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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

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Government Intervention in Education Sector

The issue of government intervention in the education sector is an integral element of considerations of human capital, which itself is a precursor to societal economic growth. On the one hand, it has...

by Markandeya Karthik | On 05 Dec 2021

Real is radical: Drop subsidies, offer basic minimum income to farmers

You could run a sensible subsidy and price support system at a fraction of today's cost, and still have enough money left over to offer a more generous income support to all farmers.

by T.N. Ninan | On 02 Jun 2020

Containment Strategies and Support for Vulnerable Households

Policymakers across the developing world are facing the need to make rapid decisions on their COVID-19 response with little available data or guidance. Policies that help deal with the economic cri...

by Jonathan Leape | On 18 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

India's Universal Basic Income: Bedeviled by the Details

The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI)-—periodic and uncon- ditional cash payments to all citizens—has gained renewed attention amid growing concerns about technological unemployment in advanced e...

by | On 28 Mar 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

Wage Inequalities in India

This paper examines the dimension of inequality since our earlier work on poverty and deprivation suggest that social inequality seems to overwhelm all other inequalities in a whole range of indicator...

by K.P. Kannan | On 31 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

Optimal Regulation of P2P Lending for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This paper describes and evaluates the range of P2P lending systems on offer to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in several countries, considering different regulatory regimes. In some countr...

by Naoko Nemoto | On 07 Jan 2019

Investment in Research and Development for Basmati Rice in Pakistan

Basmati rice is Pakistan’s celebrated export. After years of growth, Pakistan’s production and export of basmati has slipped and is on a downward trend. The absence of a strong research and developmen...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 13 Dec 2018

Indian Banks and the Prevention of Corruption Act: Freedom and Discipline

Selfless activists like Mr. Pai teach us the importance of continuously interrogating the functioning of our democracy. The NPA issue has persisted for almost a decade. It has eroded the profitability...

by Ashima Goyal | On 29 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

Role of Bank Lending in Financing Green Projects: A Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Approach

This paper develops an environmental dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (E-DSGE) model with heterogeneous production sectors. In particular, the model comprises some low-carbon emission firms that...

by Maria Teresa Punzi | On 19 Oct 2018

The Spread of Deposit Insurance and the Global Rise in Bank Asset Risk since the 1970s

The paper constructs a new measure of the changing generosity of deposit insurance for many countries, empirically model the international influences on the adoption and generosity of deposit insuranc...

by Charles W. Calomiris | On 03 Sep 2018

Vulnerability to Poverty in the Philippines: An Examination of Trends from 2003 to 2015

The reduction of poverty is at the heart of the development agenda both nationally and globally. This is reflected in the Philippine Development Plan, and the worldwide commitment toward the Sustainab...

by Jose Ramon G. Albert | On 27 Aug 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

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

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

Determinants of Public–Private Partnerships in Infrastructure in Asia: Implications for Capital Market Development

This study attempts to understand the role of greater access to finance, i.e., stocks, bonds, and bank loans, in public–private partnership (PPP) investment in developing countries. Most developing co...

by Suk Hyun | On 10 Aug 2018

Building Food Security in Asia through International Agreements on Rice Reserves

The policy brief aims to mitigate the impact of natural disasters on food security, ASEAN established a rice reserve on 4 October 1979. The rice reserve was developed to alleviate poverty and to eradi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Aug 2018

Institutional Issues on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Ensuring the realization of the full potential of the incumbent DRRM policy requires appropriate sectoral and institutional translation of its espoused principles; reflecting more refined institutiona...

by Sonny N. Domingo | On 06 Jul 2018

Assessment of the BUB Program: Improving Access of Local Communities to Basic Services and Strengthening Social Capital

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster (HDPRC) and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster (GGACC) launched the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) exercise in...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 05 Jul 2018

Assessment of Implementation Issues and Livelihood Success on the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the DSWD

The study aims to assess the sustainable livelihood program (SLP) implementation processes based on recent policy enhancements and indicators of program success. The analysis is based on focus group d...

by Marife M. Ballesteros | On 05 Jul 2018

Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment of Hydropower Plants in Nepal: A Contextspecific Approach

This paper investigates the public participation (PP) process in environmental impact assessments (EIA) of three large-scale hydropower plants (HPs) in Nepal, with a view to improving the PP process t...

by Jon Munch-Petersen | On 27 Jun 2018

Financial Inclusion, Financial Literacy, and Financial Education in AZerbaijan

This paper discusses the status of financial inclusion, education, and literacy in Azerbaijan as well as measures to foster the development of SMEs, which currently have inadequate access to financial...

by Gubad Ibadoghlu | On 07 Jun 2018

Financial Inclusion, Regulation, Financial Literacy and Financial Education in Armenia

Financial inclusion has significantly advanced in Armenia during the last decade. Rural and urban areas, however, have benefited unevenly. The high cost of providing financial services, the lack of ph...

by Armen Nurbekyan | On 07 Jun 2018

Young Enterprises and Bank Credit Denials

By employing a sample of 20,956 observations of non-financial SMEs headquartered in the Euro area, between 2009 and 2015, the paper tests whether young businesses are more likely to face credit reject...

by Danilo V. Mascia | On 06 Jun 2018

Multidimensional Poverty and Catastrophic Health Spending in the Mountainous Regions of Myanmar, Nepal and India

Economic burden to households due to out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) is large in many Asian countries. Though studies suggest increasing household poverty due to high OOPE in developing countries, s...

by Bidhubhusan Mahapatra | On 29 May 2018

Financial Inclusion: Indian Initiatives in the Global Perspective

This comprehensive paper attempts to critically evaluate the initiatives taken by India through the Reserve Bank of India in achieving financial inclusion and the efforts made...

by | On 28 May 2018

Growth, Inequality, Poverty and Urbanization

The focus in this paper is on growth, inequality and poverty, particularly in relation to urbanization. The analysis is pursued at three levels of disaggregation: states, districts and the million-plu...

by Arup Mitra | On 02 May 2018

The Role of Plant-Breeding R&D in Tractor Adoption among Smallholders in Asia: Insights from Nepal Terai

Combining agricultural census data from Nepal from 2001 and 2011 with various spatial agroclimatic data, we show that increase in yield potentials due to the introduction of high-yield technologies ...

by Hiroyuki Takeshima | On 27 Apr 2018

Chronic Poverty in India: Overview Study

This paper tries to summarise the current state of knowledge about chronic poverty in India and identify the agenda for further research. An ove rview of the trends in incidence of...

by | On 12 Apr 2018

Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale: A Reference Guide for Program Managers and Policy Makers

Recently, a renewed interest in large-scale community health worker (CHW) programs has been seen globally. This renewal provides an opportune moment to take stock of issues and challenges such progr...

by Steve Hodgins | On 12 Apr 2018

Community health worker programs in India: a rights-based review

This article presents a historical review of national community health worker (CHW) programs in India using a gender- and rights-based lens. The aim is to derive relevant policy implications to stem...

by Kavita Bhatia | On 06 Apr 2018

Community Disaster Resilience Fund (CDRF): Operational Guidelines - Draft

The report says that the goal is to promote community leadership in strengthening capabilities and resource mobilization.

by National Alliance Risk Reduction (NAADRR) | On 05 Apr 2018

Cow Vigilantism: Crime, Community and Livelihood January 2016 to March 2018

From 2015 there has been a spate of incidents of violence and intimidation around issues of cow slaughter and beef. These ranged from the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq for alleged cow theft, slaughter...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 04 Apr 2018

Domestic Resource Mobilisation for Development: An Analysis for the Past Trends and Future Options

The paper says that average saving rate over 1990-91 to 1995-96 has been only 14.7 percent of GDP.

by Sarfraz Qureshi | On 30 Mar 2018

Comic Relief Review: Mapping the Research on the Impact of Sport and Development Interventions

The report maps the current status of research in the area of Sport for Development (SfD). This consists of a ‘snapshot’ of research completed since 2005, an inventory of research planned or in progre...

by Orla Cronin | On 30 Mar 2018

Comic Relief Review: Mapping the Research on the Impact of Sport and Development Interventions

The report maps the current status of research in the area of Sport for Development (SfD). This consists of a ‘snapshot’ of research completed since 2005, an inventory of research planned or in progre...

by | On 30 Mar 2018

An Analysis of Nepal’s Transit through India

Nepal, a landlocked country, relies on transit access from neighbouring countries to participate in international trade. For Nepal, the nearest sea-port is that of Kolkata in India and the transit a...

by Isha Dayal | On 28 Mar 2018

Trade Facilitation Measures to Enhance Women’s Participation in Cross-border Trade in BBIN

Trade facilitation measures improve the trading environment by reducing transaction costs and thereby increasing the gains from trade. Although the use of trade facilitation measures for tackling tr...

by Sanjana Joshi | On 28 Mar 2018

An Ethnographic Study of the Mathru Poorna Yojana (One Full Meal) Pilot Project for Pregnant and Lactating Mothers in Two Blocks of Two Districts in Karnataka

The present study was undertaken to review the pilot implementation of the programme and its uptake by beneficiaries, in order to provide data to the DWCD, before scaling up the programme to all distr...

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

Urbanization and India’s Slum Continuum: Evidence on the Range of Policy Needs and Scope of Mobility

In contrast with historical precedent, urbanization across the Global South is associated with increasing levels of urban poverty. These trends engender unique challenges for practitioners and schola...

by Emily Rains | On 21 Mar 2018

Estimating Poverty in Pakistan: The Non-food Consumption Share Approach

The paper says that poverty alleviation is the most persistent challenge facing Pakistan since its inception.

by Rashida Haq | On 21 Mar 2018

Modelling Gender Dimensions of the Impact of Economic Reforms on Time Allocation among Market Work, Household Work, and Leisure

The paper says that the gender has been largely ignored at the theoretical, empirical and policy design levels, thereby perpetuating gender biases in the actual working of economies, promoting gender...

by Rizwana Siddiqui | On 20 Mar 2018

Financial Inclusion: New Measurement and Cross-Country Impact Assessment

This paper introduces a new index of financial inclusion for 151 economies using principal component analysis to compute weights for aggregating nine indicators of access, availability, and usage. It...

by Rogelio V. Mercado, Jr. | On 20 Mar 2018

Budget 2018: Maharashtra Budget Speech Part 1

Budget speech of the Finance Minister of Maharashtra.

by Sudhir Mungamtiwar | On 12 Mar 2018

Case Study of Madhu - A Tribal from Kerala

In the evening of February 22, 2018, A 30 year old man named Madhu, a tribal from Attappadi, Kerala was severely beaten up by the mob who accused him of stealing food items which included rice. Althou...

by Aarti Salve | On 10 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

Urban refugees in Delhi Refugee networks, faith and well-being

This paper explores the faith context of displacement and settlement for the Sikh and Christian Afghan refugees and Muslim Rohingya refugees in Delhi. It examines the foundation of community faith...

by | On 09 Mar 2018

Seeing the Forest for the Trees? An Investigation of Network Knowledge

The paper studies a dynamic model of the decision to continue or abandon a research project. Researchers improve their ideas over time and also learn whether those ideas will be adopted by the scienti...

by | On 07 Mar 2018

Learning When to Quit: An Empirical Model of Experimentation

The paper studies a dynamic model of the decision to continue or abandon a research project. Researchers improve their ideas over time and also learn whether those ideas will be adopted by the scienti...

by Bernhard Ganglmair | On 06 Mar 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

Labour Market and Household Behaviour: A Case of Unorganised Sales women

The paper says that women constitute only a quarter of the total labour force in India though they form nearly half of the Indian population.

by Martin Patrick | On 14 Feb 2018

Decentralizing for Development: The Developmental Potential of Local Autonomy and the Limits of Politics Driven Decentralization Reforms

This paper points at the missing link between decentralization and local development in so many countries whose decentralization reforms are driven by political rather than developmental goals.

by Leena Avonius | On 07 Feb 2018

Gender, Environment and Poverty Interlinks in Rural India

This paper analyses the interrelationships between gender, poverty and environmental change in rural India, focusing especially on variations across regions and shifts over time during the past two...

by Bina Agarwal | On 05 Feb 2018

Assessing Poverty Alleviation Strategies for Their Impact on Poor Women: Study with Special Reference to India

This paper is concerned with the way macro-economic strategies can affect the incidence of poverty, especially among women, and also with the effectiveness of various forms of government interventio...

by Jayati Ghosh | On 05 Feb 2018

Choosing Democracy: Natural Resource Management for Environmental Policy Makers, Donors and Practitioners

The brief talks about supporting local democracy in forestry is crucial for enhancing local people’s wellbeing.

by Jesse Ribot | 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

Conflict and Education in Manipur: A Comparative Analysis

Conflict, violence and social upheaval have been the greatest threats to mankind since the dawn of civilisation. Poorest communities, children and education sector are among the most severely affect...

by Komol Singha | On 24 Jan 2018

The Politics of Institutional Reform and Post-Conflict Violence in Nepal

How does the reform of state institutions shape prospects for peace after war? Existing re- search on the institutional causes of peace focuses on how institutional designs, as the out- comes of ref...

by Julia Strasheim | On 17 Jan 2018

Negotiating Placeness Tribal Communities in Western Ghats

‘Lived place’ refers to the subject perception of place. It is concrete and based on experience. For the tribal communities staying or camping in the forest, it is their ‘lived place’ about which they...

by | On 12 Jan 2018

People, Policy and Partnership for Disaster Resilience Development

The paper narrates about the proceedings that were centered on a wide range of community level risk reduction efforts that are effectively reducing vulnerabilities as well as influencing development p...

by National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction NADRR | On 10 Jan 2018

One Year Later.... Community Disaster Resilience Fund (CDRF), Learning From the Pilot Initiative in India

The paper says that the Community Disaster Resilience Fund (CDRF) is viewed as a mechanism to direct resources for DRR to at risk and vulnerable communities in the context of local implementation of t...

by National Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction NADRR | On 10 Jan 2018

Prioritizing Agricultural Research and Extension

India’s agricultural research and extension system has grown tremendously to meet the country’s rapid change in research and development (R&D) needs over the past half century. Major activities in thi...

by | On 27 Dec 2017

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reduction and the World Trade Organization

his paper develops the contours of an ambitious approach to fossil fuel subsidy reform using the multilateral trade system.

by Joel Trachtman | On 26 Dec 2017

Options For Improving The Transparency Of Fisheries Subsidies

This paper seeks to support the on-going negotiations by identifying common ground and differences with respect to notifications and transparency, analysing the feasibility of various ideas, and discu...

by Arthur Appleton | On 20 Dec 2017

Mechanics of Replacing Benefit Systems with a Basic Income: Comparative Results from a Microsimulation Approach

Recent debates of basic income (BI) proposals shine a useful spotlight on the challenges that traditional forms of income support are increasingly facing, and highlight gaps in social provisions that...

by James Browne | On 15 Dec 2017

Poverty Estimates in India: Some Key Issues

The paper provides an overview of the methodologies used by the Indian Planning Commission in the past 30 years. Using the Planning Commission poverty line, the paper computes poverty and inequality...

by | On 13 Dec 2017

Intersecting Weather Variability And Chronic Food Poverty

The report says that despite the government’s various poverty reduction and social protection programs, poverty remains a social problem the country needs to hurdle.

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 13 Dec 2017

PIDS Calls For ‘Intelligent’ Discourse On Federalism

The study says that the policymakers should see merit in examining whether federalism can indeed address the sociopolitical and economic problems that hamper the country’s growth.

by PIDS Information Staff | On 11 Dec 2017

Informal Workers in Global Horticulture and Commodities Value Chains: A Review of Literature

This paper presents and analyzes the key findings from a comprehensive review of value chain-related studies on the commodities and horticulture sectors, focusing on what this literature reveals about...

by Man-Kwun Chan | On 06 Dec 2017

MGNREGA Job Sustainability and Poverty in Sikkim

MGNREGA rural developmental works undertaken since February 2006 in Sikkim have achieved a sustainable characteristic by adopting an environment friendly approach. A range of works on water, soil and...

by Marchang Reimeingam | On 05 Dec 2017

Trade & Transit Cooperation with Afghanistan: Results from a Firm-level survey from Pakistan

This paper aims to inform academia and policymakers about ways and means to first increase trade with Afghanistan, and second, to discuss trade-related procedures and processes that could be streamlin...

by Vaqar Ahmed | On 04 Dec 2017

Sustainable Energy for All in South Asia Potential, Challenges, and Solutions

This paper narrates about the challenge of meeting energy demand is likely to get more complex, as it is growing to keep pace with the population growth and expanding economy.

by Muhammad Iftikhar | On 01 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

Fund-Raising For Energy Projects In Pakistan

This paper reviews the investment situation in energy sector of Pakistan. Using secondary data sources, official documents and pledges by development partners.

by Huma Khan | On 30 Nov 2017

Does Information Empower the Poor? Evidence from Indonesia’s Social Security Card

In 2013, the Government of Indonesia conducted one of the largest information interventions in history, in an attempt to further alleviate poverty and as a complement to the Social Protection Card (KP...

by Achmad Tohari | On 20 Nov 2017

How Government Funds Help To Reduce Poverty?: A Case Study of CIF & BISP in Sindh

The study analyzes the impact of these programmes over a specific period of six years.

by Junaid Zahid | On 17 Nov 2017

Targetting of Social Transfers: Are India's Elderly Poor Left Behind ?

Whether social transfers should be targeted or universal is an unsolved debate that is particularly relevant for the implementation of social protection schemes in developing countries. While the limi...

by | On 15 Nov 2017

Poverty Argument : In the Context of Total Elimination of Child Labour

One of the most commonly held beliefs in the area of child labour, especially in an under-developed economy’s like India, is that it exists because parents who are unable to make ends meet put their c...

by | On 10 Nov 2017

Basic Income and a Public Job Offer: Complementary Policies to Reduce Poverty and Unemployment

Unconditional basic income, or a job guarantee by government as employer-of-last-resort, are usually discussed as alternative policies, though the first does not provide the benefits of an earned inco...

by Felix FitzRoy | 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

Migration, Agriculture And Rural Development: Addressing the root causes of migration and harnessing its potential for development

The report says that conflicts, violence and natural disasters are among the root causes of migration and forced displacement.

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Oct 2017

Remittances and Exchange Rate Linkages: Experiences of Nepal

This paper concentrates on the impact of a few macroeconomic variables—nominal exchange rate, economic activity in host countries and workers' outflow—in determining the remittance inflows to Nepal.

by Bhubanesh Pant | On 09 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

Central Bank Communication: The Practice in Nepal Rastra Bank and Impact on Inflation

The paper says that it will contribute to make monetary policy more effective and thus enhance its impact.

by Sarthak Karki | On 06 Oct 2017

Federalism: Prospects for the Philippines

The paper aims to consider potential benefits of federalism to the Philippines within the context of two major development constraints, namely, weak economic growth and poverty.

by Romulo Miral Jr | On 03 Oct 2017

Measure and determinants of chronic and transient poverty in the Philippines

This Policy Note addresses this lack of a measure of chronic and transient poverty in the Philippines.

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 29 Sep 2017

An Assessment of the Community Mortgage Program Implementation Strategy

The study also provides recommendations on how the identified issues can be addressed.

by Marife M. Ballesteros | On 29 Sep 2017

The Effects of Energy Price Changes: Heterogeneous Welfare Impacts, Energy Poverty, and CO2 Emissions in Indonesia

The empirical context of our study is Indonesia, a country with a long tradition of regulating consumer energy prices and a recent change in subsidy policies, facilitated by dramatically falling oil p...

by Sebastian Renner | On 29 Sep 2017

Secondary Towns and Poverty Reduction: Refocusing the Urbanization Agenda

This review is framed around the exploration of a central hypothesis: A shift in public investment towards secondary towns from big cities will improve poverty reduction performance.

by Luc Christiaensen | On 27 Sep 2017

Slowdown in Bank Credit Growth: Aggregate Demand or Bank Non-Performing Assets?

This paper tests the bank lending channel against the aggregate demand channel as an explanation for slow credit growth by estimating the determinants of credit and of non- performing assets (NPAs) us...

by Ashima Goyal | On 15 Sep 2017

Contributory Pension Schemes for the Poor: Issues and Ways Forward

The issue of old-age income security in India assumes significance in view of the expected rise in the elderly population in the years to come, problems of poverty and vulnerability among them and the...

by D Rajasekhar | On 14 Sep 2017

Public Health Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights

The World Health Organization considered that its mission demanded it should play a part in this debate, with the objective of illuminating how intellectual property rights might affect public health...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 14 Sep 2017

Toilet Access among the Urban Poor – Challenges and Concerns in Bengaluru City Slums

Urban expansion in India over the last few decades has placed cities in a challenging situation with limited infrastructure facilities affecting the quality of life of people who live in low income se...

by Manasi S | On 13 Sep 2017

Usage of Land and Labour under Shifting Cultivation in Manipur

Shifting cultivation remains the main source of employment for large sections of the rural people who depend on agriculture for their livelihood in the hill areas of Manipur. Its inputs continue to be...

by Marchang Reimeingam | On 12 Sep 2017

Analyzing housework through family and gender perspectives

This Policy Note analyzes the role of wage and attitudes toward gender roles within the family in determining the time allocated to housework.

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 08 Sep 2017

Estimating Filipinos' Vulnerability to Poverty

Natural disasters, together with other shocks, have contributed to the vulnerability of both poor and nonpoor Filipino households to poverty.

by Christian D. Mina | On 07 Sep 2017

Chronic and Transient Poverty and Weather Variability in the Philippines: Evidence Using Components Approach

The paper narrates that the weather is an integral part of our life and weather shocks can have severe implications on income and on household consumption.

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 06 Sep 2017

Chronic Food Poverty in the Philippines

This paper finds that deviation of rainfall from its normal values and other key variables such as education, employment, assets, and armed conflict affect chronic food poverty.

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 05 Sep 2017

Strengthening India’s External Intelligence Infrastructure: An Assessment

This paper attempts to outline a number of points, which would help to develop a more superior external intelligence infrastructure.

by Shantanu Bansal | On 28 Aug 2017

'Urban Bias' in the Flow of Funds and Deposit Mobilisation: Evidence from Karnataka, India

The paper argues that as bankers consider deposits a means for security, easy and attractive deposit schemes should be introduced in rural areas.

by Gagan Bihari Sahu | On 23 Aug 2017

Is There Enough Public Resource for School Education? Examining the Available Evidences

The enactment of RTE Act, 2009 imposes a duty on the Indian states to fulfill every child's right to elementary education. Education is also a stand-alone goal among SDGs, which India is one of the si...

by Protiva Kundu | 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

Negotiating Placeness: Tribal Communities in Western Ghats

By way of this contact, communities have re-constituted their relation with the forest, their identity and relations with others.

by M. Suresh | On 22 Aug 2017

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in South Asia

The report, Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in South Asia- Evidence for Interventions in the Health Sector, Women’s Collectives and Local Governance Mechanisms, is based on a systemic review of l...

by Rohini Prabha Pande | On 18 Aug 2017

From Hills to Plains: Some Missing Aspects of Socio-Cultural Life of the Displaced Population of Sardar Sarovar Project, Gujarat

This paper describes the process of displacement of tribals from the hills to resettlement in the plains.

by Arjun Patel | On 17 Aug 2017

Training of Trainers Module on Sustainable Development Goals and Gram Panchayats

The report narrates that ensure access to social protection measures for the poor and the vulnerable.

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 16 Aug 2017

Strengthening Local Governance in Africa: Beyond Donor-Driven Approaches

The paper argues, in line with other recent studies that time has come to rethink concepts and practices used to promote local governance in African countries.

by Göran Hydén | On 10 Aug 2017

Report of the Working Group on Development of Corporate Bond Market in India

It has been well recognized that a well-developed corporate bond market complements a sound banking system in providing an alternative source of finance to the real sector for its long-term investme...

by Securities Board of India | On 04 Aug 2017

The Importance of Being Siliguri, or the Lack Thereof Border-Effect and the “Untimely” City in North Bengal

Debashis Chakraborty visited Siliguri for the first time in 1952. After the final examinations of Class IV, this was his first trip to Siliguri to visit the part of his family that had relocated to th...

by Atig Ghosh | On 04 Aug 2017

Making Women Count for Peace: Gender, Empowerment and Conflict in South Asia

With a focus on Northeast Indian experiences and a comparative look at Nepal, this project addresses the role of women in local governance and politics, particularly within the context of peace and se...

by Calcutta Group | On 04 Aug 2017

Can Social Protection and Labour Programmes Contribute to Social Inclusion? Evidence from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal

Discussions around the post-2015 development goals and the proposed ‘leave no-one behind’ principle have revived global interest in inequality and the role of social protection in promoting social...

by | On 04 Aug 2017

The WTO Agreements Series: Agriculture

The publication includes the Agriculture Agreement as well as the decisions taken on agriculture at the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference and the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference.

by World Trade Organisation WTO | On 02 Aug 2017

Cities, Towns, and Poverty: Migration Equilibrium and Income Distribution in a Todaro-type Model with Multiple Destinations

Should public investment be targeted to big cities or to small towns, if the objective is to minimize national poverty? To answer this policy question the basic Todaro-type model of rural-urban migr...

by Luc Christiaensen | On 01 Aug 2017

Mapping the cotton value chain in Pakistan: A preliminary assessment for identification of climate vulnerabilities & pathways to adaptation

This approach was chosen to understand the consequences of climate risks as well as the adaptation measures needed to cope with adverse impacts in order to ensure the resilience of all actors involved...

by Samavia Batool | On 01 Aug 2017

2017 G20 Women’s Economic Empowerment Recommendations

For the 2017 G20, the German government has prioritized commitments to reducing the male and female employment gap by 25 percent by 2025, and increasing the quality of women’s employment. Investing in...

by John Ruthrauff | On 31 Jul 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

Cooking Contests for Healthier Recipes: Impacts on Nutrition Knowledge and Behaviors in Bangladesh

Many poverty alleviation programs aiming to enhance nutrition include behavior change communication (BCC). This study uses a field experiment in Bangladesh to assess the impacts of BCC, focusing on...

by Berber Kramer | On 31 Jul 2017

Energy, Poverty and Development: A Primer for the Sustainable Development Goals

The seventh goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is dedicated to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. While energy was implicit in the Mi...

by Hannah Goozee | On 28 Jul 2017

Is Nepal’s Renewable Energy Subsidy Reaching Poor People of Rural Areas? A Study of Biogas and Solar Home Systems

This paper analyse data from the Nepal Living Standard Survey for the year 2010/11 to determine the extent to which these programs have reached the poor. The Government of Nepal has been providing fin...

by Dipendra Bhattarai | On 28 Jul 2017

The Corporate Social Responsibility Act in India: An Early Assessment

This paper aims at providing an early assessment of the response by firms to this Act. It examines the extent to which the CSR Act has led firms to comply and increase the share of profits being spent...

by Sangeeta Bansal | On 27 Jul 2017

Village Transportation Infrastructure and Women’s Non-agricultural Employment in India: The Conditioning Role of Community Gender Context

Previous studies have examined how demographic characteristics, education, culture, and labor policy suppress Indian women’s labor supply. However, not enough attention has been paid to the role of po...

by Lei Lei | On 27 Jul 2017

Taking an Ecosystems Approach: Samarthan’s Work on Rural Poverty in India

Rural poverty continues to be a scourge in India, affecting tens of millions of households despite years of strong economic growth for the country overall. In 2005, the government of India created the...

by Government of India & Employment | On 26 Jul 2017

Gender Equality Results Case Study: India - Urban Water Supply and Environmental Improvement Project

The Urban Water Supply and Environmental Improvement Project sought to provide basic services of water supply, sanitation, and garbage collection and disposal in four cities in Madhya Pradesh, India.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jul 2017

Overview of the Evolution of Agricultural Mechanization in Nepal: A Focus on Tractors and Combine Harvesters

This study was conducted to understand the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal, specifically its determinants on both the demand and supply sides, as well as impacts on agricultural prod...

by Hiroyuki Takeshima | On 26 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

Sustainable Energy Access Planning: A Framework

This report presents a framework for sustainable energy access planning that planners and policy makers can use to design cost-effective clean energy supply systems that both poor and nonpoor can sust...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 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

Trade Facilitation for a More Inclusive and Connected Asia and Pacific Region: Progress and Way Forward

This study also describes trade facilitation projects that promote development through deepening regional cooperation and integration.

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

Asia Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Finance Monitor 2014

This publication reviews various country aspects of SME finance covering the banking sector, nonbank sector, and capital markets. It is expected to support evidence-based policy making and regulations...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 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

Cambodia: Addressing the Skills Gap

The report says that Cambodia’s growth in the last 20 years has been remarkable and the lives of its people have improved substantially. But low-cost labor advantages on a narrow economic base have dr...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 30 Jun 2017

India and her Neighbour: Indo-Nepal economic cooperation through Uttar Pradesh.

In the era of globalization where the whole globe plays to be our home, has regionalization lost its importance? At least in the context of South Asian nations the answer can no way be a Yes. Regiona...

by | On 29 Jun 2017

Ola and Uber failing to live up to the promises made

With mushrooming of commercial drivers, incomes are falling and expenses are rising. Unable to pay monthly loan instalments, cars are being seized, while contracted employees cannot quit. Will legal p...

by Amrit B L S | On 29 Jun 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

Balancing the Burden? Desk Review of Women’s Time Poverty and Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific

This desk review explores the links between infrastructure development and women’s time poverty in Asia and the Pacific by drawing on time-use data and reviewing existing research and evidence from im...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 22 Jun 2017

Fiji: Creating Quality Jobs - Employment Diagnostic Study

This report, a joint effort of the Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization, seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the context, constraints, and opportunities for increasin...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 21 Jun 2017

Statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

The report says Mother Earth cleanses us from violent pollution and her waters renew us as we recover from violent penetration. The ancestors strengthen us and elders give insights on strategies for...

by Documentation and Information Sustainability (DINIPS) | On 20 Jun 2017

Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia: Nepal

The report herein provide in-depth analysis of the state of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education in Nepal.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 19 Jun 2017

Toward Mainstreaming and Sustaining CDD in Indonesia: Understanding Local Initiatives and the Transition from PNPM-Rural to the Villlage Law

The report summarizes important lessons learned and policy implications from the first year of Village Law implementation.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 Jun 2017

Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project in Bangladesh: Sharing Knowledge on Community-Driven Development

This report describes how applying community-driven development principles to managing the water resource can both expand livelihood opportunities available to beneficiaries at no additional cost to t...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 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

Impact of the Draft Central Labour Codes 2017 on CHWs in India

Ashas, the lowest rung of contracted full-time community health workers, face irregular pay and lack social security. Will the draft Central Code on Labour enable their regularization and a fixed wa...

by Kavita Bhatia | On 14 Jun 2017

Trade and Transport Facilitation Monitoring Mechanism: Baseline Study in Bangladesh

This report reviews trade and transport procedures in Bangladesh, highlights the importance of monitoring trade and transport facilitation, and lays a foundation for future studies and establishment o...

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

Enhancing Community-Driven Development through Convergence: A Case Study of Household- and Community-Based Initiatives in Philippine Villages

The study examines the Philippine government’s convergence initiative, and how it relates to community-driven development (CDD) that can impact rural communities in the Philippines.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Jun 2017

How Inclusive is Inclusive Business for Women? Examples from Asia and Latin America

This report assesses the extent to which inclusive business models promote women's economic empowerment. Examples come from the inclusive business portfolios of the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-A...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Jun 2017

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Nepal Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women Project

This report presents the case study of that project, whose special features include responsiveness to local contexts and to conditions created by conflict, a well-coordinated system for women collecti...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 06 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Rural Roads and Access

Rural roads and rural transport services are fundamental to reducing rural poverty and enabling social and economic development. Evidence from Myanmar, and from around the world, makes it clear that a...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Railways

The immediate priority must be to implement policies that will enable MR to retain as much of its current market as is economically justified over the next 5–10 years, while ensuring its finances are...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 31 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

Risk Financing for Rural Climate Resilience in the Greater Mekong Subregion

This report presents the findings of a climate risk financing study conducted by the GMS Core Environment Program in 28 rural communities in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Viet Na...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 22 May 2017

Rural Medical Practitioners: Who are they? What do they do? Should they be trained for improvement? Evidence from rural West Bengal

The private healthcare sector in rural India is often dominated by unqualified rural medical practitioners (RMPs). However, there is limited evidence on RMPs and potential for an intervention to reduc...

by Subrata Mukherjee | On 19 May 2017

Performance On Health Outcomes- Guidebook for the States & UTs

India has achieved significant economic growth over the past decades but the progress on Health has not been commensurate. The inability to rapidly improve the Human Capital also places a binding cons...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 18 May 2017

Evaluation Study on Role of Public Distribution System in Shaping Household and Nutritional Security India

It has been observed that even though the Indian economy has achieved remarkable economic growth along with a decline in poverty over the last two decades, improvements in nutritional status have not...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 18 May 2017

Sanitation and Sustainable Development in Japan

The paper outlines that the sanitation has long been “beneath the radar” on the development agendas of governments worldwide. Aside from the massive investment requirements for putting in place sanita...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 May 2017

Credit Guarantees: Challenging Their Role in Improving Access to Finance in the Pacific Region

This paper draws on the background research by Saumya Mitra. PSDI thanks Erik Aelbers for preparing Appendix 2: Credit Guarantee Schemes in the Pacific, and Melissa Dayrit and Amanda Lucas-Frith for h...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 May 2017

Philippines: Public-Private Partnerships by Local Government Units

The paper narrates that as local government units (LGUs) have strived to carry out the responsibilities and activities devolved to them by the 1991 Local Government Code, they have explored and availe...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 May 2017

The Broken Ladder: The Paradox and the Potential of India’s One Billion

Talk by Anirudh Krishna, based on his book 'The Broken Ladder', which delves into the lives of ordinary individuals to take a ground-up view towards answering questions about the potential of civic pa...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 10 May 2017

Cities as Engines of Inclusive Development

This paper argues that the recent policy rhetoric towards cities in India has been shaped by their increasing economic importance in national output generation, as well as a series of prominent glob...

by Indian Institute for Human Settlements | On 05 May 2017

Earth Observation for a Transforming Asia and Pacific

This report summarises the main results of the initiative Earth Observation for a Transforming Asia and Pacific (EOTAP) that brought together our two institutions – the European Space Agency (ESA) an...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 05 May 2017

Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity in a Changing Asia-Pacific

This report explores three entry points to the theme of poverty and prosperity: (i) managing urbanization for inclusive development, (ii) strengthening responses to rural poverty in the context of t...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 May 2017

Household Expenditure on Higher Education in India: What do we know & What do recent data have to say?

The paper analyse data from two recent NSSO surveys to provide estimates of expenditure on higher education and loans availed for higher education. The average share of expenditure on higher educatio...

by S. Chandrasekhar | On 02 May 2017

Can Conditional Transfers Eradicate Child Marriage?

Conditional cash transfers are increasingly being used by policymakers as a strategy to postpone the marriage of adolescent girls in developing countries. While this approach has met with success in t...

by | On 27 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

Poverty Targeting Through Public Goods

In national accounts, government expenditures are used to measure the value of public spending. These expenditures grossly overestimate the value of services received by Indian households because th...

by Anders Kjelsrud | On 01 Mar 2017

Caste Connections and Government Transfers: The Mahadalits of Bihar

The category of Scheduled Castes, created for the purpose of affirmative action in India, is large, heterogeneous and unequal. In 2007, the state of Bihar classified the most disadvantaged among thi...

by Hemanshu Kumar | On 16 Feb 2017

Family, Community, and Educational Outcomes in South Asia

In this article, we review research on the economics and sociology of education to assess the relationships between family and community variables and children’s educational outcomes in South Asia. At...

by | On 14 Feb 2017

Child Labour and Educational Disadvantage – Breaking the Link, Building Opportunity

Compulsory education has a vital role to play in eradicating child labour. Getting children out of work and into school could provide an impetus for poverty reduction and the development of skills nee...

by | On 14 Feb 2017

Union Budget: A Window of Opportunity for Our Children?

In the context of social sector and particularly for children, the Union Budgets have disappointed the marginalized community and the Union Budget 2017-18 further pushed its children to the peripher...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 06 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

Stakeholders' Engagements with the Community Health Worker: The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

In India the Community Health Worker has long been a part of health care services for rural populations across the voluntary sector. As far as India?s public health sector is concerned, Community Heal...

by Kavita Bhatia | On 27 Jan 2017

Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin (SBM-G): GOI, 2016-17

Using government data, this brief reports on trends for SBM-G along the following parameters: • Allocations and expenditures • Physical progress of toilets built • Expenditures incurred under ...

by Avani Kapur | 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

The Geography of Poverty, Disasters and Climate Extremes in 2030

This report, The geography of poverty, disasters and climate extremes in 2030, examines the relationship between disasters and poverty. It concludes that, without concerted action, there could be up t...

by | On 23 Jan 2017

Rural - Urban Linkages in South Asia: Contemporary Themes and Policy Directions

The early literature on migrant urban communities emphasized the conditions and employment patterns of squatter residents who have emerged on the urban landscape. Only recently has attention shifted t...

by | 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

Non-Communicable Diseases and Risk Factors in Migrants from South Asian Countries

The following document contains a review for a research project on migration and chronic or non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It begins with an overview of the geographical scope; the review focuses s...

by | On 11 Jan 2017

Inequalities in Secondary Education: Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

Secondary education is an important stage in the school education ladder as it equips students with skills important for higher education and the labour market. Besides helping students to choose diff...

by | On 10 Jan 2017

Going and Coming and Going Again: Second-Generation Migrants in Dubai

The government of the United Arab Emirates requires all foreign migrant workers to reside on temporary visas. This affects transnational mobility patterns among the one class of residents whom we shou...

by | On 09 Jan 2017

Household Expenditure on Higher Education in India: What Do we Know and What do Recent Data Have to say?

Data from two recent NSSO surveys are analysed to provide estimates of expenditure on higher education and loans availed for higher education. The average share of expenditure on higher education out...

by S. Chandrasekhar | On 03 Jan 2017

Plastic Bag Ban in Nepal: Enforcement and Effectiveness

The rampant use of plastic bags in Nepal has led to growing concern in recent years regarding the impact of discarded plastic bags on the environment. Though a number of different control measures a...

by Bishal Bharadwaj | On 29 Dec 2016

The Costs of Climate Change Impacts for India: A Preliminary Analysis

Climate change mitigation is a global challenge, however its impact will be varied across regions and temperature zones. Small island states will be hit the hardest with sea level rise. In bigger coun...

by | On 28 Dec 2016

India’s Sanitation for All: How to Make It Happen

This discussion paper examines the current state of sanitation services in India in relation to two goals—Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which calls on countries to halve, by 2015,...

by Asian Bank | On 27 Dec 2016

The Future of Nuclear Energy in India

India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) outlines its intent to scale up the country's clean-energy capacity. At the same...

by | On 21 Dec 2016

Problems and Challenges of Urbanization in India: A Sociological Evaluation

The urbanization is a process which urban social and urban civilization forming gradually. On the way of urbanization, we develop the economy first and improve the quality of people’s life later. Alth...

by | On 14 Dec 2016

Government’s Role in India’s Ailing Cold Storage Sector

Every year, India wastes about 18 per cent of fruits and vegetables, due to lack of post-harvest storage facilities. The cold storage sector has been one of the most undermined sectors in India, devo...

by Madhu Sivaraman | On 05 Dec 2016

Strengthening State Legislatures: Background Note for the Conference on Effective Legislatures

State legislatures are responsible for making laws on key subjects like land, police and health. They are also tasked with approving the expenditure of money for their respective states every year. T...

by Prianka Rao | On 30 Nov 2016

Technology for Transformation

India is committed to solve many problems that it is facing today. the human condition can improve more here in the next two decades than anywhere in the world. And the benefit, to India and to the...

by Bill Gates | On 30 Nov 2016

Social Progress Index 2016

Economic growth has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and improved the lives of many more over the last half-century. Yet it is increasingly evident that a model of development based solely o...

by | On 29 Nov 2016

Seen but Unheard – A Case-Study of Low-Waged Tamil Migrant Workers in Singapore

Low-waged Tamil migrant workers have long been contributing to Singapore. Despite labouring for three decades and being connected to the existing Tamil diasporic community there, they have been left o...

by | On 24 Nov 2016

Poverty Impacts of Agricultural Trade Reforms

The impact of trade policy on poverty, food security and inequality in developing countries is at the centre of a crowded international debate on the role of international trade in development. Develo...

by United Nations Environment Programme UNEP | On 24 Nov 2016

Rethinking Poverty: Report on the World Social Situation 2010

This Report on the World Social Situation seeks to contribute to rethinking poverty and its eradication. It affirms the urgent need for a strategic shift away from the market fundamentalist thinking,...

by United Nations (UN) | On 17 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

The Sustainable Development Goals 2016

This inaugural report on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a first accounting of where the world stands at the start of our collective journey to 2030. The report analyses selected in...

by | On 03 Nov 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

New knowledge on Children and Young People: A Synthesis of Evidence

This report synthesises insights on children and young people (CYP) from research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) J...

by | On 20 Oct 2016

Will China’s Demographic Transition Exacerbate Its Income Inequality? A CGE Modeling with Top-down Microsimulation

Demographic transition due to population aging is an emerging trend throughout the developing world, and it is especially acute in China, which has undergone demographic transition more rapidly than...

by Xinxin Wang | On 10 Oct 2016

Financial Stability in a Weak Global Environment

Even almost eight years since resorting to the extraordinary monetary and fiscal measures to counter the after-effects of the Global Financial Crisis, authorities are still left wondering about rela...

by S.S. Mundra | On 10 Oct 2016

Poor Women in Urban India: Issues and Strategies

It is generally recognised that poverty is experienced differently according to their gender, age, caste, class and ethnicity and within households. Income levels, food security and indeed life choice...

by | On 05 Oct 2016

Why Musahars Vote ?

