: A Triple-E Framework

The present study has sought to introduce, conceptualise and operationalise a scheme for integrating the ‘quality’ dimension of public spending into the devolution scheme of intergovernmental transf...

by Mala Lalvani | On 20 Aug 2009

A Simple Model of the Financial Crisis of 2007-9 with Implications for the Design of a Stimulus Package

The financial crisis of 2007-09 began as a local problem in the mortgage finance market in the United States and Europe but, within months, escalated into a general global financial crisis, resulting...

by Kaushik Basu | On 17 Aug 2009

Strengthening Decentralization - Augmenting The Consolidated Fund of the States by the Thirteenth Finance Commission: A Normative Approach

The present study examines issues related to fiscal federalism at the third tier in general and grants to local bodies in particular. The study presents a normative framework to estimate the requireme...

by Abhay Pethe | On 14 Aug 2009

Restoring the Asian Silk Route: Toward an Integrated Asia

Lack of full regional connectivity is one of the major constraints hindering regional growth and integration in Asia, as well as with the rest of the world. One of the conclusions of this paper is tha...

by Biswa N Bhattacharyay | On 11 Aug 2009

Technical Change, International Competitiveness, and Role of the State: Indian Machine Tool Industry's Experience

The production of machine tools has long been associated with industrialisation besides a formidable factor of technical change and international competitiveness. This potent role of machine tool in...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 06 Aug 2009

R&D for Development of New Drugs for Neglected Diseases How Can India Contribte?

The focus of this paper is India. In line with TRIPS India has introduced a product patent regime in pharmaceuticals from 1 January, 2005. WIll this lead increase in resources deveoted to R and D by I...

by Sudip Chaudhuri | On 31 Jul 2009

Nepal Budget 2009-10

Budget presented by Finance minister of Nepal.

by Surendra Pandey | On 27 Jul 2009

Aam Admi Budget Bypasses India’s Children

Money for Education, Health, Child Protection not enough for 400 million children’s basic rights

by Juhi H | On 17 Jul 2009

Sources of FDI Flows to Developing Asia: The Roles of Distance and Time Zones

This paper investigates sources and determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing Asia using bilateral FDI flows for the period 1990-2005. With regard to the determinants of FDI...

by Rabin Hattari | On 27 Jun 2009

Is the BDP Ultra Poor Approach Working? Survey of Some Key Issues

The objectives of this paper are to assess the knowledge retention on IGA training, and to explore the quality of participation in financial and non-financial services by the BDP ultra poor. We found...

by Proloy Barua | On 25 Jun 2009

Subnational Taxes in Developing Countries: The Way Forward

It is critical to emphasize that intergovernmental fiscal relations must be thought of as a system and that all the pieces in the system must fit together if decentralization is to work properly. Vari...

by Richard.M. Bird | On 16 Jun 2009

Financial Development and Velocity of Money in Bangladesh: A Vector Auto- Regression Analysis

The study uses co-integration and vector auto-regression (VAR) techniques to identify the determinants of income velocity of money (VM) in Bangladesh, covering both narrow and broad money. The study o...

by Md. Akhtaruzzaman | On 15 Jun 2009

Climate Change and Youth and/in Local Governments

Can young people help to increase awareness about climate change and its impacts working through local bodies? A perceptive and informative presentation by the UN-HABITAT Youth Advisory Board Member a...

by John Anugraha | On 15 Jun 2009

Goods and Services Tax for India

The paper contours of a feasible design of VAT in India. It also takes on board the various alternatives proposed. It looks at the issues that need resolution and the options available for resolving t...

by R.Kavita Rao | On 12 Jun 2009

A New Debt Crisis? Assessing the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Developing Countries

This report is intended as a wake-up call to anyone who thinks the developing world debt crisis has been resolved. In fact, it assesses fears of a new debt crisis, more serious than before, spreading...

by Sarah Edwards | On 11 Jun 2009

Health Economics for Developing Countries: A Survival Kit

Health economics is increasingly recognized as a discipline that has much to offer developing countries in addressing these problems, but how can it help? What economic concepts and tools can be appli...

by Anne Mills | On 04 Jun 2009

Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries

The rapid spread of modern supply chains in developing countries is profoundly changing the way food is produced and traded. In this paper we examine the gender implications in modern supply chains. W...

by Miet Maertens | On 29 May 2009

Determination of Inflation in an Open Economy Phillips Curve Framework: The Case of Developed and Developing Asian Countries

This paper investigates the determination of inflation in the framework of an open economy forward-looking as well as conventional backward-looking Phillips curve for eight Asian countries- Japan, Ho...

by Pami Dua | On 22 May 2009

Summary of the Welcome Remarks by Dr.Bimal Jalan, Governor, at the 11th C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture

Dr. Bimal Jalan, Governor gave a welcome remark to Prof. Charles Goodhart on his 11th C. D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture on 'Whither Central Banking ?' This paper revolves around Dr. Jalan's summary and...