The most popular imagery that the 16th Lok Sabha election campaign projected was of good governance and development. What does this mean for communities that lie on the margins of body politics? Are...

by Shilp Shikha Singh | On 05 Oct 2016

Interactions between Policy Assumptions and Rural Women's Work - A Case Study

The concern of this paper is limited to the approaches to rural women's development and an understanding of their work roles in the planning strategies. [CWDS Working paper].

by Kumud Sharma | On 30 Sep 2016

Problems Pertaining Migration of Female Tribal Population: A Demographic Perspective on Their Migratory Patterns and Struggle

Migration is a complex issue which has been a subject of keen interest for many years to sociologists, anthropologists, demographers, economists and political scientists. The migrants who work out of...

by | On 29 Sep 2016

Stories of Harassment, Violence and Discrimination: Migrant Experiences between India, Nepal and Bangladesh

This Project Briefing explores the experiences of these people as they migrate, drawing on findings from a baseline study on their vulnerabilities, particularly to HIV and AIDS, as they move between t...

by | On 29 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

Coping with Water Scarcity. Challenge of the 21st Century

Produced on the occasion of World Water Day 2007, which focused on the issue of water scarcity, this publication addresses the challenges of water scarcity in relation to climate change, rural areas,...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Sep 2016

Harvesting Solar Power in India!

This is particularly so when the current solar power capacity in the country has just touched 8000 MW by July end, 2016, and no country in the world has such an ambitious target as India has set out...

by Ashok Gulati | On 16 Sep 2016

Water for Food: Innovative Water Management Technologies for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation

This paper sets out the water and food security challenges in Least Development Countries (LDCs) and developing countries. The document explores the rainfed-irrigation nexus in different regions of th...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 12 Sep 2016

Understanding and Applying Primary Pathways and Principles

This brief focuses on the pathway from agricultural income to better diets, health, and nutrition, illustrated in blue in the figure below. However, all of the pathways are interrelated. Agricultural...

by | On 09 Sep 2016

Child and Maternal Health and Nutrition in South Asia - Lessons for India

South Asia has been characterized by its minimal progress in the areas of child and maternal health and nutrition in comparison to other regions in the world. The case of India is especially enigmatic...

by | On 09 Sep 2016

Health Spending, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Space in Countries of the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region

The paper examines the issues around mobilization of resources for the 11 countries of the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO), by analysing their macroeconomic situation, he...

by | On 07 Sep 2016

The MDG Hunger Target and the Contested Visions of Food Security

This paper explores the normative and empirical consequences of the MDG hunger target (1C), to halve the proportion of people who are undernourished, measured by the proportion of children under 5 who...

by | On 06 Sep 2016

Ecosystem-based Adaptation: A Win–Win Formula for Sustainability in a Warming World?

Many national and international environmental agreements acknowledge that the impoverishment of ecosystems is limiting the world’s capacity to adapt to climate change and that ecosystem-based adaptati...

by | On 05 Sep 2016

Impacts on International Migration and Remittances Growth

This study provided a brief discussion of the international migration, an age old common phenomenon is an emerging economic development issue and remittances growth. Approach: Each year Bangladesh exp...

by | On 31 Aug 2016

Call to Action: Hunger, Under-Nutrition and Food Security in India

This policy brief presents to parliamentarians and other policy makers, to examine the hunger, undernutrition and food security situation prevailing in India. It advances the need to undertake effecti...

by N.C. Saxena | On 31 Aug 2016

Does Development Aid Undermine Political Accountability? Leader and Constituent Responses to a Large-Scale Intervention

Comprehensive program evaluation requires capturing indirect effects of an intervention, such as changes in leaders’ efforts and constituents’ attitudes towards leaders. We study political economy r...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

Potential Effects of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on the Philippine Economy

Using a global computable general equilibrium model, the paper analyzes the potential effects of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on the Philippine economy. The analysis involves an...

by | On 30 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

Microcredit Program Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh

We use a relatively new and unique panel dataset collected from rural households in Bangladesh to examine the effect of microcredit program participation on household food security. The main distingui...

by | On 25 Aug 2016

India’s Economic Growth and Market Potential: Benchmarked Against China

This paper addresses some aspects related to these two important research questions, and thus builds on the base of knowledge. The paper is organized as follows. First, we discuss the economic growth...

by | On 24 Aug 2016

Education for Rural Development: Towards New Policy Responses

The big challenge of the new century is the reduction of poverty. Virtually all countries and donors agree on the importance of reducing poverty and its attendant problems of inequity, lack of respect...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 24 Aug 2016

Chronic and Transient Poverty: Measurement and Estimation, with Evidence from China

The paper contributes to the measurement of poverty and vulnerability in three ways. First, we propose a new approach to separating poverty into chronic and transient components. Second, we provide co...

by | On 23 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

Diversity in Donorship: The Changing Landscape of Official Humanitarian Aid

The lead agency in India’s assistance strategy is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The MEA is directly responsible for assistance to Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan, and advises the Department of...

by | On 19 Aug 2016

Estimation of the Food Poverty Line

To monitor changes in absolute poverty across time, it is crucial to ensure that the established poverty line is a fixed standard of living that represents the minimum standard required by an individu...

by Jose Ramon Alber | On 17 Aug 2016

The State of Food and Agriculture: Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty

This edition of The State of Food and Agriculture 2015 reviews the effectiveness of social protection interventions in reducing poverty, raising food consumption, relieving household food insecurity a...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Aug 2016

An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healt...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Aug 2016

Do Private Equity Funds Manipulate Reported Returns?

Private equity funds hold assets that are hard to value. Managers may have an incentive to distort reported valuations if these are used by investors to decide on commitments to subsequent funds manag...

by Gregory Brown | On 12 Aug 2016

Inequality, Poverty, and Antipoverty Transfers

This report reviews the main trends in global poverty, assesses projections on poverty trends for the medium term, and considers the implications for antipoverty policy. Three main points emerge from...

by Armando Barrientos | On 10 Aug 2016

Gender and Food Security

Persistent hunger and malnutrition is a problem affecting millions of people globally, the majority of whom are women and girls. Food and nutrition insecurity is a political, economic and environmenta...

by Bridge Cutting Edge Programme | On 09 Aug 2016

Analyzing the Impact of the World’s Largest Public Works Project on Crime

India started the implementation of a rural public works program in 2006, covering all districts of the country within three years. The program guarantees 100 days of employment per year at minimum wa...

by Satadru Das | On 09 Aug 2016

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in LDCs

70% of the population engaged in agriculture. The vast majority of the poor and food insecure are in rural areas. Therefore poverty alleviation and food security must start in these areas. The most cr...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Aug 2016

Food Scurity and Nutrition: The Drivers of Change

This section looks at a range of factors that enable progress towards food security and nutrition goals. The list of factors – economic growth, agricultural productivity growth, markets (including int...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 03 Aug 2016

Policy and Evidence

There has to be evidence in the policy dialogue. Some may believe that all it takes to convince the body politic of the necessity to choose one policy over another is to present the evidence, complete...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 03 Aug 2016

Subsidies to Coal Production in China

A further subsidy in the form of credit support was estimated to be between CNY 3.5 and 35.7 billion (USD 0.57 billion and USD 5.8 billion). The major subsidies included tax relief, investment in asse...

by | On 02 Aug 2016

Informality in South Asia: A Review

Labour markets in South Asia have been characterized as dualistic, with a relatively small, well-protected formal sector and a large unprotected informal sector. Indeed, the formal workforce is very s...

by | On 29 Jul 2016

The Informal Economy: Definitions, Theories and Policies

Today, there is renewed interest in the informal economy worldwide. This is because a large share of the global workforce and economy is informal and because the informal economy is growing in many co...

by | On 29 Jul 2016

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016

The agenda is a road map for people that will build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals and ensure sustainable social and economic progress worldwide. It seeks not only to eradicate ex...

by United Nations (UN) | On 20 Jul 2016

The Impact of Micro-Credit on Employment: Evidence from Bangladesh and Pakistan

This paper examines the impact of micro-credit on employment. Household-level data was collected, following a quasi-experimental design, in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Three borrower groups are compared:...

by Azhar Kahn | On 19 Jul 2016

Vulnerability to Poverty: Tajikistan During and After the Global Financial Crisis

The paper examines vulnerability to poverty in Tajikistan during the global financial crisis, focusing on the roles played by international migration and remittances, using a formal, practical, and ea...

by Ira N. Gang | On 19 Jul 2016

Impact of Community-led Total Sanitation on Women’s Health in Urban Slums: A Case Study from Kalyani Municipality

This Evidence Report seeks to understand the health and other impacts of slum women’s access to sanitation through the Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach. It also examines the process thro...

by | On 15 Jul 2016

Livelihood of Local Communities and Forest Degradation in India: Issues for REDD+

The enforcement of The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 enabled the regulation of widespread diversions of forestland for non-forest uses, and hence put a check on deforestation. The changing priorities...

by | On 12 Jul 2016

Odisha State Agriculture Policy 2013

A wholesome policy framework for the benefit of the farmers of the State is in place since 2008 with a focus more on the economic well-being of the farmers, rather than just on production and growth....

by Government of Odisha | On 11 Jul 2016

Projecting Progress: The SDGs in Asia-Pacific

This paper presents Asia-Pacific’s likely progress across the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, if trends continue on their current trajectories. Some Asian countries have been the world’s top per...

by | On 07 Jul 2016

Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

This report has benefited from substantial input from many people, including the members of the Thematic Group and hundreds of suggestions received from experts representing all sectors of agriculture...

by | On 05 Jul 2016

A Study on Community Engagement with Schools in Five States: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh

The study sought to gauge the extent of decentralisation and devolution of power to community-based bodies in relation to schools, and see if there is any disconnect between what is envisaged and what...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 01 Jul 2016

Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries

This report builds and expands upon the analyses of Report Card No. 6 which considered relative income poverty affecting children and policies to mitigate it. This report provides a pioneering, compre...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 30 Jun 2016

A Study on Effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala

The objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala with a special reference to impact of duality and role of bureaucr...

by Jacob John | On 29 Jun 2016

Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration

International migration offers individuals and their families the potential to experience immediate and large gains in their incomes, and offers a large number of other positive benefits to the sendin...

by | On 28 Jun 2016

Is Partisan Alignment Electorally Rewarding? Evidence from Village Council Elections in India

Do ruling parties positively discriminate in favour of their own constituencies in allocating public resources? If they do, do they gain electorally in engaging in such a practice? This paper tests wh...

by Subhasish Dey | On 27 Jun 2016

Malnutrition: Unanswered Questions from Attapadi

India claims to have achieved financial growth of 7% but despite this high growth rate, poverty and inequality has also grown exponentially and social security, standard of life, security of labor ha...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 27 Jun 2016

Can War Foster Cooperation?

In the past decade, nearly 20 studies have found a strong, persistent pattern in surveys and behavioral experiments from over 40 countries: individual exposure to war violence tends to increase social...

by Michal Bauer | On 24 Jun 2016

Climate Risk and Food Security in Nepal: Analysis of Climate Impacts on Food Security and Livelihoods

Food security is a priority issue in Nepal. In spite of recent progress, Nepal is amongst the most at-risk countries in the world in terms of prevalence of stunting and wasting: 42 per cent of childre...

by World Food Programme WFP | On 24 Jun 2016

Right to Food in India: Mitigating amidst Challenges

What are the policies that Indian government has implemented to alleviate poverty and hunger? Can we say that these are implemented in the right way? What lies in future?

by Aarti Salve | On 24 Jun 2016

National and International Agricultural Research and Rural Poverty: The Case of Rice Research in India and China

The study attempts to measure the total benefits from rice varietal improvement research in China and India using variety adoption and performance data over the last two decades. It then uses informat...

by | On 23 Jun 2016

Food Security Challenges in Asia

The problems of food security and agriculture should be viewed within the context of the broader structural transformation as Asia becomes increasingly urban and nonagricultural. This paper aims to re...

by Asian Bank | On 23 Jun 2016

Slum Free India: Myths and Realities- A Status Report on Rajiv Awas Yojana

The present report is a result of efforts that were spread over a period of more than a year (2013 – 2014) and included two national level consultations and sharing meetings held in Delhi, visit to m...

by Simpreet . | On 23 Jun 2016

Job Creation in a Multi-Sector Labor Market Model for Developing Economies

This paper proposes an overlapping generations multi-sector model of the labor market for developing countries with three heterogeneities – heterogeneity within self-employment, heterogeneity in abili...

by Arnab K. Basu | On 22 Jun 2016

Innovative Water Management Technologies for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation

Agriculture is central to food security and economic growth in developing countries and provides the main source of livelihood for three out of four of the world’s poor. But food production requires s...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 20 Jun 2016

Book Review: Depoliticising Social Change and the Celebration of Inequality in Rural India

Review of Inside-Outside: Two Views of Social Change in Rural India. Edited by B. S. Baviskar and D. W. Attwood, Sage Publications, New Delh, 2014.

by | On 20 Jun 2016

Nutrition and Agriculture

Agriculture and nutrition are linked in many ways. People have long recognized the most obvious connection—food security is one of the three pillars of good nutrition, along with good care and good he...

by Lawrence Haddad | On 17 Jun 2016

Children's Voices, Children's Rights: One Year After the Nepal Earthquake

The consultations highlight the high rate of penetration of the Nepal earthquakes response (97.5 per cent of consulted children acknowledged to have benefitted from relief assistance), likely due to...

by Virgil Fievet | On 09 Jun 2016

What Future for the Cities Within our Cities?

According to a report from the Mckinsey Global Institute, India is set to witness a leap in urban population by almost 25 crore over the next 20 years. That translates to roughly 35,000 more people in...

by | On 09 Jun 2016

Contracting by Small Farmers in Commodities with Export Potential: Assessing Farm Profits of Lentil Growers in Nepal

This study is undertaken to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income in a case where new market opportunities are emerging for smallholder farmers in Nepal. CF is...

by Anjani Kumar | On 07 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

Education Through the Lens of Sustainable Human Development

If human development is defined as a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process aiming to improve the well-being of populations and individuals, then the one element that can serve...

by Gianna Alessandra Sanchez Moretti | On 06 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

Solar for Powering Health and Education in India

This study, based on analysis of secondary data, assesses the current state of electricity access in PHCs and rural primary schools. Given the increasing policy support for solar energy in India, it a...

by | On 02 Jun 2016

An Economy for The 1%: How Privilege and Power in the Economy Drive Extreme Inequality and How This Can Be Stopped

Credit Suisse recently revealed that the richest 1% have now accumulated more wealth than the rest of the world put together. Meanwhile, the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity has fallen by a...

by | On 02 Jun 2016

The Accumulated Effects of Inequality

Discrimination against women from or even before birth guarantees them a marginal role in Indian society, and ensures that they are poorer, less educated, and facing more unemployment and health risks...

by | On 31 May 2016

On the Road to Universal Health Coverage: Every Person Matters

In modern society, the possession of a personal official identification (ID) is critical to an individual’s access to government services, and social and economic programs. From voting to receipt of s...

by Michael Stahl | On 26 May 2016

Poverty in Cambodia - A New Approach: Redefining the Poverty Line

This report presents the results of the new approach to measuring poverty and standards of living, which the Royal Government of Cambodia initiated and carried out through 2011-2012.

by | On 25 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

The Affordability of the Sustainable Development Goals : A Myth or Reality?

It is important to understand the fiscal capacity that underlies any potential mechanism to implement the social agenda of the SDGs, particularly if the international community wants to hold governmen...

by Victor Kwadwo | On 25 May 2016

Integrated Approaches to SDG Implementation and Indicators: Focus on Forests

Despite their universal and holistic ambition, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets are shaping up to be too compartmentalised to deliver the integrated approach required. In thi...

by | On 25 May 2016

The Dragon and the Giraffe: China in African forests

China needs Africa’s forests, and Africa knows it. Chinese investments in African forests and woodlands are growing fast. China is the largest importer of tropical timber in the world — possibly accou...

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

The Role of Forests in a Green Economy transformation in Africa

This report explores the role of forests in a green economy transformation in Africa. Its aim is to present policymakers with a strong rationale for linking forests and REDD+ planning with green econo...

by | On 25 May 2016

Mumbai’s Coastal Road: Hollow Pretexts, Harsh Consequences

The coastal freeway is a 34-km road planned along the entire Western Coastline of Mumbai. This presentation attempts to understand Social and Environmental Impacts of the proposed road on the city of...

by | On 20 May 2016

India State Hunger Index: Comparisons of Hunger across States

The results of the India State Hunger Index 2008 highlight the continued overall severity of the hunger situation in India, while revealing the variation in hunger across states within India. It is in...

by Purnima Menon | On 20 May 2016

Does Agricultural Credit Play Any Role in Reducing Rural Poverty in Bangladesh?

Since its independence the government of Bangladesh had taken various measures to reduce the intensity of poverty on rural people in Bangladesh. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine wh...

by Mahfuza Akther | On 20 May 2016

World Employment and Social Outlook 2016 – Transforming Jobs to End Poverty

This edition of the World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) examines the relationship between decent work and poverty reduction. It starts by documenting trends in poverty around the world while pa...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 19 May 2016

Looking Back on Two Decades of Poverty and Well-Being in India

This paper provides an overview of poverty and well-being trends in India since the mid-1990s. Poverty reduction since 2005 has been much faster than the earlier decade, as a result of broad-based gro...

by | On 19 May 2016

Occupational Health and Safety and the Poorest

The decline of jobs with secure and lasting contracts and work-related social benefits as well as the corresponding rise in precarious and unprotected work are phenomena affecting both industrialized...

by Anna Marriot | On 18 May 2016

National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP)

The NBAP draws from the principle that National Enviroment Policy (NEP) that human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development and they are entitled to a healthy and productive li...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests GOI | On 18 May 2016

Women, Energy and Water in the Himalayas: Integration of Women in Planning and Management

The policy guidelines were developed as part of the pilot project 'Incorporating Needs and Roles of Women in Water and Energy Management in Rural Areas in South Asia-Capacity Building in Rural Areas o...

by | On 18 May 2016

Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception are Substitutes

There is longstanding debate in population policy about the relationship between modern contraception and abortion. Although theory predicts that they should be substitutes, the existing body of empi...

by Grant Miller | On 18 May 2016

Potentials, Experiences and Outcomes of a Comprehensive Community Based Programme to Address Malnutrition in Tribal India

This paper demonstrates the effect of an innovative community-based management programme on acute malnutrition among children under three years of age, through an observational longitudinal cohort stu...

by Vandana Prasad | On 11 May 2016

Well-being, Happiness, and Public Policy

As a background paper to the International Expert Working Group on a New Development Paradigm, this document seeks to synthesise for busy readers how the IEWG might explain and defend well-being and h...

by | On 11 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

Combatting Climate Change: Involving Indigenous Communities

Climate change combat is often in the hands of policy-makers, researchers and governments. However it is the marginalised and indigenous communities that feel the full force of climate change effect...

by Serina Rahman | On 03 May 2016

Economic Reforms, Poverty and Inequality

It is going to be 25 years since India embarked on big-bang economic reforms in 1991. What are the achievements in terms of growth and inclusive growth in the post-reform period? What are the issues i...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 02 May 2016

Tamil Nadu: What Voters Want and How They Rate Government Performance

This report consists the findings of a survey carried out in February 2016 in Tamil Nadu. The purpose of the survey was to find out what voters really want from the Government and how they rate the pe...

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 28 Apr 2016

The Paris Protocol – A Blueprint for Tackling Global Climate Change beyond 2020

The 2030 Policy Framework confirms the EU's firm commitment to lead by example in tackling climate change. It sets out a binding, economy-wide domestic reduction target of at least 40% greenhouse gas...

by European union | On 26 Apr 2016

World Debt Figures : 2015

Since the 1980s, public debt, both in the Third World countries and in the industrialised nations, has been systematically used to impose austerity policies in the name of structural adjustment. Acc...

by Eric Toussaint | On 22 Apr 2016

Reducing Child Marriage in India: A Model to Scale Up Results, New Delhi, 2016

This paper presents a model for contextual strategizing and scaling up of interventions to accelerate the pace of reduction of child marriage, with particular reference to India, and within India with...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 18 Apr 2016

PAISA for Panchayats - Tracking Fiscal Devolution toLocal Goverments: A case study from Kolar district, Karnataka

The PAISA for Panchayats research project extends AI’s PAISA methodology to track fund flows and implementations processes at the Panchayat level. By focusing on understanding the state of fiscal devo...

by | On 13 Apr 2016

Human Security & Food Security

As the international community transitions from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the challenges ahead of Member States is to build on the substanti...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 12 Apr 2016

Multidimensional Measurement of Household Water Poverty in a Mumbai Slum: Looking Beyond Water Quality

In addition to negatively affecting health, the qualitative findings reveal that water service delivery failures have a constellation of other adverse life impacts—on household economy, employment,...

by Ramnath Subbaraman | On 12 Apr 2016

The Redistributive Effects of Political Reservation for Minorities: Evidence from India

We examine the impact of political reservation for disadvantaged minority groups on poverty. To address the concern that political reservation is endogenous in the relationship between poverty and res...

by Nishith Prakash | On 11 Apr 2016

The 2016 Budget Speech: Malaysia

Budget speech by Finance Minister of Malaysia.

by Minister of Finance Malaysia | On 06 Apr 2016

Analytical Tools for Measuring Poverty Dynamics: An Application Using Panel Data in the Philippines

This study reviews two methods of measuring poverty dynamics. The components approach uses the longitudinally averaged income to determine whether a household is chronically poor or not. On the othe...

by Arturo Martinez Jr. | On 06 Apr 2016

Global Food Policy Report 2016

IFPRI’s Flagship Report puts into perspective the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2015 and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2016. This year’s report takes an in-dep...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 04 Apr 2016

Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages and Child Health in the Presence of Conflict in Nepal

This paper focuses on this agriculture-nutrition link in Nepal in the context of the country’s decade-long civil conflict. Using panel household data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS), co...

by Elizabeth Bageant | On 30 Mar 2016

Mixed-Design Approach in Impact Evaluation: Principles and Practice

There is no single method in impact evaluation that can always address the different aspects better than others. Importance of mixed design approach in impact evaluation studies arises with the need f...

by Navneet Kaur | On 21 Mar 2016

The Economic Impact of Child Labour

The paper contains a theoretical discussion and a literature survey on the economic impact of child labour. Three main categories of economic impact of child labour are analysed: 1) the effects of chi...

by Rossana Galli | On 21 Mar 2016

Contested Idea of Nation Madhesi Upsurge in Nepal

The end of World War II marked the advent of Ethnic disputes in the world. The explicit wars for territory converted into implicit wars for identity and recognition; perhaps, because a part of the pop...

by Kalpana Jha | On 21 Mar 2016

Outcome and Impact Level Outcome and Impact Level Indicators Indicators Agriculture and Agriculture and Rural Development

This working paper outlines a set of indicators at the outcome and impact level for the agriculture and rural development sector. It does not focus on implementation (e.g. output level indicators such...

by European union | On 20 Mar 2016

Rural Diversification: What Hope for the Poor?

This short paper considers the poverty impacts of livelihood diversification and the potential challenges of creating a pro-poor rural non-farm economy (RNFE). Rural diversification can be defined as...

by Daniel Start | On 20 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

Cambodia Diversifying Beyond Garments and Tourism Country Diagnostic Study

The Royal Government of Cambodia is grateful for the timely conduct of the study. The ideas and findings in this report will certainly be useful in providing inputs to support and operationalize the R...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 18 Mar 2016

More Ghost Savings: Understanding the Fiscal Impact of India’s Direct Transfer Program — Update

Since April 1, 2015, India’s cooking gas subsidies have been distributed by electronic transfer through the Direct Benefit Transfer for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) scheme (known as DBTL, or PAHAL1 )...

by | On 18 Mar 2016

Investing in Natural Capital for a Sustainable Future in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is poised to continue developing at a significant pace. The subregion is well placed to benefit from the emerging Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Com...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Gender mainstreaming Case Study - North East Coastal Community Development Project and Tsunami Affected Areas Rebuilding Project

This case study covers two related projects funded by the Asian Development Bank: the North East Coastal Community Development Project (NECCDP), which aimed to improve sustainable livelihood and natur...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Indonesia Trends, Impacts, and Reforms

The objective of this study is to systematically assess the prevalence of different types of fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia and analyze the potential impacts of their removal. It is hoped that thi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Thailand - Trends, Impacts and Reforms

The objective of this study is to systematically assess the prevalence of different types of fossil fuel subsidies in Thailand and analyze the potential impacts of their removal. It is hoped that this...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Cambodia Addressing the Skills Gap Employment Diagnostic Study

Cambodia has made great strides toward sustained rapid and inclusive economic growth since its political environment stabilized in 1999. Its 7.8% average annual growth since then has dramatically brou...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | 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

Innovative Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia Bangladesh

Improving the quality of skills among its labor force will help further economic growth in Bangladesh. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide better access to TVET to help increase productivity and...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

The Poverty Paradox – And How to Address It

Poverty alleviation is the cornerstone and mission of the development community. Yet perhaps the community’s focus on low-income countries (LICs) has skewed a healthy and accurate evaluation of the ef...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Reforming Vietnam’s Rural Economy

This year it is predicted that Vietnam’s economy will slump to a level not seen since 1999. As a result of this and factional in-fighting over this issue, on the 22nd of October Vietnam’s Prime Minist...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Examining Processes in Research and Development at the Department of Science and Technology

The DOST, chiefly through Sectoral Councils and R&D performers, has been successfully undertaking or supporting a considerable share of R&D activities in the country, while noting limited resources av...

by Jose Ramon G. Albert | On 14 Mar 2016

Pakistan's Nuclear Security: Separating Fact from Fear

For more than a decade fears have been voiced by the international community at the prospect of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists or other non-state actors. The author ar...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Female Headed Households And Poverty: Analysis Using Household Level Data

The relationship between gender and poverty is a complex and debatable topic more than ever and thus a potential area for policy makers to focus. The aim of this paper is to review existing literature...

by Sukanya Das | On 10 Mar 2016

Hydropower and Social Conflict in Vietnam: Lessons for Myanmar

Harnessing Myanmar’s hydropower, while essential for the country’s development, has significant potential to stir social unrest in ethnic states. Trang Do and Elliot Brennan argue that Vietnam’s exper...

by | On 10 Mar 2016

After North Korea’s Nuclear Test: The Dilemma of Response

North Korea’s recent nuclear test and satellite launch throw into sharp relief the dilemma of how the international community should respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. While immediate reaction...

by | On 10 Mar 2016

Impact of Agricultural Related Technology Adoption on Poverty: A Study of Select Households in Rural India

This paper applies a program evaluation technique to assess the causal effect of adoption of agricultural related technologies on consumption expenditure and poverty measured by different indices. The...

by Santosh K. Sahu | On 10 Mar 2016

Determinants of Child Health: An Empirical Analysis

Infant and child mortality rates in India have fallen by almost half from the time of adoption of millennium development goals to 2012 but there has not been a concurrent decrease in morbidity and und...

by Sowmya Dhanaraj | On 10 Mar 2016

Tariff Reduction and Functional Income Distribution in Pakistan: A CGE Model

The specific question to be explored in this study is: whether or not trade liberalisation (tariff reduction) policies improve income distribution and reduce poverty in Pakistan?

by Rizwana Siddiqui | On 10 Mar 2016

Poverty and Labour Market Linkages in Pakistan

The present study provides the link between poverty and labour market. The other strength of the paper is the use of newly conducted Pakistan Socio-economic Survey 1998-99, which provides the latest i...

by Zafar Mueen Nasir | On 10 Mar 2016

Poverty and Child Mortality in Pakistan

The present analysis is based on the Pakistan Socio-Economic Survey (PSES) data. The survey was conducted nationwide between April and July, 1999 and collected data on household information, incidence...

by Syed Mubashir Ali | On 10 Mar 2016

Profile of Poverty in Pakistan, 1998-99

The present study while decomposing poverty across different socio-economic groups has included this variable in the analysis. The determinants of poverty based on logistic regressions have also been...

by Sarfraz K. Qureshi | On 10 Mar 2016

An Introduction to the 1998-99 Pakistan Socioeconomic Survey (PSES)

This brief paper is quite focused. It describes the methodology and scope of the household survey carried out by the PIDE between March and July 1999, with an aim to generate nationally representative...

by G. M. Arif | On 10 Mar 2016

Distributional Impact of Structural Adjustment on Income Inequality in Pakistan: A SAM-based Analysis

This study intends to analyze the impact of fiscal policy relating to subsidies (production and consumption subsidies), government current expenditure and expenditure on health and education on income...

by Zafar Iqbal | On 10 Mar 2016

Poverty Reduction in Pakistan: Learning from the Experience of China

Three major objectives of this study are: (i) to understand China’s success against poverty, particularly the mechanism through which, the economic reforms led to poverty reduction; (ii) to give a his...

by G. M. Arif | On 10 Mar 2016

Pension System Reforms for Pakistan: Current Situation and Future Prospects

The study deals with pension system reforms for the Pakistan economy and highlights the current situation and future prospects. The study presents an overview of the problems prevailing in current pay...

by Umaima Arif | On 10 Mar 2016

Spatial Differences and Socio-economic Determinants of Health Poverty

This study has three objectives: first, to construct a health poverty index (HPI) for Pakistan using household data from Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2012-13; second,...

by Nasir Iqbal | On 10 Mar 2016

Contrarian Lives: Christians and Contemporary Protest in Jharkhand

This paper is a preliminary attempt to assess the impact of Christian social activists on issues facing adivasis in the state of Jharkhand in contemporary India. This has been prompted by a few factor...

by Sushil J. Aaron | On 09 Mar 2016

Determinants and Challenges of Sustainable Forest Governance in India: An Analysis in Retrospect and Prospect

This paper looks into the role of community based natural resource management focussing on the Joint Forest Management (JFM) in India. The analysis presented is the result of triangulation of critical...

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 09 Mar 2016

How Protected are our Children in Assam?

Situation of children in Assam in 2016.

by Melvil Pereira | On 09 Mar 2016

Overview on the State of Pandemic Preparedness in Southeast Asia: Challenges and the Way Forward

This NTS alert looks at the state of pandemic preparedness in Southeast Asia, while in the second part later in the month we will turn our attention towards the issues of poverty and infectious diseas...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

Poverty and Diseases: A Dangerous Liasion?

In the second issue of the NTS Alert for February, we turn our attention towards the complex interactions between poverty and diseases. We briefly summarise the state of the world's health, identify l...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

Security in Cyberspace: The Return of the State

The recent cyber attacks on South Korea and the United States, as well as those on Georgia in 2008 and Estonia in 2007 have awakened a certain consciousness in the minds of the international community...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Middle Class is among the Better Off, They Need to Pay More

When the state is unable to provide adequately for the bottom half of the population, should it be giving tax benefits to the well-off?

by T.N. Ninan | On 05 Mar 2016

India Budget 2016: Old Economics, New Politics

India’s latest Budget focuses on the rural sector and the economically vulnerable sections and makes large allocations for agriculture and social sector programmes without compromising on fiscal disci...

by Amitendu Palit | On 04 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

Fights Over Land Rights in Indonesia

In recent weeks, Indonesia experienced a series of demonstrations over land rights in various parts of the country. While land rights controversies are not uncommon in Indonesia, the new wave of dis...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 02 Mar 2016

Traditional Forms of Volunteerism in Bhutan

Volunteerism in Bhutan is deeply grounded in its traditional belief systems and community practices in which much emphasis is placed on the principles of national self-reliance, community participatio...

by | On 02 Mar 2016

Budget 2016: Once Again Fails to Deliver for the Dalit Adivasis

The Union Budget has failed to deliver on the needs of the marginalised section of population. The spending has been much lower than what was budgeted.

by Paul Divakar | On 01 Mar 2016

Government Health Financing in India: Challenges in Achieving Ambitious Goals

The Government of India has publicly committed to a doubling or trebling of government health spending by 2012 and launched a major program, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), to help spend the...

by Peter Berman | On 01 Mar 2016

Multidimensional Poverty and the State of Child Health in India

Using data from the National Family and Health Survey 3, India, this paper measures and validates the extent of multidimensional poverty and examines the linkages of poverty level with child health in...

by Sanjay K. Mohanty | On 01 Mar 2016

Vital Stats: Union Budget 2016-17

Trends regarding the central government’s sources of financing including tax revenue, disinvestments, and its revenue and capital expenditure, including subsidies. Estimates are presented in the 2016-...

by Mandira Kala | On 01 Mar 2016

Should China Revisit the 1994 Fiscal Reforms?

The 1994 Fiscal Reforms in China were spectacularly successful in meeting the immediate challenges that the economy faced at that time—a sharply dropping tax/GDP ratio, and limited ability of the cent...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 01 Mar 2016

An Enquiry Into Migration and Homelessness - A Developmental Discourse: Evidence From Mumbai City

Existence of structural and social inequality with growing poverty and shrinking livelihoods and other factors forced to people or entire families to migrate towards cities in search of means of survi...

by | On 01 Mar 2016

Non-Farm Diversification and Rural Poverty Decline: A Perspective from Indian Sample Survey and Village Study Data

This paper studies the evolution of the rural non-farm sector in India and its contribution to the decline of poverty. It scrutinizes evidence from a series of nationally representative sample surveys...

by Himanshu Prof | On 29 Feb 2016

Will no One Plant a Tree in Indonesia? Yes, the Poor will, and on Islands not known for Their Forests: One Such is Timor

In this paper we explore an innovative approach to poverty reduction by the introduction of an agro-forestry variant of sustainable agricultural land technology among the rural farming population of a...

by Roger Montgomery | On 29 Feb 2016

ESPA Stakeholder Mapping, Research Gaps and Prioritized Actions in Bangladesh

The study followed a participatory and interactive approach to critically analyze the situation (state of knowledge demands and supply), stakeholder‘s alignment, consequences, conflicts and areas of c...

by | On 29 Feb 2016

Impact of the ASEAN Economic Community on ASEAN Production Networks

Empirical evidence suggests that the emergence of international production networks in East Asia results from market-driven forces such as vertical specialization and higher production costs in the ho...

by Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong | On 29 Feb 2016

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: An Effective Tool for Poverty Alleviation?

The paper highlights a number of issues that countries need to explore in assessing the feasibility of a CCT program: a country needs to assess the current level of specific human capital outcomes and...

by Hyun H. Son | On 29 Feb 2016

Development of Methodology towards Measurement of Poverty

This executive summary attempts to measure developed new techniques of measuring poverty. These techniques will be discussed here. The attempts to measure absolute poverty in India were made to know w...

by Manoranjan Pal | On 29 Feb 2016

Union Budget Speech 2016

Budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

by Arun Jaitley | On 29 Feb 2016

Post¬Arab Spring: Political transitions in retreat?

A recent cover of the Economist magazine asked: ‘Has the Arab Spring failed?’ More questions along this line will certainly come as the international community follows closely the political developm...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Community 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

2015: A Year for Reflection

2015 is a critical year for global and regional institutions, and for the international community as a whole, as it represents a milestone in the big push for achieving global goals of peace, human se...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

The OIC’s Journey to Enlightenment

Reflecting on the speeches made at the 34th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) held in Islamabad recently, one could suggest that nothing new was mentione...

by Sofiah Jamil | On 26 Feb 2016

Budget 2016: Lagging Quality Education; Increase Public Investment to Improve Basic Infrastructure

In the Union Budget 2015-16, there was a reduction in the allocation for school education on account of more untied funds being given to States following the 14th Finance Commission recommendation. Ho...

by Provita Kundu | On 26 Feb 2016

Estimation and Determinants of Chronic Poverty in India: An Alternative Approach

The paper conceptualizes chronic poverty by using the spaces of income and nutrition and estimates its incidence among states and social groups. It also aims to improve our understanding of the determ...

by C.H. Hanumantha Rao | On 25 Feb 2016

Food Aid and Food Security: A Necessary Evil?

Is Food Aid effective or does it actually lead to other food-related insecurities? This paper examines whether Food Aid in Bangladesh merely addresses the challenge of food supply disruptions induced...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Responding to Non-Traditional Security Challenges in Asia

Emerging security challenges in Asia are compelling the international community to take a hard look at their causes and implications on state and human security. Given the growing complexity of these...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 25 Feb 2016

Health and Human Security: From Establishment to Operationalisation

The international community is now faced with an influenza pandemic and the rhetoric of global health security has become more urgent. Whilst our preparedness for such an emerging infectious disease i...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Why Inequality Matters in Poverty Reduction and Why the Middle Class Needs Policy Attention

While the Philippines has had a new economic growth trajectory in recent years, the country has had little progress in reducing poverty and in making growth more inclusive. In this paper, the authors...

by Jose Ramon G. Albert | On 24 Feb 2016

Assessing the Potential for Reintroducing the Cheetah in India

In this report 10 sites from seven landscapes are assessed located in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, for their potential to harbour viable reintroduc...

by Wildlife Institute of India | On 24 Feb 2016

Pakistan’s Floods: How Not to be Caught Off Guard

The Pakistani government and the international community’s response to the recent floods has been heavily criticised for being woefully inadequate. While a national disaster management framework is in...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Agricultural Contracts in Mindanao: the Case of Banana and Pineapple

Contract growing has been defined as an agreement between farmers and processing and/or marketing firms under forward agreements, usually at predetermined prices for the production and supply of agric...

by Larry Digal | On 23 Feb 2016

Deepening Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Financial Markets

This paper discusses the financial landscape of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a region engaged in building an economic community (a “single market and production base”) by 2015....

by Choong Lee | On 21 Feb 2016

Preferential Trading In South Asia

This paper examines the economic case for the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Agreement signed on January 6 th, 2004 by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. It s...

by Tercan Baysan | On 21 Feb 2016

Infrastructure Gap in South Asia Inequality of Access to Infrastructure Services

The South Asia region is home to the largest pool of individuals living under the poverty line, coupled with a fast-growing population. The importance of access to basic infrastructure services on wel...

by Dan Biller | On 21 Feb 2016

China and Its Southern Neighbours: Issues in Power Connectivity

Myanmar’s recent suspension of a China-funded dam project draws attention to cross-border electricity inter- connectivity between China and its southern neighbours Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, apart fr...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Syria & Responsibility to Protect: Time for a Middle Ground

As the crisis in Syria edges towards civil war, the international community is locked in a stalemate over whether and how to intervene to stop the carnage. There is an urgent need for a middle ground...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

After Rio+20: What is ‘The Future We Want’?

The world’s biggest summit on environment and development in 20 years wrapped up last Friday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Has the outcome of Rio+20 managed to meet its promise?