by Dr Bimal Jalan | On 21 May 2009

Himalayan Journal of Development and Democracy Vol 3:1, 2008

Papers and Proceedings of The Third Annual Himalayan Policy Research ConferenceSession Chairs and Discussants Session 1A: Conflict Resolution and Democratic Transitions Chair: Christopher Can...

by Vijaya R. Sharma | On 19 May 2009

Gender and Innovation in South Asia

To understand how gender, women’s rights and citizenship intersect with innovation in SouthAsia, one must begin by considering some of the main features of life for South Asian women, about a half of...

by Sujata Byravan | On 06 May 2009

Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality in Rural Punjab A Community Based Case-Control Study

The study aimed at identifying social and biomedical risk factors attributable to perinatal and neonatal mortality (PN, NNM) in rural Punjab.

by Rohina Joshi | On 30 Apr 2009

Economic Growth, Governance and Voting Behaviour: an Application to Indian Elections

The focus of this paper is on the potential economic factors underlying voter behaviour in a democracy. It develops a simplified model based on economic theory (welfare & conditional probabilities)...

by Arvind Virmani | On 28 Apr 2009

Controlling Money and Politics – An Exercise in Damage Control

In many countries political financial regulations have been introduced.

by Marcin Walecki | On 28 Apr 2009

China’s Socialist Market Economy: Lessons for Democratic Developing Countries

The paper’s focus is on successful Chinese policies that can be emulated by other countries to an extent (within certain bounds) which mentined in the article. The author is not trying to draw lesson...

by Arvind Virmani | On 22 Apr 2009

Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on India Collateral Damage and Response

The impact of economic crisis on India has been analysed in the speech. [Speech delivered at the Symposium on 'The Global Economic Crisis and Challenges for the Asian Economy in a Changing World'].

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 24 Feb 2009

Andhra Pradesh Budget Speech 2009-10

Speech of Sri K. Rosaiah

by Government Andhra Pradesh | On 23 Feb 2009

Kerala Budget Speech 2009-10

Budget speech by finance minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 23 Feb 2009

Beyond Industrialization New Approaches to Development Strategy Based on the Service Sector

This paper argues that it is becoming increasingly difficult for most developing countries to achieve rapid growth through industrialization, and especially through export oriented activities. But th...

by Peter Sheehan | On 03 Feb 2009

Voices from the South: The Impact of the Financial Crise

Twenty-one thinkers, academics and policymakers from 14 developing countries present snapshot views of how the financial crisis is affecting their countries

by Globalisation Team IDS | On 31 Jan 2009

Fiscal Federalism, State Lobbying and Discretionary Finance in India

The paper attempts to construct political influence variables and explain discrepancies in fund disbursement through proper econometric specification in the Indian context.

by Rongili Biswas | On 21 Jan 2009

Conflict in Cross Border Mergers: Effect of Firm and Market Size

This paper tries to analyze the interrelationship between possibilities of conflict in cross border mergers and acquisitions and firm and market characteristics in a two country three firm model. Th...

by Poonam Mehra | On 14 Jan 2009

Costs of Basic Services in Kerala, 2007, Education, Health, Childbirth and Finance (Loans)

The focus of this study is to analyze the pattern and costs of services in four areas, which critically affect most households in Kerala . The major concerns of this paper include answers to questio...

by Zachariah KC | On 12 Jan 2009

Through a Glass Darkly: Deciphering the Impact of Oil Price Shocks

In order to examine if the impact of oil price shocks depends on the structure of an economy, a vertical (VSC) and a horizontal (HSC) long-run supply curve identification are successively imposed on a...

by Ashima Goyal | On 05 Jan 2009

Environmental Standards as Strategic Outcomes: A Simple Model

This paper examines the strategic nature of choice of environmental standards under different degrees of openness of countries. It also compares and contrasts equilibrium environmental standards and...

by Rabindra N Bhattacharya | On 23 Dec 2008

Suggesting Effective Policy Frames for Chronic Poverty Alleviation in India

This is a continuation of an earlier paper (2005) by the author which dealt with policy implications based on the work done by CPRC in India. There is no map of chronic poverty in India, but have an a...

by N C B Nath | On 16 Dec 2008

The Impact of Terrorism and Conflicts on Growth in Asia, 1970–2004

This paper quantifies the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth in Asia for 1970–2004. Transnational terrorist attacks had a significant growth-limiting effect. An additional t...

by Khusrav Gaibulloev | On 05 Dec 2008

Controlling Money and Politics – An Exercise in Damage Control

Whether there should be transparency in political finance? Whether there should be a control over the money that the political parties are receiving?

by Marcin Walecki | On 04 Dec 2008

The Chinese Export Bundles: Patterns, Puzzles and Possible Explanations

Using product-level data on exports from different cities within China, this paper investigates the contributing factors to the rising export sophistication. [WP no. 226].

by Zhi Wang | On 26 Nov 2008

The Incidence and Performance Effects of Interlocking Directorates in Emerging Market Business Groups: Evidence from India

The structure and extent of interlocking directorates within Indian business groups is studied and analyses the performance effects of such interlocks. It finds that large groups tend to have more int...

by Bikram De | On 21 Nov 2008

The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Information and Communication Technologies

The paper starts by recapitulating the basic arguments provided by economic theory to explain the existence of the patent system. The paper then concentrates on the three important ICT industries viz....

by C Niranjan Rao | On 30 Oct 2008

Dynamics of Rural Water Supply in Coastal Kerala: A Sustainable Development View

This paper examines empirically within sustainable development framework the dynamics of coverage in rural drinking water supply of 180 demand-driven schemes from Malappuram, predominantly a coastal...

by K Pushpangadan | On 27 Oct 2008

An Open Services Regime Recipe for Jobless Growth?