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Quick Rental Power Plants in Bangladesh: An Economic Appraisal

One important aspect of recent developments is that a significant portion of the additional electricity generation has come from liquid fuel based power plants which has raised the total contribution...

by Mustafa K. Mujeri | On 20 Feb 2016

Role of Experts in Policy Advice: Lessons of Experience

The policymaking in modern states is highly complex and requires a high degree of expertise and knowledge, which was not the case even 10, let alone 25 years ago. Partly in view of limited capacity in...

by Nurul Islam | On 20 Feb 2016

Remittances, Trade Liberalisation, and Poverty in Pakistan: The Role of Excluded Variables in Poverty Change Analysis

This study attempts to assess the impact of two shocks-trade liberalization and a deline in remittances from abroad-on poverty in Pakistan using a CGE framework.

by Rizwana Siddiqui | 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

China’s Sovereign Investment Funds In International Perspective: The Exceptionalism Of Cic And Safe

China is the only country in the world with two sovereign investment vehicles dedicated to managing excess foreign reserves for return, not just safety and liquidity. As the investment profile and beh...

by Angela Cummine | On 19 Feb 2016

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Multilateralism On The Silk Road

China’s first attempt to establish a multilateral financial institution was met with some suspicion and caution in the west. According to one interpretation, China is frustrated with the United States...

by Mike Callaghan | On 19 Feb 2016

Poverty-reducing or Poverty-inducing? A CGE-based Analysis of Foreign Capital Inflows in Pakistan

Foreign capital inflows (FKI) help an economy by financing the imbalance between income and expenditure. However, their impact on poverty in the recipient economy is a controversial issue. In this stu...

by Rizwana Siddiqui | On 18 Feb 2016

Is Access to Tractor Service a Binding Constraint for Nepali Terai Farmers?

Using results from the three rounds of Nepal Living Standard Surveys (conducted in 1995, 2003, and 2010), this study empirically assesses whether access to rented tractors or custom hiring services is...

by Hiroyuki Takeshima | On 18 Feb 2016

Reflections on an Inclusive and Equitable ASEAN Community in 2015

The ASEAN-Canada Research Partnership was launched in 2012 by the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological U...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 17 Feb 2016

Networked Resilience: Moving the Asia-Pacific Forward

As the United Nations moves towards cementing a Post-2015 agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals, how can Asia-Pacific states best achieve these? It is time to recognise our resources from acro...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Addressing Market Constraints to Providing Nutrient-Rich Foods: An Exploration of Market Systems Approaches

This Evidence Report asks how a market systems approach could be applied to improve poor households’ access to nutrient-dense foods. By ‘market systems approach’ we mean methods that identify and addr...

by Jodie Thorpe | On 17 Feb 2016

Can Parental Migration Reduce Petty Corruption in Education?

Educational outcomes of children are highly dependent on household and school-level inputs. In poor countries remittances from migrants can provide additional funds for the education of the left behin...

by Lisa Höckel | On 17 Feb 2016

Agriculture’s Contribution To National Emissions

Agriculture is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions globally, but how do emissions differ among countries? The relative contribution of agriculture to countries’ emissions budgets can infor...

by Meryl Richards | On 17 Feb 2016

Achieving Skill Mobility in the ASEAN Economic Community Challenges, Opportunities, and Policy Implications

Despite clear aspirations by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create an effective framework to facilitate movements among skilled professionals within the ASEAN Economic Community...

by Demetrios G. Papademetriou | On 16 Feb 2016

Denuclearisation Talks with North Korea: Time for China and Russia to Act?

Recent diplomatic engagements between North Korea and Russia have raised the prospect of resuming denuclearisation talks between Pyongyang and the international community. What is the prospect of Nort...

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

Impact of Export Subsidies on Pakistan’s Exports

Throughout Pakistan’s history, policy has sought to promote exports through government support and incentives. The government machinery is geared to export promotion especially through direct and indi...

by Nadeem Ul Haque | 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

Hometown Investment Trust Funds: An Analysis of Credit Risk

In Asia, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a major share of employment and dominate the economy. Asian economies are often characterized as having bank-dominated financial systems...

by Naoyuki Yoshino | On 16 Feb 2016

Financial Inclusion, Financial Education, and Financial Regulation: A Story from Indonesia

Many reforms have taken place in Indonesia following the Asian financial crisis of 1997– 1998. The government has embarked upon institutional transformation, making the country one of the region’s mos...

by Georg Inderst | On 16 Feb 2016

Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project in Bangladesh

The Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project in Bangladesh became the first initiative to successfully incorporate beneficiary participation into all aspects of managi...

by Asian Bank | On 15 Feb 2016

Poverty and Corruption

The year 2007 marked a milestone in the fight against poverty and corruption. It represented the midway point on the road to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the ambitious global pledg...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Afghanistan’s Deep Challenges and Transition Opportunities

The continued withdrawal of ISAF forces and the handover of responsibilities to Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) along with a strong Taliban military push dominated the security realm. The ANSF...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

A Study of Cases Filed under Section 498A, IPC; Closed as False in Two Districts and Two Cities of Rajasthan

This study explores closed cases filed under section 498A of the IPC, which pertains to cruelty to a married woman by her marital family. It draws from two datasets of both primary and secondary data,...

by Anjali Dave | On 14 Feb 2016

Does Governance Contribute to Pro-poor Growth? Evidence from Pakistan

This paper explores linkages between governance and pro-poor growth in Pakistan for the period 1996 to 2005. The analysis indicates that governance indicators have low scores and rank at the lowest pe...

by Rashida Haq | On 14 Feb 2016

The Anti-Corruption Catalyst: Realising the MDGs By 2015

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) build on previous international development promises and represent an unprecedented, comprehensive framework for combating poverty, reaching universal education...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 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

How Inclusive is the Universalised Insurance Scheme (RSBY) in Chhattisgarh? Experience of Urban Poor Women in Slums of Raipur

In this quantitative study, 367 patients who had been hospitalised in the six months prior to the study were identified through Mitanins (Community Health Workers - CHWs) and interviewed using a struc...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Ensuring Identity and Entitlements of India’s Urban Poor

Can we create awareness among the urban poor and create documents for them? What are the steps to be followed for that?

by K.R. Antony | On 09 Feb 2016

China’s Rising Military Power & Its Implications

China’s rising military power and its implications is of significant concern that has been widely discussed in the international community and among political elites across the globe. This paper explo...

by | On 08 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

Aquaculture: Issues and Opportunities for Sustainable Production and Trade

This issue paper – published in the context of the ICTSD project on Fisheries, International Trade and Sustainable Development – aims to contribute to debates to develop fisheries and trade policies a...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Qualitative Research on the Impacts of Social Protection Programmes on Decent Rural Employment: A Research Guide

The Social Protection and Decent Rural Employment research programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has grown out of the Social Protection Division’s research pla...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 07 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

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

Determinants of Urban Poverty: The Case of Medium Sized City in Pakistan

Urban poverty, which is distinct from rural poverty due to demographic, economic and political aspects remain hitherto unexplored, at the city level in Pakistan. The determinants of urban poverty in S...

by Masood Sarwar Awan | On 06 Feb 2016

The Persistence and Transition of Rural Poverty in Pakistan: 1998-2004

This study has used two rounds of the two panel data sets to examine the poverty dynamics in rural Pakistan (Sindh and Punjab). The Pakistan SocioEconomic Survey (PSES ) covers two periods, 1998 and 2...

by G. M. Arif | On 06 Feb 2016

Remittances and Poverty Linkages in Pakistan: Evidence and Some Suggestions for Further Analysis

This exercise is envisaged to provide a brief account of the research studies on inter-relationship between remittance inflows from abroad and the poverty levels obtained in the country. This is discu...

by Mohammad Irfan | On 06 Feb 2016

CDM: Is it a ‘win–win’ strategy for rural poverty alleviation in India?

India is perceived to be one of the most attractive Non-Annex I countries for CDM project development. There are more than 350 projects in the CDM pipeline, largely in the areas of renewable energy, e...

by Smita Sirohi | On 05 Feb 2016

Urban Poverty in Nepal

This research report tracks various aspects of poverty in Nepal across geographical areas and evaluates the rise of squatter settlements. It also looks at various dimensions of poverty, resilience for...

by Shivit Bakrania | 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

International Trade and Access to Sustainable Energy: Issues and Lessons from Country Experiences

How can trade policy respond to the needs and concerns of more than a billion people in the developing world that lack access to energy for fulfilling their daily needs such as cooking and lighting? A...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

ASEAN Integrity Community: A Vision for Transparent and Accountable Integration

Each ASEAN member state has taken some steps to addressing corruption at the national level, such as ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), but much more is urgently neede...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

The New Role of the World Bank

The World Bank was founded to correct failures in international capital markets. That role has shifted over the past 70 years. Modern analyses should proceed from the premise that the Bank’s central g...

by Michael Clemens | 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

Wealth as an Indicator of Socio-Economic Welfare: Islamic Views

According to western views, wealth is unambiguously good, and so human welfare is positive when wealth is in excess of needs, and negative if it is less. Islam has a substantially more sophisticated v...

by Asad Zaman | On 03 Feb 2016

MDGs to SDGs: Have We Lost the Plot?

In September this year, world leaders will meet in New York at the United Nations General Assembly. Top of the agenda will be the passage of a resolution laying out global development goals for the fi...

by Charles Kenny | 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

Towards a Framework for Achieving Food Security in the Mountains of Pakistan

The agriculture sector in Pakistan sustains the livelihoods of 45 per cent of the national population. Both the direct and indirect contributions of the agriculture sector to overall growth and wellbe...

by Golam Rasul | 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

Rural Transport, Safety and Security

By 2020, road accidents are expected to be the third highest cause of death and disability globally. Transport safety concerns in poor countries have focused mainly on roads and motorised traffic, but...

by International Forum for Rural Transport and Develo IFRTD | On 01 Feb 2016

Understanding The Dimensions And Dynamics Of Poverty In Underserved Settlements In Colombo

Existing measures of urban poverty carried out for national level comparisons portray very low levels of poverty with an average urban household spending an equivalent to the top 20% of national expe...

by Neranjana Gunetilleke | On 01 Feb 2016

Pensions at a Glance: Asia/ Pacific

This study combines rigorous analysis with clear, easy-to-understand presentation of empirical results. It does not advocate any particular kind of pension system or type of reform. The goal is to inf...

by OECD Development Centre | On 01 Feb 2016

Pensions at a Glance: Asia and Pacific

This study combines rigorous analysis with clear, easy-to-understand presentation of empirical results. It does not advocate any particular kind of pension system or type of reform. The goal is to inf...

by OECD Development Centre | On 31 Jan 2016

The Trillion Dollar Plan

The rapidly unfolding global financial and economic crisis will severely disrupt economic growth worldwide, affect the livelihoods of billions around the world and endanger progress toward the poverty...

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

Climate Change and the Energy Challenge

A temperature increase of 2 degree celsius above pre-industrial levels is the maximum target range established by the scientific community for stabilizing carbon concentrations at a level that prevent...

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

Coordinating Capital Account Regulation

There is a renewed consensus on the need to re-regulate international capital movements. But there is a collective action problem, which puts developing countries at a particular disadvantage. Countri...

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

Financing the Green Technological Transformation

Sustainable development requires a fundamental, global green technological transformation over the next 30 to 40 years. Otherwise, it will be impossible to simultaneously meet the goals of ending pove...

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

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

Promoting Empowerment of People in Achieving Poverty Eradication, Social Integration and Full Employment Integration and Full Employment and Decent Work for All

The responses collected from the online survey on people’s empowerment contained in this report represent a collaborative effort, made possible by the answers received from people across the world on...

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

Towards an ICT Enabled Farming Community

This paper presents a proposed use of virtual community for farmers in Sri Lanka by reviewing Information and communication technology perspective with reference to past and present political strategi...

by Devaka Punchihewa | On 31 Jan 2016

China and its Peripheries: Beijing and India-Sri Lanka Relations

China has emerged as one of the important factors in India-Sri Lanka relations. It is important to contextualise this intervening variable, before going into various aspects of China’s footprints in S...

by N Manoharan | On 31 Jan 2016

Potential Impact of Proposed 2012 Farm Bill Commodity Programs on Developing Countries

The United States is the largest exporter of many key commodities leading to a significant impact on international markets. In this paper Bruce Babcock and Nick Paulson examine what proposed changes i...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Voice And Accountability In The Health Sector

The study was carried out in the Mbarali District of Tanzania. A qualitative study design was used. In-depth interviews and focus group discussion were conducted among members of the district health t...

by Health & Education Advice & Research Team HEART | On 30 Jan 2016

Revision of India-Nepal Treaty of Trade and Its Implications for Strengthening Bilateral Trade and Investment Linkages

The paper highlights the trend in bilateral trade between the two countries. It notes that barring setbacks in certain years, the bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing briskly. It...

by Indra Nath Mukherji | On 30 Jan 2016

Health Issues of a Branded Community in an Urban Slum of Mumbai

The ‘De-notified Tribes’ are those communities which were notified under the several versions of the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) enforced during colonial rule in India between 1871 to 1947. After a sev...

by Praveenkumar Katarki | On 30 Jan 2016

Strengthening Community Engagement of Higher Education Institutions

It was expected that education would address these problems to a large extent. However, inspite of enhanced investment on expenditure, leading to increased enrolment, these issues remain largely unatt...

by (Field Action Project on Homelessness and Destitut Koshish | On 30 Jan 2016

Ecosystem-based Approaches to Adaptation Evidence from two sites in Bangladesh

The ARCAB programme has a well-developed theory of change (ARCAB 2012). This encompasses broader issues relating to the scaling up and out of CBA that are central to ARCAB as a whole and its goal of a...

by Sarder Alam | On 29 Jan 2016

Public Expenditure, Employment and Poverty in Bangladesh An Empirical Analysis

The present paper titled Public Expenditure, Employment and Poverty in Bangladesh An Empirical Analysis has been prepared under the CPD-UNDP collaboration programme on Pro-Poor Macroeconomic Policies...

by Centre for Policy Dialogue CPD | On 29 Jan 2016

Poverty-Environment Nexus An Investigation of Linkage and Policy Implications

The present paper titled Poverty-Environment Nexus: An Investigation of Linkage and Policy Implications has been prepared under the CPD-UNDP collaboration programme on Pro-Poor Macroeconomic Policies...

by Centre for Policy Dialogue CPD | On 29 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

Healing Wounds: How the International Centers of the CGIAR Help Rebuild Agriculture in Countries Affected by Conflicts and Natural Disasters

This study first reviews current thinking on the underlying causes of conflicts and disasters, identifying poverty as a major driver of both. Poverty breeds frustration, compelling the poor to turn to...

by Surendra Varma | On 29 Jan 2016

Making Regional Cooperation Work for South Asia’s Poor

South Asia has attracted global attention because it has experienced rapid GDP growth over the last two decades. What is not so well known is that South Asia is the least integrated region in the worl...

by Ejaz Ghani | On 29 Jan 2016

Subsidies and Spillovers in a Value Chain World: New Rules Required?

The use of subsidy instruments, broadly defined to include fiscal measures and investment incentives, has been a constant feature of government policy in both high-income and emerging economies. This...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Recognition of Forest Rights and Livelihoods of Tribal Communities: A Study of Western Ghats Region, Kerala State

The study tries to examine the implementation process of the Forest Rights Act 2006 in Kerala, in terms of providing individual holding land rights and community rights over forest products. The stu...

by Jyothis Sathyapalan | On 29 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

Trade and Investment Frameworks in Extractive Industries: Challenges and Options

At the domestic level, if managed properly, the revenues from extractive industries can have a substantial impact on income and prosperity while respecting community needs and the environment. To achi...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Survey of ICTs for Education in India and South Asia, Extended Summary

The Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Education in India and South Asia was commissioned by infoDev to be undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, India. The Survey is a third...

by The Survey on Information and Communication Techno ICT | On 28 Jan 2016

Rethinking Subsidy Disciplines for the Future

Subsidies are a critical instrument in the toolbox that governments use to achieve a variety of policy goals. In an increasingly interdependent world, addressing the negative externalities of subsidie...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Mainstreaming Community-Based Conservation in a Transboundary Mountain Landscape Lessons from Kangchenjunga

This paper draws recommendations for transboundary and participatory biodiversity conservation from ICIMOD’s pioneering Kangchenjunga Conservation Landscape Initiative. The Kangchenjunga landscape, sh...

by Karma Phuntsho | On 28 Jan 2016

Scientific Framework for ICIMOD’s Regional Programme on Adaptation to Change

This document elaborates the scientific framework of the Adaptation to Change Programme in an attempt to improve the connections between science, policy, practice, and stakeholders and to tackle chall...

by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Devel ICIMOD | On 28 Jan 2016

Tribal Education in Gujarat: An Evaluation of Educational Incentive Schemes

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the working of various incentive schemes and assesses their utility coverage and quality of benefits received by the tribal children, besides an analysis...

by B.L. Kumar | On 28 Jan 2016

Maternal and Newborn Health: Dynamics of Seeking Health Care Within Mumbai Slums

Based on the evidence generated from a community-based maternity surveillance system, the note examines the prevalence of home births as well as the factors influencing the choice of home delivery, ca...

by Neena Shah More | 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

Switched On: Youth at the Heart of Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific is home to 60 per cent of the global population aged 15 to 24 years. Across this geographically, politically, socially, culturally and economically expansive region, youth are a v...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific | On 28 Jan 2016

Realizing the Future We Want for All

The first report from the UN system on the Post-2015 Development Agenda – Realizing the Future We Want for All – recommends that new goals should build on the strengths of the Millennium Development G...

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

UNDP Annual Report 2014-2015: Time for Global Action

Voices around the world are demanding leadership and action in 2015 on poverty, inequality and climate change. These universal challenges demand global action, and this year presents unprecedented opp...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 27 Jan 2016

Migration, Health and Dignity in South Asia: Lessons from the EMPHASIS Project on Migration, Women’s Empowerment and HIV in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

The EMPHASIS project (Enhancing Mobile Populations’ Access to HIV and AIDS Services, Information and Support) has provided a diverse range of services to crossborder migrants in India, Nepal and Bang...

by Prabodh Devkota | On 27 Jan 2016

Achieving Bangladesh's Tourism Potential: Linkages to Export Diversification, Employment Generation and the "Green Economy"

The objective of this working paper is to critically test the assertion that pro-poor "green" tourism is one of the best development options for the majority of least developed countries (LDCs) -- a c...

by Shoaib Akhtar | On 27 Jan 2016

Same-sex Sexualities, Gender Variance, Economy and Livelihood in Nepal: Exclusions, Subjectivity and Development

This case study explores the relationship between socioeconomic opportunity and exclusion in relation to minority gender and sexualities in Nepal.The study, a component of a wider programme on Sexuali...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

When the Hen Crows: Obstacles that Prevent Indigenous Women from Influencing Health-care Policies – A Case Study of Shillong, Meghalaya, India

Meghalaya is a landlocked and largely agrarian state in northeast India with an approximate population of three million. Various government surveys report that roughly half the state lives below the p...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

Informal Work and Wellbeing in Urban South Asia: Who Succeeds, Who Fails and Under What Conditions?

Understanding and managing urbanisation in developing countries is one of the major global policy challenges for the first half of the 21st century. Rapidly growing towns and cities are increasingly r...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

Towards a Global Reporting System for Development Cooperation on the SDGs: Promoting Transformational Potential and Impact

The proposed SDGs constitute a comprehensive, universal and interactive agenda of structural transformations as the pathway to sustainable development, leaving no-one behind while creating green econo...

by | 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

Overcoming the Challenges of Urban Food and Nutrition Security

Despite the high contribution of urban areas to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), urban poverty and nutrition security in India remains a challenge. Poor infrastructure, high unemployment, poor state...

by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation | On 26 Jan 2016

Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for Poverty in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India

The paper examines the spatial pattern of poverty in India and tries to understand how multiple deprivation leads to reproduction of poverty especially in forest-based economies in the central-eastern...

by Amita Shah | On 26 Jan 2016

Agroforestry in Tribal Areas of Gujarat: Move towards Sustainable Agriculture?

This paper examines the agroforestry initiative adopted by the Government of Gujarat with the aim to enhance the incomes of tribal households facing numerous production constraints. The specific objec...

by Jharna Pathak | On 26 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

Gender Justice And Social Norms – Processes Of Change For Adolescent Girls

This note proposes an analytical framework for the current phase of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) programme of research on discriminatory social norms affecting adolescent girls. The curren...

by Caroline Harper | On 24 Jan 2016

Pakistan’s Widening Sectarian Divide

This paper looks at the latest targeted killings in Pakistan that have not only exacerbated its sectarian tensions but also exposed the failings of the civil administration in a country where the Army...

by | On 23 Jan 2016

The Quota Movement in Gujarat: Implications for Modi and India’s Democracy

The Patel agitation of Gujarat should not be seen merely as a one-issue movement. More than merely an attempt by youthful members of the Patel community who feel they have been denied their just share...

by | On 23 Jan 2016

Rethinking Social Protection Using a Gender Lens

This synthesis paper presents the findings from a multi-country research project which assesses the extent to which gender has been incorporated into the design and implementation of a wide range of s...

by Rebecca Holmes | On 23 Jan 2016

Ecosystem-based Approaches to Adaptation : Evidence from two sites in Bangladesh

The ARCAB programme has a well-developed theory of change (ARCAB 2012). This encompasses broader issues relating to the scaling up and out of CBA that are central to ARCAB as a whole and its goal of a...

by Hannah Reid | On 23 Jan 2016

Understanding Mountain Poverty in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas

Research suggests that development interventions that do not take mountain specificities into account may threaten rather than facilitate development for the inhabitants in a sustainable mountain envi...

by Brigitte Hoermann | On 23 Jan 2016

Framework for the  Proposed Comprehensive Trade Policy for Bangladesh

A number of studies have indicated that trade liberalisation did not have any significant impact on poverty reduction although the impact on employment generation had been positive (e.g. Raihan 2007)....

by Mehruna Chowdhury | 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

An Analysis of Private Commercial Borrowing from Foreign Sources in Bangladesh

The intention of this study is to get an indication of the trends and uses of private sector commercial borrowing from external sources in Bangladesh. In this paper, an overall picture of the private...

by Sayera Younus | 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

Community Based Women Empowerment Initiatives in India

Over the years, India has designed and implemented a number of targeted interventions for the poor including putting in place specific reservations for the disadvantaged to ensure equitable access to...

by Global IPE | 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 Right to Food Act: A Novel Approach to Food Security

The India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 surveys the trends in maternal and child undernutrition in India. It looks at trends and disparities in these outcomes across geographical regions, socio-econom...

by | On 22 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

Assessment of the Reliability and Relevance of the Food Data Collected in National Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys

Food consumption data are collected in most countries through a variety of household surveys. The primary objective of these surveys is usually to measure poverty, to derive consumption patterns neede...

by Lisa C. Smith | On 21 Jan 2016

Balancing State and Community Participation in Development Partnership Projects: Emerging Evidence from Indian SDPs in Nepal

This paper evaluates the impact and potential of development programmes known as Small Development Projects (SDPs), introduced by India as part of its development cooperation portfolio in Nepal. Throu...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 21 Jan 2016

How Does Poverty Affect Migration Choice? A Review of Literature

The aim of this literature review is to examine the links between poverty and migration. Specifically, the paper investigates poverty and vulnerability as determinants of migration. Until recent years...

by | On 20 Jan 2016

Disability and the Millennium Development Goals

Over one billion people around the world live with a disability. However, disability issues are not included in any of the Millennium Development Goals, targets or indicators, thereby representing a l...

by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA | On 20 Jan 2016

An Evaluation Of Mid -Day Meal Scheme

With the twin objectives of improving health and education of the poor children, India has embarked upon an ambitious scheme of providing mid day meals (MDM) in the government and government-assisted...

by Satish Deodhar | On 19 Jan 2016

Dietary Diversity and Women’s BMI among Farm Households in Rural India

The evidence on the link between agriculture and nutrition has so far been tenuous. On the one hand, undernutrition rates are severe and more widespread among those involved in agriculture. This evide...

by R V Bhavani | On 19 Jan 2016

Social Policies and Water Sector Reform

Increasing coverage and maintaining infrastructure are two of the biggest challenges confronting the water supply sector in both industrialized and developing countries. The last two decades have witn...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

A Critical Review of Selected Time Use Surveys

This paper was prepared as part of the preparatory phase for the UNRISD research project on Political and Social Economy of Care. The overall aim of the project is to examine the way in which care is...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Work and Welfare: Revisiting the Linkages from a Gender Perspective

This paper examines the relationship between employment and social policy specifically from a gender perspective. It first lays out, in section 1, the conceptual ground, drawing on a range of heterodo...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Determinants of Child Undernutrition in Bangladesh Literature Review

This literature review identifies and summarises existing evidence on the determinants of undernutrition in children under the age of two years in Bangladesh. The review gathers evidence on the immedi...

by Stuart Gillespie | On 19 Jan 2016

Nepal: Finding a Way Forward

Nepal is no stranger to Constitution drafting, having gone through six such rounds since 1948, with the seventh culminating in September 2015. This recent exercise, however, was unique as it was condu...

by Rakesh Sood | On 19 Jan 2016

Return of Diasporas: India’s Growth Story vs. Global Crisis

The Indian Diaspora has a powerful influence on the global community where Indians constitute a diverse and a heterogeneous group that shares Indian origin and intrinsic values. Earlier migration was...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Linkages between Internal and International Migrations: Policy Implications for Development

This paper is organized in three main sections. The first section provides some definitions of the key terms and describes how both internal and international migration impact on development. An under...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Whose Side Are You On? Identifying The Distributive Preferences of Local Politicians in India

The literature on decentralized public programs suggests that errors in the targeting of anti-poverty programs are rooted in the capture of these programs by local elites or local politicians. Consist...

by Mark Schneider | On 18 Jan 2016

What’s civil about intergroup violence? Five inadequacies of communal and ethnic constructs of urban riots

There are five areas where the categories of ‘communal’ and ‘ethnic’ fall short: in their historical precision, in their scale, in their partial conceptualization of agency, in their ability to engage...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

Does Development Reduce Migration?

The most basic economic theory suggests that rising incomes in developing countries will deter emigration from those countries, an idea that captivates policymakers in international aid and trade dipl...

by | 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

Household Survey Data for Research on Well-Being and Behavior in Central Asia

This paper summarizes the micro-level survey evidence from Central Asia generated and analyzed between 1991 and 2012. We provide an exhaustive overview over all accessible individual and household-lev...

by Tilman Brück | On 15 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

Gender Dynamics In A Changing Climate: How Gender and Adaptive Capacity Affect Resilience

This learning brief synthesises lessons drawn from CARE’s Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa (ALP), which has been supporting vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan Africa to adapt to the impacts...

by Webb J. | 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

Broken Lives and Deserted Homes: Report on Exodus of Muslim Families from Atali

The following is a report based on PUDR’s repeated visits to Atali and its interactions with Muslim and Jat families over the last four months.

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 13 Jan 2016

Social Policy in Development: Coherence and Cooperation in the Real World

Research and practice related to social policy and poverty alleviation have left a legacy of a very broad agenda of “things that need to be done”, along with important unanswered questions about how t...

by | On 13 Jan 2016

Should Global Goal Setting Continue, and how, in the Post-2015 Era?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were introduced to monitor implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration which set out a vision for inclusive and sustainable globalization based...

by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr | On 13 Jan 2016

The International Development Strategy Beyond 2015: Taking Demographic Dynamics into Account

Demographic dynamics have strong repercussions for development and need to be addressed in the definition of the global development strategy for post 2015. Despite divergent trends across countries, i...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Towards a Sustainable Social Model: Implications for the Post-2015 Agenda

Implementation of the Agenda 21 bifurcated into two tracks. While the economic and social development agenda gelled into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the environmental protection agenda mo...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Navigating Climate Change: Extenuating Strategies to Combat Climate Migration Threats

This paper aims to test the validity of the hypothesis that climate change in the coming years is likely to induce massive migration to and from South Asia, both within and across the borders. This pa...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

The Perils of Counting Caste

While the unpublished findings of the ‘Caste Census’ in India might not receive serious attention if ever made public, some of the socio-economic data, made available by the same Census, can set the m...

by Ronojoy Sen | On 10 Jan 2016

The Least Developed Countries Report, 2007

UNCTAD, in past LDC Reports, has taken the view that the key to sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in LDCs is the development of productive capacities and related creation of productive e...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

Sharing of Social Sectors Experiences in IBSA: Assessment of Initiatives and Way Forward

The paper analyses the select Communiqués and Declarations pertaining to social sectors issued from time to time. In this context, it evaluates the status and performance of social development in each...

by | On 09 Jan 2016

India’s Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

In this paper, we evaluate India’s flagship rural employment guarantee programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), by answering questions such as whether the MG...

by | 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

State of Injustice: The Indian State and Poverty

The paper throws light on the view that the Indian state has been one that has been perpetrated by injustice irrespective of a series of ground-breaking legislative acts that enshrine a number of soci...

by John Harriss | On 09 Jan 2016

India’s Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Has it Reduced Poverty in Chitradurga District of Karnataka?

In this paper, we evaluate India’s flagship rural employment guarantee programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), by answering questions such as whether the MG...

by Kala Seetharam Sridhar | On 09 Jan 2016

Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India

This monograph tries to analyse the nature of poverty in India in its various dimensions, particularly emphasising its social underpinnings, and Government initiatives to alleviate rural poverty. It d...

by Neepa Saha | On 08 Jan 2016

Impact of Participatory Forest Management on Financial Assets of Rural Communities in Northwest Pakistan

The system of participatory (or joint) forest management was commenced in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan in 1996 through Asian Development Bank's funded project. These forest refo...

by Tanvir Ali | On 08 Jan 2016

Street Sweeping as a Livelihood Strategy of Pode Community in KMC: Livelihood Assets and Vulnerabilities

The study of geography of poverty and peoples’ changing livelihood and their relation with globalization are some of the major areas of geographic research in the present context (Subedi, 2005). So, P...

by Basant Adhikari | On 08 Jan 2016

Livelihood Options of Dalit: An Analysis with Reference to Land Resources

Land is regarded as an important source of livelihoods to many people, especially rural people. For those people, access to and control over land resources is the source of livelihoods. Therefore, lan...

by Samana Adhikari | On 08 Jan 2016

Geographic Analysis of Livelihood Strategy in Jagritinagar Squatter Settlement, Kathmandu

The general objective of this study is to analyse the urban poverty issue from the livelihood and vulnerability perspective in Jagritinagar squatter settlement of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The spec...

by Rajip Adhikari | On 08 Jan 2016

2015 World Public Sector Report on Responsive and Accountable Public Governance

Heads of state and government have adopted a new development agenda to guide sustainable development efforts for the next 15 years. Member States will have the responsibility of turning this collectiv...

by | On 08 Jan 2016

Food Insecurity, Conflict and Livelihood Threats in Nepal

This chapter examines the food security situation in Nepal and the impact of the recent armed conflict on the food security situation. It argues that food security is understood in different ways and...

by Bishnu Upreti | On 07 Jan 2016

Navigating a Changing World Economy: ASEAN, the People's Republic of China, and India

Most projections envision continued rapid growth in the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and India (collectively, ACI) over the next...

by Fan Zhai | On 07 Jan 2016

Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia Nepal

The report herein provide in-depth analysis of the state of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education in Nepal.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Jan 2016

The 2030 Architecture of Association of Southeast Asian Nations Free Trade Agreements

This paper investigates and analyzes the present status, potential, and prospects of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreements (FTAs). The move towards the ASEAN Economic Co...

by Suthiphand Chirathivat | On 07 Jan 2016

How Low-Carbon Green Growth Can Reduce Inequalities

Half of the world’s population — 3 billion people — lives below the poverty line, and Asia has the largest share. In pursuit of sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation, there is great...

by Anbumozhi Venkatachalam | On 07 Jan 2016

ASEAN Economic Integration through Trade and Foreign Direct Investment: Long-Term Challenges

This paper explores the long-term challenges for trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The region has emerged as an important production base...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 06 Jan 2016

Internal Migration, Poverty and Development in Asia

This article explores the relationship between internal migration and economic growth and development in Asia, concentrating on four countries: China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Levels of internal...

by | 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

Review Article: Mapping India’s Future A Complementary Perspective

Review of The Turn of the Tortoise: The Challenge and Promise of India’s Future by T.N.Ninan; Allen Lane by Penguin India, 2015; Pp 368, Rs 699.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 02 Jan 2016

Towards 'Make in South Asia' Evolving Regional Values Chains

One of the most important ways in which several of the common developmental challenges in South Asia could be addressed is by focusing on manufacturing. This paper highlights insights from the status...

by Ram Das | On 02 Jan 2016

Summary of Indonesia's Poverty Analysis

Economic growth averaging 5.8% since 2010 has helped to lift 3.3 million Indonesians out of poverty. Yet 28 million were still living below the government’s poverty line in March 2014. Indonesia’s nat...

by Priasto Aji Aji | On 01 Jan 2016

Social Protection Brief: Social Security Reform and Economic Modeling Capacity Building in Indonesia

While official poverty in Indonesia is relatively low at 12%, an additional 27% of the population live just above the poverty line and small shocks can drive them back into poverty. Poor and vulnerabl...

by Kefei You | On 01 Jan 2016

Social Protection Brief: Social Security Reform and Economic Modeling Capacity Building in Indonesia

While official poverty in Indonesia is relatively low at 12%, an additional 27% of the population live just above the poverty line and small shocks can drive them back into poverty. Poor and vulnerabl...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jan 2016

Poverty and Violent Conflict: A Micro Level Perspective on the Causes and Duration of Warfare

This paper discusses how endogenous mechanisms linking processes of violent conflict and the economic well-being of individuals and households in combat areas provide valuable micro foundations to the...

by Patricia Justino | On 30 Dec 2015

On the Links between Violent Conflict and Household Poverty: How Much Do We Really Know?

This paper assesses the usefulness of a new emerging body of work on the micro-level analysis of conflict and violence in advancing our current understanding of the relationship between violent confli...

by Patricia Justino | On 30 Dec 2015

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

Working of Forest Rights Act 2006 and Its Impact on Livelihoods: A Comparative Study of Odisha and Jharkhand

Clearly, the monograph addresses a set of critical issues related to the forest rights and livelihood and makes a sincere effort to draw attention to the plight of forest dependent communities. Policy...

by Tapas Kumar Sarangi | On 30 Dec 2015

The Experience of Gross National Happiness as Development Framework

This paper explores Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a framework for socio-economic development in Bhutan by elucidating GNH principles that affect the way Bhutanese society and state interact.The pa...

by Karma Ura | On 29 Dec 2015

ASEAN 2030: Challenges of Building a Mature Political and Security Community

The paper examines ASEAN’s political and security challenges and prospects in the coming two decades. The challenges facing ASEAN could be classified into six broad categories: (1) the shifting balanc...

by Amitav Acharya | On 29 Dec 2015

The ASEAN Economic Community: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was set up in 2003 with the objectives of creating a single market and production base, enhancing equitable economic development as well as facilitating the integrat...

by Siowyue Chia | On 29 Dec 2015

UNDP and Climate Change

Released on the eve of the Paris climate change conference (COP21), this report – a mix of infographics and country case examples – outlines UNDP’s decades-long support to partner countries to tackle...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 29 Dec 2015

Three Arrows of 'Abenomics' and the Structural Reform of Japan: Inflation Targeting Policy of the Central Bank, Fiscal Consolidation, and Growth Strategy

“Abenomics” refers to the economic policies advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who became prime minister of Japan for a second time when his party, the Liberal Democratic Party, won an overwhelmin...

by Farhad Hesary | On 29 Dec 2015

A Connectivity-Driven Development Strategy for Nepal: From a Landlocked to a Land-Linked State

Nepal's lackluster economic performance during the post-conflict period (that is, after November 2006) has been driven by remittances from the export of labor services and the improved performance of...

by Pradumna Rana | On 29 Dec 2015

Gender-based Violence and Child Protection among Syrian Refugees in Jordan, with a Focus on Early Marriage

This study was undertaken on behalf of the Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence sub-working groups in Jordan, established in February 2012 to coordinate prevention and response to child protecti...

by UN Women | On 28 Dec 2015

Advancing Gender Equality: Promising Practices: Case Studies from the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund

This report presents lessons and results of specific relevance to shaping the post-2015 development framework derived from 20 Joint Programmes supported by the MDGF. These studies contain lessons to e...

by UN Women | On 28 Dec 2015

Enabling Women’s Contributions to the Indian Ocean Rim Economies

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) represents one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic regional communities. This report identifies some of the key trends and critical issues for the Indian Oc...

by UN Women | On 28 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

Securing Land Rights For Women through Institutional and Policy Reforms

Rural women suffer double discrimination because they are female and poor. Though women are the biggest food producers, they earn only one-tenth of the world’s income and own less than 1% of the world...

by | On 23 Dec 2015

How does Women’s Time in Reproductive Work and Agriculture Affect Maternal and Child Nutrition? Evidence from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nepal

This paper examines whether an increase in women’s time in agriculture adversely affects maternal and child nutrition, and whether the lack of women’s time in reproductive work leads to poorer nutriti...

by SOPHIE THEIS | On 22 Dec 2015

National Refugee Law for India: Benefits and Roadblocks

This paper intends to ascertain whether a uniform national law would be beneficial to the interests of the three main parties involved with refugee policy in India, namely the Government of India, the...

by Arjun Nair | On 22 Dec 2015

Technology and Innovation Report 2015

Building productive capacities and promoting sustainable industrialization have an important role to play across the spectrum of the integrated 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda reco...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN | On 22 Dec 2015

Benchmarking Inclusive Growth and Development

Rising income inequality is often the cause of social and political unrest and is damaging to our future economic well-being. Yet while it is clear that economic growth must also deliver improvements...

by Margareta Drzeniek | On 21 Dec 2015

How Does ADB Engage Civil Society Organizations in Its Operations? Findings of an Exploratory Inquiry in South Asia

The focus is on South Asia and the starting point of inquiry is on 33 projects that illustrate the roles and forms of NGO and CBO engagement in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The rep...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 21 Dec 2015

Missed Opportunities in Global Health: Identifying New Strategies to Improve Mental Health in LMICs

Countries like South Africa and India are putting new mental health policies in place. There is now a clear agenda of “what to deliver” to make this deplorable reality better, and indeed a nascent adv...

by Victoria Menil | On 19 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

Can basic entrepreneurship transform the economic lives of the poor?

The world’s poorest people lack capital and skills and toil for others in occupations that others shun. Using a large-scale and long-term randomized control trial in Bangladesh this paper demonstrates...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 18 Dec 2015

Transforming the economic lives of the ultra-poor

This brief describes key findings from a rigorous seven-year evaluation of the first of these livelihood programmes, BRAC’s ‘Targeting the Ultra-Poor’ programme in rural Bangladesh. Targeted household...

by Clare Balboni | On 18 Dec 2015

Household-level Effects of Electricity on Income

This paper studies the effect of electricity on income, using the Nepal Living Standards Survey-III (NLSSIII), carried out in the years 2010-11. To account for endogeneity issues, we use Three Stage L...

by Matias Fontenla | On 18 Dec 2015

The Value of Sustainable Protocol to Address Uterine Prolapse in Nepal: Health Camp, Awareness Education, and Employment Strategy

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a global women’s health concern; uterine prolapse (UP), one of the five types of POP, has significant prevalence in Nepal. Studies indicate that over 600,000 women in Ne...

by Sherrie Palm | On 18 Dec 2015

Can Improved Cooking Stoves Work? The Nepal Chulo Experience

What motivates rural households to switch from older cooking methods to newer, more improved, ones? Improved cooking stoves (ICS) technology has demonstrated capacity to reduce health hazards from smo...

by Dipika Gawande | On 18 Dec 2015

Farm Household Typologies and Mechanization Patterns in Nepal Terai

Although Nepal formulated an agricultural mechanization promotion policy in 2014, there is still much to learn about tailoring mechanization policies to different types of farm households. The Terai b...

by | On 18 Dec 2015

National Legal Framework for IDPs in Sri Lanka: A Critical Analysis

This study places special attention on evaluating constitutional provisions that affect IDPs, on legislation pertaining to displacement, and the National Legal Framework for Relief, Rehabilitation, an...

by | On 18 Dec 2015

Urbanisation, rural–urban migration and urban poverty

Rural-urban migration continues to attract much interest, but also growing concern. Migrants are often blamed for increasing urban poverty, but not all migrants are poor. In many cities, however, migr...

by David Satterthwaite | On 17 Dec 2015

Nepal: A Failing State or a State in Transition?