This paper reviews India’s experience to understand how services sector liberalisation can generate (welfare) gains for developing countries, in particular vis-à-vis its employment generation potenti...

by Suparna Karmakar | On 14 Oct 2008

Heterodox Macroeconomics and the Design of Monetary Institutions

Two agendas of the heterodox economics programme; the stock-flow consistent models pioneered by Wynne Godley, and the monetary circuit approach researched in France and Italy are discussed. The object...

by Romar Correa | On 10 Oct 2008

Developing Countries and the Bonn

At the Bangkok Climate Change dialogue held between March 31st, - April 4th , 2008, the parties arrived at a consensus on two major points for a work programme on long term climate policy. First, the...

by Centre for Trade and Development CENTAD | On 09 Oct 2008

Issues Before the Thirteenth Finance Commission

The paper argues that irrespective of the wording of the Terms of Reference (ToR), the Commission would do well to focus on its primary task of recommending transfers to serve the objective of equit...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 06 Oct 2008

Technology Sourcing and Internationalisation of IT firms in India

The paper analyzes the determinants of internationalisation, defined in terms of export intensity and overseas investments, of the IT firms in India. In particular, the paper examines the role of tech...

by Narayanan K | On 01 Oct 2008

Winners and Losers of State Electricity Boards Reforms : An Organisational Analysis

This article is mainly based on repeated field inquires in Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, at different stages of reform. In these States, the reform, far from precluding to analyse what are class...

by Joel Ruet | On 23 Sep 2008

Pakistan Budget in Brief 2008

Budget in Brief is designed to summarize the detailed information into an overview comprising essential information about expenditure and receipt and the resulting budget balance.

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, | On 22 Sep 2008

Sri Laka Budget Speech

2008 Budget presented by His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa

by Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka | On 18 Sep 2008

Tax Challenges Facing Developing Countries

Most developing countries continue to face serious problems in developing adequate and responsive tax systems. This paper reviews the three principal ways in which developing countries may expand and...

by Richard M. Bird | On 25 Aug 2008

Current Problems with the IMF and Challenges Ahead – A LatinAmerican Perspective

The paper examines the current problems with the IMF which include: 1) the institution is no longer fulfilling the functions it used to fulfil, nor is there a clear vision of any new functions for it;...

by Roberto Frenkel | On 21 Aug 2008

What Constrains Indian Manufacturing

India has undertaken extensive reforms in its manufacturing sector in the last two decades. However, an acceleration of growth in manufacturing, and a concomitant increase in employment, has eluded...

by Poonam Gupta | On 11 Aug 2008

An Agenda for Reform of the International Monetory Fund (IMF)

The International Monatory fund is facing an uncertain future. Notewithstanding the important contributions it has made in helping the global economy deal with major economic and financial changes and...

by Jack Boorman | On 06 Aug 2008

Facts about Adolescence from the Demographic and Health Survey

In the mid 1990s the issue of adult fertility was of great concern for those who were working on the adolescence issues. Particularly fertility outside marriage. As an international scientific organi...

by Population Council | On 04 Jul 2008

Constitutionalising Panchayats: The Response of State Legislatures

This article is an attempt to look at debates in the light of the Assemblies' tryst with panchayats. It should be noted that it is not an evaluation of what transpired in the state Assemblies. In view...

by Girish Kumar | On 03 Jul 2008

Globalization and Securing Worker Rights for Women in Developing Countries

The paper reviews the impact of Globalization on developing economies workers in informal economy and gender implications on the process. Globalization created some insecurity for the workers in infor...

by Jeemol Unni | On 05 Jun 2008

New issues in Indian macro policy

For many decades, macro-policy in India was conducted in an environment with five key elements: ˆ Agricultural shocks rather than a conventional business cycle; A closed economy; deeply distorti...

by Ajay Shah | On 13 May 2008

Reprioritisation of Public Expenditure for Human Development

An important method of managing resources to finance consistent and balanced human development lies in the reprioritisation of current expenditure in accordance with the urgent needs and shortfalls...

by Tapas K. Sen | On 13 May 2008

Consultation Paper on Policy Guidelines for Television Audience Measurement (TAM)/ Television Rating Points (TRP)

Reliability of audience measurement reports both from the perspective of viewers and competitive relations between broadcasters have been of concern to the Regulators in most countries. Internationall...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 01 Apr 2008

Stagflation Cometh

The good times may be ending. There have been worries for years about the global imbalances caused by America’s huge overseas borrowing. America, in turn, said that the world should be thankful: by li...

by Joseph E. Stiglitz | On 17 Mar 2008

Andhra Pradesh Budget 2008-09

SPEECH OF SRI K. ROSAIAH, HONOURABLE FINANCE MINISTER WHILE PRESENTING THE BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2008-09 TO THE ANDHRA PRADESH STATE LEGISLATURE.

by Government Andhra Pradesh | On 10 Mar 2008

Alinging Development, Air Quality and Climate Policies for Muliple Dividends

This paper focuses on the policy direction required to achieve socio-economic growth in developing countries while addressing air pollution concerns at both local and global levels. While greenhouse g...

by Deepa Menon Choudhary | On 25 Feb 2008

Islam at the Ballot Box

So far, no Islamist party has managed to win a majority of the popular vote in any of the Muslim countries where reasonably clean elections are held. If anything, the Islamist share of the vote has be...

by Amir Taheri | On 24 Feb 2008

Regulation of Informal Financial Institutions: A Study of Money Lenders in Kerala

The working of money lenders in Kerala are analysed. Based on a sample survey, the paper has estimated the volume of deposits and credits extended by money lenders in Kerala and has brought out the un...

by P D Jeromi | On 13 Feb 2008

Anti-dumping Protection: Who Gets It? An Exploratory Analysis of Anti-dumping Use in the Most Active User Countries

The industry and firm-level patterns of anti-dumping (AD) use across 18 most active AD user countries are analysed. For the analysis, the study makes use of the newly available “Global Anti-dump...

by Aradhna Aggarwal | On 06 Feb 2008

What is Middle Class About the Middle Classes Around the World?

Household surveys from 13 developing countries are used to describe consumption choices, health and education investments, employment patterns and other features of the of the economic lives of the “m...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 31 Jan 2008

Municipal Finance in India:An Assessment

This study, entitled “Municipal Finance in India – An Assessment”, undertaken for the Development Research Group (DRG), Reserve Bank of India examines the performance of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in I...

by P K Mohanty | On 29 Jan 2008

Macro-economic Management of the Indian Economy: Capital Flows, Interest Rates and Inflation

The paper lays out a consistent frame work for monetary management in the context of excess capital inflows. There is an urgent need for developing competitive, open and well regulated markets for (...

by Arvind Virmani | On 24 Jan 2008

Review of Globalisation and Opening Markets in Developing Countries and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The Case of India

Review of Globalisation and Opening Markets in Developing Countries and Impact on National Firms and Public Governance: The Case of India by Jean-Francois Huchet & Joel Ruet, Scientific Coordinators,...

by Lakshmanan L | On 19 Jan 2008

Managing Migration in thePhilippines: Lessons for India

The significance of international migration in the Philippines economy and society is discussed. The Government of Philippines plays a supportive and regulatory role promoting internationational migr...

by S. Irudaya Rajan | On 19 Jan 2008

The Changing Pattern of Undernutrition in India: A Comparative Analysis across Regions

This study analyses the changes in prevalence of undernutrition between the 1980s and 1990s at the national and sub-national levels in India and focuses on the rural-urban comparisons. The study explo...

by Meenakshi J V | On 17 Jan 2008

Public Notice for Terms of Reference by 13th Finance Commission

The 13th finance commission invites suggestions on issues related to its terms of reference from the members of general public, instituitions, and organizations.

by Finance Commission | On 16 Jan 2008

Financing Arrangements for Nuclear Power Projects in Developing Countries A Reference Book

The IAEA topical seminar on Financing of Nuclear Power Projects in Developing Countries reaffirmed that a major requirement for and constraint on the development of nuclear power projects in developin...

by International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA | On 14 Jan 2008

HIV Treatment Proceeds as Prevention Research Confounds

World AIDS Day, the annual December 1 commemoration, first took place in 1988 under the auspices of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. At that time there was no idea about HIV treatment b...

by PLoS Medicine | On 11 Jan 2008

People’s Health Movement in India

‘Health movement’ as an area of social work has been comparatively a newer tradition that has emerged during last 25 years. In India, today about 10 million people are pushed below the poverty line an...

by Anant Phadke | On 28 Dec 2007

Fasten Your Seatbelts! Monetary Policy Challenges in Turbulent Times

One of the burning issues at the moment relates to increasing the “voice” or representation of emerging-market economies in international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. There a...

by Mboweni T.T. | On 13 Nov 2007

Vaccine Policy in India

The success of an immunisation programme in any country depends more upon local realities and national policies. This is particularly true for a huge and diverse developing country such as India, with...

by Yennapu Madhavi | On 12 Nov 2007

Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women through SHGs Case Study from Orissa

In a remote tribal village of Kandhamal District of Orissa, where there there are visible signs of empowerment of women due to the formation of SHG in the village. The confidence level of women, who...