The modest intention of this paper is to question the above assertion that Nepal is a failing state. To this end, it shall firstly outline the broad definition of failing states. Secondly, it will off...

by Oliver Housden | On 17 Dec 2015

In a Weak State: Status and Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) in Nepal

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 21 November 2006, made an unprecedented commitment to those children who had been involved in Nepal’s decade long civil war. It stipulated that those ...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Environments: A Critical Analysis of the UN Approach in Timor-Leste, Liberia and Nepal

This paper looks at possible alternatives to UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions with a view to establishing if there are organizations or other interested parties, which may be more effective...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

China and Myanmar: Strategic Interests, Strategies and the Road Ahead

This research paper is divided into two parts to provide a more complete view of how both countries think in term of their ambitions and the methods they deem important to achieve them. This paper arg...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Sri Lanka: Rising Sectarian Schism

Sri Lanka, home to a plethora of ethnically diverse communities, saw horrific communal bloodshed in July 1983. Over three decades down the line, history seems to be repeating itself as hordes of Budd...

by Chaarvi Modi | On 17 Dec 2015

Why Minimum Wage Increases Are a Poor Way to Help the Working Poor

Minimum wage increases are not a very effective mechanism for reducing poverty. They are not related to decreases in poverty rates. They can cost some low-income workers their jobs. And most minimum w...

by Richard Burkhauser | On 16 Dec 2015

Equate and Conflate: Political Commitment to Hunger and Undernutrition Reduction in Five High-Burden Countries

As political commitment is an essential ingredient for elevating food and nutrition security onto policy agendas, commitment metrics have proliferated. Many conflate government commitment to fight hun...

by Rajith Lakshman | On 16 Dec 2015

MQSUN Determinants of Child Undernutrition in Bangladesh Literature Review

The DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh aims to improve nutrition outcomes for children, mothers and adolescent girls by integrating the delivery of a nu...

by Ahmed F. | On 16 Dec 2015

Financial Inclusion, Education, and Regulation in the Philippines

This paper discusses the current status of financial inclusion, education, and regulation in the Philippines and measures to foster financial inclusion. The primary policy challenge faced by the gover...

by Gilberto M. Llanto | On 15 Dec 2015

A Proposal for an Open University of Nepal for Providing Higher Education to the Rural and Marginalized People

The disadvantaged and marginalized groups in Nepal, and particularly women and Dalits, face grave hurdles to acquire post secondary education. Lack of educational access has deprived the rural and m...

by Pramod Dhakal | On 15 Dec 2015

A Community Based Micro Hydro: A Promising Technology for Rural Development in Nepal

The study finds that micro hydro (MH) has significant impact on reduction in fuel wood consumption. Communities are more inclined to harvest fuel wood from government forest. These led to the promotio...

by Bishwa Koirala | On 15 Dec 2015

The Exposure, Vulnerability, and Ability to Respond of Poor Households to Recurrent Floods in Mumbai

This paper examines poor households in the city of Mumbai and their exposure, vulnerability, and ability to respond to recurrent floods. The paper discusses policy implications for future adaptive cap...

by | On 14 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

An Assessment of BRAC`s Organizational Culture and Values Training

This paper aims to measure the changes in the type and depth of knowledge and understanding on sexual and reproductive health and gender issues, and how they obtained that knowledge. Secondly, changes...

by Md. Abdul Alim | On 11 Dec 2015

Empowering the Poor through Human Rights Litigation

The purpose of this manual is to collaborate with grass-roots organizations, in particular with NGOs, in defining the content of economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) and to empower the ac...

by Maritza Formisano Prada | On 10 Dec 2015

National Strategy Day on India: Delivering Growth in the New Context

The World Economic Forum along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) convened the National Strategy Day on India on 3rd and 4th of November to provide a platform to boost economic growth and...

by | On 09 Dec 2015

Ensuring and Protecting the Land Leasing Right of Poor Women in India

This paper critically examines how lease farming can be a viable livelihood option for landless rural poor, especially women in India. In the absence of land ownership and education, the majority of l...

by | On 08 Dec 2015

Sustainable Urbanization in Asia

Rapid urbanization together with climate change is emerging as the most challenging issue of the twenty-first century. As the region with the highest percentage increase in urban population over the l...

by UN-HABITAT UNHABITAT | On 07 Dec 2015

Vital Stats: Overview of Issues in the Power Sector in India

In the recent past, several initiatives have been taken to address the challenges in the power sector. These include structural changes in the regulatory framework as proposed by the Electricity (Ame...

by Prachee Mishra | On 04 Dec 2015

‘Leave No One Behind’: Gender, Sexuality and the Sustainable Development Goals

If the global commitment to eradicate inequality for all people is truly unequivocal, as leaders claim it to be, the implementation of these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) needs to take into acc...

by | On 03 Dec 2015

A Behaviour-based Approach to the Estimation of Poverty in India

Almost a sixth of the world’s population and a large fraction of its poorest people live in India. Until recently, national poverty estimates were widely criticized because they relied on aggregate pr...

by | On 02 Dec 2015

Book Review: Religious Publishing, Nationalism and the Hindu

Review of The Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India. Harper Collins India, 2015; pp. 552, Rs 527/-

by Sandeep Dubey | On 20 Nov 2015

Regional Trade Openness Index, Income Disparity and Poverty - An Experiment with Indian Data

This study aims to examine how ‘open’ Indian states are with respect to international trade and uses the index of regional openness thus constructed to reflect on several aspects that affect the level...

by | On 19 Nov 2015

Workfare and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from India

The paper examines the effect of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), one of the largest workfare programs in the world, on human capital investment. Since NREGS increases labor...

by | On 16 Nov 2015

Toward Better Global Poverty Measures

While much progress has been made over the last 25 years in measuring global poverty, there are a number of challenges ahead. The paper discusses three sets of problems: (i) how to allow for social...

by Martin Ravallion | On 16 Nov 2015

State Policy for Transgenders in Kerala, 2015

The documents states the Government's policy on Transgenders (TGs) its goals, objectives, approaches, implementation processes and highlights selected area of focus in Kerala' s socio-economic context...

by Social Justice Department Kerala | On 13 Nov 2015

Convergence of Social Security Schemes for Elimination of Child Labour

Child labour is a complex problem rooted in poverty, illiteracy and social inequality. The National Child Labour Policy has identified ‘focusing of general development programmes for benefiting child...

by Helen Sekar | On 10 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

The Operational Plan for Agriculture and Natural Resources: Promoting Sustainable Food Security in Asia and the Pacific in 2015–2020

Agriculture and food security should be viewed in the context of the broader economic transformation in Asia and the Pacific. In particular, the adoption of food security policies that address both im...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Nov 2015

Eradicating Extreme Poverty in Bangladesh: National Strategies and Activities

Although Bangladesh has achieved fairly steady economic growth, as of 2011, almost half of its population still lived in extreme poverty. As a result, the Government of Bangladesh and its development...

by Nayma Qayum | On 09 Nov 2015

Evaluation of Multipurpose Community Learning Centres of BRAC in Rural Areas of Bangladesh

This study aimed to evaluate the Multipurpose Learning Centres or Gonokendros (GK) operated by BRAC jointly with the local community in rural areas of Bangladesh. Two main goals were process evaluatio...

by | On 09 Nov 2015

The Sunday Edit: Deaton, the Development Economist

Angus Deaton’s contributions to economics have been seminal providing development economists with new tools of analysis that have yielded policy-altering insights.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 07 Nov 2015

The Sector Reforms Process in Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation: A Review of the Role of WASMO in Gujarat

This paper provides an assessment of the interventions in reforming the drinking water and sanitation sector in Gujarat as through the Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) from a sup...

by Keshab Das | On 06 Nov 2015

Performance of Targeted Public Distribution System in Kerala

Targeted Public Distribution System was introduced in the country following the failure of the Universal PDS to serve below the poverty line and poorest of the poor households.It is being implemente...

by T Jayan | On 04 Nov 2015

Highlights of Recent IFPRI Food Policy Research in India: Reducing Poverty and Hunger through Food Policy Research

IFPRI and India’s partnership played a particularly important role following the Green Revolution when that partnership analyzed the necessary policies to both promote domestic food production and to...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 03 Nov 2015

Migration for Hard Work: A Reluctant Livelihood Strategy for Poor Households in West Bengal, India

This paper reports some initial findings of a study of how migrants in India and Bangladesh and the household members that stay behind reduce the insecurities they face (including hunger, debt, ill-he...

by | On 02 Nov 2015

Internal Migration, Remittances and Poverty: Evidence from Ghana and India

Drawing on data from population censuses and recent household surveys for India and Ghana, this paper demonstrates the importance of internal migration in comparison to international migration, showin...

by | On 02 Nov 2015

Can We Really Measure Poverty and Identify the Poor When Poverty Encompasses Multiple Deprivations?

The paper argues that both the income/expenditure and nutritional measures of poverty suffer with their own limitations. However, for both conceptual and practical considerations, the income/expenditu...

by | On 30 Oct 2015

How Effective was the ‘Incentive Package’ Piloted in Shahjahanpur, Bogra under ‘Alive and Thrive Programme A Qualitative Assessment

The study aimed to assess the ‘incentive package’ implemented in the study area through the frontline health workers of BRAC. A qualitative research design used in-depth interviews, Informal discussi...

by | On 29 Oct 2015

Quality of Government and the Relationship between Natural Disasters and Child Poverty A Comparative Analysis

This paper explores the degree to which exposure to reoccurring natural disasters of various kinds explains seven dimensions of severe child poverty in 67 middle- and low-income countries. It also ana...

by Adel Daoud | On 28 Oct 2015

Process Evaluation of a Project on Vulnerability Reduction of Women Affected by Climate Change

It is evident that the poor, especially women and children are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because of their limited adaptive capacity. In such circumstances, BRAC Disaster, Envi...

by Tahera Akter | On 26 Oct 2015

Reducing Poverty in India: The Role of Economic Growth

This paper empirically examines the relation between economic growth and poverty alleviation for the case of India. We provide evidence that higher growth rates were associated with faster decline in...

by Pradeep Agrawal | On 26 Oct 2015

Infrastructure in India: Challenges and the Way Ahead

This study compares the levels of development of the social and physical infrastructure in India with those in other major emerging countries as well as developed countries. The study finds that India...

by Pradeep Agrawal | On 26 Oct 2015

The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture: A Case Study from Nepal

In Nepal, as in many developing countries, concerns are increasing about the negative impact of climate change on agricultural yields and food security. The Nepalese have already seen changes in their...

by | On 22 Oct 2015

State Food Provisioning as Social Protection: Debating India’s National Food Security Law

This report provides an overview on the main issues debated during the development and passage of the India’s National Food Security Act (2013), which legally binds national and state governments to e...

by Harsh Mander | On 20 Oct 2015

The Gender Dimensions of Pension Systems: Policies and Constraints for the Protection of Older Women

This paper documents the pervasiveness of women’s lack of income security in old age across a large number of countries, but also points to a number of important policy measures that can be taken to a...

by | On 20 Oct 2015

Post Conflict Face of Poverty and Society: Understanding a Gandhian Initiative against Pauperization and Violence in Mushahari (Muzaffarpur, Bihar)

This is an analytical narrative about post-conflict dynamics of poverty in a block of villages in north Bihar known as ‘the Mushahari Project’. It is related with the socio-economic and political cons...

by Anand Kumar | On 20 Oct 2015

An Exploratory Analysis of Deprivation and Ill-Health led Poverty in Urban India: A Case Study of Delhi

This paper examines the multi-dimensional nature of urban poverty with special emphasis on ill-health led deprivation. As a driver of poverty, ill-health reduces the income earning potential and incre...

by Samik Chowdhury | On 20 Oct 2015

Child Labours in India

Even after a hundred years of child labour legislation and fifty years of independence, child labour is a common occurrence in India. Today, their numbers exceed those of any other country. The urgent...

by | On 19 Oct 2015

Impact of Migration on Poverty and Development

This paper reviews the literature on migration in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, East Africa and West Africa in order to highlight the complexity of migration patterns and impacts. It is...

by Tasneem Siddiqui | On 19 Oct 2015

The Economic Cost of Out-of-School Children in Southeast Asia

This publication is the result of UNESCO Bangkok’s project in cooperation with Educate A Child (EAC) which seeks to eradicate obstacles, both in policy and practice, that would prevent children in Sou...

by Save Children | On 15 Oct 2015

Delivering the Post-2015 Development Agenda

This report looks in depth at the factors within each country that will support or impede implementation. A set of Dialogues has been exploring these factors and are still capturing ideas around these...

by | On 15 Oct 2015

A Voice for the Voiceless: The Role of Community Radio in the Development of the Rural Poor

More than 850 million people in developing countries are excluded from a wide range of information and knowledge, with the rural poor in particular remaining isolated from both traditional media and...

by | On 14 Oct 2015

Investment in Agricultural Marketing and Market Infrastructure – A Case Study of Bihar

Bihar has lowest per capita income amongst the major states of India and high rate of persistent poverty with social structure fragmented based on caste lines. Therefore present study has been underta...

by | On 14 Oct 2015

Measuring Poverty in a Growing World

The extent to which growth reduces global poverty has been disputed for 30 years. A major problem is that consumption measured from household surveys, which is used to measure poverty, grows less rapi...

by Angus Deaton | On 13 Oct 2015

Measuring Poverty

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted in 2000 a set of “Millennium Development Goals” the first of which is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, more specifically to “reduce by half,...

by Angus Deaton | On 13 Oct 2015

Landscaping Women’s Empowerment through Learning and Education in India

India is the world’s second largest country in terms of total inhabitants. Further, out of a total population exceeding one billion, approximately 120 million are women living in poverty. India is one...

by | On 13 Oct 2015

Inequality: Trends, Harms and New Agendas

The paper focuses on within-country inequalities. It discusses in particular how the consequences of inequality are shaped by specific mechanisms that operate at the national, community and individual...

by | On 13 Oct 2015

Policies for a Better-Fed World

A wide range of interventions, from subsidized grains all the way to conditions on nutrition in conditional cash transfers, have either been tried or put in place in different countries in order to fi...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 12 Oct 2015

Panchayats and Household Vulnerability in Rural India

This paper tries to assess the impact of coping strategies on household welfare. The paper tries to identify the components of vulnerability to better focus policy. India, particularly rural India, h...

by Raghbendra Jha | On 12 Oct 2015

Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in Bihar

Improving maternal health has been a great challenge in developing countries like India. This study comprehends women’s perceptions of quality and satisfaction with maternal health care services. It w...

by Aditya Raj | On 12 Oct 2015

Urban Poverty in Asia

This paper on Urban Poverty in Asia looks at the different dimensions of poverty in Asia, both income and nonincome, its two main regions, including a brief account of who and what class of people are...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 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

Achievements of BRAC Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme Towards Millennium Development Goals and Beyond

BRAC WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) programme aims to facilitate, in partnership with the government of Bangladesh and other stakeholders, the attainment of the targets of UN Millennium Developm...

by Nepal C Dey | On 09 Oct 2015

Regional Inequality in Bangladesh in the 2000s: Re-Visiting the East-West Divide Debate

The term “East-West divide” as a way of describing regional disparity in Bangladesh has emerged in the policy discourse only in the 2000s. The administrative divisions belonging to the western part of...

by | On 08 Oct 2015

The State of Food Insecurity in the World Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets: Taking Stock of Uneven Progress

This year’s annual State of Food Insecurity in the World report takes stock of progress made towards achieving the internationally established hunger targets and reflects on what needs to be done, as...

by Food and Agriculture Organization | On 07 Oct 2015

Inside the News: Challenges and Aspirations of Women Journalists in Asia and the Pacific

Why does gender equality in the media matter? Because of the many influences that shape the way we see men and women, media are among the most powerful. Media shape our daily lives, infusing their mes...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 07 Oct 2015

Why We Should Pay Attention to the Middle Class

The middle class plays a critical role in the development of a country. It is not only expected to create employment as business start-ups but also to boost investment and production as consumers. Thi...

by Martin Joseph M. Raymundo | On 07 Oct 2015

Now for the Reality Play

What the government needs to do, perhaps, is to spell out an action agenda for the next four months, in the run-up to the 2016 Budget.

by T.N. Ninan | On 02 Oct 2015

Strategies for Tobacco Control in India: A Systematic Review

Tobacco control needs in India are large and complex. Evaluation of outcomes to date has been limited. The aim of this paper is to review the extent of tobacco control measures, and the outcomes of as...

by | On 30 Sep 2015

Rural Poverty Reduction Strategy for South Asia

Roughly 40 percent of the world’s poor live in South Asia, where poverty is basically a rural problem. Therefore, a significant gain in rural poverty reduction in this sub-region will be crucial to re...

by | On 30 Sep 2015

Poverty and Social Protection in Urban India

This paper, highlights the need for provisioning adequate social protection coverage to the vulnerable sections of population in urban India, assesses the role of the TPDS in reaching out to the depri...

by R. Radhakrishna | On 28 Sep 2015

Role and Effectiveness of Public Distribution System in Assuring Food Security in India: An Appraisal

This paper tries to identify food insecure population of the country, analyse the availability, storage, procurement of food grain , assess the effectiveness of PDS, identify the discrepancies in the...

by Ishita Aditya Ray | On 28 Sep 2015

Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. It recognises that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions...

by United Nations UN | On 28 Sep 2015

REDD+ Impacts: Evidence from Nepal

This paper discusses the findings from one of the first rigorous quasi-experimental studies using a ‘before-after-control intervention’ design that encompass all major aspects of REDD+: forest carbon...

by Bishnu Prasad Sharma | On 25 Sep 2015

Health Shocks and Inter-Generational Transmission of Inequality

This study explores the inter-generational effects of health shocks using longitudinal data of Young Lives project conducted in the southern state of India, Andhra Pradesh for two cohorts of children...

by Sowmya Dhanaraj | On 25 Sep 2015

Leveraging Urbanization in South Asia

Urbanization provides South Asian countries with the potential to transform their economies to join the ranks of richer nations in both prosperity and livability, but a new World Bank report finds the...

by World Bank | On 25 Sep 2015

Internal Remittances and Poverty: Further Evidence from Africa and Asia

Despite the fact that the number of internal migrants globally is at least 740 million, nearly four times the number of international migrants, there is hardly any discussion on internal remittances a...

by | On 25 Sep 2015

Working towards Sustainable Development: Opportunities for decent work and social inclusion in a green economy

A green economy is necessary if sustainable development is to be realized. However, as this report emphasizes, a green economy can also, if accompanied by the right policy mix, create more and better...

by | On 25 Sep 2015

The Challenge of Slums - Global Report on Human Settlements 2003

The Challenge of Slums presents the first global assessment of slums, emphasizing their problems and prospects. It presents estimates of the numbers of urban slum dwellers and examines the factors tha...

by United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat | On 23 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

Does Democracy promote Social Capital? Evidence from Bhutan

Bhutan is one of the youngest democratic countries in the world. The constitution of Bhutan was formally signed on July 18, 2008 by the fifth King of Bhutan, elected members of Parliament, and the Chi...

by | On 21 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

Do Consumer Price Subsidies Really Improve Nutrition?

In this paper results are analysed from a field experiment exploring the response of poor households in China to food price subsidies. Many developing countries use food price subsidies or price cont...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

The Percolation of Public Expenditure: Food Subsidies and the Poor in India and Philippines

This paper measures the percolation of food subsidy expenditures to the poor. The paper proposes a metric that takes into account the depth and width of income transfer. The metric is applied to food...

by Shikha Jha | On 18 Sep 2015

Reducing all Forms of Child Poverty: The Need for Comprehensive Measurement

Despite widespread investments in child poverty reduction, the way in which child poverty is measured presents a narrow and partial picture. Current practice is still biased towards measuring static a...

by | On 17 Sep 2015

The Elephant in the Dark: Finding Ways to End India’s Hunger and Malnutrition

This paper tries to map some of the major debates exploring the 'elephant‘ of India‘s failure to end hunger and malnutrition. The authors identify five main hurdles towards addressing the issue of hun...

by | On 17 Sep 2015

Agricultural Diversification and Poverty in India

As stress on Indian agriculture increases because of several reasons, such as continuous fragmentation of landholdings and climate change, there is a serious threat to livelihood based on farming. Thi...

by Digvijay S. Negi | On 17 Sep 2015

Social Protection, Growth and Employment: Evidence from India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico and Tajikistan

The paper addresses the issue of growth and development by looking at evidence from six country case studies to assess how to enhance the employment impact of social protection programmes by improving...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 16 Sep 2015

Strengthening Existing Systems for Prevention of Child Marriage: Investing in a Model with Potential to Affect Reduction in Child Marriage

Child marriage can be prevented and children protected by activating the mandated government structures. A two-pronged approach – working with specific community groups, as well as with representativ...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 14 Sep 2015

Addressing the Employment Challenge: India's MGNREGA

This paper examines, in particular, the effects of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) programme on employment, wages and incomes of the rural poor. It also considers its effect on...

by | On 14 Sep 2015

Are the World’s Poorest Being Left Behind? Reconciling Conflicting Views on Poverty and Growth

Traditional assessments of progress against poverty put no explicit weight on increasing the standard of living of the poorest—raising the consumption floor. Yet this is often emphasized by policy mak...

by Martin Ravallion | On 14 Sep 2015

Decentralized Local Governance and Citizen Participation in South Asia

This paper encompasses two major themes - local governance and citizens' participation in five neighbouring countries in South Asia, their trials, achievements and failures. Whether their experiences...

by | 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

Dalit Women and Social Exclusion in Nepal: A Concern for Social Justice

Nepali society is highly stratified with many glaring inequalities among different socioeconomic groups. The worst positioned among them are Dalits. The caste system segregates Dalits from the rest to...

by | On 10 Sep 2015

Sanitation in Maharashtra: A Policy Note

More than half of Rural Maharashtra defecates in the open. The main issue to understand is the nexus between the access to water and adoption of sanitation practices. It is also interesting to underst...

by Parliamentarian's Group for Children PGC | On 09 Sep 2015

Organising Rural Labour Process and Experiences, Vol. 2

Problems and challenges faced by the rural labour in India are many both in terms of their magnitude and impact on the rural economy in general and rural labourers in particular. The magnitude and the...

by | On 09 Sep 2015

Organising Rural Labour: Process and Experiences, Vol. 1

Problems and challenges faced by the rural labour in India are many both in terms of their magnitude and impact on the rural economy in general and rural labourers in particular. The magnitude and the...

by | On 09 Sep 2015

Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition: A Survival and Development Priority

This report contains nutrition profiles for 24 countries. This report shows that an estimated 195 million children under age 5 in developing countries suffer from stunting, a consequence of chronic nu...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 08 Sep 2015

How Inclusive has Growth been in India during 1993/94-2009/10? Implications for XII Plan Strategy

India’s Eleventh (2007-2011/12) and the Twelfth Five-Year Plans (2012/13-2017/18) have emerged as being distinct from the earlier Five-Year Plans in so far as these Plans had the goal of inclusiveness...

by | On 08 Sep 2015

A Nation under Threat: The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Rights and Forced Migration in Bangladesh

The report explores how climate change has become one of the major challenges to the enjoyment of the basic rights to life, food, health, water, housing and self-determination in one of the World's mo...

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 08 Sep 2015

Driving Across the South Asian Borders: The Motor Vehicle Agreement Between Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal

The benefits of strengthening physical connectivity in a geographically contiguous region are increasingly being recognised. These links are expected to increase economic activity and people-to-people...

by Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury | On 07 Sep 2015

Civil Society Briefs: Sri Lanka

This brief provides an overview of civil society in Sri Lanka. With a view to strengthening ADB cooperation with civil society organizations, the NGO and Civil Society Center periodically prepares rep...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Sep 2015

Civil Society Briefs: Myanmar

This brief provides an overview of civil society in Myanmar. With a view to strengthening ADB cooperation with civil society organizations, the NGO and Civil Society Center periodically prepares repor...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Sep 2015

Issues in Employment and Poverty

The paper analyses the nexus between growth, employment and poverty and points out situations where high economic growth may fail to bring about a commensurate rate of poverty reduction if simultaneo...

by | On 02 Sep 2015

Gender Dimensions of Agricultural and Rural Employment: Differentiated Pathways out of Poverty

This paper examines the links between gender equality and rural employment for poverty reduction by constructing a gender analytical framework to interpret differentiated patterns and conditions of wo...

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 02 Sep 2015

Gender, Poverty, and Inequality: A Brief History of Feminist Contributions in the Field of International Development

This paper provides a brief history of feminist contributions to the analysis of gender, poverty, and inequality in the field of international development. It draws out the continuous threads running...

by Naila Kabeer | On 01 Sep 2015

Public Views Of Health System Issues In Four Asian Countries

To elicit the public’s views on health system issues, the study conducted an opinion poll survey in Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The study focused on health inequalities. The results sh...

by Bhatia Mrigesh | On 01 Sep 2015

Needs vs Expediency - Poverty Reduction and Social Development in Post-Conflict Countries

Conflict depletes all forms of human and social capital, as well as supporting institutions. The scale of the human damage can overwhelm public action, as there are many competing priorities and resou...

by Tony Addison | On 01 Sep 2015

Internal Migration and the Development Nexus: The Case of Bangladesh

Over the last decade, the landscape of Bangladesh has changed remarkably. Persistent mobility of people questions existing development strategies, which are largely based on sectoral approaches that...

by Rita Afsar | On 31 Aug 2015

Addressing Urban Poverty: Relevance of Conditional Cash Transfers

This paper from a two-day conference in New Delhi explores the relevance of CCTs in addressing entrenched issues of urban poverty even as across Asia there remain few social protection measures that p...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 31 Aug 2015

Poverty Eradication in India by 2015

This paper highlights a strategic framework to eradicate rural poverty by 2015 with the rural household as the central unit. It is based on the premise that the livelihoods of rural households depend...

by Ministry of Rural Development Government of India | On 31 Aug 2015

From Promises to Delivery: Putting Human Rights at the Heart of the Millenium Development Goals

This report focuses on three main issues – gender equality, maternal health and slums – which provide clear examples of how the MDGs and the targets set fall short of international human rights standa...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Employment and Inequality Outcomes in India

The report takes into account present scenario of urban poverty in India. Incidence of urban poverty can be attributed to lack of development as also to the nature and pattern of development. Importa...

by | On 25 Aug 2015

Curbing Militancy: Regulating Pakistan's Madrassas

Thousands of madrassas in Pakistan remain completely unregulated by the government and their sources of funding unknown while many more thousands offer an education to their students with bleak employ...

by | On 25 Aug 2015

Greening Rural Development in India

Poverty reduction and economic growth can be sustained only if natural resources are managed on a sustainable basis. Greening rural development can stimulate rural economies, create jobs and help main...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 24 Aug 2015

Strategies for Building Livelihoods for the Poorest of the Poor

Building livelihoods and assets for the poorest of poor (PoP) has been an area of serious concern for development practitioners the world over. This is an even bigger challenge for India as the poores...

by Ranu Bhogal | On 24 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

Analysis of Fish Consumption and Poverty in Bangladesh

Aquaculture has grown in leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades in Bangladesh. This is welcomed by most as increasing fish production is expected to contribute to enhancing food security in a...

by Kazi Ali Toufique | 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

How Migration into Urban Construction Work Impacts on Rural Households in Nepal

The research draws on interviews with rural-urban migrant construction workers in Kathmandu as well as with families of construction workers, other migrant labourers and non-migrants in two contrastin...

by | On 21 Aug 2015

Poverty Reduction in China and India: Policy Implications of Recent Trends

This paper compares the experience of poverty reduction in China and India. It finds that more than economic growth per se, what has mattered crucially is the nature of the growth: whether it is assoc...

by Jayati Ghosh | On 21 Aug 2015

Are Community Forestry Institutions Appropriate for Implementing REDD+? Lessons from Nepal

This paper examines the role of national and sub-national institutions in managing carbon sequestration and trade in Nepal. It first asks whether it is feasible and advantageous to implement REDD+ in...

by Bishnu Prasad Sharma | On 20 Aug 2015

Demand for Watershed Services: Understanding Local Preferences through a Choice Experiment in the Koshi Basin of Nepal

This study undertakes a choice experiment in order to identify differences in local demand for watershed services in the Koshi basin of Nepal. The paper first examines the possibility of using a non-m...

by Rajesh Kumar Rai | On 20 Aug 2015

Classroom Process, Teacher Ability and Student Performance: Evidence from School based Component of Young Lives in Undivided Andhra Pradesh

This study attempts to examine children's attitude to school and their experience of school, performance of children, mathematical ability of teachers and classroom process, as all these have bearing...

by | On 19 Aug 2015

Social and Cultural Development in the Development Triangle (CLV) and the Role of ASEAN in This Area

In a period not longer than 10 years (2002 – to present), 13 provinces at the common border of Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV Development Triangle) have cooperated for common development and achieved a lo...

by Hoang Thi My Nhi | On 19 Aug 2015

WTO and Nepal

This publication attempts to study major concepts of WTO and present some perspectives on Nepal’s membership in this rule based global trading organization. The chapters presents an introduction with...

by Nepal Rastra Bank NRB | On 17 Aug 2015

Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Growth in Nepal

The concern of climate change have emphasized in the field of economics too owing to the challenge of adapting to global warming for sustainable development and growth. This challenge becomes central...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

Impact of Bank Credit on Economic Growth in Nepal

This study examines the impact of commercial bank credit to the private sector on the economic growth in Nepal from supply side perspectives. The study has applied Johansen co-integration approach and...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

Structural Changes in a Small and Open Economy: Evidences from Nepal

This paper reviews existing structural transformation models and prominent literatures and then empirically examines Nepalese economic structure. The research findings reveal that industrial sector is...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

The changing nature of jobs - World Employment and Social Outlook 2015

The International Labour Organization reports on the increasingly insecure nature of job tenures worldwide. The World Employment and Social Outlook 2015 finds that, among countries with available data...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

Report of the Steering Committee on Rapid Poverty Reduction and Local Area Development (2007-2012)

This report of the steering committee on rapid poverty reduction and local area development for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012). The first section attempts to examine the data on the poor, the...

by Planning Commission, India | On 14 Aug 2015

Criminalizing Cheque Bounce Cases – An Effective Remedy?

A review is done to understand if criminalising cheque bounce cases has been an effective remedy. The penalties imposed in other countries against cheque bounce offenders is studied and an analysis of...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 14 Aug 2015

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation

This report examines changes in the lives of rural households and in the rural economy against the backdrop of changes brought about by the programme. This research report addresses such challenging q...

by Sonalde Desai | On 13 Aug 2015

Social Enterprises and Employment: Mainstreaming SMEs and Employment Creation

This paper argues that mainstreaming SMEs and SE into various international treaties will require the assumption of positive externalities which markets cannot fully evaluate. To show this, the possib...

by Leonardo Lanzona | On 12 Aug 2015

Results from the Perception and Attitudes Towards Ageing and Seniors Survey ( 2013/2014)

In this paper the results are documented which derived from the Perception and Attitudes towards Ageing and seniors (PATAS) survey completed in early 2014. These results delve into respondents beliefs...

by Mathew Mathews | On 11 Aug 2015

Place of Poor in Urban Space

Through a case study of Mumbai city and LC resettlement colony, this paper highlights the tribulations of the poor in urban space. The experiences of recurring and multiple marginalities and vulnerabi...

by Manish K Jha | On 11 Aug 2015

Reaching Every Child for Primary Immunization: An Experience from Parsa District, Nepal

This document describes the activities and achievements of an effective approach used in Nepal to involve community leaders and local health workers, volunteers, and organizations in tracking children...

by Hari Krishna Shah | On 06 Aug 2015

Measuring and Explaining Subjective Well-being in Korea

Subjective well-being has attracted sharply increasing attention among researchers and policy makers in recent years. The public also pays a lot of attention to it, evidenced by the heavy use of the w...

by | On 06 Aug 2015

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015

The MDG Report 2015 found that the 15-year effort to achieve the eight aspirational goals set out in the Millennium Declaration in 2000 was largely successful across the globe, while acknowledging sho...

by United Nations UN | On 05 Aug 2015

Globalizing Inequality: ‘Centrifugal’ and ‘Centripetal’ Forces at Work

Th is paper reassesses national income inequalities in this era of globalization. Th e main conclusion is that two opposite forces are at work: one ‘centrifugal’ at the two extremes of the distributio...

by | On 30 Jul 2015

The Environments of the Poor in South Asia: Simultaneously Reducing Poverty, Protecting the Environment, and Adapting to Climate Change

Poverty and environmental factors are interlinked and hold crucial importance for economic development. The poor depend so much on their natural resource base and primary production sources that the d...

by | On 30 Jul 2015

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

This Policy note on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is central to the attainment of the overarching goal of enabling poor rural women and men to improve their food security and nutrition, rais...

by International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD | On 29 Jul 2015

The Income Mobility in Rural India: Evidence From ARIS/ REDS Surveys

Economic mobility is a significant consequence of income inequality and growth. In this paper, authors have used a unique ARIS/ REDS surveys data set for rural India spanning three decades to determin...

by Kailash Chandra Pradhan | On 21 Jul 2015

The State of Social Safety Nets, 2015

This report documents the state of the social safety net agenda in low- and middle-income countries. In recent years, a true policy revolution has been under way. Th e statistics in this report captur...

by World Bank | On 20 Jul 2015

Recession and Child Labor: A Theoretical Analysis

Child labor (CL) has been a major concern for the developing world, especially for India with its goal towards ‘inclusive growth’. However, impact (or vulnerabilities) of major domestic or external sp...

by Sahana Roy Chowdhury | On 16 Jul 2015

Child Work and Schooling in Pakistan - To What Extent Poverty and Other Demographic and Parental Background Matter?

In this study an attempt has been made to disentangle the child employment and schooling tradeoff with perspective to understand the effect of income deprivation measures and other non-income factors...

by Saman Nazir | On 15 Jul 2015

International Public Health Hazards: Indian Legislative Provisions

"International public health hazards: Indian legislative provisions" presents an outline of the provisions in the Indian legal system which may enable the implementation of IHR in the country. Interna...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 15 Jul 2015

Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water

In 2000 the Member States of the United Nations signed the Millennium Declaration, which later gave rise to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Goal 7, to ensure environmental sustainability,...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 15 Jul 2015

Regional Balanced Urbanization for Inclusive Cities Development: Urban–Rural Poverty Linkages in Secondary Cities Development in Southeast Asia

The impact of urbanization on growth and equality, and on urban and rural poverty are well-documented but do not discuss alternative models of urbanization. While the relationship between urbanizat...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 13 Jul 2015

Safeguard Implementation: How Can We Make It More Meaningful?

The report presents the (i) safeguard systems of Bhutan, India and Nepal; (ii) differences in national safeguard laws and institutional processes with the Asian Development Bank’s safeguards policy; (...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 13 Jul 2015

Urbanisation and Urban Poverty: A Gender Analysis

Urbanisation and urban growth have accelerated in many developing countries in the past few years. While natural population growth has been the major contributor to urbanisation, rural-urban migration...

by Rachel Masika | On 10 Jul 2015

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015

The data and analysis presented in this report prove that, with targeted interventions, sound strategies, adequate resources and political will, even the poorest countries can make dramatic and unpre...

by United Nations UN | On 08 Jul 2015

Nepal Earthquake 2015: Post Disaster Needs Assessment - Executive Summary

The Government of Nepal officially launched a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to determine the impacts of the devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015 and a series of aftershocks since, includin...

by National planning commission Government of Nepal | On 07 Jul 2015

Agricultural Credit and its Impact on Farm Productivity: A Case Study of Kailali District

This study was carried out by Banking Development and Research Unit of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dhangadhi Office. The study aims at exploring the problems related to the procurement and use of agricultural...

by Nepal Rastra Bank NRB | On 26 Jun 2015

Comprehensive Review of the Land Act of Bhutan, 2007 for Revision

The need for revision of the 1979 land legislation was being felt for a long time and hence the then Ministry of Agriculture started the work on it with the formation of a multi-sector committee in 20...

by Dasho Kinzang Dorji | On 26 Jun 2015

Policy Issues on Street Vending: An Overview of Studies in Thailand, Cambodia and Mongolia

Street vending and urban space for micro enterprises constitute an important policy theme that needs to be advanced further in development literature and policy. In many countries, urban space tends t...

by Kyoko Kusakabe | On 24 Jun 2015

The Risk of Disaster-Induced Displacement in South Asia

This technical paper provides evidence-based estimates of the likelihood of disaster-induced displacement in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It att...

by Justin Ginnetti | On 24 Jun 2015

Improving Children’s Lives, Transforming the Future – 25 years of Child Rights in South Asia

Despite rapid economic growth in South Asia, strong inequalities persist and children pay a heavy price. This publication examines latest trends and data on children in the eight countries of the regi...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 24 Jun 2015

Progress for Children beyond Averages: Learning from the MDGS

A child’s chance to survive and thrive is much greater in 2015 than it was when the global community committed to the MDGs in 2000. Data show significant progress in areas such as child survival, nutr...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 24 Jun 2015

Does Migration for Domestic Work Reduce Poverty? A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Research

This review of the published academic literature on internal and regional migration for domestic work shows a dearth of studies on internal migration for domestic work in South Asia. The existing lite...

by Priya Deshingkar | On 23 Jun 2015

Street Vending in Ten Cities in India

For most street vendors, trading from the pavements is full of uncertainties. They are constantly harassed by the authorities. The local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of these...

by Sharit Bhowmik | On 22 Jun 2015

Does Higher Economic Growth Reduce Poverty and Increase Inequality? Evidence from Urban India

This paper calculates select urban inequality and poverty indices and finds out their policy linkages. In addition, the determinants of urban poverty and inequality are estimated by using data of 52 l...

by | On 22 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

Building a Sustainable Agricultural Trade Security System for Kerala

The present Report offers suggestions for the consideration of the Government of India, based on the UN Millennium Goals for Poverty Eradication, as well as on the principle that trade should strength...

by | On 17 Jun 2015

Minorities and Inclusive Electoral Processes in South Asia

This overview brings together major findings and crosscutting issues in the “country situation reports” from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively, which were commissioned b...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 15 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

Child Labour & Educational Disadvantage – Breaking the Link, Building Opportunity

Compulsory education has a vital role to play in eradicating child labour. Getting children out of work and into school could provide an impetus for poverty reduction and the development of skills nee...

by Gordon Brown | On 12 Jun 2015

When the Kerala Model of Development is Historicised: A Chronological Perspective

It is proposed in this study that the development experience in Kerala has resulted ultimately in weakening the material basis of public action. On limited evidence it is pointed out that the poor in...

by P.K.Michael Tharakan | On 10 Jun 2015

Financing Healthcare for All in India: Towards a Common Goal

India continues to have among the lowest public health budgets in the world at just over 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it gets reflected in the performance of the public healthcare delivery s...

by Oommen C. Kurian | On 08 Jun 2015

The Economics of Peace: A Nepalese Perspective

Understanding the importance of peace has been accorded high priority in many religions, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. In recent years, many economists have realized the monetary va...

by Hari Bansh Jha | On 05 Jun 2015

Universal Food Security Program and Nutritional Intake: Evidence from the Hunger Prone KBK Districts in Odisha

This article provides evidence on the role of consumer food subsidies in improving nutritional intake and diet quality by evaluating the expansion of the government food assistance program coverage i...

by Andaleeb Rahman | On 05 Jun 2015

Nepal's Continuing Quest for Federalism and Peace

Nepal is currently experiencing perhaps one of the most turbulent phases in its contemporary political history. In 2008, the 240-year-old institution of monarchy—for long seen as a symbol of unity, in...

by Akanshya Shah | On 05 Jun 2015

Women and Work in South Asia: Changes and Challenges

This paper examines a number of questions that have a bearing on women’s employment in South Asia. The characteristic features of the region such as the predominantly rural, agrarian economy; patriarc...

by | On 04 Jun 2015

Flawed Urban Development Policies in Pakistan

History and civilisation move in cities. All major scientific, social, political, economic and technological innovations have happened in human agglomerations known as cities. Great civilisations and...

by | On 04 Jun 2015

Analysis of Trends in India’s Agricultural Growth

The present study discusses the trends and patterns in agricultural growth at the national and sub-national levels in India. Data on important variables like area, production, input use and value of o...

by Elumalai Kannan | On 04 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

“They Say We’re Dirty” Denying an Education to India’s Marginalized

In 2009, India enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which provides for free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 based on principles of equity and non-d...

by Human Rights Watch | On 02 Jun 2015

Fourteenth Report on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Empowerment of Women in Rural Areas

The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides for the enhancement of livelihood security of the...

by Committee on Empowerment of Women GOI | On 01 Jun 2015

Report of the Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly on WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021

This provides guidance on the draft action plan for better health to disable people. There are more than 1000 million people with disability worldwide, about 15% of the global population. The prevalen...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 01 Jun 2015

A Methodology for Community Mapping of Natural Resources: Forests and Revenue land in Bargarh District of Odisha

International experiences show significant opportunities in using GIS technologies and participatory methods to map community natural resource uses. In India, this has as far as is known only been don...

by Patrik Oskarsson | On 01 Jun 2015

Report of Sub-Group IV on Forestry Institutional and Technology Management

Working Group on Forestry and Sustainable Natural Resource Management has the mandate to identify thrust areas for an enabling environment for forestry sector and to make recommendations for policy in...

by | On 22 May 2015

Abuse, Poverty and Migration: Investigating Migrants' Motivations to Leave Home in Burma

International reporting of the large-scale migration of those leaving Burma in search of work abroad has highlighted the perils for migrant during travel and in host countries. However, there has been...

by | On 18 May 2015

Born Equal - how Reducing Inequality Could Give Our Children a Better Future

This report looks at how, despite major strides made towards poverty reduction and towards achieving the MDGs, increasing inequality in many countries in the last two decades has hampered greater prog...

by | On 14 May 2015

ASEAN and Conflict Management: The Need for a High Council

This year the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will formally establish the ASEAN Community, which is set to enhance regional community building among its member states. Ramses Amer makes...

by | On 13 May 2015

YOJANA Volume 58, Issue 1- January 2014

The January 2014 issue of YOJANA contains the following articles - Tribal and Marginalized Communities, Constitutional Provisions, Laws and Tribes, Actualising Adivasi Self-Rule, The Food Bill, Wild F...

by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting MIB | On 11 May 2015

Indonesia - Nutrition at a Glance

Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half (45 percent) of all deaths in children under five. Children who are undernourished between conception and age two are at high risk for impaired cognitive de...

by World Bank | On 11 May 2015

Understanding Poverty in India

Inclusive growth needs to be achieved to reduce poverty and other disparities and raise economic growth. This book develops a poverty profile for India in view of the ongoing national and global effor...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 08 May 2015

Potential and Prospects for Philanthropy in Implementing Post-2015 Development Goals

This paper outlines the changing profile of philanthropists and developments in philanthropic practice, and suggests how philanthropy can be harnessed for sustainable development beyond 2015. Along...

by Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute | On 07 May 2015

Socio-economic Impact of Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 which is a rights-based flagship scheme of the Government of India with effect from 2 February, 2006, guarantees at least 100...

by | On 06 May 2015

Millennium Development Goals India Country Report 2011

The papers objective is to provide statistical evidences in terms of measures of the outcome indicators of the MDG framework as could be available for the most current years have been used in this rep...

by Ministry of Statistics and Prog Implementation (MOSPI) | On 29 Apr 2015

Book Review: Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development

Review of Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development ed. Aparna Sundar and Nandini Sundar. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2014. pp. 273. Rs. 850/-, ISBN: 9789351500407.