by Pradeep Baisakh | On 05 Nov 2007

Report on National Mineral Policy

Even after five years of after the liberalisation of the investment regime India has failed to attract FDI to come to the mining sector. In the last decade, many developing countries have significantl...

by Planning Commission, India | On 18 Oct 2007

Capital Inflows, Financial Repression and Macroeconomic Policy in India since the Reforms

Since the early 1990s the Indian economy has seen a considerable relaxation of controls, as a consequence of which it has witnessed unprecedented growth. This is especially remarkable in the external...

by Partha Sen | On 04 Oct 2007

Price Incentives, Nonprice factors, and Crop Supply Response: The Indian Cash Crops

Agriculture as a source of growth was sorely neglected in the early development strategies of the currently developing countries. Realisation of this shortcoming prompted public policy in these countr...

by Sunil Kanwar | On 06 Sep 2007

Should NABARD be Micro Finance Regulator?

NABARD is a key participant in the micro finance sector and has been closely associated with one of the two prevailing modes i.e. SHG-bank linkage mode of delivery of micro finance services. The devel...

by Mukul Asher | On 04 Sep 2007

Reforming the WTO: Toward More Democratic Governance and Decision-Making

This paper takes a critical approach to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and proposes a radical solution involving more direct involvement of civil society and the private sector in WTO governing...

by Saif Al-Islam Alqadhafi | On 27 Aug 2007

On the Relevance of the Median Voter to Resource Allocation amongst Jurisdictions

Allocation of local public good over three jurisdictions with individuals with heterogeneous tastes, in a model with democratic institutions and majority rule. The nature of electoral uncertainty, the...

by Santhanu Gupta | On 16 Aug 2007

The Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007: Legislative Brief

While the Bill promotes the activities of MFOs, there are differing opinions on the cost efficiency of the MFO model. �� NABARD is designated as the regulator of the micro financial s...

by Kaushiki Sanyal | On 08 Aug 2007

The Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation)Bill 2007

The Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007 seeks to promote the sector and regulate micro financial organisations (MFO). 􀂐 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural D...

by Ministry of Law | On 08 Aug 2007

Microfinance Bill: Too Many Wrinkles

A regulator should promote social entrepreneurship and tap into the considerable expertise existing in the micro-finance sector. The aim should be to lower transaction costs and generate savings in re...

by Mukul Asher | On 30 Jul 2007

Child Development, the Life Course, and Social Exclusion: Are the Frameworks Used in the UK Relevant for Developing Countries?

It is suggested that there are several aspects of the social exclusion approach that are valuable in both the UK and developing country contexts. A summary of research on the intergenerational transmi...

by John Hobcraft | On 09 Jul 2007

Women, Work and Insecurities in India

The poor women in developing countries are burdened with the dual responsibility of taking care of housework and the need to supplement household income to meet the subsistence needs. The on-going fle...

by Uma Rani | On 05 Jul 2007

Review of Public Finance in Developing and Transitional Countries: RBI Occasional Papers

Review of Public Finance in Developing and Transitional Countries by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and James Alm in RBI Occasional Papers, Vol. 27, No. 1 and 2, Summer and Monsoon 2006.

by Jai Chander | On 05 Jul 2007

Offshoring in a Ricardian World

Falling costs of coordination and communication have allowed firms in rich countries to fragment their production process and offshore an increasing share of the value chain to low-wage countries. Thi...

by Andrés Rodríguez-Clare | On 05 Jul 2007

Reflections on Global Account Imbalances and Emerging Markets Reserve Accumulation

The lecture focuses on some implications -- both positive and normative -- of the most surprising development in the international financial system over the last half dozen years. That development is...

by Lawrence H. Summers | On 05 Jul 2007

Book Review: The Intersection of Race and Class in the Segregated South

Review of Thomas J. Ward Jr.'s Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press, 2003.

by James Seymour | On 29 Jun 2007

Role of UNU-IIGH in Capacity Building for Sustainable Global

Globalisation promises positive economic impact through faster growth, increase in foreign direct investment and poverty reduction. However, there are growing evidence showing that the undesirable eff...

by Mohammed Yasin Salleh | On 19 Jun 2007

Trade Liberalization and Industrial Productivity: An Assessment of Developing Country Experiences

The relationship between trade liberalization and industrial productivity in developing countries, drawing upon a large number of studies in Latin America, Africa and Asia is explored. Beginning with...

by Deb Kusum Das | On 18 Jun 2007

The Challenges of Financial Liberalisation for Emerging Market Economies

In this speech to the staff of the Reserve Bank of India delivered on May 14, 2007 at the RBI, Central Office, Mumbai, the author offers some comments on the challenges posed by financial liberalisati...

by Christian Noyer | On 13 Jun 2007

In Conversation with Mohammed Yunus

In Mumbai to open an office of the Grameen Foundation, Professor Yunus spoke on the growing role of microfinance in the global economy, the challenges the sector faces in moving from the informal t...

by Kala Rao | On 14 May 2007

Time to Mainstream Micro-Pensions in India

The paper has argued that to expand coverage of micro-pensions, social entrepreneurship (along with social responsibility) will be needed by the financial sector, including the MFIs, insurance compani...

by Mukul Asher | On 08 May 2007

Pension Liabilities of the Central Government: Projections and Implications

The commonly held belief that the Central government pension bill has the potential to reach an unsustainable level does not appear to be based on any realistic assessment of such liabilities in the...

by Pronab Sen | On 25 Apr 2007

Lesons Government Failure: Public Goods Provision and Quality of Public Investment

This paper focuses on government investment and expenditure policies. Going beyond the growth experience, the author also tries to relate the policy experience to the issues of aggregate poverty, in...

by Arvind Virmani | On 25 Apr 2007

IBSAC (INDIA, BRAZIL, SOUTH AFRICA, CHINA): A Potential Developing Country Coalition in WTO Negotiations

This paper argues that IBSA( India, Brazil, South Africa) as opposed to IBSAC (with China) is a far more coherent group when it comes to WTO negotiations as its interests coincide given the agenda tha...

by Debashis Chakraborty | On 25 Apr 2007

Secondary Education in India: Determinants of Development and Performance

A review of development of school education in India reflects an expansionary phase of number of institutions and students enrolled especially in secondary education. The inter-state variations are ex...

by P. Geetha Rani . | On 22 Mar 2007

Outlays Only, Not Outcomes?

The Budget does not sufficiently recognize the need for re-balancing the role of the state and the market, and of the public and the private sectors for managing increasingly complex economic and stra...

by Mukul Asher | On 07 Mar 2007

Union Budget 2007-08: What May We Expect?

It is unrealistic to expect all problems to be solved in one budget. But it is possible for one budget to do a great deal of damage.

by Vinod Vyasulu | On 27 Feb 2007

Union budget 2007-08: What May We Expect?

It is unrealistic to expect all problems to be solved in one budget. But it is possible for one budget to do a great deal of damage

by Vinod Vyasulu | On 27 Feb 2007

Fiscal Deficit, Capital Formation, and Crowding Out : Evidence from India

Theoretical literature identifies two variants of crowding out in an economy–real and financial. The real (direct) crowding out occurs when the increase in public investment displaces private capital...

by Lekha S. Chakraborty | On 17 Feb 2007

Outcome of the review of the trends in receipts and expenditure in relation to the budget at the end of the second quarter of the financial year 2006-2007

This mid-year review reports developments in the economy in the first half of 2006- 07, with a particular focus on Central Government finances, outlining the performances in the real sector, economi...

by Ministry of Finance | On 06 Feb 2007

Declining Trends in Public Health Expenditure in Maharashtra

This analysis of the trends in public health expenditure in Maharashtra shows that the State has to become more proactive in raising resources being allocated to the health sector. The level of publi...

by Ravi Duggal | On 01 Feb 2007

State Finances and Effectiveness of Policy Measures: An Analysis of Indian States

This paper provides a phase-wise analytical review of the fiscal situation of the Indian major States over the previous two and half decades and examines the effectiveness of the policy measures to s...

by Rajmal | On 10 Jan 2007

Interlinked Agrarian Credit Markets in a Developing Economy: A Case Study of Indian Punjab

This paper attempts to analyse the various aspects of informal rural credit market of which interlinked contracts occupy the central place. In particular, the nature and extent of interlinked credit...

by Anita Gill | On 22 Dec 2006

Building Technological Capability in Developing Countries: The Case for a Technology Policy

The paper offers some reflections on technological capability building in the context of low-income developing countries. The issue is of particular concern, especially in an economic climate of liber...

by Mozammel Huq | On 22 Dec 2006

Foreign Direct Investment to Developing Countries in the Globalised World

This paper discusses the key issues related to foreign direct investment flows to developing countries in the globalised world. In particular, the paper focuses on the recent trend and direction of fo...

by Sandy Kyaw | On 22 Dec 2006

Economic Development in a Changing Globalised Economy: The Case of Developing Countries

In the context of the changing economic environment, this analysis is of particular relevance to Third World countries, who are currently being asked and/or actively encouraged to implement the "globa...

by Mozammel Huq | On 22 Dec 2006

The Role of Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme in Preventing Rural Emergencies in India

The Self-Help Emergency Prevention (SHEPherd) programme aims to use lessons from CRS/Orissa’s emergency responses in 1999 and 2001 to inspire an India-wide response to emergency prevention. The progr...

by Kim Wilson | On 03 Dec 2006

Performance Analysis of Fisherwomen Self-help Groups in Tamil Nadu

The present study attempted to assess the performance of Fisherwomen's self help groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu . Primary data required for the study were collected from 725 fisherwomen SHG members repr...

by R. Jayaraman | On 03 Dec 2006

Fiscal Decentralisation and Gender Responsive Budgeting in Mexico: Some Observations

This paper analyses the scope and limitations of gender responsive budgeting in Mexico within the overall framework of fiscal decentralisation. However, decentralised gender responsive budgeting can b...