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 28 Apr 2015

MGNREGA and Empowerment of Women in Rural Areas by Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women (2011-12), Fourteenth Report

The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides for the enhancement of livelihood security of the...

by Committee on Empowerment of Women GOI | On 28 Apr 2015

Report of the Expert Group to Recommend the Detailed Methodology for Identification of Families Living Below Poverty Line in the Urban Areas

The paper focuses on the objective of putting in place a uniform criteria to identify the BPL households in urban areas so that objectivity and transparency is ensured in delivery of benefits to the t...

by Planning Commission | On 27 Apr 2015

SAARC Development Goals: India Country Report 2013

SAARC Development Goals are regionalized from of Millennium Development Goals, with some additional targets and indicators, for the period of five years, 2007-12. The Third SAARC Ministerial Meeting o...

by | On 24 Apr 2015

Report of the Committee for Evolving a Composite Development Index of States

This report however, also takes a step forward in trying to draw a balance between “needs” and “performance”. Given that poor administration or weak institutions in a recipient state can fritter away...

by Ministry of Finance | On 23 Apr 2015

Is Long-Term Food Insecurity Inevitable in Asia

This article questions two widely accepted claims on long-term food insecurity in Asia, the world's (heterogeneous) region with the largest number of undernourished individuals. The first claim is tha...

by | On 23 Apr 2015

Millennium Development goals India Country Report- 2015

This report entitled "Millennium Development Goals India Country Report 2015", which is the latest in a series of such reports since 2005, captures India's achievements and challenges in respect of th...

by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementatio GOI | On 21 Apr 2015

National Agroforestry Policy - 2014

The National Agroforestry Policy, which deals with the practice of integrating trees, crops and livestock on the same plot of land, was launched February 10, the first day of the World Congress on Agr...

by | On 21 Apr 2015

The Internet and State Intervention in Asia: A Comparative Study of Selected Countries

In context of contemporary debates about censorship, net neutrality and the role of the state in today’s globalising world, it becomes vital to examine the stand taken by various Asian governments tow...

by Nandini Bhattacharya | On 17 Apr 2015

Towards a Water and Food Secure Future

The aim of this paper is to provide policy-makers with a helpful overview of the technical and economic aspects of water use in agriculture, with particular emphasis on crop and livestock production....

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 15 Apr 2015

The ASEAN Economic Community: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects

Serious efforts at economic integration among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members started only in 1992. Initial obstacles included the widespread pursuit of import substitution...

by Siow Yue Chia | On 14 Apr 2015

The State of Food Insecurity in the World Economic Growth is Necessary but not Sufcient to Accelerate Reduction of Hunger and Malnutrition

This report provides evidence that poor, hungry and malnourished people use some of their additional income either to produce or purchase more food, aiming to increase their dietary energy intake and...

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 09 Apr 2015

Water for a Sustainable World

The 2015 World Water Development Report sets both an aspirational and a realistic vision for the future of water towards 2050. This report comes at a critical moment, when freshwater resources face ri...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 27 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

Fiscal Federalism: Opportunities and Challenges for Nepal

There has been a furious debate by political parties and intellectuals alike in Nepal on making the transition to federal system of governance. The attempt to evolve a federal constitution has stumble...

by | On 26 Mar 2015

On Government-Industry Nexus and Indigenous Armed Resistance

This paper proposes a simple game-theoretic framework for analyzing the relationship between the government, industry and indigenous community, especially in the context of mounting violence surroundi...

by Soumyanetra Munshi | On 23 Mar 2015

India and the MDGs: Towards a Sustainable Future for All

India has made notable progress in achieving poverty reduction and other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since their adoption at the turn of the century but this progress has been uneven and milli...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 19 Mar 2015

Why Neglected Tropical Diseases Matter in Reducing Poverty

This working paper, part of ODI's Development Progress project, looks at the relationship between neglected tropical diseases and poverty. With a view towards progress in development, the paper identi...

by Fiona Samuels | On 13 Mar 2015

The Fiscal and Welfare Impacts of Reforming Fuel Subsidies in India

This paper evaluates the fiscal and welfare implications of fuel subsidy reform in India. Fuel subsidies are found to be badly targeted, with the richest ten percent of households receiving seven time...

by | On 11 Mar 2015

Are Schools Safe and Equal Places for Girls and Boys in Asia?

Research findings point to the need for focusing on gender equality in education and the need for a multi-level approach addressing barriers at the individual, community, school and policy levels if...

by | On 11 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

Budget for the Rich to get Richer and throw Crumbs to the Poor

A substantial part of the 2015 Budget Statement is interspersed with the promise that ‘every rupee of public expenditure…will contribute to the betterment of people’s lives through job creation, pover...

by Gautam Mody | On 03 Mar 2015

Cleanliness and Sanitation: Underlying Constraints in India

Open defecation and improper garbage disposal are a reality of public spaces in India, not just due to poverty or a lack of initiative on the government, but social acceptance of attitudes which disr...

by Poorva Awasthi | On 24 Feb 2015

Budgeting for Improved Nutritional Status of Tribal Children through the Tribal Sub Plan Strategy

Nutritional deprivation is the highest among tribal children in india. However, fiscal policy strategy to improve nutritional status for this section of the population depends a lot on the implementat...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 20 Feb 2015

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin 363-364 (Jan/Feb 2015)

This special issue on mental health was put together for the Annual Meet of the Medico Friend Circle at Pune. Contents - Power to Label: the Social Construction of Madness by Prateeksha Sharma (1); T...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 18 Feb 2015

The Impacts of Infrastructure in Development: A Selective Survey

Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development. Yet, two issues remain to be addressed in the literature. First, whi...

by Yasuyuki Sawada | On 16 Feb 2015

Delhi Human Development Report 2013: Improving Lives, Promoting Inclusion

The Delhi Human Development Report, 2013, has been structured around the theme ‘Improving Lives, Promoting Inclusion’. This theme encompasses all the fundamental concerns of human development that is,...

by | On 05 Feb 2015

21st Century Aid: Recognising Success and Tackling Failure

This report examines the evidence on aid, and finds that while aid alone cannot solve the deprivation experienced by people living in poverty or redress the extreme imbalance of wealth that characteri...

by Oxfam International | On 03 Feb 2015

21st Century Aid: Recognising Success and Tackling Failure

This report examines the evidence on aid, and finds that while aid alone cannot solve the deprivation experienced by people living in poverty or redress the extreme imbalance of wealth that characteri...

by Oxfam International | On 03 Feb 2015

Parliament’s Role in Financial Oversight

This note presents an analysis of Parliament’s role of financial oversight and examines how to strengthen it. It highlights gaps and solutions to improve the existing structures affecting budgetary an...

by Apoorva Shankar | On 30 Jan 2015

A Post-2015 World Fit for Children

This issue brief outlines a roadmap for human progress over the next 15 years. Known as the Sustainable Development Goals, these new global targets will drive investment and action in virtually every...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 20 Jan 2015

Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour

A better understanding of the socio-economic root causes and a new assessment of the profits of forced labour are important to bringing about long-term change. This report highlights how forced labour...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 19 Jan 2015

Malnutrition in South-Asia: Poverty, Diet or Lack of Female Empowerment?

Despite economic growth, and a reduction in poverty, malnutrition is still rampant in South-Asia. This indicates that non-economic factors are important, and it used a nation-wide survey from Nepal to...

by | On 13 Jan 2015

Report of the High Level Committee on Socioeconomic, Health and Educational Status of Tribal Communities of India

In keeping with the special status accorded to Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the constitution of India, the Union Government has affirmed its commitment to improving their socio-economic status and has ta...

by | On 29 Dec 2014

Trade Liberalization, Poverty and Food Security in India

This paper attempts to assess the impact of trade liberalization on growth, poverty, and food security in India with the help of a national level computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. It shows t...

by | On 29 Dec 2014

Review of Healthcare in India

The political economy of health care services in India has various dimensions. Multiple systems, various types of ownership patterns and different kinds of delivery structures make up a complex plural...

by Dr. Leena Gangolli | On 26 Dec 2014

Nutritional Intake in India, 2011-12

This report is based on information collected during 2011-12 from 7469 villages and 5268 urban blocks spread over the entire country. Two different schedules were used to collect information on cons...

by National Sample Survey Office NSSO | On 23 Dec 2014

Urban Governance in Bangladesh: The Post-Independence Scenario

Urbanization worldwide has been found to be an effective engine of economic growth and socio-cultural development. In pure economic terms, urbanization contributes significantly to the national econ...

by | On 17 Dec 2014

Counting the Poor: Measurement and Other Issues

This paper first presents approach of Expert Group (Rangarajan). The clarifications are given under the following heads: (1) what is new in the approach for poverty line; (2) Use of calories; (3) Mu...

by C. Rangarajan | On 12 Dec 2014

Poverty-Hunger Divergence in India

The usual explanations for the divergence between calorie intake and consumption expenditure in India ignore the enormous squeeze on food budgets arising from dispossession (leading to loss of a...

by Deepankar Basu | On 28 Nov 2014

Violence against Women in Politics A study conducted in India, Nepal and Pakistan

This study addresses the nature, extent and reasons for women’s political participation within India, Nepal and Pakistan. All three countries have recently elected or are in the process of electing th...

by Ranjana Kumari | On 27 Nov 2014

Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Summary of Research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

Child marriage is one of the most prevalent and serious violations of human rights. The issue needs urgent attention in South Asia, where 46 per cent of children are married formally or in informal u...

by Ravi Verma | On 27 Nov 2014

Agrarian Poverty, Nutrition and Economic Class – A Study of Gujarat, India

This paper analyses poverty and calorific undernourishment in the Indian state of Gujarat, where high and market-led industrial growth has resulted in rapid economic improvement. The study is carried...

by Mely Caballero Anthony | On 21 Nov 2014

An Empirical Study of Determinants of Child Labour

The objective of this paper is to analyse the nature and magnitude of the problem and determinants of child labour and their participation in the workforce at an early age. The results reveal that fam...

by Kabita Sahu | On 20 Nov 2014

Migration and Urbanisation in India in the Context of Poverty Alleviation

Migration and urbanization are direct manifestations of the process of economic development in space, particularly in the contemporary phase of globalization. Understanding the causes and consequences...

by Amitabh Kundu | On 11 Nov 2014

Sustainable Agriculture: A Pathway out of Poverty for India’s Rural Poor

Millions of farmers in remote rural areas of India struggle to feed themselves and their families, while the resources on which they depend are deteriorating daily. This book shows how sustainable agr...

by Sustainable Agriculture Information Network | On 06 Nov 2014

Agriculture, Income and Nutrition Linkages in India

India contains the majority of the world’s malnourished children, yet malnutrition has declined only very slowly in recent years, despite rapid economic growth and apparent improvements in food securi...

by Suneetha Kadiyala | On 31 Oct 2014

Governance Issues and Challenges in Implementation Of National Food Security Act 2013

India is a developing country having 2nd highest population in the world. Even after 66 years of its independence, County is facing a serious issue of poverty and malnutrition. The Government of I...

by Hitesh S. Gujarati | On 29 Oct 2014

Information, Access and Targeting: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India

In this paper, the relationship is assessed between possessing information on, gaining access to and the efficacy of delivery of India's national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) in three sta...

by Shylashri Shankar | On 28 Oct 2014

From Poverty to Empowerment: India’s Imperative for Jobs, Growth, and Effective Basic Services

More than two decades have passed since India embarked on major economic reforms—and although official poverty rates have declined sharply since then, millions of Indians continue to face significant...

by Rajat Gupta | On 28 Oct 2014

Corporate Sustainability a Panacea for Growth: Values, Convictions and Acrions

Can corporate sustainability aid growth, create value and actions on environmental protection? The answer can be positive. But at the same time, level of development of the country, poverty etc. also...

by G Padmanabhan | On 27 Oct 2014

Currency Undervaluation and Sovereign Wealth Funds: A New Role for the World Trade Organization

Two aspects of global imbalances - undervalued exchange rates and sovereign wealth funds - require a multilateral response. This paper proposes new rules in the World Trade Organization to discipline...

by Prachi Mishra | On 22 Oct 2014

The Impact of Climate Change on Rice Prduction in Nepal

This paper examines the sensitivity of rice yield in Nepal to changes in climate variables and the magnitude of potential impacts on rice productivity in the future. The findings draw attention to the...

by Prakash K. Karn | On 22 Oct 2014

The Soya Project: Farm Evangelists

In 2008, two earnest young men set out to boost soya bean yields in the semi-arid region of Bundi in Rajasthan. Rainfall there is meagre and the soil lacks nutrients. But there are ready buyers for so...

by Civil Society | On 20 Oct 2014

Criss-Crossing Migration

The current perspective on the flow of people is almost exclusively focused on permanent migration from poorer to richer countries and on immigration policies in industrial countries. This perspective...

by Aaditya Mattoo | On 20 Oct 2014

Fighting Child Malnutrition

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest burden of malnutrition in the world – higher than Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 50 per cent of our children are underweight and stunted and 70...

by National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India | On 16 Oct 2014

The Situation of Children in India: A Profile

India is home to the largest number of children in the world, significantly larger than the number in China.1 The country has 20 per cent of the 0- 4 years’ child population of the world. The numb...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 15 Oct 2014

Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity

Despite recent advances in important aspects of the lives of girls and women, pervasive challenges remain. These challenges reflect widespread deprivations and constraints and include epidemic levels...

by Jeni Klugman | On 14 Oct 2014

The Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Since the 2007-08 food crisis and hunger riots, the international policy agenda has shifted, clearly identifying that hunger and malnutrition are a poverty trap and potential source of political insta...

by Farming First | On 26 Sep 2014

Human Development Progress in South Asia: Achievements and Challenges

Rapid human development progress in India, Bangladesh and other South Asian nations is helping drive a historic shift in global dynamics, with hundreds of millions of people rising from poverty and bi...

by Rameshwar Jat | On 26 Sep 2014

Evolution and Critique of Buffer Stocking Policy of India

An evaluation of the country’s buffer stock policy reveals gaps and inefficiencies. Large quantities of food grains have accumulated in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and its nom...

by Shweta Saini | On 26 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

Internal Migrant Construction Workers in Nepal: Tackling Exploitative Labour Practices to Enhance Migration’s Impact on Poverty Reduction

Research conducted by the Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium in Nepal on the impact of such migration, demonstrated that migration has a positive role in helping households of migr...

by Jagannath Adhikar | On 24 Sep 2014

Reducing Poverty by Closing South Asia’s Infrastructure Gap

“Reducing Poverty by Closing South Asia’s Infrastructure Gap” reveals that the region’s growing demands for infrastructure has enlarged an existing infrastructure gap. According to the report, address...

by Luis Andrés | On 22 Sep 2014

Putting Young People Into National Poverty Reduction Strategies

Many national poverty reduction strategies overlook the needs of young people. Even where national strategies do have a youth focus, the analysis of their situation is limited because little or no ref...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 18 Sep 2014

Labour Market Transitions of Young Women and Men in Asia and the Pacific

This report presents the results of the School-to-work transition surveys (SWTS) implemented in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Samoa and Viet Nam – in 2012 or...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 18 Sep 2014

Economic and Financial Outlook

A picture about the macroeconomy that is, the world economy and the domestic economy is given. The two recent regulatory measures are given here. [FICCI/IBA Annual Banking Conference].

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 18 Sep 2014

Furthering Climate Change Adaptation in India

In developing countries, a large part of the livelihood derives services of natural resources and ecosystem and these are critical for sustainable livelihoods. It has been universally acknowledged tha...

by Dharmendra Chandurkar | On 17 Sep 2014

Hearts & Minds: Women of India Speak

UN Women’s report, “Hearts and Minds: Women of India Speak” acknowledges the “lived experiences” of women and girls in India at the grassroots level and ensures that the voices of those who remain soc...

by UN Women | On 15 Sep 2014

Rising Food Prices in South Asia: A Policy Framework to Mitigate Adverse Effects

The global economic crises that started in 2008 have exposed commodity markets to increasing price volatility and raised concerns for higher inflation, food security and poverty reduction. This seri...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 12 Sep 2014

Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early & Forced Marriage & Related Human Rights Violations

Cultural traditions and a lack of legal protections are driving tens of millions of girls around the world into early marriage, subjecting them to violence, poverty and mistreatment. Equality Now, in...

by Equality Now | On 12 Sep 2014

Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) Community Health Centres Level

In order to provide Quality Care in these CHCs Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) are being prescribed to provide optimal expert care to the community and achieve and maintain an acceptable standar...

by Government of Odisha | On 09 Sep 2014

Reframing the Climate Debate

There is perhaps only one broad certainty in the contemporary debate on climate change: not only does climate change affect different nations and communities differently, but the responses of individu...

by Vivan Sharan | On 02 Sep 2014

Women’s Empowerment at the Frontline of Adaptation: Emerging Issues, Adaptive Practices and Priorities in Nepal

In the Hindu Kush Himalayas, climate change is threatening the livelihoods of those directly dependent on agriculture and the natural resource base. Rural women are disproportionately vulnerable to th...

by Suman Bisht | On 28 Aug 2014

Study of Government Interventions for Employment Generation in the Private Sector

The employment performance of the employment generation programs appears transitory and short term. Although some programs exceeded the employment targets, it is not clear how these numbers are tran...

by Marife M. Ballesteros | On 22 Aug 2014

Foundations of Bangladesh’s Economic Development: Politics of Aid

Bangladesh today with a population of nearly 160 million faces myriad development challenges. But it is far from being the ‘basket case’ that Henry Kissinger once described it as. Despite its still be...

by Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury | On 22 Aug 2014

The Case for Investing in Young People

More attention to the promotion and protection of the rights and the socio-economic needs of young people needs to be an essential element of a country’s efforts to eradicate poverty. Young people (de...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 22 Aug 2014

How Smart is a Smart City?

Smart is as smart does. The NDA government’s proposal to build 100 “smart” cities will work only if it can reinvent the very idea of urban growth in a country like India. Smart thinking will require t...

by Sunita Narain | On 21 Aug 2014

Nepal's story: Understanding Improvements in Maternal Health

Nepal achieved a striking reduction in maternal mortality during the 1990s and early 2000s. According to data from Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys, the country’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) f...

by Jakob Engel | On 21 Aug 2014

Gossip: Identifying Central Individuala in a Social Network

It is shown that boundedly-rational individuals can, simply by tracking sources of gossip, identify those who are most central in a network according to “diffusion centrality,” which nests other stan...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 20 Aug 2014

The Political Economy of MGNREGS Spending in Andhra Pradesh

Are ostensibly demand-driven public programs less susceptible to political clientelism even when private goods are allocated? This is examined using expenditure data at the local level from India’s N...

by Megan Sheahan | On 01 Aug 2014

Performance of Major Social Sector Schemes: A Sample Survey Report

In this paper based on both desk research and selected sample survey of some districts in two states in India, an attempt has been made to see the efficacy and performance of the various central gover...

by H A C Prasad | On 31 Jul 2014

Power and Resistance: Silence and Secrecy in Avatar - The Last Airbender

In the American animated television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA), a visually Asian-influenced world of humans, animals and spirits plays out a history of violence, trauma and resistance....

by Gayatri Viswanath | On 24 Jul 2014

Representation of Dalit Women in Dalit men’s autobiography and in Dalit women’s autobiography

This paper focuses on autobiographies by Kaushalya Baisantri and Surajpal Chauhan to look into the ways in which Dalit life-narratives written by men and women vary in terms of emotions, nature of the...

by Shweta Singh | On 24 Jul 2014

India – National Youth Policy 2014 (NYP-2014)

The Government of India (GoI) currently invests more than Rs 90,000 crores per annum on youth development programmes or approximately Rs 2,710 per young individual per year, through youth-targeted (hi...

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 21 Jul 2014

No Shortage of Money

The new government wants to increase investment in various sectors. The government has funds but the Finance Minister has said about lack of funds in the Budget. Public private partnerships (PPPs) can...

by T.N. Ninan | On 17 Jul 2014

African Union Outlook on Education Report

This Outlook on Education report for the EAC region was produced on behalf of the African Union - Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology - for the 2014 Conference of Ministers of Educat...

by East Community | On 09 Jul 2014

Speech of the Minister for Railways 2014-15

Railway budget 2014-15.

by D.V. Sadananda Gowda | On 09 Jul 2014

Millennium Development Goals India Country Report 2014

This report entitled “Millennium Development Goals (MDG) India Country Report-2014’ captures the achievements in India as of today under the eight MDGs which are to be achieved by 2015. The year 2014,...

by Ministry of Statistics and Prog Implementation (MOSPI) | On 08 Jul 2014

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2014

At the turn of the century, world leaders came together at the United Nations and agreed on a bold vision for the future through the Millennium Declaration. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) wer...

by United Nations UN | On 08 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

Incidence of Poor and Poverty Risk in India across NSS Regions for Rual and Urban Areas, 2004-05 and 2009-10

This note provides an estimate of incidence of poor and poverty risk in India across NSS regions for 2004-05 and 2009-10 in rural and urban areas. It raises concern on increasing poverty risk and als...

by Srijit Mishra | On 23 Jun 2014

Monetary Incentives to Reduce Open-Field Rice-Straw Burning in the Plains of Nepal

In southern Nepal, rice straw burning in open fields is common practice. This is problematic because biomass burning contributes to smoke, black carbon and greenhouse gases. While some studies have ex...

by Krishna Prasad Pant | On 02 Jun 2014

The Indian Labour Market: An Overview

The present study analyses the labour market situation in India over the last two decades. Given the growth profile, which has been quite robust in recent years, one pertinent question is whether Indi...

by Arup Mitra | On 23 May 2014

Water Security in South Asia: Issues and Policy Recommendations

It is estimated that by 2030, only 60 per cent of the world's population will have access to fresh water supplies. This would mean that about 3 billion people would be living without reliable source...

by Wilson John | On 15 May 2014

Parampara, Pedagogy and Performance: Reading Spaces in the ‘Dhrupad Gurukul’, Palaspé

This paper intends to further the understanding of how a ‘tradition’ is formed through pedagogy – how ideas of continuity, change and knowledge transfer are addressed during the student’s period of le...

by Ajinkya Shenava | On 13 May 2014

The Real Wealth of Nations:Pathways to Human Development

This Report surveys critical aspects of human development, from political freedoms and empowerment to sustainability and human security, and outlines a broader agenda for research and policies to resp...

by Jeni Klugman | On 06 May 2014

Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All

The Human Development Report 2011 explores the integral links between environmental sustainability and equity and shows that these are critical to expanding human freedoms for people today and in gene...

by Jeni Klugman | On 06 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

Unnecessary Burden: Gender discrimination and Uterine prolapse in Nepal

Widespread and systemic gender discrimination in Nepal has led to hundreds of thousands of women suffering from a reproductive health condition that leaves them in great pain, unable to carry out dail...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 30 Apr 2014

The Role of Agriculture in Poverty Reduction: The Indian Experience

Poverty alleviation has been a pre-eminent goal of India’s development efforts since its Independence. Though there has been a significant decline in the incidence of poverty at the national level in...

by Alakh Sharma | On 29 Apr 2014

The Food Security Policy Context in South Africa

The analysis in this report leads to an overall conclusion that the IFSS is an excellent strategy on paper and a relevant framework for different stakeholders, but in reality it lacks implementing pow...

by Josee Koch | On 29 Apr 2014

Access to Food

This series of eSSays is an attempt to fill that gap and make social and economic research impacting policy available to enhance public debate in this time of change. We also hope that this will const...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 21 Apr 2014

Poverty Eradication in India: A Study of National Policies, Plans and Programs

In almost all underdeveloped countries where per capita income is very low, income inequality has resulted in a number of evils, of which poverty is certainly the most serious one. Poverty infact is a...

by Lalita Kumari | On 18 Apr 2014

Human Development in India: Challenges for a Society in Transition

This report highlights the way in which poverty and a?uence intersect with age-old divisions of regional inequalities, gender, caste, and religion that have long structured human development in India....

by Sonalde Desai | On 17 Apr 2014

(En) Gendering a Rights Revolution

The article highlights of the SC judgment on Transgender Rights and why it will go down in history as one of the most rights enhancing decisions in the Court’s history.

by Siddharth Narrain | On 16 Apr 2014

The Economic Cost of General Strikes in Nepal

This paper reviews the key aspects of general strikes and analyses the economic cost of such strikes in Nepal. Data analysis shows that average direct cost of general strikes stood at NRs. 1.8 billi...

by Min Bahadur Shrestha | On 11 Apr 2014

Towards a Credible Poverty Framework: From Income Poverty to Deprivation

There have always been differences of view on what poverty means in conceptual terms, and even greater differences on how to measure it. These differences span a broad spectrum of normative and ideolo...

by Peter Saunders | On 09 Apr 2014

Food Security and Poverty Key Challenges and Policy Issues

Food insecurity, or the inability to access food of sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy minimum dietary needs, is the most basic form of human deprivation. Before people can provide for their e...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Apr 2014

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013

With the deadline for the MDGs on the horizon, progress can be reported in most areas, despite the impact of the global economic and financial crisis. The analysis in this report, based on a wide rang...

by United Nations UN | On 04 Apr 2014

Incorporating Public Good Availability into the Measurement of Poverty

This paper makes an attempt to incorporate bene ts from unpaid public services into consumption decisions to arrive at more accurate measures of poverty and inequality. The analysis is based on prim...

by Anders Kjelsrud | On 14 Mar 2014

Debating Poverty

The first of a series of eSSays dossiers on issues of public concern. Guest editor: M.H. Suryanarayana. Contents: Poverty Line: Pursuit of an Elusive Minimum by M.H. Suryanarayana Fixing Poverty...

by eSocialSciences eSS | On 08 Mar 2014

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

MGNREGA, which is the largest work guarantee programme in the world, was enacted in 2005 with the primary objective of guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. It aims at...

by Ministry of Rural Development GOI | On 05 Mar 2014

Report of the Steering Committee on Rapid Poverty Reduction And Local Area Development for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)

The report examines the data on the poor, their characteristics and attempts to profile the poor. It addresses the need to devise a vision for the Eleventh Plan, which derives from the Approach Paper...

by Planning Commission | On 04 Mar 2014

One Illness Away: Why People Become Poor and How They Escape Poverty

Why does poverty persist? A critical, but so far ignored, part of the answer lies in the fact that poverty is regularly created. Large numbers of people are escaping poverty, but large numbers are con...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 04 Mar 2014

Economic Growth, Health and Poverty: An Exploratory Study for India

This article analyses the possible links between economic growth, poverty and health, using panel data for the Indian states. The findings indicate that, though growth tends to reduce poverty, signifi...

by Indrani Gupta | On 04 Mar 2014

Poverty Impacts of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh

This paper studies the targeting of NREGS and how NREGS affects some major welfare indicators on its direct beneficiaries. Data from some 2,500 households in Andhra Pradesh (AP) who were surveyed in...

by Yanyan Liu | On 03 Mar 2014

Gendered Risks, Poverty And Vulnerability In India

This report specifically examines the gendered dimensions and impacts of the Indian public works programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The government of Indi...

by Rebecca Holmes | On 03 Mar 2014

Poverty and the state of nutrition in India

This paper analysis the development paradox of India, relatively high economic growth rates in the past few years, but lower progress in areas of life expectancy, education and standard of living. Pov...

by Kiruba S Varadharajan | On 03 Mar 2014

Poverty and Under-nutrition among Scheduled Tribes in India: A Disaggregated Analysis

This paper addresses twin issues--- poverty and under-nutrition among the STs in India at disaggregated levels. Following the draft tribal policy, districts in Schedule VI states as well districts und...

by Amaresh Dubey | On 03 Mar 2014

Human Development, Poverty, Health & Nutrition Situation in India

This study was undertaken to assess the trends in HDI, human poverty index (HPI) and incidence of poverty among Indian states, the socio-economic, health, and diet and nutritional indicators which det...

by G.M. Antony | On 28 Feb 2014

India Chronic Poverty Report: Towards Solutions and A New Compact in a Dynamic Context

This report is based on decade long studies through three phases of the study project, aims to draw the attention of policy makers and concerned citizens to the gap, or chasm, between our goals, aspir...

by Aasha Kapur Mehta | On 27 Feb 2014

Health and Poverty Linkages: Perspectives of the chronically poor

This paper identifies the mediating factors that underpin a spiral or descent into chronic poverty and identifies points at which intervention will most likely make a difference.

by Ursula Grant | On 27 Feb 2014

Urban Growth and Rural Poverty in India

Analysis of time series data on poverty in India has revealed a clearly discernable link between urban poverty decline and rural poverty decline. Previous analysis, focusing on the pre-reform period,...

by Peter Lanjouw | On 27 Feb 2014

Backward Agriculture - A Cause Of India's Poverty

The biggest challenge facing India's policy makers is the persisting high incidence of poverty. One of the reasons for the high incidence of poverty in India is its backward agriculture, whose produc...

by Ursula Grant | On 27 Feb 2014

The New Poverty Line: A Methodology Deeply Flawed

This note discusses the Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Estimation of Poverty. The Report recommends the use of the existing official urban poverty line as the poverty lin...

by Madhura Swaminathan | On 27 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

National Food Security Bill Challenges and Options

Despite ensuring ample availability of food, existence of food insecurity at the micro-level in the country has remained a formidable challenge for India. The recently introduced National Food Securit...

by Ashok Gulati | On 23 Jan 2014

Bangladesh at a Crossroads: A Political Prognosis

Bangladesh is in the cusp of great changes. At this point in time it is standing at a crossroads. This is when its friends and its responsible citizenry must help point towards the right direction: on...

by Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury | On 22 Jan 2014

India, Bangladesh and Nepal: Learning Lessons, Facing Challenges.

In many ways, India is kindred with its two neighbors, Bangladesh and Nepal. Whether it is in geography I or demographics, infrastructure or economic issues, or poverty and human development, these th...

by Jayshree Sengupta | On 21 Jan 2014

Maximizing Access to Energy

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has supported increased access to energy through the most cost-effective method—by expanding the electricity grid. Yet in this second decade of the 21st century, when...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 20 Jan 2014

Energy Access and Energy Security in Asia and the Pacific

Lack of access to electricity and modern cooking fuels constitutes energy poverty. Access to modern energy requires improved technologies and financing instruments and sources. The pro-poor public–pr...

by Benjamin Sovacool | On 20 Jan 2014

Agriculture and Rural development: Hunger and Malnutrition

This paper focuses on two different types of malnutrition and then looks at the links between poor nutrition and agriculture.Malnutrition is one of the most devastating problems worldwide and its dire...

by Kevin Cleaver | On 16 Jan 2014

Community Resilience and Critical Urban Infrastructure: Where Adaptive Capacities Meet Vulnerabilities

In many of Southeast Asia’s cities, critical infrastructure development is concentrated in affluent areas; and poor communities, lacking access to basic services, often resort to alternatives that may...

by Sofiah Jamil | On 15 Jan 2014

Women's Migration, Urban Poverty and Child Health in Rajasthan

The paper is concerned with the high levels of infant and child illness and death amongst poor urban slum communities in Rajasthan, a state with one of the highest infant mortality rates in India. Ur...

by Maya Unnithan Kumar | On 15 Jan 2014

Report of the Expert Group on Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor

The Planning Commission constituted, in September 1989, an 'Expert Group' to consider methodological and computational aspects of estimation of proportion and number of poor in India. [Planning Comm...

by Planning Commission | On 07 Jan 2014

A Global Development Agenda: Toward 2015 and Beyond

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) endorsed by 189 countries in 2000 are an unprecedented global effort to achieve development goals that are identified collectively, achievable, and measurable....

by Bread for the World Institute | On 19 Dec 2013

Ethical Issues in Community Based Monitoring of Health Programmes: Reflections from India

This paper explores the different sets of power relationships and resultant ethical dilemmas that arise when developing community monitoring systems. Community Based Monitoring and Planning, as part o...

by Renu Khanna | On 22 Nov 2013

The Dark Side of Migration

Qatar’s population is growing at a truly staggering rate. Between August 2012 and August 2013 it grew by 10.5 per cent. This growth is driven primarily by the recruitment of low-paid migrant workers...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 19 Nov 2013

Regional Cooperation on the Ganga Basin: Yet a mirage?

Ganges is one of the important rivers of South Asia. It is a trans-boundary river between India and Bangladesh. Some rivers, originating in the Tibetan Autonomous region of the People's Republic of Ch...

by Dwarika Dhungel | On 15 Nov 2013

Politicians and Bureaucrats Fail to Put an End to Child Marriage: Both Intent and Action are Lacking!

Although the UN Resolution on Child, Early and Forced Marriage was adopted unanimously, and India too is party to it since it did not raise any objections, the officials did discuss concerns regarding...

by Bharti Ali | On 15 Nov 2013

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly Elections: A Lesson For The Convicted Politicians?

As Nepal prepares to hold the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections on 19th November 2013, there already seems to be one positive lesson: those “convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitu...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 11 Nov 2013

Diaspora Philanthropy from a Homeland Perspective: Reciprocity and Contestation over Donations in Central Gujarat, India

This paper deals with the philanthropic between Indian migrants and the local community in Gujarat from a homeland perspective. It is based on research in rural central Gujarat, one of the regions i...

by Natascha Dekkers | On 05 Nov 2013

Welfare and Poverty Impacts of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh

India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is one of the largest public works programs globally. Understanding the impacts of NREGS and the pathway through which its impacts are realiz...

by Songqing Jin | On 14 Oct 2013

Hunger in India

The first step toward change is awareness. Do take out some time to know what's happening in the country we live in. This video has been designed to spread awareness about food insecurity in India,...

by The Hunger Project Project | On 11 Oct 2013

Weather Sensitivity of Rice Yield: Evidence from India

This study estimates the weather sensitivity of rice yield in India, using disaggregated (district) level information on rice and high resolution daily weather data over the period 1969-2007. Compare...

by Anubhab Pattanayak | On 11 Oct 2013

Decentralized Provisioning of Supplementary Nutrition for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in Mumbai

This study is an attempt to examine the decentralized production of supplementary nutrition which has been instituted for the Integrated Child Development Services in urban Maharashtra, specifically,...

by Natasha S. K. | On 04 Oct 2013

Rural Poverty and the Public Distribution System

Presented are estimates of the impact of India’s Public Distribution System on rural poverty, using National Sample Survey data for 2009-10 and official poverty lines. At the all India level, the PD...

by Jean Dreze | On 27 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

Crystallizing Fault-lines: Turkey’s Democratic Durability at Risk

In the aftermath of the anti-governmental Gezi demonstrations of May-June and the conclusion of the Ergenekon trial earlier this month, clear fault-lines are crystallizing in the Turkish political lan...

by Ozan Serdaroglu | On 05 Sep 2013

Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function

The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. The authors hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypoth...

by Anandi Mani | On 04 Sep 2013

Migration and Poverty in India: A Multi-Patterned and Complex Reality

The paper reviews the existing evidence on migration-poverty interface in the light of the macro and micro level studies in India. It also discusses the extent, patterns, and correlates of short term...

by Amita Shah | On 03 Sep 2013

Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2011-12

A recap of the previous poverty estimates can be found here. [Planning Commission]. URL:[http://planningcommission.nic.in/news/pre_pov2307.pdf].

by Planning Commission | On 05 Aug 2013

Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Poverty Line

Interview on the recent released poverty line.

by Planning Commission | On 05 Aug 2013

Out-of-pocket Expenditures and Poverty: Estimates From NSS 61st Round

Poverty needs to be measured taking into account OOP spending, since health spending is also now viewed as an essential expenditure that enhances welfare like food and other necessities. [Paper prese...

by Indrani Gupta | On 05 Aug 2013

Basic Household Amenities in India: A Progress Report

The present paper makes an attempt to analyse the progress of India in three important ‘basic human needs’ essential for a human life. These are access to latrine facility, safe drinking water and ele...

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 01 Aug 2013

Report of the Expert Group to Recommend the Detailed Methodology for Identification of Families Living Below Poverty Line in Urban Areas

The report deals with the estimation of poverty and identification of poor – differences in approach. It also describes the characteristics and trends of urban poverty. The vulnerability of urban poor...

by Planning Commission, India | On 29 Jul 2013

Nutritional Norms for Poverty: Issues and Implications

This study raises some relevant issues and examines them from an economic perspective. To begin with, it would examine how did the Indian approach, official in particular, to defining and measuring po...

by Suryanarayana M H | On 26 Jul 2013

Why Is Mobility in India So Low? Social Insurance, Inequality, and Growth

This paper examines the hypothesis that the persistence of low spatial and marital mobility in rural India, despite increased growth rates and rising inequality in recent years, is due to the existenc...

by Kaivan Munshi | On 22 Jul 2013

An Explanatory Analysis of Deprivation and Ill Health Led Poverty in Urban India: A Case Study of Delhi

This paper examines the multi-dimensional nature of urban poverty with special emphasis on ill-health led deprivation. As a driver of poverty, ill-health reduces the income earning potential and incre...

by Samik Chowdhury | On 28 Jun 2013

Recession and Child Labour: A Theoritical Analysis

This paper provides a theoretical model of the impact of recession (income shock) on household's child labor (CL) decision. Parental altruism is endogenized; as their choice of substituting child lab...

by Sahana Roy Chowdhury | On 25 Jun 2013

National Urban Health Mission

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to launch a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a new sub-mission under the over-arching National Health Mission (NHM).

by Anonymous | On 27 May 2013

National Urban Livelihoods Mission

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has proposed to launch a “National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)” in 12th Five Year Plan.

by Anonymous | On 27 May 2013

Valuing the Damage Caused by Invasive Plant Species in a Low-income Community in Nepal

This paper presents a choice experiment designed to estimate the willingness-to-pay (WTP) of rural farmers to mitigate damages caused by invasive plant species, particularly Mikania micrantha, in the...

by Rajesh Kumar Rai | On 27 May 2013

Understanding the Dynamics of Socio-Economic Mobility: Tales from Two Indian Villages

The study takes a comparative approach by examining household livelihood mobility within two very different villages, in the same district administration of Madhya Pradesh (MP), India. [ODI Working Pa...

by Caroline Wilson | On 26 Apr 2013

Climate Change, Agriculture, Poverty and Livelihoods: A Status Report

This paper assesses the impact of climate change on Indian agriculture covering a cross section of crops, seasons and regions based on existing literature. The study notes that the impact of climate...

by K N Ninan | On 24 Apr 2013

Push and Pull Factors of Migration: A Case Study of Brick Kiln Migrant Workers in Punjab

The present study is concerned with the migrant who has changed his/her place of residence from a state other than Punjab and is working in brick-kiln industry as worker. [Repec]. URL:[http://mpra.ub...

by Gursharan Singh Kainth | On 15 Apr 2013

Living Rough: Surviving City Streets

This paper records the findings of a small investigation into a fragment of experiences of people living on streets and into the social, economic, nutritional situation of urban homeless men, women, b...

by Harsh Mander | On 10 Apr 2013

The 2013 Empowerment Budget: Philippines

The national budget is truly a potent tool for the economy to journey towards inclusive growth that would empower Filipinos through deliverance from backbreaking poverty. [Senate of the Philippines]....