by Lekha S. Chakraborty | On 31 Oct 2006

Monetary Regionalism in Asia Revisited

Given the divergence in economic and institutional structures in the region, any attempt to create a common currency absent macroeconomic policy coordination and mechanism for automatic intra-regional...

by Ramkishen S. Rajan | On 30 Oct 2006

Monetary Regionalism in Asia Revisited

Given the divergence in economic and institutional structures in the region, any attempt to create a common currency absent macroeconomic policy coordination and mechanism for automatic intra-regional...

by Ramkishen S. Rajan | On 30 Oct 2006

Targeting the Poorest in Microfinance: Poverty Outreach of BDP Ultra Poor Programme

Despite the general consensus that microfinance does not reach the poorest; recent evidence suggests that nearly 15% of microfinance clients in Bangladesh are among the poorest. It is from the realiza...

by Proloy Barua | On 25 Oct 2006

Studies on Self-Help Groups of the Rural Poor

In pursuance of a recommendation made by the Asian and Pacific Regional Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with some...

by | On 23 Oct 2006

Linking Banks and (Financial) Self Help Groups in India: An Assessment

A review of the progress and impact of the overall strategy for scaling up the SHG Bank Linkage Programme over the last decade. [Paper presented at the Seminar on SHG-bank Linkage Programme at New Del...

by Erhard. W. Kropp | On 23 Oct 2006

Using Change Rankings to Understand Poverty Dynamics: Examining the Impact of CFPR/TUP from Community Perspective

Studies of poverty dynamics relying solely on household income-expenditure surveys can yield noisy results, overestimating transient poverty and underestimating persistence of poverty, especially for...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 23 Oct 2006

Does Repayment Indicate the Success of Micro-Finance Programme?

This paper examines the patterns of loan utilisation and repayment among micro-finance group members for Wayland district of Kerala. It argues that 100 per cent repayment by members need not always in...

by Emil Mathew | On 12 Aug 2006

Our Future: Sustainable Cities--Turning Ideas into Action

In convening the third session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, the United Nations Human Settlements Program has asked us to focus our attention on the Sustainable City and consider critical cha...

by Patricia L. McCarney | On 13 Jul 2006

Ways of Paying for Global Public-Goods

simple schedule of governmental contributions, of paying for global public-goods and common purposes: use of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs); the United Kingdom’s International Finance Facility (IFF...

by Anthony Clunies-Ross, | On 02 Jun 2006

American housing market: a source of relief or weakness?

In late March the release of data on sale of new homes in the US showed that it had dropped 10 per cent, the biggest drop in nine years. In the immediate aftermath of this report, the US currency gav...

by V. Anantha Nageswaran | On 07 Apr 2006

Health Inequalities, Social Cohesion and Social Capital: An Exploration

This paper claims that the roots and remedies of health inequalities reflected in the major academic debates that culminated with full force towards the turn of the last century, have done little to u...

by Vijay Kumar Yadavendu | On 30 Mar 2006

Union Budget 2006-07: Reforms in Indirect Taxes: Long on Rhetoric

The Finance Minister’s speech presenting the Union Budget 2006-07 indicated that long-overdue reforms of the tariff structure had been undertaken in this year’s budget. But a careful analysis of thes...

by Sukumar Mukhopadhyay | On 22 Mar 2006

Finance Bill 2005

To give effect to the financial proposals of the Federal Government for the year beginning on the first day of July, 2005, and to enact and amend certain laws:

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, | On 15 Mar 2006

Sri Lanka: Recent Economic Developments: Highlights of 2005 and Prospects for 2006

Economic Review of Developments in 2005 and Prospects for 2006. Presented before the Budget for 2006.

by Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka | On 05 Mar 2006

Editorial: Union Budget: Securing its Legacy

Union Budget 2006-07 breaks new ground in many areas, and continues on the path of modernizing the tax system. It also gives deserved recognition to key allocation priorities. But its legacy will be...

by Mukul Asher | On 05 Mar 2006

Union Budget 2006-07: Securing its Legacy

Union Budget 2006-07 breaks new ground in many areas, and continues on the path of modernizing the tax system. It also gives deserved recognition to key allocation priorities. But its legacy will be...

by Mukul Asher | On 04 Mar 2006

Economic Survey 2005-06, Chapter 4

Securities Markets

by Ministry of Finance | On 27 Feb 2006

Economic Survey 2005-06, chapter 3

Monetary and Banking Developments

by Ministry of Finance | On 27 Feb 2006

Economic Survey 2005-06,Chapter 2

Public Finance

by Ministry of Finance | On 27 Feb 2006

Social Security Policy in an Era of Globalization and Competition: Challenges for Southeast Asia

There are several themes which emerge from the comparative analysis of social security systems in Southeast Asia. Each country will need to address the limitations of their respective system in relati...

by Mukul Asher | On 06 Feb 2006

Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: Third Quarter Review, 2005-06

The robust performance of the Indian economy continued during the second quarter (July-September) of 2005-06. According to the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the economy recorded a real GDP...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 02 Feb 2006

Raising the Tax Ratio by Reining in the 'Tax Breaks': An Agenda for Action

The increase in direct taxes has not been able to offset the decline that resulted from the reduction in customs tariff and decline in excise revenue. The task facing the policymakers now is to explor...

by Amaresh Bagchi | On 01 Feb 2006

The Social Cost of Foreign Exchange Reserves

There has been a very rapid rise since the early 1990s in foreign reserves held by developing countries. These reserves have climbed to almost 30 percent of developing countries' GDP and 8 months of i...

by Dani Rodrik | On 27 Jan 2006

Real Sector Shocks and Monetary Policy Responses in a in a financially vulnerable Emerging Economy

When analyzing the appropriate response for monetary policy during a currency crisis it is important to keep in mind two distinct channels: (a) the impact of raising interest rates on exchange rates...

by Ramkishen S. Rajan | On 27 Jan 2006

Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: Third Quarter Review 2005-06

Contents I. The Real Economy -- 1 Agricultural Situation Industrial Performance Business Expectations Surveys Services Sector II. Fiscal Situation 14 Combined Government Fi...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 25 Jan 2006

Elementary Education: Rising Expenditure, Poor Quality: Book Review

Review of 'The Economics of Elementary Education in India: The Challenge of Public Finance, Private Provision and Household Costs' edited by Santosh Mehrotra; Sage, New Delhi; 2005, pp.328.

by P. Geetha Rani . | On 20 Jan 2006

Who’s Going Broke? Comparing Growth in Healthcare Costs in Ten OECD Countries

Government healthcare expenditures have been growing much more rapidly than GDP in OECD countries. For example, between 1970 and 2002 these expenditures grew 2.3 times faster than GDP in the U.S., 2.0...

by Laurence J. Kotlikoff | On 16 Dec 2005

Controlled Capital Account Liberalisation: A Proposal

This paper outlines a proposal for a controlled approach to capital account liberalization for economies experiencing large capital inflows. The proposal essentially involves securitizing a portion o...

by Eswar S. Prasad | On 09 Dec 2005

Opportunities and Challenges in Building an East Asian Community

Inherenet weaknesses in AFTA and AEC and the need to counter regionalism in other parets of the world are some of the important reasons for evolving an East Asian Community. However, there are severa...

by Joseph Yap | On 23 Nov 2005

Asian Reserves and the Dollar: Is Gradual Adjustment Possible?

Large dollar reserves in Asian EMEs accompany large U.S. fiscal and current account deficits. Analysis of strategic sales by Asian EMEs suggests that an attack on the dollar is not certain but is poss...

by Ashima Goyal | On 21 Nov 2005

Riots in Mau: Report on an Investigation

On October 13-14, 2005 Mau in Uttar Pradesh, India experienced widespread violence and communal tension. Mau has a long history of communal tensions. It is largely rural district with a minority of...

by Rooprekha Verma | On 16 Nov 2005

Banking on Limited Freedom

Successive finance ministers have been calling the public sector banks “to brace for a wave of consolidation” to become global players. However, calling for world-beaters does not produce them; vision...

by Aruni Mukherjee | On 22 Oct 2005

Trends in Anti-dumping: First Decade of WTO

There has been a significant decline in anti dumping initiations. This is a welcome trend as there is scant support in economic literature for anti-dumping action. The trend might well indicate the ef...

by C. Satapathy | On 04 Oct 2005

American Psychological Associaltion Code Of Ethics:Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Marriage And Family Counsellor

The Ethics Code is intended to provide standards of professional conduct that can be applied by the APA and by other bodies that choose to adopt them. Whether or not a psychologist has violated the Et...

by American Psychological Association | On 01 Sep 2005

Aid and Growth: What Does The Cross-Country Evidence Really Show?

We examine the effects of aid on growth--in cross-sectional and panel data--after correcting for the bias that aid typically goes to poorer countries, or to countries after poor performance. Even afte...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 06 Aug 2005

A Fair Plan Approach For Devolution Under The Twelfth Central Finance Commission: Some Suggestions

This study has made some suggestions for the consideration of the Twelfth Finance Commission. We have provided a conceptual framework comprising eight cardinal principles abbreviated as FAIR PLAN. We...

by Abhay Pethe | On 05 Aug 2005

Infrastructure Finance In The Time Of Revenue Crunch: Exploring New Avenues for Urban Local Bodies

Infrastructure in general and urban infrastructure in particular has proved to be a pons asinorum of economic development. Whilst infrastructure is an umbrella term, provision of many of its component...

by Abhay Pethe | On 05 Aug 2005

Waste Picker Cooperatives in Developing Countries

The informal recovery of materials from waste represents an important survival strategy for disadvantaged populations throughout the developing world. Waste pickers are perceived as the poorest of the...

by Martin Medina | On 31 Mar 2005

Internal Control Of Community Finance Institutions In Cambodia

The working paper offers a conceptual basis for action research on internal controls in community finance institutions (CFIs) in rural Cambodia. A CFI is defined as “an institution that specializes in...

by Brett Matthews | On 31 Mar 2005