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 08 Apr 2013

Growth and Deprivation in India: What Does Recent Data Say?

The report investigate the relationship between growth and deprivation in India, an issue of immense interest. Given the continuing controversy in India over poverty lines, they used a framework that...

by Sripad Motiram | On 07 Mar 2013

Economic Survey 2012-13: A Comedy of Errors?

There is lack of clarity and concepts in the Economic Survey. The Survey has not covered many topics which it was expected to cover.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 02 Mar 2013

Gambling on the Private Sector at the Cost of the Working Class: NTUI Statement

The budget offers no programme for job creation or any substantive policy measures to contain inflation that continues to erode the real wage while it commits itself to cash transfers and cuts in subs...

by Gautam Mody | On 01 Mar 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

Odisha Budget 2013-14: Part 1 Agriculture

Budget presented by Shri Prasanna Acharya. The first part contains the Agriculture Budget.

by Orissa Government | On 25 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

Connecting the Dots: The Urban Informal Sector and Climate Vulnerabilities in Southeast Asia’s Megacities

In the megacities of developing Southeast Asia, the informal sector plays an important role in supporting economic development. Yet, in discussions of the ramifications of climaterelated natural haz...

by Sofiah Jamil | On 13 Feb 2013

New Frontiers, New Struggles: Press Freedom in South Asia 2011-12

Journalism in South Asia is facing many challenges with physical security being a major issue in most of the region. Several countries may have improved relatively due to decisions to reduce the risks...

by International Federation of Journalists IFJ | On 04 Feb 2013

Firewood Collections and Economic Growth in Rural Nepal 1995-2010: Evidence from a Household Panel

A longitudinal household survey from World Bank Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) was used for the study. A relatively small (but representative) sample of households residing in the mountain...

by Jean-Marie Baland | On 28 Jan 2013

Trade in Health Services in South Asia: An Examination of the Need for Regional Cooperation

This study was conducted in three South Asian countries viz: India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The study examines the opinions of patients, hospitals owners and doctors involved in this service trade. A to...

by Arindam Banik | On 22 Jan 2013

Women Workers from Asia to Gulf: Its Outcomes

Review of the book 'Migration of Women Workers from South Asia to the Gulf' By Rakkee Thimothy, S.K. Sasikumar, UN Women, 2012

by R. S. Reshmi | On 24 Dec 2012

India's Globalisation: Computing the Costs

Review article of Churning the Earth: The Making of Global India; Aseem Shrivastava, Ashish Kothari; Penguin Viking, New Delhi; Pp. 394, Rs 699.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 10 Dec 2012

An Assessment of Livelihood and Educational Status of Sanitation Workers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat

This study was conducted in 25 neighborhoods and 5 zones of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). A total of 50 sanitation workers were interviewed and through them the condition of their famil...

by Ashish Mishra | On 05 Dec 2012

Analyzing Intersectoral Convergence to Improve Child Undernutrition in India: Development and Application of a Framework to Examine Policies in Agriculture, Health, and Nutrition

To reduce child under nutrition in India, convergence from various sectors are required. The framework notes that issues related to convergence must be resolved in relation to three major steps in the...

by Rajani Ved | On 16 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

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

Renewable Resource Shocks and Conflict in India’s Maoist Belt

A rigorous econometric analysis of a civil conflict is conducted that the Indian Prime Minister has called the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by his country, the so-called Mao...

by Davesh Kapur | On 13 Oct 2012

‘Grand Challenges to Global Mental Health’: Critical perspectives on the US-NIMH initiative

In 2011 the US National Institute of Mental Health launched the Grand Challenges to Global Mental Health on the lines of earlier initiatives on ‘Global Health’ and on ‘Global Chronic Non-Common-commun...

by Anonymous | On 05 Oct 2012

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) - Sabla

A new comprehensive scheme, called Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls or Sabla, merging the erstwhile Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) and Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPA...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 05 Oct 2012

Poverty, Human Development and Health Financing in India

This study aims at analyzing the differentials across rich and poor states and across rich and poorer strata and rural urban segments of 19 major Indian states. The study indicates that besides ind...

by Brijesh C Purohit | On 28 Sep 2012

Bihar: What went wrong? And what changed?

A historical narrative of Bihar is provided context to much of its current state, Focus is given on its contemporary economy in the past three decades to better understand the moribund state of its ec...

by Arnab Mukherji | On 28 Sep 2012

Education and Employment among Muslims in India: An Analysis of Patterns and Trends

The paper reviews the available evidence on the patterns of Muslim participation in education and employment. Comparing the estimates derived from the most recent round of the National Sample Surve...

by Rakesh Basant | On 27 Sep 2012

Food Subsidy in India: Trends, Causes and Policy Reform Options

This paper analyses the trends in volume of food subsidy in the post-reforms period (1991-92 to 2012-13) and then examines various components of food subsidy, which are under the control of FCI and th...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 20 Sep 2012

NATIONAL YOUTH POLICY 2003

The earlier National Youth Policy was formulated in 1988. The socio-economic conditions in the country have since undergone a significant change and have been shaped by wide-ranging technological adva...

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 12 Sep 2012

Exposure Draft National Youth Policy 2012

The NYP 2012 is a step forward from the earlier Policy formulated in 1988 and, later, in 2003. It reaffirms commitment of the nation to the rights and holistic development of the young people of the c...

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 12 Sep 2012

Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector

This Report is focused on the informal or the unorganized economy which accounts for an overwhelming proportion of the poor and vulnerable population in an otherwise shining India. It concentrates on...

by NCEUS NCEUS | On 05 Sep 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

Revisiting the Devolution of ENR Functions

The devolution of environment and natural resource functions to local government units was a bold move in the history of environmental Management in the Philippines. However, the implementation of the...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 28 Aug 2012

Integrating Mental Health and Development: A Case Study of the BasicNeeds Model in Nepal

The BasicNeeds model of Mental Health and Development (MHD), Nepal emphasizes user empowerment, community development, strengthening of health systems, and policy influencing. The Nepal program was...

by Shoba Raja | On 24 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

Situating Conflict and Poverty in Manipur

What is the relationship between social conflict and poverty in the context of Manipur? There is a need to recognize togetherness of the imperatives of economic well being, socio-cultural identity a...

by Anand Kumar | On 22 Aug 2012

Under-Nutrition in Maharashtra: Is ICDS effective?

Malnutrition and under nutrition are critical issues in Maharashtra. In spite of being a high growth state in the country, it has occasionally remained in the news due to deaths caused by under nutrit...

by Manisha Karne | On 21 Aug 2012

Community Mobilization in Mumbai Slums to Improve Perinatal Care and Outcomes: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Improving maternal and newborn health in low-income settings requires both health service and community action. Previous community initiatives have been predominantly rural, but India is urbanizing....

by Neena Shah More | On 17 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

‘The Education Question’ from the Perspective of Adivasis: Conditions, Policies and Structures

Drawing on secondary data, insights and ideas from an all-India consultation meet at NIAS, four regional / zonal consultations, data from a project in Chamarajanagar district (Karnataka), and select...

by P Veerbhadranaika | On 01 Aug 2012

Gender Wage Discrimination in India: Glass Ceiling or Sticky Floor?

Traditional analysis of gender wage gaps has largely focused on average gaps between men and women, and mean wage decompositions such as the Blinder-Oaxaca (1973) decomposition method. To answer the q...

by Shantanu Khanna | On 26 Jul 2012

Are Embankments a Good Flood-­-Control Strategy? A Case Study of the Kosi River

This paper makes a first pass at evaluating embankments. Using two years or more of data from 504 households in 28 villages in the floodplain of the Kosi river in north Bihar, a comparison of the agri...

by E Somanathan | On 25 Jul 2012

Does Access to Secondary Education Affect Primary Schooling? Evidence from India

This paper investigates if better access to secondary education increases enrolment in primary schools among children in the 6–10 age group. A household-level longitudinal survey is also done coveri...

by Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay | 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

Revive Development Studies

Review of the book From Individual to Community: Issues in Development Studies--Essays in Memory of Malcolm Adiseshiah by Nandan Nawn.

by Nandan Nawn | On 05 Jul 2012

State Health Insurance and Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures in Andhra Pradesh, India

In 2007, the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India began rolling out the Aarogyasri health insurance to reduce catastrophic health expenditures in households “below the poverty line.” The program...

by Victoria Fan | On 05 Jul 2012

The Limits to Sustainability Science: Ecological Constraints or Endless Innovation?

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) takes place in Rio de Janeiro on 20–22 June 2012. Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit that led to the establishment of two m...

by Georgina M Mace | On 02 Jul 2012

Income Related Inequality in Financial Inclusion and Role of Banks: Evidence on Financial Exclusion in India

This paper analyzes income related inequality in financial inclusion in India using a representative household level survey data, linked to State-level factors. This paper also provides estimates of...

by Rama Pal | On 27 Jun 2012

Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Enlarging Space for Civil Society

The concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is relatively new to many Southeast Asians, who have traditionally relied on the state for security and therefore faced a sense of hopelessness when such...

by Pavin Chachavalpongpun | On 27 Jun 2012

Improving Access to Mental Health Care and Psychosocial Support within a Fragile Context: A Case Study from Afghanistan

Afghanistan is an example of a ‘‘fragile state,’’ characterised by a government that lacks the capacity to provide core services and basic security to its population. Improving health care within...

by Peter Ventevogel | On 22 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

Myths and Realities of Long-run Development: A Look at Deeper Determinants

This paper reviews the debate surrounding the “deeper determinants” of economic performance. It reviews the work of Institutional School and Geography School and their interpretation of the long-r...

by Lubna Hasan | On 24 May 2012

The Impact of Infrastructure on Agricultural Productivity

This paper provides an empirical basis for the perceived link between rural infrastructure and agricultural productivity. It validates the hypothesis that deficiencies in rural infrastructure e.g.,...

by Gilberto M Llanto | On 24 May 2012

Agricultural Growth and Rural Incomes: Rural Performance Indicators and Consumption Patterns

The present paper is part of a larger study on agricultural growth and rural incomes in the Philippines. This study examines the farm-nonfarm linkages of agricultural growth and the mechanisms by w...

by Arsenio M. Balisacan | On 24 May 2012

Role of Communication in Stigma and Discrimination

The objective of the study was to review media coverage (print ) related to HIV/AIDS in three states (Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh) in order to determine the gaps in reporting. [CCMG Working Pa...

by Biswajit Das | On 10 May 2012

Liberalisation of Technical Education in Kerala: Has a Significant Increase in Enrolment Translated Into Increase in Supply of Engineers?

Enrolments in engineering in Kerala increased from about 2800 in 1991 to about 28,000 in 2008. The study analyses whether this increase in potential supply of engineers has resulted in actual supply o...

by Sunil Mani | On 25 Apr 2012

Measuring the Contribution of Bt Cotton Adoption to India’s Cotton Yields Leap

This study examines the contribution of Bt cotton adoption to long- term average cotton yields in India using a panel data analysis of production variables in nine Indian cotton-producing states from...

by Guillaume P Gruere | On 25 Apr 2012

Trans-boundary River Basins in South Asia: Options for Conflict Resolution

India's trans-boundary riparian policies affect four countries - Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh - on three river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra-Mehgna. China's riparian pol...

by Gopal Siwakoti Chintan | On 25 Apr 2012

Nepal: Elusive Democracy and Uncertain Political System

Persistence and breakdowns of democracy are the dominant features of Nepali politics.Democracy continues to be attractive amidst setbacks and discontinuity. So it remains perennially elusive, desp...

by Lok Raj Baral | On 23 Apr 2012

Labour Migration and Remittances in Uttarakhand

The type, volume, and mode of transfer of remittances in Uttarakhand is analysed. The impact of remittances, in terms of both financial flows and transfer of new skills and the perceptions in relat...

by Anmol Jain | On 18 Apr 2012

Signpost for Community Policing

Review of the book Community Policing: Misnomer or Fact? Author: Veerendra Mishra Sage, New Delhi.

by Vijay Raghavan | On 16 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

Do Middle Classes Bring Institutional Reforms?

The link between poverty, the middle class and institutional outcomes are analyzed using a newly developed cross-country panel dataset containing detailed information on the distribution of income a...

by Norman Loayza | On 09 Apr 2012

Assessment of Community-Based Systems Monitoring Household Welfare

The analysis of micro impacts of macroeconomic adjustment policies (MIMAP) is a relatively new discipline. It has spawned out of the concern that adjustment policies aimed to correct macroeconomic imb...

by Celia M Reyes | On 04 Apr 2012

Rajasthan Budget Speech: 2012-13

Speech by Finance Minister. [Government of Rajasthan]. URL:[http://finance.rajasthan.gov.in/speech/1213/budgetspeech201213.pdf].

by Rajasthan Government | On 27 Mar 2012

Myanmar’s Ethnic Insurgents: UWSA, KNU and KIO

Since the elections of 2010, Myanmar’s political landscape has changed significantly; the old military junta has officially been dissolved and a new civilian government, led by President Thein Sein,...

by Christopher O’Hara | On 27 Mar 2012

Parliamentary chutzpah

The poverty line deviates from the reality. The government's redefinition is a good thing, but the danger is it won't go far enough. [BS Weekend ruminations]. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/ind...

by T.N. Ninan | On 27 Mar 2012

How Can Bill and Melinda Gates Increase Other People’s Donations to Fund Public Goods?

A simple theory is developed which formally describes how charities can resolve the information asymmetry problems faced by small donors by working with large donors to generate quality signals. To t...

by Dean Karlan | On 26 Mar 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

Is Community Forest Management Good for the Environment and the Poor? – A Review

Over the last two decades, community-based forest management has graduated from being an experimental strategy to becoming a much more mainstream approach. In developing countries, an estimated 22 p...

by Priya Shyamsundar | On 19 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

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

Ethics of Public Health Interventions: A View from the Frontline

Rural people are deprived even of the basic facilities of medical care. Is this ethical? [6th K R Memorial lecture].

by Yogesh Jain | On 16 Mar 2012

Oil Price Shock, Pass-through Policy and its Impact on India

This paper analyses the impact of transmission of international oil prices and domestic oil price pass-through policy on major macroeconomic variables in India with the help of a macroeconomic policy...

by N R Bhanumurthy | On 16 Mar 2012

State of the Economy and Prospects: chapter 1

Economic Survey-Chapter1. [Economic Survey]. URL:[http://indiabudget.nic.in/survey.asp]

by Pranab Mukherjee | On 15 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

Federal Budget of Pakistan-2011-12

BUDGET SPEECH 2011-2012 by DR. ABDUL HAFEEZ SHAIKH, Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Planning & Development.

by Minister of Finance Pakistan | On 12 Mar 2012

Time Poverty, Work Status and Gender: The Case of Pakistan

Time is an important economic resource that can be spent in a variety of ways. Diverse demands on a person’s time may reach a point where the individual may be categorized as time poor. Time poverty...

by Najam us Saqib | On 09 Mar 2012

Budget of Nepal 2011-12

Budget speech by Nepal Finance Minister. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/speech/2011/pdf/budgetspeech_english.pdf].

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal | On 06 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

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

Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge

The paper aims at understanding the reasons which influence migration and mobility choices, ways by which vulnerabilities can be managed and the role that local, national and regional policy responses...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 24 Feb 2012

Mumbai Riots, 1992-3: Revisiting the Affected

Review of the book 'Riots and After in Mumbai: Chronicles of Truth and Reconciliation' Meena Menon, Sage Publications India, 2011, Pp 267 + xcii, Rs. 595/-

by Irfan Engineer | On 17 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

Is Caste Destiny? Occupational Diversification among Dalits in Rural India

he caste system – a system of elaborately stratified social hierarchy – distinguishes India from most other societies. Among the most distinctive factors of the caste system is the close link betwee...

by Ira Gang | On 07 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

Intentions vs. Implementation of Philippine Economic Reforms Under Aquino, 1986-92

This paper explains the gaps between official objectives and the actual accomplishments of the Aquino government, with an emphasis on the implementation record of agricultural-based strategies. Summar...

by V. Bruce J Tolentino | On 30 Jan 2012

More and Better Jobs in South Asia

This report investigates how more and better jobs can be created in South Asia. It does so for two reasons. First, this region will contribute nearly 40 percent of the growth in the world’s workin...

by Reema Nayar | On 30 Jan 2012

Free Treatment in the Private Sector: Myth or Reality? A Pilot Study of Private Hospitals in Delhi - A Report

The pilot study is situated within the framework of understanding the functioning of the private sector in regards to policy and access to health care for the poor. It attempts to understand and explo...

by SAMA .. | On 22 Jan 2012

Input Prices, Subsidies and Farmers' Incentives

The paper studies the subsidy policy in Bangladesh. It analyses implications of subsidy policies; both pros and cons and also suggests some possible solutions.

by M Asaduzzaman | On 20 Jan 2012

Contested Relationships: Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment, Insights from the Transfer of Material Assets in Bangladesh

This article examines the relationship between women’s economic and social empowerment in the context of extreme poverty. It is based on the findings of primary fieldwork on the char islands of nort...

by Lucy Scott | On 11 Jan 2012

Peer Effects, Risk Pooling, and Status Seeking: What Explains Gift Spending Escalation in Rural China?

It has been widely documented that the poor spend a significant proportion of their income on gifts even at the expense of basic consumption. We test three competing explanations of this phenomenon—pe...

by Xi Chen | On 10 Jan 2012

Can Lease Hold Forestry in Nepal Benefit People and the Environment?

In Nepal an innovative form of forestry management, known as the Leasehold Forestry (LHF) Programme, is being introduced to protect forest land and help it regenerate. A new SANDEE study analyzes th...

by South Asian Network for Development SANDEE | On 10 Jan 2012

Parental Education as a Criterion for Affirmative Action in Higher Education: A Preliminary Analysis

Affirmative action, especially in the form of reservation policies, to address the issues of inclusion and equity has been in place in India for a long time. Through these policies higher participatio...

by Rakesh Basant | On 09 Jan 2012

Economic Dynamics and Forest Clearing: A Spatial Econometric Analysis for Indonesia

This paper uses a large panel database to investigate the determinants of forest clearing in Indonesian kabupatens since 2005. The study incorporates short-run changes in prices and demand for palm...

by David Wheeler | On 28 Dec 2011

Twenty Years of CRC: A Balance Sheet- Volume 1

The report is a rich source with qualitative and quantitative data on the status of children in India from authentic and established sources. [HAQCRC report]. URL:[http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 28 Dec 2011

Poverty Dynamics of Female-headed Households in Pakistan: Evidence from PIHS 2000-01 and PSLM 2004-05

The paper attempts to empirically test a naïve version of what is rather stylistically termed as “feminisation of poverty”, using the sub-sample of female -headed households (FHHs) from two househol...

by Umer Khalid | On 21 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

The Welfare Impacts of Leasehold Forestry in Nepal

The study analyzes the role of the leasehold forestry (LHF) program in improving household welfare in Nepal. Both the time saved in biomass collection and the addition to income through increases in b...

by Bishnu Prasad Sharma | On 15 Dec 2011

Comparative Analysis of Inflation in Nepal and India

Inflation data for the past few years (August 2007 to October 2011 of Nepal and August 2007 to July 2011 of India for the analysis of monthly annual variation) have been taken into consideration for...

by Nepal Rastra Bank Research Department NRB | On 12 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

Mitigating Seasonal Hunger: Evidence from Northwest Bangladesh

The seasonality of poverty and food deprivation is a common feature of rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, but it is more marked in the northwest region of Rangpur where the interlocking of seasonality...

by Shahidur Khandker | On 12 Dec 2011

A Regulatory Approach to Financial Product Advice and Distribution

Financial distribution, where the distributor is the agent of both the product provider and the customer, has been found to inherently work against the interests of customers, in the form of high ser...

by M Sahoo | On 08 Dec 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

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011

A bill to provide for the establishment of an Authority to promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds, to protect the interests of subscribers to sche...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | 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

A Comparison of the Industrialization Paths for Asian Services Outsourcing Industries, and Implications for Poverty Alleviation

This paper examines three software and/or information technology enabled services (ITES) industries—two in the early stages of development (in the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and the Philippines)...

by F Ted Tschang | On 25 Oct 2011

Does Greater Autonomy Improve Performance? Evidence from Water Service Providers in Indian Cities?

The efficiency of urban water supply in 27 Indian cities are analyzed using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Cities are grouped by the management structure of their water utilities. Utilities with g...

by Shreekant Gupta | On 24 Oct 2011

Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Estimation of Poverty

There has been a growing concern on the official estimates of poverty released by the Planning commission. The official poverty estimates have been severely criticised on various counts. In view of...

by Planning Commission | On 21 Oct 2011

Gender, Governance and Women’s Rights in South Asia

This study focuses on gender equality and democratic governance in the five largest states of the South Asian region, namely, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Beginning with a general...

by Seema Kazi | On 20 Oct 2011

Relation between Population, Gender and Reproductive Health

Review of the book 'Population, Gender and Reproductive Health'. F Ram, Sayeed Unisa and T V Sekher (eds.), Rawat publications, 2011, 416 pp, Rs 925

by K.S. James | On 20 Oct 2011

Institutional and Procedural Challenges to Generic Production in India: Antiretrovirals in Focus

With a review of the historic role of India as a supplier of Antiretrovirals (ARV) medicines the paper outlines some of the key rulings in Indian courts as the interpretation of the new patent laws ar...

by Cassandra Sweet | On 19 Oct 2011

Transactions Matter but They Hardly Cost: Irrigation Management in the Kathmandu Valley

This study estimates the transaction costs entailed in maintaining Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) in Nepal based on a case study of 60 irrigation systems in the Kathmandu valley. It analyz...

by Ram Chandra Bhattarai | On 18 Oct 2011

Paraiyans’ Self-assertion for Identity

Review of Nandanar’s Children: The Paraiyans’ Tryst with Destiny Tamil Nadu 1850—1956, Raj Sekhar Basu, Sage India, New Delhi, 2011, 492 pp, Rs 895

by Rajesh Komath | On 11 Oct 2011

Gender Dimensions: Employment Trends in India, 1993-94 to 2009-10

This paper examines some of the explicit as well as not so explicit trends in relation to women’s employment in India from 1993-94 till 2009-10 and argues that they indicate a grave and continuing...

by Indrani Mazumdar | On 10 Oct 2011

One Hundred years of Economic Change in Bengal: Re-visiting the Economic Life of a Bengal District

Through the use of secondary data, field visits and focus group discussions, this study explores the dynamics of the evolution of the economic life in Greater Faridpur over the last 100d years (1910-2...

by Selim Raihan | On 04 Oct 2011

Food, Hunger and Ethics

Management of hunger has to look into issues of availability, accessibility and adequacy. Posing it from an ethical perspective the paper argues out in favour of right to food. But, for this to happe...

by Srijit Mishra | On 30 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

Poverty Redefined

To ensure that the benefits to the poor go to the really poor, then there has to be proper definitions for poverty and poverty line. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/t-n-ninan-poverty-...

by T.N. Ninan | 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

Mitigating Climate Change Through Agriculture

Among the major challenges currently faced by humanity are food security and climate change. Agriculture plays a significant role in both. Adapting to climate change is expected to be an increasing ...

by Claire Schaffnit Chatterjee | On 26 Sep 2011

Gender Inclusion in Climate Change Adaptation

A review of the various issues related to gender and poverty and examine the relationships between gender and various indices, including the human development index (HDI), the gender inequality index...

by Midori Aoyagi | On 22 Sep 2011

Iraq’s Last Window: Diffusing the Risks of a Petro-State

This paper, examines the possibility of adopting Oil- to- Cash scheme in Iraq. Here, a new opportunity is identified which aims for direct distribution of Iraqi oil rents in the planned production exp...

by Johnny West | On 19 Sep 2011

National Policy for Senior Citizens: 2011

The foundation of the new policy, known as the “National Policy for Senior Citizens 2011” is based on several factors. These include the demographic explosion among the elderly, the changing economy a...

by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment GOI | On 19 Sep 2011

Agrofuels – A Boost of Energy for the Mekong Region?

This background paper seeks to brief readers on the extent of the development, production and consumption of agrofuels, particularly liquid fuels for transport, in the Mekong region. The area of focu...

by Rebeca Leonard | On 12 Sep 2011

Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 12th Five Year Plan

In preparing the Approach Paper, the Planning Commission has consulted much more widely than ever before recognising the fact that citizens are now much better informed and also keen to engage. Over...

by Planning Commission, India | On 12 Sep 2011

Research Study on Role of Tribal Women Wage Earner in Ensuring Family Food Security in Scheduled Areas of Rajasthan in Changing Environmental and Economic Scenario

The project aimed to find the reasons for bottlenecks in the present system that deprive the tribal community of the benefit of schemes. Five villages from each block have been selected to make tot...

by Maharana Pratap Adhyayan Evam Jan Kalyan Sansthan Jaipur | On 02 Sep 2011

Agricultural Practice and its Relation to Poverty and Food Security in Selected River Basins in Bangladesh: A Situation Analysis

Poverty and food security in the context of Bangladesh has become a major concern over time. While efforts have been intensified to increase crop yield through increased land use, using inorganic fe...

by Shyamal C Ghosh | 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

Comparison between the Lokpal Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha and the Jan Lokpal Bill

A note comparing the key features of the Lok Pal Bill, 2011 introduced on August 4, 2011 and the Bill prepared by civil society representatives in the Joint Drafting Committee. URL:[http://www.prsind...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 26 Aug 2011

Policy Dilemmas in India: The Impact of Changes in Agricultural Prices on Rural and Urban Poverty

Trade policy reforms which lead to changes in world prices of agricultural commodities or domestic policies aimed at affecting agricultural prices are often seen as causing a policy dilemma: a fall...

by Sandra Polaski | On 26 Aug 2011

Trans-border Identities: (A Study on the Impact of Bangladeshi and Nepali Migration to India)

This paper deals with migration into India from adjoining neighbours and its impact on security and other issues of national interest. Unlike other studies on migration, it focuses on the ethnic ident...

by Subhakanta Behera | On 26 Aug 2011

Objects and Accomplishments of Participatory Irrigation Management Programme in India: An Open Pair of Scissors

Participatory irrigation management programme as a prelude to irrigation management transfer to users is being set up by many states for over five years now. Though it is recognized that the governm...

by R Parthasarathy | On 25 Aug 2011

Household Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure in India: Levels, Patterns and Policy Concerns

This paper uses the most recent wave of Consumer Expenditure Survey 2004-05 to examine the distribution of Out of Pocket (OOP) healthcare payments in India. The purpose of the paper is threefold; f...

by William Joe | On 25 Aug 2011

Poverty and Food Insecurity in India: A Disaggregated Regional Profile

This study provides a profile of deprivation with respect to consumer expenditure, cereal consumption and energy intake across demographic and agro-climatic regions as defined by the National Sample...

by Suryanarayana M H | On 23 Aug 2011

The Costs of Achieving the Millennium Development Goals through Adopting Organic Agriculture

This paper provides estimates of the costs of organic agriculture (OA) programs, and sets them in the context of the costs of attaining the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It anal...

by Anil Markandya | On 19 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

Does Land Reform Matter? An Empirical Analysis of Indian States

This article looks into the role of land reform in comparison to concentric ef fort to augment agricultural GDP. Redistribut ive land reform policy aims to improve land endowments of poor, though va...

by Debdatta Pal | On 18 Aug 2011

Poverty Estimates in India: Old and New Methods, 2004-05

This paper provides estimates of poverty and inequality across states as also for different sub-groups of population for 2004-05 by using the old and new methods of the Planning Commission. The new m...

by Durgesh C Pathak | On 17 Aug 2011

Identifying Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs)

In this study the analytical framework for identifying and benchmarking systemically important financial institutions is discussed. First, the main concepts underlying the SIFI definition are laid out...

by Christian Weistroffer | 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

Multidimensional Indices of Achievements and Poverty: What Do We Gain and What and What Do We Lose?

Poverty and well-being are multidimensional. Nobody questions that deprivations and achievements go beyond income. There is, however, sharp disagreement on whether the various dimensions of poverty...

by Nora Lustig | On 11 Aug 2011

Configuring Balanced Scorecards for Measuring Health System Performance: Evidence from 5 Years’ Evaluation in Afghanistan

In 2004, Afghanistan pioneered a balanced scorecard (BSC) performance system to manage the delivery of primary health care services. This study examines the trends of 29 key performance indicators ov...

by Edward Anbrasi | On 04 Aug 2011

Chronic Poverty in South West Madhya Pradesh: A Multidimensional Analysis of its Extent and Causes

The structuralist perspective envisages poverty, especially in rural India, as a long duration phenomenon. Over time, most of the structural features of poverty have remained more or less intact. As a...

by Amita Shah | On 02 Aug 2011

Health Care Systems and Conflict: A Fragile State of Affairs

Health care systems are necessary in all countries, the importance of strong health care systems to fragile nations, and the damage done to these systems during conflict, receive less attention t...

by PLoS Medicine Editors | On 29 Jul 2011

Revisiting the ARI Programme of BRAC: How Well are We Doing?

The ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) control programme of BRAC has been in operation for the last few years. No independent evaluation has so far been conducted to explore how far the objectives of...

by Qazi Shafayetul Islam | On 28 Jul 2011

Recent Employment Situation and Labor Market Developments in Bangladesh

This note examines recent trends in the labor market and employment situation in Bangladesh and draws some policy implications keeping the poverty reduction imperatives in view. [BB PP No. 0807]. URL:...

by Md. Habibur Rahman | On 26 Jul 2011

A Voice for the Voiceless: Peer-to-peer Mobile Phone Networks for a Community Radio Service

A new application for mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) – community radio is proposed. How MANETS help overcome important limitations in how community radio is currently operationalized is shown here. A...

by Kavitha Ranganathan | On 19 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

Poverty, RCH-Care Utilization and Fertility in India: A District Level Analysis

The study highlights interlinkages amongst district level poverty, socioeconomic developmental indices, RCH-care utilization and fertility. Thereby the study formulates a recursive model to highlight...

by S C Gulati | On 11 Jul 2011

Lives and Livelihoods on the Streets of Dhaka City: Findings from a Population-based Exploratory Survey

BRAC has long been working to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. In recent years, BRAC has extended its activities to include the urba...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 11 Jul 2011

Understanding the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Child and Maternal Health among the Poor: Opportunities for South Asia

The economic crisis hit many countries in 2007 and the effects are still being felt, especially in poorer developing nations. Much of the debate surrounding the economic crisis and its impacts has foc...

by Azra Abdul Cader | On 11 Jul 2011

Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Tall and not so Tall Women of India

New studies are increasingly appearing based on historical data across the world that better socio-economic status is associated with taller men and women. This study based on a recent Indian data ana...

by Brinda Viswanathan | On 08 Jul 2011

The Don Sahong Dam: Potential Impacts on Regional Fish Migrations, Livelihoods and Human Health

This paper focuses on the Don Sahong Dam (DSD’s) potential impacts on fish and fisheries, and particularly the project’s regional implications in relation to fisheries, including its possible impact...

by Ian Bird | On 08 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

Decentralized Forest Governance - A Policy Perspective

This paper examines challenges associated with early stages of decentralizing the administration and management of forest resources. It is based on review of literature on forest, decentralization a...

by Aruna Kumar Monditoka | On 07 Jul 2011

Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Reconstruction, and Growth

Growth, poverty reduction, and social peace are all undermined when public expenditure management and taxation are weak and when the fiscal deficit and public debt are not managed successfully. And la...

by Tony Addison | On 04 Jul 2011

Economic Development in Orissa: Growth Without Inclusion?

The economy of Orissa has been lagging behind the national economy by several decades. Its per capita net state domestic product, a measure of average income, stood at Rs.20200 for 2006-07 which fal...

by Manoj Panda | On 04 Jul 2011

Poverty and Inequality in Uttar Pradesh during 1993-94 to 2004-05: A Decomposition Analysis

This paper attempts a decomposition analysis of Poverty scenario in UP during 1993-94 and 2004-05. It was found that poverty has decreased but inequality has increased between these years. The main ...

by Durgesh Chandra Pathak | On 01 Jul 2011

Spatial Inequality in Rural India: Do Initial Conditions Matter?

Disparities in income and living standards across countries and between regions within countries (spatial inequality) have been the subject of much debate and research in recent years. Spatial inequal...

by Hari Nagarajan | On 01 Jul 2011

Strategies for the Replication of Urban Environmental Innovations – A Case of Community-based Decentralized Composting in Dhaka

Traditionally sanitary services are provided by the State or State owned bodies. However, with the ever increasing population and waste generation rates coupled with lack of financial resources and in...

by Sudhakar Yedla | On 27 Jun 2011

Sustaining and Leveraging AIDS Treatment

In this CGD essay, Mead Over argues that international donor community cannot afford to continue its business-as-usual AIDS policy. It must focus more on preventing HIV to decrease the number of peopl...

by Mead Over | On 27 Jun 2011

Fragile States

Many of the world’s poorest countries can be described as 'fragile states' wherein governments cannot or will not provide an environment for households to reduce, mitigate, or cope with poverty and ot...

by Wim Naudé | On 23 Jun 2011

Poverty and Natural Resources: Understanding the Dynamics in the Content of Dryland Regions in Western India

The interface between environment and poverty is a complex phenomenon. Poverty reduction needs will be enabled if the poor are allowed access to natural capital, such as land, water, forest and minera...

by Amita Shah | On 23 Jun 2011

Economic Growth and Poverty Dynamics

This paper briefly reviews the literature on economic growth and poverty and then examines whether economic growth influences poverty dynamics. The literature relating to the impact of economic growth...

by Shashanka Bhide | On 22 Jun 2011

Poverty Reduction in China: Is High Growth Enough?

The slowdown and in some years reversal of poverty reduction in China forcefully demonstrates that growth is not sufficient for combating poverty even if that growth is of unprecedented magnitude. Pol...

by Guanghua Wan | On 16 Jun 2011

Drivers of Escape and Descent: Changing Household Fortunes in Rural Bangladesh

This paper analyses a panel dataset on 379 rural households in Bangladesh interviewed in 1987/88 and 2000. Using a ‘livelihoods’ framework it contrasts the fortunes of ascending households (which es...

by Binayak Sen | On 16 Jun 2011

Participatory Forest Management: Collective Action Under Three Different Institutional Regimes

Community Forestry in India is characterized broadly by the presence of three different types of institutional structures aimed at promoting common property regimes- self-initiated efforts, NGO- promo...

by Rucha Ghate | On 15 Jun 2011

The Legacy of the Jubilee Debt Relief Movement: Agreements, Lessons, and Remaining Challenges

Over the last 25 years, the international community has pursued a series of measures to address unsustainable debt burdens in low-income countries. Early actions focused on debt relief for official bi...

by Ben Leo | On 15 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

Access to Education and Employment: Implications for Poverty

The paper explores the linkages between ‘Education’ and ‘Poverty’ and the possibility of poverty reduction through better employment opportunities. The paper proceeds with the understanding that pov...

by Rushidan Islam Rahman | On 13 Jun 2011

The Trappings of Poverty:The Role of Assets and Liabilities in Socio-economic Mobility in Rural Bangladesh

This paper examines the role of assets and liabilities in socio-economic mobility patterns using findings from 293 life-history interviews, conducted by the author and a small team of researchers in r...

by Peter Davis | On 10 Jun 2011

Access to Land and Land Policy Reforms

The objective of this research and policy brief is to analyse different mechanisms of access to land for the rural poor in an era when redistribution through expropriative land reform is largely incon...

by Alain de Janvry | On 10 Jun 2011

Social Exclusion and Adverse Incorporation in Rural Bangladesh: Evidence from a Mixed-methods Study of Poverty Dynamics

Using findings from a mixed-methods study of poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh, including from 293 life history interviews, the paper explores how the alternative stance of viewing poverty dynamics...

by Peter Davis | On 09 Jun 2011

Natural Disasters, Risks, Vulnerability and Persistence of Poverty: An Analysis of Household Level Data

The paper explores the vulnerability and persistence of poverty amongst the rural households in the disaster-prone areas of Bangladesh. It draws upon some of the factors and processes that have prev...

by Quazi Shahabuddin | On 08 Jun 2011

Commune-Level Estimation of Poverty Measures and its Application in Cambodia

In this study, the Cambodian socioeconomic survey for 1997 and the country’s population census of 1998 has been combined to produce poverty measures at the commune-level in Cambodia using the small-...

by Tomoki Fujii | On 06 Jun 2011

Impact of Dry land Salinity on Agriculture and Drinking Water: A Study from the Coastal Gujarat

The present paper is a study of the impact of salinity ingress on the rural households in the coastal regions of Gujarat. The paper throws up some important insights which appear policy relevant.

by Jyothis Sathyapalan | On 02 Jun 2011

Community Forestry in Nepal Management Rules and Distribution of Benefits

In the last decade, far reaching policy reforms in Nepal have allowed local communities to regain control over the management of vast tracts of lands. Community forestry is widely believed to be a maj...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 01 Jun 2011

Women Exiting Chronic Poverty: Empowerment Through Equitable Control of Households’ Natural Resources

This paper examines the relationship between women’s vulnerability to poverty and their management of domestic natural resources. It finds that gendered experiences of poverty often derive from discri...

by Jessica Espey | On 01 Jun 2011

Vulnerability in Rural Bangladesh: Learning from Life History Interviews

This paper explores the nature of vulnerability and its relationship to chronic poverty in rural Bangladesh drawing from 293 life-history interviews conducted by the author and a small team of researc...

by Peter Davis | On 31 May 2011

Tank Degradation and Poverty Reduction-The Importance of Common Property Resources in Sustaining the Rural Poor

This study reveals the importance of tank irrigation in the lives of poor households and suggests that the poor may bear the bulk of the burden from tank deterioration. Tank-based agricultural income...

by South Asian Network for Development and Environmen Economics | On 19 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

Why Tackling Indoor Air Pollution Makes Sense – A Study from Nepal

Indoor air pollution (IAP) is a major environmental health problem in Nepal. Most of the poor in the country cook in poorly ventilated kitchens using inefficient stoves that burn wood and other bio...

by Min Bikram Malla Thakuri | On 06 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

Nepal and the Pax Indianus

In May 2009, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) warned of growing threats to sustainable peace in Nepal. Since that time, Nepal’s politics have continued to polarize. Nepal still has two ar...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights | On 04 May 2011

Technology in Healthcare: Current Controversies

The articles in each section of this analogy of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics represents major debates on the ethics of healthcare technology- its development and its application. They cover is...

by Sandhya Srinivasan | On 03 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

Community Management is Good for Forests: Results from a Field Experiment in India

The study looks at the relationship between indigenous people and their forest homes using a novel field field experiments approach. [Policy Brief No. 48-10]. URL:[http://www.sandeeonline.org/upload...

by South Asian Network for Development SANDEE | On 29 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

Characteristics and Patterns of Intergenerational Poverty Traps and Escapes in Rural North India

The paper examines the poverty status of 4,198 households resident in 18 villages of Rajasthan, India, at four points of time between 1977 to 2010 using retrospective methodology known as Stages of Pr...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 20 Apr 2011

National Youth Policy 2010 (NYP 2010)

The NYP 2010 is a step forward from the earlier Policy formulated in 1988 and, later, in 2003. It reaffirms commitment of the nation to the holistic development of the young people of the country....

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 19 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

Policy Responses to the Spatial Dimensions of Poverty

This paper discusses policy responses to the spatial dimensions of poverty. [CPRC Working Paper 168] URL: [http://www.chronicpoverty.org/uploads/publication_files/WP168%20Higgins-Bird-Harris.pdf]

by Kate Higgins | On 24 Mar 2011

‘Spatial Poverty Traps: What Are They and What Can Be Done About Them?'

This paper demonstrates how urban spatial poverty traps exist in developing countries and makes the case for including an urban focus to spatial poverty analysis and policy responses. It frames this w...

by Ursula Grant | On 23 Mar 2011

Poverty, Vulnerability and Family Size:Evidence from the Philippines

The population and poverty nexus is not new but remains an important development issue for many countries. Recent research has added the crucial dimension of vulnerability to poverty to the debate on...

by Aniceto C. Orbeta, Jr. | On 21 Mar 2011

Constituency Development Funds: Are They Constitutional?

This brief examines one particular criticism of Constituency Development Funds (CDFs): they infringe upon the doctrine of separation of powers. It also discusses whether CDFs adhere to other important...

by Christina Murray | On 18 Mar 2011

Managing Common Pool Resources for Poverty Reduction in Tribal Areas of Eastern India

The main objectives of the study were to analyze the role of non-timber forest products in poverty alleviation in Chhattisgarh; to examine the system of governance, institutional framework and prog...

by R S Deshpande | 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

Political Economy of Tribal Development: A Case Study of Andhra Pradesh

The paper delineates the situation of the Scheduled Tribes in the background of various policies of the state during the successive plan periods and its impact on their socio-economic mobility. Pol...

by M. Gopinath Reddy | On 16 Mar 2011

Why Fighting Poverty is Hard

One reason anti-poverty policy has not worked better than it has is because, one went into it naively, without enough of an understanding of what makes it hard. This essay is about what the author hav...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 16 Mar 2011

The State of the World’s Children 2011 Adolescence – An Age of Opportunity

The State of the World's Children 2011 examines the global state of adolescents; outlines the challenges they face in health, education, protection and participation; and explores the risks and vulner...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 14 Mar 2011

Methodology for Identifying The Poorest at Local Level

This article argues that the extreme poor warrant specific analytical and policy focus. It attempts to identify the extreme poor in rural Bangladesh by devising sensitive targeting indicators that a...

by Binayak Sen | On 09 Mar 2011

Draft Food Security Bill, 2010

While the Government of India has several schemes for augmenting agricultural production and ensuring adequate availability of food for different segments, a Bill to provide a statutory framework to e...

by Government of India GOI | On 04 Mar 2011

Feedback received until 28th February, 2011 on the Framework note on NFSB

Based on the recommendations the National Advisory Council had already communicated to the Government, as a first step towards preparing the draft National Food Security Bill, a detailed Framework Not...

by National Advisory Council NAC | On 04 Mar 2011

Note on the Draft National Food Security Bill

As agreed by the NAC at its meeting on July 14th, 2010, a Working Group of Members of the NAC was constituted on the National Food Security Bill. After due deliberations and wide ranging consultations...

by Harsh Mander | On 04 Mar 2011

An Ethnobiography of Teyyam Performance from a Practitioner’s Perspective

Rajesh Komath gives a description the conflicts between his socio-material position as a Teyyam performer, and persona/personality as a student of economics.

by Smriti Vohra | On 26 Feb 2011

Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP): Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors Survey

The overall objective of the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) risk factors survey was to improve the information available to the Government health services and care providers on a set of high-priority...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 24 Feb 2011

India Chronic Poverty: Towards Solutions and New Compacts in a Dynamic Context

This report is a call to policy makers and concerned citizens to use this talisman, to redeem the pledges made by the Constituent Assembly and to recognise the fact that the numbers and proportions o...

by Aasha Kapur Mehta | On 22 Feb 2011

Measuring Human Well-being: Key Findings and Policy Lessons

This Policy Brief is an outcome of the UNU-WIDER research project 'Social Development Indicators'. The overall aim of the project was to provide insights into how human well-being might be better conc...

by David Clark | On 18 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

Financing of Disease Control Programs in India

The report analyzes the present case scenario of the disease control programs in India.

by Ravi Duggal | On 15 Feb 2011

India's Forests and the Judiciary-The Godavarman Story

The Godavarman Case since 1995, the Centre for Environment Law –WWF-India case also instituted in 1995 and the Navin Raheja case since 1998, ongoing before the Apex Court with over few thousand appli...

by Sanjay Upadhyay | On 15 Feb 2011

Poverty, marriage timing, and transitions to adulthood in Nepal: A longitudinal analysis using the Nepal Living Standards Survey

This study examines the influence of household poverty experienced during early childhood on early marriage and outcomes in schooling and workforce participation for girls during adolescence in Nepa...

by Ashish Bajracharya | On 14 Feb 2011

Rural Poverty Dynamics 2005/2006: Evidence from 64-Village Census Plus

This report addresses the recent dynamics of poverty in rural Bangladesh with particular focus on two groups of the poorest - the chronically poor and the extreme poor - based on the 64-village census...

by Zulfiqar Ali | On 14 Feb 2011

The Nature of Mothers’ Work and Children’s Schooling in Nepal: The Influence of Income and Time Effects

This paper examines the influence of the nature of mothers’ work on Nepali children’s schooling outcomes. Using nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey...

by Ashish Bajracharya | 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

Unregulated Entities, Products, and Markets: Challenges for Monitoring and Regulation

This policy brief examines hedge funds, private equity funds, and innovative financial products, particularly collateralized debt obligations and asset-backed securities, including their overall struc...

by Peter Morgan | On 08 Feb 2011

How Effciently is Capital Allocated? Evidence from the Knitted Garment Industry in Tirupur

This paper studies the effect of community identity on investment behavior in the knitted garment industry in the South Indian town of Tirupur. [BREAD Working Paper No. 004] URL: [http://ipl.econ.duk...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 03 Feb 2011

Broadening Poverty Definitions in India: Basic Needs in Urban Housing

This paper considers how the official poverty line in India would have to change, if it were to be set at a level that allowed urban households to afford minimally adequate accommodation. It discusses...

by S. Chandrashekar | On 02 Feb 2011

Resource Booklet CFPR-II Evaluation

Bangladesh is making consistent progress in poverty reduction since early 1990s. According to Household Income-Expenditure Surveys, poverty rate has declined from more than 60% in 1990- 91 to just a...

by Munshi Sulaiman | 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

Poverty Eradication / Alleviation in North East India : An Approach

The NEC Shillong has assigned the National Institute of Rural Development, North Eastern Regional Centre (NIRD-NERC), Guwahati to prepare a report on “Poverty Eradication in the North Eastern Region...

by Ministry for Development of the North East (DONER) | On 28 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

Rethinking the Policy Objectives of Development Aid: From Economic Growth to Conflict Prevention

The current consensus objective of development aid in the international community is to reduce poverty in general and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in particular. In addition,...

by Sakiko Fukuda- Parr | On 21 Jan 2011

Exclusion and Poverty: An Analytical Approach for Understanding Exclusion and Assessing Programmes Targeting the Very Poor in Bangladesh

Exclusion is a term that comes up often in association with poverty, social welfare and social injustice. Development interventions are designed with some notion of benefiting or including the exclu...

by Sajjad Zohir | On 18 Jan 2011

WASH Programme of BRAC: Towards Attaining the MDG Targets: Baseline Findings

The combination of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities is a precondition for health and for success in the fight against poverty, hunger, child death, and gender inequality. It is...

by . BRAC | On 18 Jan 2011

Rethinking Food Security Strategy: Self-sufficiency or Self-reliance

This Policy Brief discusses whether Bangladesh should continue to pursue a national food security strategy based on self-reliance or return to its earlier policy of food self-sufficiency through ...

by Uttam Kumar Deb | On 17 Jan 2011

Two Studies on Healthcare Seeking Behaviour and Household Sanitation Practices of BRAC Member and Nonmember Households in Matlab, Bangladesh

Understanding the morbidity profile and healthcare seeking behaviour of different socioeconomic strata of the community is important for planning and delivery of appropriate health services, especia...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 14 Jan 2011

Globalization and the Urban Poor

The focus of this paper is the effect of contemporary globalization on poverty and inequality in cities of the ‘global south’. Specifically it addresses the impact of globalization on marginalize...

by Janice E. Perlman | On 13 Jan 2011

Environmental Literacy and NGOs: Experience from the Microcredit Based Social Forestry Program of Proshika in Bangladesh

This study assesses the impact of participation in the social forestry program of Proshika on the environmental literacy of participating households in Bangladesh. Proshika--a non-governmental organiz...

by Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury | On 13 Jan 2011

Vietnam as a Role Model for Development

Vietnam’s development performance since the early 1990s has been one of the strongest in the world, following the introduction of its doi moi (‘renovation’) economic reform programme in 1986. The...

by John Thoburn | On 11 Jan 2011

Taking Doctors Where the Ultra Poor are: Assessment of the Panel Doctor Scheme of CFPR/TUP Programme

To facilitate access of ultra poor households to qualified allopathic care, especially for moderate-tosevere and chronic morbidities, the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction/Targeting the ...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 10 Jan 2011

Ethnic Minority Poverty in Vietnam

The paper examines various aspects of development of minority in Vietnam.

by Bob Baulch | On 07 Jan 2011

Poverty Measures and Anti-Poverty Policy with an Egalitarian Constraint

Bourguignon and Fields (‘Poverty Measures and Anti-Poverty Policy’) and Gangopadhyay and Subramanian (‘Optimal Budgetary Intervention in Poverty Alleviation Schemes’) have derived optimal budgeta...

by S. Subramanian | On 07 Jan 2011

Joint Forest management, Role of Communication, and Harvesting Behavior: Evidence from Field Experiments in India

There has been much interest recently in promoting decentralization in the forestry sector in the belief that it would bring in downward accountability, which in turn would ensure economic efficiency,...

by Rucha Ghate | On 06 Jan 2011

Monetary Policy, Capital Flows, and the Exchange Rate

The use of monetary policy in India has been constrained by a loose fiscal policy and capital flows. Capital inflows have the potential to cause a Dutch Disease-type situation. The RBI has carried out...

by Partha Sen | On 06 Jan 2011

Unbelievable but True — Improved Cook-stoves are not Helpful in Reducing Firewood Demand in Nepal

This paper analyzes the effect of different types of cook-stoves on firewood demand at the household level. Nationally representative household data from Nepal is used for the study. [SANDEE Working...

by Mani Nepal | On 05 Jan 2011

An Approach to Communication and Social Change: How Communications Can Build Social Capital for the Ultra Poor

BRAC’s Advocacy and Human Rights Unit (BAHRU) has developed a social communications programme that goes beyond traditional approaches of marketing communications. The goal of the programme is long-t...

by Jeneviève Mann ell | On 03 Jan 2011

Explaining Threshold Effects of Globalization on Poverty: An Institutional Perspective

The paper focuses on the non-linearity of the transmission of the impact of globalization on poverty and the existence of threshold effects. Institutions constitute a critical factor for the creatio...

by Alice Sindzingre | On 31 Dec 2010

Why Do Poverty Rates Differ From Region to Region? The Case of Urban China

This paper proposes a semi-parametric method for poverty decomposition, which combines the data-generating procedure of Shorrocks and Wan (2004) with the Shapley value framework of Shorrocks (1999...

by Yin Zhang | On 29 Dec 2010

Profitability of BRAC-financed Projects: A Study of Seven Microenterprises in Matlab

The basic objective of this study was to look at the profit rates made by VO members once they have made investments in projects financed through BRAC loans. BRAC’s twin objectives of employment and ...

by Hassan Zaman | On 28 Dec 2010

Problems of the Women Headed Households

The objective of this study was to identify and understand the problems faced by women-headed households. The study was undertaken with two assumptions: (1) a support system is in place which ensure...

by Naomi Hossain | On 28 Dec 2010

Globalization, Production and Poverty

The impact of globalization on poverty is a matter of keen debate but empirical work in this area has been dominated by cross-country regressions. This paper attempts to link the more macro impact...

by Rhys Jenkins | On 23 Dec 2010

Globalization, Local Ecosystems, and the Rural Poor

Livelihoods of the rural poor in developing countries are critically dependent on the health of the local ecosystems. In this paper they examine the various mechanisms through which globalization...

by Rimjhim M. Aggarwal | On 23 Dec 2010

The Withdrawal of OHCHR-Nepal: Agreeing an Alibi for Violation?

On 9th June 2010 the mandate of the UN human rights field mission to Nepal, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal), expires. The Prime Minister MK Nepal has said t...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 22 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

Women’s Status and Child Labour in Nepal

This paper uses data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey 2 (2003/2004) to find evidence to whether children are less likely to work and more likely to attend school in a household where the mothe...

by Milla Nyyssölä | On 20 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

Negotiating Placeness:Tribal Communities in Western Ghats

The paper discuses the differences tribals and government have in understanding of and perception about the forest. It also discuses the outcomes of these differences.

by M. Suresh | On 15 Dec 2010

Growth, Income Distribution, and Poverty: A Review

This paper reviews recent research dealing with the relationships between economic growth, income distribution, and poverty. This generally fails to find any systematic pattern of change in income d...

by Arne Bigsten | On 09 Dec 2010

Agribusiness in South Asia: A Fact Sheet

Agribusiness is the single largest sector of the economy in many developing countries and is growing fast. The present paper examines the situation of agribusiness in different countries of South Asia...

by Sukhpal Singh | On 09 Dec 2010

Free Trade Agreement between People’s Republic of China and India: Likely Impact and Its Implications to Asian Economic Community

Open regionalism and trade cooperation between the world’s two largest developing countries, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, can foster outward-oriented development and intra-regio...

by Swapan K. Bhattacharya | On 06 Dec 2010

Economic Well-being and Non-economic Well-being: A Review of the Meaning and Measurement of Poverty

This paper discusses the measurement of poverty and well-being. A historical overview is given of the last fifty years. This is followed by discussion of three groupings of indicators: those meas...

by Andrew Sumner | On 03 Dec 2010

Decomposing Spatial Differences in Poverty in India

Over the last decade, India has been one of the fastest growing economies, and has experienced considerable decline in overall income poverty. However, in a vast country like India, poverty levels v...

by Shatakshee Dhongde | On 03 Dec 2010

Out of School and (Probably) in Work: Child Labour and Capability Deprivation in India

This paper explores the hypothesis that the phenomenon of child labour is explicable in terms of poverty that compels a household to keep its children out of school and put them to work in the cau...

by D. Jayaraj | On 02 Dec 2010

Looking Beyond Averages in the Trade and Poverty Debate

There has been much debate about how much poor people in developing countries gain from trade openness, as one aspect of ‘globalization’. The paper views the issue through both ‘macro’ and ‘micro’...

by Martin Ravallion | On 02 Dec 2010

The Relationship between Income Inequality, Poverty, and Globalization

This paper introduces two composite indices of globalization. The first is based on the Kearney/Foreign Policy magazine and the second is obtained from principal component analysis. They indicate...

by Almas Heshmati | On 30 Nov 2010

Globalization, Poverty and Inequality: What Is the Relationship? What Can Be Done?

The paper studies the relation between globalization, inequality and marginalization, within and across nations. It reviews the existing evidence on globalization and global inequality and argues,...

by Kaushik Basu | On 29 Nov 2010

Channels and Policy Debate in the Globalization-Inequality-Poverty Nexus

The paper offers a critical literature review of the debate surrounding the globalization- poverty nexus, focusing on channels and linkages through which globalization affects the poor. After intro...

by Machiko Nissanke | 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

The Effect of IMF and World Bank Programmes on Poverty

Structural adjustment, as measured by the number of adjustment loans from the IMF and World Bank, reduces the growth elasticity of poverty reduction. Growth does reduce poverty, but the author find...

by William Easterly | On 19 Nov 2010

Frontline pay-off

The general assumption in New Delhi’s “strategic community” is that it is in India’s interest for Americans troops to stay on in Kabul. The theory is that the US is doing the hard work that is beyond...

by T.N. Ninan | On 11 Nov 2010

How Responsive is Poverty to Growth? A Regional Analysis of Poverty, Inequality, and Growth in Indonesia, 1984-99

This paper uses six nationally representative household consumption surveys to develop successive poverty profiles for Indonesia over a fifteen-year period of sustained high growth followed by rapi...

by Jed Friedman | On 11 Nov 2010

Socioeconomic Impacts of Cross-Border Transport Infrastructure Development in South Asia

Although the overall economic performance of economies in South Asia in recent years has been impressive, there is concern that an aging and increasingly inadequate infrastructure may limit the potent...

by John Gilbert | 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

Asia’s Infrastructure Challenges: Issues of Institutional Capacity

The Asian region has experienced substantial growth over the past several decades. Indeed, a quarter of all world exports now come from East Asia. Strong infrastructure underpinnings have often been...

by Susan Stone | On 28 Oct 2010

The Welfare Fund Model of Social Security for Informal Sector Workers: The Kerala Experience

This paper examines the evolution of the institution of ‘Welfare Funds’ for informal sector workers in the State of Kerala in India. The Kerala experience, which is now thirty years old, reflects wh...

by K. P. Kannan | On 25 Oct 2010

Aid Allocation and Fragile States

This paper summarises research on aid allocation and effectiveness, highlighting the current findings of recent research on aid allocation to fragile states. Fragile states are defined by the dono...

by Mark McGillivray | On 21 Oct 2010

Transforming the North-East: Tackling Backlogs in Basic Minimum Services and Infrastructural Needs

The Prime Minister's economic package and offer of unconditional talks announced on the occasion of his visit to the Northeast last October has aroused great expectations in the Region. The conseque...

by Planning Commission | On 21 Oct 2010

Going Beyond Gender as Usual: Why and How Global HIV/AIDS Donors Can Do More for Women and Girls

This brief shows how three of the biggest donors to global HIV/AIDS programs can go beyond their stated commitments to address gender inequality and more effectively combat HIV and AIDS.

by Christina Droggitis | On 20 Oct 2010

Accelerating Economic Growth and Reducing Poverty: The Road Ahead

It outlines the broad framework and the strategy for poverty reduction based on four pillars: (a) accelerating economic growth while maintaining the macroeconomic stability; (b) improving the govern...

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, | On 19 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

Asset Creation and Local Economy under NREGs: Scope and Challenges

The paper examines the potential impact of wages and assets created under NREGS on local economies and discusses policy implications for ensuring realization of the potential. The specific objectiv...

by Amita Shah | On 18 Oct 2010

From Local to Global and Informal to Formal: Entering Mainstream Markets

This is a brief sketch of the Self Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) three- decade-long journey from the local to global and informal to formal sector in search of finding work and income for n...

by Reema Nanavaty | On 15 Oct 2010

Remoteness and Chronic Poverty in a Forest Region of Southern Orissa: A Tale of Entitlement Failure and State Apathy

This paper seeks to examine the extent, nature and structural factors (social, physical and legal) leading to poverty in southern region of Orissa, which has a dubious distinction of having the high...

by Amita Shah | On 14 Oct 2010

Stemming Girls’ Chronic Poverty: Catalysing Development Change by Building Just Social Institutions

Childhood, adolescence and early adulthood remain for many girls and young women a period of deprivation, danger and vulnerability, resulting in a signifcant lack of agency and critical developm...

by Nicola Jones | On 12 Oct 2010

Collective Values, Behavioural Norms and Rules Building Institutions for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction

Economic growth and poverty reduction require for a country to establish efficient rules for economic and political transactions. Poor countries suffer from inadequate, inefficient transaction rules...

by Ke-young Chu | On 12 Oct 2010

Big Push versus Absorptive Capacity: How to Reconcile the Two Approaches

In this paper they examine whether absorptive capacity can constitute sufficient justification for rejecting the proposal of a large aid increase to support the ‘big push’. They argue that the pro...

by Patrick Guillaumont | On 08 Oct 2010

The Blessing of the Commons: Small-scale Fisheries, Community Property Rights and Coastal Natural Assets

This paper is the product of an international research project of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA and the Centre for Science and Environme...

by John Kurien | On 07 Oct 2010

Impact of Global Recession on Sustainable Development and Poverty Linkages

The global financial crisis and the resulting economic slowdown may be assumed to have at least the benefit of also reducing environmental degradation in the individual countries. This paper discu...

by Venkatachalam Anbumozhi | On 07 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

Constructions of Community in Communication Research: A Study of Radio Broadcasting in India

The paper attempts to capture the construction of 'community' in Indian communication research. This paper attempts to trace the genealogy, interrogates its usage in Indian communication studies and s...

by Biswajit Das | On 05 Oct 2010

Assessing Socioeconomic Impacts of Transport Infrastructure Projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion

This study attempts to quantify the links between infrastructure investment and poverty reduction using a multi-region general equilibrium model, supplemented with household survey data for the Greate...

by Susan Stone | On 05 Oct 2010

Chronic Poverty and Social Conflict in Bihar

Chronic poverty trends cannot be examined without considering the impact of various social conflicts afflicting a region. It is true that all forms of poverty cannot be explained by conflicts as much...

by N.R. Mohanty | On 04 Oct 2010

Escaping Poverty: The Ralegan Siddhi Case

Poverty remains to be the most important development issue facing India with an estimated 301.72 million Indians (27.5 percent) living below the poverty line in 2004-2005. In 1975, Ralegan Siddhi was...

by Aasha Kapur Mehta | On 04 Oct 2010

Dynamics of Chronic Poverty: Variations in Factors Influencing Entry and Exit of the Chronic Poor

India experienced high economic growth in the 1990s. Some earlier studies, which attempted to identify the influence of growth on poverty dynamics in the country by including growth variables among th...

by Nidhi Dhamija | On 04 Oct 2010

Measuring the Environmental Impacts of Changing Trade Patterns on the Poor

It is an empirical fact that it is very difficult to balance economic growth, poverty reduction, and environment protection, particularly for developing and transitional economies. While the economic...

by Kaliappa Kalirajan | On 04 Oct 2010

Who Are the MDG Trailblazers? A New MDG Progress Index

In September, world leaders will assemble in New York to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ahead of the ensuing discussions, we examine how individual countries are fari...

by Benjamin Leo | On 29 Sep 2010

Social Protection is Centuries-Old!

In spite of continued growth, millions of Ugandans remain in long-term, extreme poverty. They are also likely to continue being by-passed by the opportunities that economic growth offers, mostly to th...

by John De Coninck | On 24 Sep 2010

The Government of Chronic Poverty: From Exclusion to Citizenship?

Development trustees have increasingly sought to challenge chronic poverty by promoting citizenship amongst poor people, a move that frames citizenship formation as central to overcoming the exclusion...

by Sam Hickey | On 24 Sep 2010

Poverty and Vulnerability in Rural China: Effects of Taxation

This paper studies the impact of taxation on poverty and ex ante vulnerability of households in rural China based on national household survey data in 1988, 1995 and 2002. It has been confirmed that...

by Katsushi S. Imai | On 21 Sep 2010

Women's Work in the Post Reform Period: An Exploration of Macro Data

Development within the framework of economic reforms is often equated to growth rates which are highlighted as the only solution to all problems – be it poverty, unemployment or inequalities based...

by Neetha N | On 21 Sep 2010

Facts about Adolescents from the Demographic Survey- Statistical Tables for Program Planning: Nepal 1996

Tables are created to more clearly describe the diversity of the adolescent experience by drawing on the rich Demographic and Health Survey data. [Pop Council].

by Population Council | On 17 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

Socio-Economic Determinants of School Attendance in India

This paper investigates the socio-economic determinants of school attendance in India, and the possible causes of disadvantage faced by the girl child. Based on Census data for 1981 and 1991, the de...

by Usha Jayachandran | On 17 Sep 2010

Joining the Fight Against Global Poverty: A Menu for Corporate Engagement

This paper speaks to companies seeking practical ways to alleviate global poverty. The private sector has several inherent competitive advantages to bring to bear in this effort through which they c...

by Staci Warden | On 15 Sep 2010

European Union Foreign Policy And the Challenges of Globalisation

The European Union is a profoundly political project and one which has attempted to achieve important political goals through economic means. Initially through the establishment of a coal and steel ...

by Christopher F. Patten | On 07 Sep 2010

Department of Art, Culture & Language: An Analysis

The report gives information about The Art, Culture and Language Department which aims at preservation of cultural heritage of India.

by Kriti Kapur | On 02 Sep 2010

Fertilizer Subsidy in India: Who are the Beneficiaries?

Agricultural subsidies that encourage production and productivity have been widely criticized because of the cost of subsidies and they are perceived to be far from uniformly distributed. There is a...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 27 Aug 2010

Book Review: Promoting Economic Cooperation in South Asia

Review of 'Promoting Economic Cooperation in South Asia'; S. Ahmed, S. Kalegama and E. Ghani (Editors). Published by Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2010

by Sandhya S . Iyer | On 17 Aug 2010

Natural Resources and Chronic Poverty in India: A Review of Issues and Evidence

Natural resources perform multiple functions as a driver, maintainer, potential exit route, and also an effective escape mechanism in the context of poverty dynamics, especially in a predominantly agr...

by Amita Shah | On 17 Aug 2010

Addressing Key Issues in the Light of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in Health and Family Welfare Sector in India

The policies including that of ‘World Bank’ and the recent ‘Indian Health Report (WHO) 2000’, now recognise the importance of investing in health & also providing for a ‘safety net’ for the poor and...

by Samir K. Mondal | On 12 Aug 2010

The Debate on the Poverty Estimates of 1999–2000

This paper compares the latest estimates of poverty (1999–2000) made by the Planning Commission with earlier estimates of the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on the methodology and database used for estim...

by K.L. Datta | On 11 Aug 2010

Half of India’s Population Lives below the Poverty Line

This study examined poverty across 28 Indian states, concluding that “81 percent of people are multidimensionally poor in Bihar—more than any other state. Also, poverty in Bihar and Jharkand is most i...

by Arun Kumar | On 05 Aug 2010

Addressing Extreme Poverty in a Sustainable Manner: Evidence from CFPR programme

BRAC initiated an innovative programme known as Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction (CFPR) in 2002 to address the extreme poverty in Bangladesh. Impact assessment studies on the first pha...

by Narayan C Das | On 02 Aug 2010

Chronic poverty in India: Policy responses

Despite the huge efforts at eliminating poverty made in India since independence, it is estimated that up to 130 million Indians live in chronic poverty – defined as poverty that endures for at least...

by Shashanka Bhide | On 29 Jul 2010

Exploring Explanatory Model of Malaria in Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: Perspective from Dighinala Upazila

The study shows that the three major communities had different explanatory models of malaria. Though they had many differences and similarities, some beliefs and practices of malarial treatment and pr...

by Shamim Hossain | On 28 Jul 2010

Poverty and the Environment: Exploring the Relationship between Household Incomes, Private Assets, and Natural Assets

The paper is a study of the relationship between poverty and environment by using a purpose-collected survey data from 535 households in 60 different villages of the Jhabua district of India. The meth...

by Shreekant Gupta | On 26 Jul 2010

Vulnerability and poverty in Bangladesh

This study estimates ex ante poverty and vulnerability of households in Bangladesh using Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data in 2005. Our results show that poverty is not same as vulne...

by Md. Shafiul Azam | On 19 Jul 2010

Casting the net wide and deep: lessons learned in a mixed-methods study of poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh

In this paper we reflect on lessons learned in developing a mixed-methods approach to the study of poverty dynamics in a three phase qual-quant-qual study of poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh. We a...

by Peter Davis | On 19 Jul 2010

A Decomposition of Poverty Tre across Regions: The Role of Variation in the Income and Inequality Elasticities of Poverty

The impact of globalization on global and local inequality is hotly debated in the recent literature. This study considers the separate issue of the impact of globalization on poverty through quan...

by Adriaan Kalwij | On 28 Jun 2010

The social determinants of HIV testing in Botswana: a keystone for addressing the epidemic

This paper considers the distribution of HIV testing in Botswana in 2002 and 2004. Botswana is a country with a high prevalence of HIV in the general population and HIV testing is considered to be a...

by Divya Rajaraman | On 25 Jun 2010

Farming First’s Guide to Food Security Initiatives

Food security is an immediate and future priority for all countries worldwide. Since the food crisis erupted in 2008, a large number of global and regional food security initiatives have been launch...

by Farming First | On 21 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

Understanding Vietnam: A Look Beyond Facts and Figures

Vietnam's (re) discovery in recent years by the international investor community gives the country a second chance to become and Asia tiger. The article looks into the economic, social, political, per...

by Tamara Trinh | On 16 Jun 2010

Targeting Effectiveness of CFPR/TUP in Scale-up Environment

Effective targeting is a hallmark of the BRAC’s CFPR/TUP programme. Like many other targeted programmes, CFPR/TUP combines a number of targeting methods. Launching in 2002, his programme has scaled up...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 15 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

Limitations on Universality: The “Right to Health” and the Necessity of Legal Nationality

The fact that statelessness as a concept is largely absent from the medical literature has been on e of the central motivatin factor for this essay which aims for a discussion, primarily to illustr...

by Lindsey N. Kingston | On 15 Jun 2010

Improving the Quality of Life of the Presbyopic Patients: The Reading Glass Project of BRAC

This study aimed to explore the current state of awareness and knowledge among the community people about presbyopia and its treatment, barriers to detection of presbyopia and its correction by using...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 10 Jun 2010

A Perspective on Fisheries Sector Interventions for Livelihood Promotion

The ultimate goal of this paper is to derive inspiration from Coase Theorem and the Japanese model of Keiretsu to empower the producers and suppliers of fish – namely, the fisher folk and to place the...

by Samar K. Datta | On 09 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

Do Child Labourers Come from The Poorest?

This paper explores whether child labourers come from, not only the poor, but also the poorest households in Bangladesh or not. The paper also tries to explain what determines the participation of chi...

by | On 04 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

To Survive or to Flourish? Minority Rights and Syrian Christian Community Assertion in 20th Century Travancore/Kerela

This paper will focus on different instances of community assertions by the Syrian Christians in twentieth century Travancore/Kerala. [Working Paper 427]

by J Devika | On 02 Jun 2010

Short-Run Subsidies and Long-Run Adoption of New Health Products: Evidence from a Field Experiment

This paper is about a field experiment which was designed to estimate the relative importance of competing effects of targeted subsidies for health products. It has been found out that, for a health...

by Pascaline Dupas | On 25 May 2010

Less Smoke, More Mirrors: Where India Really Stands on Solar Power and Other Renewables

Until recently, India’s intransigent negotiating posture has conveyed the impression that it will not accept any carbon emissions limits without full compensation and more stringent carbon limitation...

by David Wheeler | On 20 May 2010

External Assistance for Urban Development: A Scoping Study for Further Research

Analysis of developing country cities indicates that neither policy frameworks nor infrastructural investments have kept up with urban growth, that the wrong choices with long-term consequences are be...

by Homi Kharas | On 20 May 2010

Grassroot Empowerment (1975-1990): A Discussion Paper

The discussion focusses on women in poverty their concentration in rural and urban areas, and the organisational approach for their mobilization and empowerment. Maximum emphasis has been placed on...

by Narayana K Banerjee | On 17 May 2010

Women Safety in Delhi

This paper attempts to question the state of ‘women community” at large with situation depicting the growing rate of crime, oppression and subjugation which is historically unprecedented and its re-...

by Chitra Mishra | On 03 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

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

Drivers of Inequality in Millennium Development Goal Progress: A Statistical Analysis

It is examined whether differential progress towards health MDGs was associated with economic development, public health funding (both overall and as percentage of available domestic funds), or health...

by David Stuckler | On 08 Apr 2010

The Impact of the Commonwealth Games 2010 on Urban Development of Delhi -An Analysis with a Historical Perspective from Worldwide Experiences and the 1982 Asian Games

The paper raises some hard questions that need to be answered before one can conclude that events such as Common Wealth Games has a positive effect on the host community. Can the financial requirement...

by Vinayak Uppal | On 23 Mar 2010

Determinants of the Choice of Migration Destination

This paper examines migrants choice of destination conditional on migration. To this end, an empirical strategy is designed which remedies both migration selection and unobserved heterogeneity probl...

by Marcel Fafchamps | On 18 Mar 2010

Household Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure in India: Levels, Patterns and Policy Concerns

This paper uses the most recent wave of Consumer Expenditure Survey 2004-05 to examine the distribution of Out of Pocket (OOP) healthcare payments in India. [WP 418].

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 08 Mar 2010

The EU India FTA in Agriculture and Likely Impact on Indian Women

This study attempts to provide an analysis of the gender concerns of the proposed EU India FTA in the field of agriculture and suggest policy changes both in the FTA text as well as in domestic poli...

by Roopam Singh | On 04 Mar 2010

MDG-Based Poverty Reduction Strategy for West Bengal

The purpose of this paper is to examine the poverty situation in West Bengal in a multidimensional framework and to explore possible strategies towards reduction of poverty in the state, keeping in...

by Achin Chakraborty | On 22 Feb 2010

What Determines the Success and Failure of ‘100 Days Work’ at the Panchayat Level? A Study of Birbhum District in West Bengal

West Bengal is not among the best performing states with regard to NREGA. The performance of all districts in the state is not equally discouraging. Some districts, in fact, have done well in gener...

by Subrata Mukherjee | On 19 Feb 2010

Escaping Chronic Poverty Through Economic Growth

The paper discusses the participation of poor participate in growth, and how different forms of growth connect to poverty. Also the paper discusses important policy levers, in relation to agriculture,...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 18 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

Pesticides and Productivity – a Study of Vegetable Farming in Nepal

In Nepal, agriculture is commercializing day by day and levels of agro-chemical use are growing. This is beginning to raise concerns about the health and environmental impacts of farm chemicals suc...

by Ratna Kumar Jha | On 09 Feb 2010

Revisiting the Need of Improved Stoves: Estimating Health, Time and Carbon Benefits

This study generates some evidence on the costs and benefits of a particular indoor air pollution control initiative. The study is based on a survey of 400 households in Rasuwa district, Nepal,

by Min Bikram Malla Thakuri | On 02 Feb 2010

Towards A Competitive Economy: VAT and Customs Duty Reform

In this paper the issue of indirect tax reform, with a special focus on customs duty reform is examined. [WP]

by Arvind Virmani | On 28 Jan 2010

Snakes, Ladders and Traps: Changing Lives and Livelihoods in Rural Bangladesh (1994-2001)

This paper examines national-level explanations for poverty decline in Bangladesh in micro-level detail, in order to better understand the nature of the causalities at work and why some households h...

by Naila Kabeer | On 28 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

Examining Role of the State in Health Care: A Study of Motikhavadi-Special Economic Zone (SEZ-Jamnagar)

This paper examines the health services provided by Reliance Industries in the village, Motikhavadi, which comes under the Special economic Zone- Jamnagar to scrutinise the role of the state, especi...

by Shilpa Jadhav Bhakre | On 22 Jan 2010

Market-Based Approaches to Environmental Management: A Review of Lessons from Payment for Environmental Services in Asia

Market-based approaches to environmental management, such as payment for environmental services (PES), have attracted unprecedented attention during the past decade. PES policies, in particular, hav...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 20 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

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

Pro-Poor Growth: Illusions of Marriage and Divorce?

This note seeks to show that the debate on ‘Pro-Poor Growth’ is sterile and largely academic with few policy insights.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 15 Jan 2010

Social Security Nets for Marine Fisheries

This paper attempts to explain the provision of social security in the fisheries sector of Kerala State in south India. It enumerates the salient achievements and the problems faced by the state in pr...

by John Kurien | On 14 Jan 2010

Working with Existing Systems: Lessons from INHP

Engaging and strengthening the ICDS and Health programs of the government was a major approach of the two component projects under the RACHNA program, INHP-II and Chayan. Of the two, the INHP interve...

by CARE India | On 24 Dec 2009

Many Poverties

Discusses about the different poverty measuements.

by T.N. Ninan | On 22 Dec 2009

Community Dependence on Non-timber Forest Products: A Household Analysis and its Implication for Forest Conservation

This study explores the factors determining the dependence of local people on protected area of forest based on household analysis of a Protected Area from Kerala. [WP-2007-005].

by Shylajan C.S | On 21 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

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

Poverty Dynamics in Rural Sindh, Pakistan

This paper focuses on poverty dynamics and their determinants, using panel survey data for rural Sindh, Pakistan. Households interviewed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) d...

by Hari Ram Lohano | On 10 Dec 2009

Disowned Institutions in Hilaungad Watershed

The objective of the study is to undertake watershed based planning for integrated community management of natural resources for livelihood security. Separate studies were done in Nepal and in Uttarak...

by Debashish Sen | On 04 Dec 2009

Women’s Experience in New Panchayats: The Emerging Leadership of Rural Women

This paper presents some of the findings of our recent study on women’s representation and participation in panchayats. Some of the findings of the study (Buch; 1999) of women in panchayats after the...

by Nirmala Buch | On 04 Dec 2009

Flying with the Crane-Recapturing KMVS’s Ten-Year Journey

This document is at the behest of KMVS and is an effort to hold up a mirror to their journey. It is a documentation of their history, context, evolution, and experiences since its emergence in 1989. A...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 01 Dec 2009

Poverty and Livelihood among Tribals in Gujarat: Status, Opportunities, and Strategies

This paper tries to look into the status of poverty and multiple deprivations among tribal communities in the state and explores policy options for strengthening their livelihoods through a combinatio...

by Amita Shah | On 27 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

The Unequal World of Health Data

Health data, poverty, and inequality exist in a complex global co-dependency, therefore making meaningful comparisons of health across widely different settings challenging. Less data exist on the hea...

by Peter Byass | On 24 Nov 2009

VIllage Economics and the Structure of Extended Family Networks

This paper documents how the structure of extended family networks in rural Mexico relates to the poverty and inequality of the village of residence. Using the Hispanic naming convention, within-villa...

by Manuela Angelucci | On 23 Nov 2009

Post-Conflict Recovery: Does the Global Economy Work for Peace?

This paper mainly addresses the economic dimensions, concentrating on the importance of international trade to state-building and the need for global public goods in a global market economy. The focu...

by Tony Addison | On 23 Nov 2009

Gender, Poverty And Development: Gender Sensitive Budgeting And Other 'Best Practices'

The dominance of the mainstream paradigm of growth is being increasingly superseded by the Sustainable Human Development approach. No Concept of development, however, can be complete unless and until...

by Ritu Dewan | On 20 Nov 2009

HIV Prevention in Vulnerable Indian States: Lessons from the Chayan Project

This document highlights the results and associated processes from Chayan’s implementation experience under the RACHNA program. The programmatic framework, designed for low-prevalence contexts in In...

by CARE India | On 20 Nov 2009

Kyoto Protocol Reference Manual on Accounting of Emissions and Assigned Amount

This manual is provided as a reference tool to assist Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereafter referred to as the Convention) (Annex I Parties) in the implementa...

by UN Framwork Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC | On 20 Nov 2009

Muslim Women’s Rights Discourse in the Pre independece Period

The present paper deals with the discourse of the rights of Muslim women in the pre- independence period with particular reference to the Shariat Act 1937 and the Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act 193...

by Sabiha Hussain | On 20 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

From Income to Urban Contest in Global Settings: Chronic Poverty in Bangalore

The paper is a research which studies the government policies and agendas that affect the poor in India. For the research 8 to 10 families, who had been intervened several years ago were re-interviewe...

by Solomon Benjamin | On 16 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

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

Political Sociology of Poverty In India: Between Politics of Poverty and Poverty of Politics

This paper on political sociology of poverty in India is based upon the assumption that a) the caste system and economic inequality complement each other in the case of the poorer sections of Indian...

by Anand Kumar | On 10 Nov 2009

Engaging Communities to Improve Health and Nutrition Outcomes: The Role of Community Volunteers in INHP

INHP adopted a multiple volunteer per village model, with one volunteer serving the immediate neighborhood of about 20-30 households to rationalize volunteer workloads and to ensure cultural compatibi...

by CARE India | On 09 Nov 2009

Institutional and Economic Perspectives on Government Capacity to Assume New Roles in the Health Sector: a Review of Experience

This review paper provides the background to research that will take place in four country case-studies to examine these issues. A key focus of this paper concerns government's capacity to fulfil the...

by Sara Bennett | On 09 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

Poverty and Agrarian Distress in Orissa

The relatively lower reduction of poverty in Orissa, 0.2 percentage points per annum from 48.6 per cent in 1993-94 to 46.4 per cent in 2004-05, has been a matter of concern. The current exercise attem...

by Srijit Mishra | On 27 Oct 2009

Climate Change and China: Technology, Market and Beyond

The paper discusses the impacts of climate change to the environment of China and most especially to the livelihood of Chinese people there. It analyzed the Chinese government’s position and enumerate...

by Dale Jiajun Wen | On 16 Oct 2009

The Pilot Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Project (MNCH) at Nilphamari: Profiling the Changes During 2006-07

BRAC health programme (BHP) initiated a pilot maternal, neonatal and child health project (MNCH) in Nilphamari in 2006 to improve the health status of women of reproductive age including neonates an...

by Shahnawaz Mohammad Rafi | On 15 Oct 2009

Rectifying the Anti-politics of Citizen Participation

Can ‘participatory’ approaches to development constitute a viable strategy for promoting citizenship? This paper addresses this question by scrutinising the equivocal reaction of a peasant community...

by Katsuhiko Masaki | On 13 Oct 2009

Coping with Rising Food Prices: Policy Dilemmas in the Developing World

Rising food prices cause considerable policy dilemmas for developing country governments. Letting domestic prices adjust to reflect the full change in international prices generates inflationary pres...

by Nora Lustig | On 09 Oct 2009

Civil War: A Review of Fifty Years of Research

A review of several decades of scholarship on civil war, focusing on the answers to key questions: Why do wars begin? Who fights? How are armed groups organized? How can we end and prevent internal wa...

by Christopher Blattman | On 05 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

Poverty Vs Inequality

Are economic reforms and the greater role of markets responsible for growth being anti-poor and anti-equality, or is it the failure of governance in poverty-ridden states like Bihar and Jharkhand that...

by T.N. Ninan | On 22 Sep 2009

Estimating Health Benefits When Behaviours are Endogenous: A Case of Indoor Pollution in Rural Nepal

The effects of indoor air pollution on respiratory health after adjusting for endogenous health behaviours are estimated. The study includes measurements on indoor air pollution and is based on detail...

by Krishna Prasad Pant | On 17 Sep 2009

Chronic Poverty and Development Policy in Sri Lanka: Overview Study

The present study attempts to capture chronic poverty in Sri Lanka by examining general information on poverty and drawing conclusions on those who are likely to be among the chronic poor. Certain p...

by Indra Tudawe | On 17 Sep 2009

Progressive Social Change – Women’s Empowerment

The focus is on the social discrimination trap, which highlights the ways in which men and women’s, girls and boys’ experiences of poverty differ in important ways. It is also discussed how understand...

by Tim Braunholtz Speight | On 01 Sep 2009

Crossed and Crucified Parivar's War Aganist Minorities in Orissa

The report attempts to contextualize the exploitation of those who are aafected by the one of the worst communal riots in history and document how dominant interests have used this situation of chron...

by People's Union of Civil Liberties PUCL | On 31 Aug 2009

Making the Case for Early Care and Education: A Message Development Guide for Advocates

The book offers advocates arguments to make, and value statements to support those arguments, for a variety of early care and education policy goals. It is believed that young children, their familie...

by Lori Dorfman | On 20 Aug 2009

Employment and Income in India: Case of a City Economy

This paper analyses the pattern of growth observed in the city economy of Ahmedabad, a metropolitan city in the industrially developed state of Gujarat. The growth of this city is placed in the cont...

by Jeemol Unni | On 17 Aug 2009

School Exclusion as Social Exclusion: The Practices And Effects of Conditional Cash Transfer Programme for the Poor in Bangladesh

This paper explores the efforts of government to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of poverty. It focuses on the practices and effects of the Primary Education Stipend Programme, a conditio...

by Naomi Hossain | On 17 Aug 2009

Morbidity Patterns In Kerala: Levels and Determinants

This paper examines the levels, patterns, and determinants of morbidity in Kerala. This study is based on a community survey conducted in 2004, in three districts of the state namely Thiruvananthap...

by Navaneetham K | On 14 Aug 2009

Assets and Poverty Traps in Rural Bangladesh

This paper applies Carter and Barrett’s theory of assets poverty traps to a unique longitudinal survey from rural Bangladesh. Non-parametric and parametric methods are used to examine the shape of the...

by Agnes Quisumbing | On 06 Aug 2009

Nepal Budget 2009-10

Budget presented by Finance minister of Nepal.

by Surendra Pandey | On 27 Jul 2009

Hong Kong's Banks During the Financial Crisis

Despite the negative impact of the current crisis and many remaining uncertainties about the actual economic recovery path, the medium-term outlook for Hong Kong’s banks remains favourable.

by Robert Mülhaupt | On 15 Jul 2009

Migration and Chronic Poverty

This paper provides an overview of conceptual understandings of, and methodological research issues on, the relationship between chronic, or long-term, poverty and processes of migration. The paper...

by Uma Kothari | On 13 Jul 2009

Indian Railway Budget 2009-2010

Railway Budget 2009-10

by Mamata Banerjee | On 06 Jul 2009

Privatized Retirement And how the Current Crisis has Worsen Worker’s Losses

The debate around retrenchment of pension systems became really popular in the 1990’s after the pioneering experience of Chile in 1981.The disastrous outcomes of the Chilean reform were widely known b...

by Camila Gripp | On 04 Jul 2009

Report on Utilisation of Funds and Assets Created Through Ganga Action Plan in States Under GAP

The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched by the Government of India in the year 1985 with the objective of abatement of pollution in the river Ganga due to discharge of sewage into the river from the...

by Kirit Parikh | On 03 Jul 2009

Access to Banking Services and Poverty Reduction: A State-wise Assessment in India

Financial inclusion is the broad based delivery of banking and other financial services at affordable cost to the poorest sections of the society. In India, financial inclusion emphasizes to include m...

by Amit. K. Bhandari | On 16 Jun 2009

Estimates of BPL-households in Rural Gujarat: Measurement, Spatial Pattern and Policy Imperatives

The poverty scenario in Gujarat is marked by three features: (1) low incidence of poverty (2) spatial concentration and (3) adoption of targeted policy for poverty reduction. One of the important high...

by Amita Shah | On 16 Jun 2009

Financing Long Term Investments in Bangladesh: Capital Market Development Issues

There has been an increase in the demand for infrastructure services and opening up of the infrastructure sector for private investment. As a result, a large number of financial intermediaries and pri...

by Mustafa. K. Mujeri | 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

Interactions between Policy Assumptions and Rural Women’s Work –A Case Study

This paper is mainly concerned about the approaches to rural women’s development and an understanding of their work roles in the planning strategies. Changes in the economic and social participation o...

by Kumud Sharma | On 03 Jun 2009

ALBA Venezuela’s answer to “free trade”: the Bolivarian alternative for the Americas

The paper provides a detailed scan of the position of each of the major ALBA countries in turn, plus Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. While Argentina and Brazil are beginning to get involved in ALBA acti...

by David Harris | On 31 May 2009

Social Group Disparities and Poverty in India

This paper seeks to provide a profile of social group disparities and poverty in India,where social groups are classified as scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other social groups, and examine the f...

by Rohit Mutatkar | On 26 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

Globalisation Produces Good Outcomes, Enhance Them: Prof Bhagwati

This paper talks of good outcomes of Globalisation which needs to be further inproved wherein Institutional response mechanisms should be designed to address any problems that may arise in specific ar...

by Jagdish Bhagwati | On 03 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

Aims of Education

The paper tries to understand what are the aims of education.

by National Council of Educational Research &Training NCERT | On 28 Apr 2009

Poverty, Undernutrition and Vulnerability in Rural India: Public Works versus Food Subsidy

This paper analyses the effects of access to Rural Public Works (RPW) and the Public Distribution System (PDS), a public food subsidy programme, on consumption poverty, vulnerability and undernutrit...

by Raghbendra Jha | On 27 Apr 2009

Reserve Bank of India Platinum Jubilee Celebrations - Governor’s Address to Staff

The main question that the Governor is asking to the RBI staff is "how can I do my job better so that I can make a positive difference to the country?"

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 08 Apr 2009

Thinking 'Small' and the Understanding of Poverty: Maymana and Mofizul's Story

Much recent thinking on poverty and poverty reduction is ‘big’ in terms of its ideas, units of analysis, datasets, plans and ambitions. While recognising some of the benefits of such approaches this p...

by David Hulme | On 21 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

A Case-Control Study to Assess the Relationship Between Poverty and Visual Impairment from Cataract in Kenya, Philippines and Bangladesh

The aim of this study was to examine the association between visual impairment from cataract and poverty in adults in Kenya, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. A population-based case–control study was...

by Hannah Kuper | On 18 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

National Water Policy

Concerns of the community needs to be taken into account for water resources development and management. The success of the National Water Policy will depend entirely on evolving and maintaining a na...

by Ministry of Water Resources GOI | On 02 Dec 2008

Contemporary International and Domestic Banking Developments and the Emerging Challenges

A broad overview, from the Indian perspective, of the factors underlying the credit market crisis in the west, the implications of the crisis for the financial sector, lessons learnt from it, the var...

by Leeladhar V | On 25 Nov 2008

Values and Meanings of Citizenship

What does citizenship mean to poor and socially excluded people? How do their views help us understand and analyse what 'inclusive' citizenship means?

by Naila Kabeer | On 20 Nov 2008

Changes in Poverty Profile in China

This study presents a comprehensive picture of poverty chnages in China in the period of 1978-95. Using two micro data sets from Household Income Surverys of 1988 and 1995, the author examines poverty...

by Li Shi | On 18 Nov 2008

World Development Report 2007 Development and the Next Generation

The Report examines five pivotal phases of life that can help unleash the development of young people’s potential with the right government policies: learning, working, staying healthy, forming famili...

by World Bank | On 11 Nov 2008

Untold Stories: The Human Face of Poverty Dynamics

The policy brief describes the life stories of five people, to show the face of human face of chronic poverty. It also suggests that such life history material can be an important source of data for p...

by Martin Prowse | On 11 Nov 2008

Developing a ‘Vertical’ Dimension to Chronic Poverty Research: Some Lessons from Global Value Chain Analysis

This paper aims at developing an explicit ‘vertical’ dimension to chronic poverty research that focuses on ‘adverse incorporation and social exclusion’ (AISE). an effort is made here to sensitise lite...

by Stefano Ponte | On 31 Oct 2008

Poverty, Private Property and Common Pool Resource Management: The Case of Irrigation Tanks in South India

This study tries to understand the main causes of tank degradation and the complex interrelationships among poverty, private coping mechanisms and community coping mechanisms that affect tank performa...

by Balasubramanian R | On 17 Oct 2008

Hobbes, Coase and Baliraja: Equity and Equality in Surface Water Distribution

It is attempted to understand the implications of equality in water distribution on social welfare with a simple abstract analysis using Leontief-type fixed production function.

by Sashi Sivramakrishna | On 16 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

Deconstructing China’s and India’s Growth: The Role of Financial Policies

This paper uses the standard one-sector neoclassical growth model to investigate why China’s consumption has been low and investment high. This paper looks into the role played by the financial sector...

by Jahangir Aziz | On 07 Oct 2008

Disaster in Bihar: A Report from the TISS Assessment Team

This report is prepared on the basis of a 5-day visit to the flood affected parts of Bihar, caused by the changing of the course of the river, Kosi, by a four-member team from the Tata Institute of...

by Manish K Jha | On 06 Oct 2008

Carrying Over: Analysing Female Utopias and Narratives of Education from 17th-century France to 18th-century Britain and 20th Century India

The paper carries the reader across and over great spans of space and time, with an Indian feminist woman academic journeying back to seventeenth-century ancien regime France, to 1770s Scotland, to 17...

by Bagchi B | On 01 Oct 2008

Another Commission is Not Enough:Ram Harri Shrestha and the Corrosive Impact of Impunity on Nepal's Unsteady Peace.

Neplal's maoists initiated the process of crippling the institution of parliamentary dempcracy by giving primacy to military meanse over the political. Mainstream parties, unable to resist petty polit...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 29 Sep 2008

Pluralism, Tenancy and Poverty: Cultivating Open-Mindedness in Poverty Studies

This paper applies theoretical pluralism to studies of poverty. However in order to be more specific it takes as a case study some competing studies of Indian rural tenancy relations. In the paper, sp...

by Wendy Olsen | On 25 Sep 2008

A New Era of World Hunger?- The Global Food Crisis Analyzed

This paper is an account of the main streams discussed in an international conference, held in New York in April 2008, organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Global Policy Forum, which cons...

by James A. Paul | On 24 Sep 2008

Kandhamal Massacres: Where is the State? Central Government of India must stop the killings

Over 50 persons, mainly Christians, have been killed since the Hindu fundamentalists launched an attack on the Christians following the murder of four members of the VHP including 90 year old Laxmanan...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 22 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

Food Processing in Andhra Pradesh Opportunities and Challenges

The study is taken up in the state of Andhra Pradesh with the following objectives: 1. To study the opportunities and challenges in processing of rice, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds and livestock...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 17 Sep 2008

Patterns, Processes of Reproduction, and Policy Imperatives for Poverty in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study of Southern Orissa in India.

Given the vast geographical area, ecological-cultural diversity, and deep-rooted social stratification, spatial inequality is one of the important features of poverty in India. Besides inter-regiona...

by Amita Shah | On 17 Sep 2008

Rising Inequality With High Growth Isn't This Trend Worrisome? Analysis of Kerala Experience

The relation between growth, inequality and poverty is the central theme of the paper. While the fast economic growth under the neo-liberal policy regime helps reduce poverty, it increases inequality...

by KK Subrahmanian | On 16 Sep 2008

Global Chronic Poverty in 2004-2005

This report is about people living in chronic poverty – people who remain poor for much or all of their lives, many of whom will pass on their poverty to their children, and all too often die easily...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 15 Sep 2008

Can Insurance Reduce Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure

It is argued that for households below poverty line any expenditure on health is catastrophic as they are unable to attain the subsistence level of consumption. Thus, zero percent is taken as a thres...

by Rama Joglekar | On 15 Sep 2008

The Paddy Chain: Building Constructive Alternatives

Research Studies on Rice/Paddy initiated by Hivos in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and The Netherlands looked at several aspects related to ecological/environmental, economic, institutional, social/gen...

by G V Ramanjaneyulu | On 15 Sep 2008

Nepal's Community Forestry Funds:Do They Benifit the Poor?

Funds generated through community forestry offer crucial and significant resources for rural in Nepal. This study examines forestry funds in 100 communities in three districts to assess how large they...

by Ridish K. Pokharel | On 11 Sep 2008

Backward and Forward Linkages that Strengthen Primary Education

The active participation of children in primary education hinges on a plethora of factors. Physical access is just one dimension. Children do not attend school regularly, and even if they do, they do...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 10 Sep 2008

Withdrawal of the Maoists’ unilateral cease-fire:Where does Nepal go?

The government of Nepal took an illegal measure to try the cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Ordinance. Under the amendments, all anti-terrorist cases will be heard in-c...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 27 Aug 2008

Inception Document and Process of Organising Community in Srilankabasti slum, Secundarabad of Andhra Pradesh.

Poverty is one of the factors which contribute for the child labour but it is not the only factor, there are other factors like environment influence, supply stream failure in delivering the services,...

by Sakuntala Kasargadda | On 25 Aug 2008

Does Tourism Contribute to Local Livelihoods? A Case Study of Tourism, Poverty and Conservation in the Indian Sundarbans

This study examines the contribution of tourism towards improving the livelihoods of local people in a remote island village of the Indian Sundarbans.

by Indrila Guha | On 18 Aug 2008

No Gross National Happiness for Bhutanese Refugees

One sixth of the population of Bhutan is displaced in Nepal and India. The prolonged exile of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and India is a major human rights deficit in the South Asian region, a...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 12 Aug 2008

Factors Influencing Successful Primary School Completion for Chidren in Poverty Context.

The current paper is an attempt to capture the process of child development along the age continuum of 0 to 11, with special reference to children living in diverse poverty situations.

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 08 Aug 2008

Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–2012) Volume I Inclusive Growth

The Eleventh Plan addresses itself to the challenge of making growth both faster and more inclusive. The rapid growth achieved in the past several years demonstrates that we have learnt how to bring a...

by Planning Commission, India | On 29 Jul 2008

The Poverty Argument

The Poverty Argument arises from the single fact that any family with a critically low level of income and struggling to keep “the wolf from the door” must, in order to survive, send the children to w...

by M. Nagarjuna | On 23 Jul 2008

The Chinese Chequer: Split Wide Open in Nepal

Although unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoists on 3 September 2005 brought down the level of violence, the security forces sought to provoke the Maoists. The security forces and the Maoists hav...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 21 Jul 2008

Between Citizens and Institutions: The Dyamics of the Integration of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Hyderabad

The purpose of this study is to review the changes that have taken place recently in water supply and sanitation services and examine the role of various stakeholders involved in urban governance in...

by Agnes Huchon | On 15 Jul 2008

Crafting a Graduation Pathway for the Ultra Poor

The ultra poor are caught in a below-subsistence trap from which it is difficult for them to break free using available resources and mechanisms. Time is not an ally for the ultra poor, as things gene...

by Imran Matin | On 01 Jul 2008

Poverty Eradication and Human Rights

This paper examines the proposition that "poverty is a violation of human rights". The author disuses the possibility of this proposition to be implementable in real case senarios and in polcies,

by Arjun Sengupta | On 26 Jun 2008

The State versus Kataria

The execution of Showkat Ahamad Kataria in 2006 by Jammu-Kashmir army raised serious concerns about the special powers given to army and fake encounters. The case of Kataria’s execution became a symb...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 12 Jun 2008

Poverty targeting in public programs: A Comparison of Some Nonparametric Tests and their Application to Indian Microfinance

Many popular social programmes have limited coverage among households at the very bottom of the income and wealth distribution. If a programme reaches the poor, but neglects the destitute, the (pre-...

by Isha Dewan | On 12 Jun 2008

How can electoral success be sustained by a ‘lagging development’ regime?

Left coalition ruled West Bengal for uninterrupted three decades. The study reveals that despite ruling for such a long period the state still lags behind in eradication of problems like poverty, as c...

by Arup Maharatna | On 04 Jun 2008

Inclusive Growth in Andhra Pradesh: Challenges in Agriculture, Poverty, Social Sector and Regional Disparities

The important elements of inclusive growth are: agricultural growth, employment generation and poverty reduction, social sector (health and education) and reduction in regional and other disparities...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 31 May 2008

Liberation, May 2008

New Mineral Policy 2008 Quota Verdict CPI(M) Coimbatore Congress SPECIAL FEATURE Democracy in S Asia: Nepal Mandate Post-Poll Pakistan Bhutan Polls and Other features.

by Liberation | On 24 Apr 2008

Effect of Introducing an ‘Afternoon Pay Clinic’ on Service Utilization and Cost Recovery

The Chhetrapati Family Welfare Center (CFWC) in Nepal provided comprehensive family planning and maternal and child health (MCH) services during morning hours. Because no services were provided in the...

by Mahendra Pd. Shrestha | On 09 Apr 2008

Tamil Nadu Budget 2008-09

Speech of Prof. K. Anbazhagan, Minister for Finance, Government of Tamil Nadu, presenting the Budget for 2008-2009 to the Legislative Assembly on 20th March, 2008.

by Tamil Nadu Government | On 25 Mar 2008

ICT and Employment Promotion Among Poor Women: How Can We Make It Happen? Some Reflections On Kerala's Experience

This paper deals with the integration of gender in policies relating to information and communication technology to empower socially excluded poor women as producers of this technology. In this contex...

by Mohanan Pillai P | On 25 Mar 2008

Emerging Poverty Scenario: Alternative Development Paradigm for Poverty Elimination

This paper argues that at the present juncture in India’s development the window of poverty elimination provides the appropriate perspective to search for an alternative development paradigm. The alte...

by V.M. Rao | On 13 Mar 2008

Brief Report of the National Seminar on 'Feeding the Child'

The problematic areas in child feedoing, particularly the poor infrastructure for the Anganwadis was highlighted. The consensus was that despite all these shortcomings there must be an expansion of A...

by Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute SSMI | On 13 Mar 2008

Above our Weight

The political strategies of India and China

by T.N. Ninan | On 11 Feb 2008

Health and Millennium Development Goal 1: Reducing Out-of-pocket Expenditures to Reduce Income Poverty - Evidence from India

The first of the eight Millennium Development Goals is to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. In India, thirty two and a half million people fall below the national poverty line by making out-of...

by Charu C. Garg | On 07 Feb 2008

Requirement of Public Holding for Listing

It is proposed to amend the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 (SCRR) to make provisions to implement the proposals as suggested at Para 11 in the paper. The comments on these proposals are...

by Ministry of Finance | On 05 Feb 2008

Transport: Then, now, and Tomorrow

A historical survey of transport to demonstrate that transport has always been recognised as of paramount importance for the wellbeing of the whole community, that a combination of collective and indi...

by Ralph Harrington | On 01 Feb 2008

National Policy on the Voluntary Sector

This National Policy on the Voluntary Sector-2007 is the beginning of a process to evolve a new working relationship between the Government and the Voluntary Sector, without affecting the autonomy and...

by Planning Commission, India | On 29 Jan 2008

Toward an Economic Sociology of Chronic Poverty: Enhancing the Rigor and Relevance of Social Theory

This paper focuses on both expanding and refining the analytical scope of the “social” (or non-economic) aspects of chronic poverty, and thereby, to enhance efforts to respond more effectively to it....

by Michael Woolcock | On 25 Jan 2008

Book Review: Symbolic Ordering in Communication Process

Review of The Social and the Symbolic edited by Edited by Bernard Bel, Jan Brouwer, Biswajit Das, Vibodh Parthasarathi, Guy Poitevin; Sage, New Delhi; 2007, pp 481, Rs 895.

by Ratnawali Sinha | On 22 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

Innovative Indo-US Collaborations – Missed Opportunities

This paper analyzes the situation of the Indo US Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture, by using the science studies approach.

by C. Shambu Prasad | On 16 Jan 2008

Drains, Hoards and Foreigners: Does the 19th Century Indian Economy have any Lessons for the 21st Century India?

With the 19th century drain, no one was certain if the benefit exceeded the cost and since the rulers were foreign the suspicion was that any investment they made was not beneficial. But the lesson f...

by Lord Meghnad Desai | On 25 Dec 2007

Child Marriage: Social and Economic Linkages and Opportunities for Intervention

The presentation shows the consequences of child marriage, how to prevent child marriage. [Power Point Presentation].

by Geeta Rao Gupta | On 19 Dec 2007

‘Inclusive Citizenship’ for the Chronically Poor: Exploring the Inclusion-Exclusion Nexus in Collective Struggles

The promotion of ‘inclusive citizenship’, through which the disadvantaged engage in collective struggles for justice and recognition, has been attracting growing attention as a solution to chronic p...

by Katsuhiko Masaki | On 19 Dec 2007

Handbook One for Documentation and Presentation of Evidence Concerning Denial of the Right to Health Care

This document contains information and tools concerning testimonies of denial of health care – the stories of persons who have been denied essential health care from health facilities, and who have su...

by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan JSS | On 17 Dec 2007

Sovereign Wealth Funds: Policy Implications for India

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) will be an integral and significant part of global financial and capital markets even in the medium term. It is important for India to put in place domestic safeguards ag...

by Mukul Asher | On 12 Dec 2007

How Can We Draw the Line Between Clinical Care and Medical Research?

When research takes place within the context of clinical care, how can we distinguish which activities constitute care, and which research? The editors of PLoS Medicine believe that open access to res...

by PLoS Medicine | On 30 Nov 2007

National Human Development Report 2001

The process of development, in any society, should ideally be viewed and assessed in terms of what it does for an average individual.For any approach or development framework to be meaningful and effe...

by Planning Commission, India | On 28 Nov 2007

Poverty, Development and Basic Biology

Although PLoS Biology does not often publish articles that grapple with issues like poverty and human development, it was chosen to do so here because it is believed that the collective output of scie...

by Liza Gross | On 12 Nov 2007

Using Family Histories to Understand the Intergenerational Transmission of Chronic Poverty

A method of collecting family histories that would act as a means of linking households from the panel studies with individual life histories is proposed. The procedure used to construct a three-gener...

by Robert Miller | On 07 Nov 2007

Book Review: Managing Natural Resources: Civil Society Initiatives

Review of Community-based Natural Resource Management Issues and Cases from South Asia by Ajith Menon, Praveen Singh, Esha Shah, Sharachchandra Lele, Suhas Paranjape, K.J. Joy Sage Publications, New D...

by Santhakumar V | On 05 Nov 2007

Non Deliverable Foreign Exchange Forward Market: An Overview

Recognising the growing activity in the non deliverable forward (NDF) market in the recent years, the paper attempts to present a detailed analysis of the NDF market with special focus on Indian rupee...

by Sangita Misra | On 22 Oct 2007

Social Protection Transfers for Chronically Poor People

There are very large numbers of chronically and severely poor people who are not being reached by current development policies, and whose situation is often deteriorating in comparison even with other...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 12 Oct 2007

Combining Methodologies for Better Targeting of the Extreme Poor: Lessons from BRAC’s CFPR/TUP Programme

To assess the effectiveness and draw lessons from the targeting strategy used in a new BRAC programme called Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction-Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR/TUP) that aim...

by Imran Matin | On 09 Oct 2007

Human Tragedy in Majuli: Can Anything Be Done?

Majuli was once the largest river islands and the cultural home of the Asomiya community. Today, repeated floods of the Brahmaputra have ensured that the community has lost home and hearth to erosion...

by Apurba K. Baruah | On 07 Oct 2007

Inititaing Public Debate on Reforms in Higher Education

Idea on National Knowledge Commission, what it is and what are they trying to accomplish, ask for the audience support, understanding and also talk about the need for major reforms in University educa...

by Sam Pitroda | On 05 Oct 2007

Corporate Social Responsibility and Children's Rights in South Asia

Examples of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives within the context of children's issues in India, Nepal and Bangladesh are given. The mapping highlights that children's issues often do n...

by Girish Godbole | On 05 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

Changes in Living Standards in Villages in India 1975-2004: Revisiting the ICRISAT Village Level Studies

This paper examines changes in living conditions in the six villages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, initially surveyed during 1975-84. This study is linked to the original Village Level Survey (VL...

by Reena Badiani | On 30 Aug 2007

Sustainability of Community Aquaculture – a Study of Transaction Costs from Sri Lanka

Over the last decade there has been a major push within policy circles to strengthen community initiatives related to natural resources management. The success or failure of such projects is an import...

by Athula Senaratne | On 29 Aug 2007

The Contribution of Services Liberalisation to Poverty Reduction: What Role for the GATS?

There are various conceivable links between services liberalization and poverty reduction, including the efficiency effects associated with increased competition in intermediate (infrastructural) serv...

by Rolf Adlung | On 27 Aug 2007

The Indian Economy since Independence

India's has been a unique path of economic development—internally decided in a democratic framework, constantly debated between different ideologies and interest groups, and increasingly engaging wi...

by Vinod Vyasulu | On 21 Aug 2007

Educational Innovations in Rural Tamil Nadu: Tsunami-affected Arunthatiars of Sathyamangalam

This paper reports on the human aspect of a two-and-half-year collaboration between mathematics teachers of the City University of New York (CUNY), and grassroots organizers in rural Tamil Nadu. Repor...

by Vrunda Prabhu | On 19 Aug 2007

Book Review: Environmental Challenges: Posing the Problem

Environmental Issues in India: A Reader Edited by Mahesh Rangarajan; Pearson Longman, New Delhi; Pp. 570, Rs 199.

by Vijay Laxmi Pandey | On 10 Aug 2007

Participatory Equity, Identity, and Productivity Policy Implications for Promoting Development

This paper tries to advance the perspective that the poor and the marginalized in society lack a sense of “participatory equity,” by building a new model where a person’s community identity matters, e...

by Kaushik Basu | On 07 Aug 2007

Social Science Research Methods and Knowledge-Claims

This paper explores three important but interrelated issues: The power of example; the fragment as evidence; and finally, the field experience and the possibility of generalisation. These issues are...

by Paramjit S Judge | On 03 Aug 2007

Impact of Special Economic Zones on Employment, Poverty and Human Development

There are three channels through which SEZs address these issues: employment generation, skill formation (human capital development), and technology and knowledge upgradation. It examines how the imp...

by Aradhna Aggarwal | On 02 Aug 2007

Discussions Among the Poor: Exploring Poverty Dynamics With Focus Groups in Bangladesh

Findings from 116 focus group discussions are presented, which took place in eleven districts in Bangladesh in mid-2006. It forms the first part of three phases of research in an integrated qualitativ...

by Peter Davis | On 01 Aug 2007

Employment and Poverty in India: 2000-2005

This paper is principally focused on the changes in the size and structure of work force and the changes in labour productivity, wages and poverty in India in the first quinquennuim of the 21st centur...

by K. Sundaram | On 30 Jul 2007

Why is so Little Spent on Educating the Poor?

If the poor are to benefit from economic growth, then they need the skills that are in growing demand, and the capacity to raise their productivity as smallholder farmers and micro-entrepreneurs. Yet,...

by Tony Addison | On 20 Jul 2007

The Trade-Off Among Carbon Emissions, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in India

This study examines the consequences of a) a domestic carbon tax policy, and, b) participation in a global tradable emission permits regime on carbon emissions, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and pover...

by Vijay Prakash Ojha | On 07 Jul 2007

Is India Better off Today Than 15 Years Ago? A Robust Multidimensional Answer

This paper provides a robust normative evaluation of the spectacular growth episode that India has experienced in the last 15 years. Specifically, the paper compares the evolution, between 1988, 1996...

by Nicolas Gravel | On 06 Jul 2007

Questioning the Power of Resilience:Are Children Up To the Task of Disrupting the Transmission of Poverty?

The development and application of the concept of resilience as a tool for examining the ways in which young humans are able to overcome the negative outcomes of poverty and prevent its transfer withi...

by Jo Boyden | On 06 Jul 2007

Conceptualizing Economic Marginalization

What exactly is 'economic marginalization'? How should one conceptualize it, and what are the implications of such conceptualization? Economic marginalization can be conceptualized as outcome or as p...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 05 Jul 2007

National Health Accounts, 2001-02

National Health Accounts (NHA) is a tried and tested tool for summarizing, describing, and analyzing the financing of national health systems. The estimates prepared provide clues regarding the essent...

by National Health Acounts Cell NHA Cell | On 05 Jul 2007

Understanding Chronic Poverty in South Asia

South Asia has the largest number of chronically poor people in the world –an estimated 135 to 190 million people. Chronic poverty in the region is most renounced in areas that have significant minori...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 02 Jul 2007

Effect of Structural and Conditional Rigidities on Moving a Beneficiary from Passive to Active State: An Empirical Investigation in a Poverty Reduction Programme in Rural India

Most studies on poverty alleviation and reduction programmes emphasize structural bottlenecks, asymmetric information, and rent seeking behaviour. This paper provides an analytical characterization of...

by Arindam Banik | On 19 Jun 2007

Selection into Worst Forms of Child Labor: Child Domestics, Porters and Ragpickers in Nepal

A large literature considers why children work, but little is known about why children participate in activities that are labeled worst forms of child labor. The principal international convention o...

by Eric Edmonds | On 19 Jun 2007

Book Review: Quick Overview

Review of : India’s Long-Term Growth Experience: Lessons and Prospects by Sadiq Ahmed. Sage India, New Delhi, February 2007.

by S. Chandrasekhar | On 31 May 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

Kerala Budget 2007-08

Government of Kerala Buget in brief

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 12 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

Property Rights and Natural Resources: Socio-Economic Heterogeneity and Distributional Implications of Common Property Resource Management

Poverty, property rights and distributional implications of community-based resource management have become major topics of discussion and debate in recent years. This study tries to examine the contr...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 17 Feb 2007

Transaction Costs and Institutional Innovation: Sustainability of Tank Aquaculture in Sri Lanka

Freshwater community-based aquaculture was introduce to village irrigation tanks in the dry zones of Sri Lanka in order to off-set the limited supply of animal protein available to residents in inla...

by Athula Senaratne | On 17 Feb 2007

Female Headship, Poverty and Child Welfare: A Study of Rural Orissa, India

First, on the basis of primary data collected in a rural setting in the State of Orissa, an attempt has been made in this paper to compare the socioeconomic status of male- and female- headed househ...

by Pradeep Kumar Panda | On 12 Feb 2007

Paying Out-of-Pocket for Health Care in Asia: Catastrophic and Poverty Impact

Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments are the principal means of financing health care throughout much of Asia. The paper describe the magnitude and distribution of OOP payments for health care in 14 countrie...

by Eddy van Doorslaer | On 06 Feb 2007

Poverty Begins at Home? Questioning some (Mis)conceptions about Children, Poverty and Privation in Female-Headed Households

Grounded in a popular stereotype that female-headed households are the ‘poorest of the poor’, it is often assumed that women and children suffer greater poverty than in households which conform with a...

by Sylvia Chant | On 30 Jan 2007

Approximate Poverty

The changed survey methodology of the 55th round (and the consequent furore that has ensued) has demonstrated that there is indeed uncertainty surrounding estimates of poverty. The uncertainties conce...

by David Williams | On 30 Jan 2007

Global Patterns of Income and Health: Facts, Interpretations, and Policies

People in poor countries live shorter lives than people in rich countries so that, if we scale income by some index of health, there is more inequality in the world than if we consider income alone. S...

by Angus S. Deaton | On 28 Dec 2006

Impact of Reservations of Panchayat Pradhans on Targeting in West Bengal

The effect of randomized reservations of Pradhan (chief executive) positions in West Bengal local governments (panchayats) for women and members of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) following t...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 27 Dec 2006

Aid, Public Spending and Human Welfare: Evidence from Quantile Regressions

The paper addresses the issues of contribution of aids towards human development and the efficiency of such aids in poorer countries, assessing if there is cross-country evidence for an effective huma...

by Karuna Gomanee | On 22 Dec 2006

Using Micro Data to Understand Better the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty in Low Income Developing Countries: Methdological Note

Good empirical analysis of the intergenerational transmission (IGT) of poverty is challenging. This note clarifies this challenge and possible contributions by considering: (1) what estimated relati...

by Jere R. Behrman | On 20 Dec 2006

Change in Food and Nutrient Consumption Among the Ultra Poor: Is the CFPR/TUP Programme Making a Difference?

This study aims to investigate the impact of CFPR/TUP programme on the food and nutrient consumption. The report is presented in two parts- the first part is based on the comparison of food and energy...

by Farhana Haseen | On 19 Dec 2006

Liberalisation of Rural Poverty: The Indian Experience

A price rise signifies a fall in purchasing power, if there is no commensurate increase in income. Thus the pertinent question in the face of the phenomenal rise during the 1990s in the prices of th...

by N. Vijayamohanan Pillai | On 19 Dec 2006

Making and Unmaking Poverty: Social Science, Social Programmes, and Poverty Reduction in India and Elsewhere

How does growth actually trickle down to remove an individual’s poverty? Is it through increases in employment? What other avenues did the benefits of growth travel through before reaching and helpi...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 05 Dec 2006

Three Conundrums in Measuring Poverty with a Changing Population

This note considers income distribution at two points in time where the population has also changed in some way, constructing three scenarios—population growth, population decline, and a constant popu...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 04 Dec 2006

Poverty, Relative to the Ability to Eradicate It: An Index of Poverty Reduction Failure

In this note we approach the question of relative poverty from a different angle. Fixing the poverty line, we ask: What is the extent of poverty relative to the resources available in the society to e...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 01 Dec 2006

Poverty in Remote Rural Areas in India: A Review of Evidence and Issues

Ironically the poverty situation, as reflected in the official statistics, depicts a rather contrary scenario with dryland regions having lower incidence of poverty despite their adverse agro-climat...

by Amita Shah | On 29 Nov 2006

Premature Mortality and Poverty Measurement

There is a glaring paradox in all commonly used measures of poverty. The death of a poor person, because of poverty, reduces poverty according to these measures. This surely violates our basic intui...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 27 Nov 2006

Review of Development and Change: Volume XI Number 1 January - June 2006

Highlights: Cultural Politics of Environment and Development: The Indian Experience Amita Baviskar Participatory Governance and Institutional Innovation – A Case of Andhra Pradesh Forestry Project...

by Madras Institute of Development Studies | On 08 Nov 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

An Approach to the 11th Five Year Plan: Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth

The 11th Plan provides an opportunity to restructure policies to achieve a new vision of growth that will be much more broad based and inclusive, bringing about a faster reduction in poverty and hel...

by Planning Commission | On 19 Jul 2006

Ethics in Social Science Research: Reflections from a Student of Economics

If poverty and nutrition are issues also of social justice and the commitment that a democratic state makes to its citizens (namely, ridding the country of hunger and malnutrition and also of ensuring...

by Padmini Swaminathan | On 19 Jul 2006

Keynote Address on Social Inclusion and Cohesion

A central challenge facing us here – how do we ensure that the issue of the urban poor, in particular, is given as much attention by the international community, beyond speaking about it?

by L.N. Sisulu | On 13 Jul 2006

Tomorrow's Cities, Today's Youth: Perspectives from UN World Youth Forum

The cities of tomorrow are in poor countries, where the largest proportion of the population is below 25 years old and where young women are becoming particularly vulnerable. It is youth who will inhe...

by Kaveri Prakash | On 09 Jul 2006

Why Are We Still Arguing about Globalisation

This paper addresses the following question: why are we still arguing about globalisation? It analyses the recent evolution of debates relating to the impact of globalisation on poverty and economic...

by Andrew Sumner | On 02 Jun 2006

The Role and Nature of Non-Contributory Social Security in the Design of Social Protection Strategies for Older People in DCs

Non-contributory social security is increasingly attracting the attention of developing country policymakers and observers, not least as a mechanism to help address the perceived failure of contributo...

by Roddy McKinnon | On 23 May 2006

The limits of tolerance and equality,or towards a 'new tolerance' and equality

Women's Equality in Transition: Intersectionality in Northern Ireland's/ North of Ireland's Equality Legislation Women have been invisible in mainstream analyses of the Northern Irish conflict. The...

by | On 23 May 2006

The Value of Timber, Carbon, Fuelwood,and Non-Timber Forest Products in India's Forests

Accounting for forest wealth is an important ingredient in creating a framework for analysing policy trade-offs. This study describes forestry-related stocks and flows in terms of land area (under fo...

by Haripriya Gundimeda | On 15 May 2006

Integrating poverty reduction in IMF-World Bank Models

This paper outlines the Fund-Bank analytical frameworks and presents a critical appraisal indicating the importance of both demand and supply constraints in the countries undertaking Fund adjustment p...

by Brigitte Granville | On 27 Apr 2006

Making globalisation work for the poor: The 2000 White Paper Reconsidered

The argument of the White Paper are Basically robust, but could be improved Long-term determinants of prosperity •Relatively less emphasis on openness •More emphasis on incentives to invest Short...

by Adrian Wood | On 27 Apr 2006

Three Observations on the Challenges of Growth and Poverty Reduction in Asia

While Asia’s success in growth and poverty reduction is to be greatly welcomed, and should be analysed for the lessons it has for other countries, the policy discourse should take on board three key p...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 21 Apr 2006

Nepal/SouthAsia Beat: From the Underbelly of the Beast

Kanak Dixit was arrested in Kathmandu on Saturday, April 8, with a host of other professionals for defying curfew to press for democratic rights in Nepal. He remains in detention still. This column wa...

by Kanak Mani Dixit | On 14 Apr 2006

Constituting Development: Encountering the deprivation of the ‘poor’ under the ‘reform’ apparatus in India

The paper addresses three main issues: The nature of economic reforms and how growth is segregated within the sectors; secondly, limitations of the poverty line approach to estimate the development of...

by Saji M. | On 31 Mar 2006

Changing Practices in/of Science: The Context of Intellectual Property Rights in India

Changes in the practices and norms of research have changed the dynamics of creation of knowledge. Issues of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and proprietary information and knowledge have begun to...

by Sambit Mallick | On 29 Mar 2006

Communication for Development: Need for Collective Vision

Review of: Communication Technology and Human Development: Recent Experiences in the Indian Social Sector by Avik Ghosh; Sage Publications, New Delhi; 2006; Rs. 340.

by Devan Chandrasekher | On 23 Mar 2006

Pakistan: Budget Speech: 2005-06

1. The development budget has been increased by 34.7%, which is the highest increase to date. 2. Current expenditures will increase by 18%. The main reasons for the increase are the relief that gov...

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, | On 14 Mar 2006

Economic Survey 2005-06,Chapter 2

Public Finance

by Ministry of Finance | On 27 Feb 2006

Some Key Issues in Policy, Pricing, Regulation, and Financing of Irrigation Development in India Today

This paper discusses the stylised problems relating to water and irrigation in India and argues tht most of the inefficeincies, misuse and environmental damage have their roots in the mispricing of wa...

by Sebastian Morris | On 24 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

Systematic Hierarchies and Systemic Failures: Gender and Health Inequities in Koppal District

Health and health care inequities in Koppal reflect systematic hierarchies based on gender, caste, economic class, and life-stage; they also reveal systemic failures in health care services, both publ...

by Asha George | On 19 Jan 2006

Regulation and Supervision of Pension Funds in India

Power Point Presentation. Occupational pension funds need to be regulated and supervised. A statutory role in the form of Scheme Actuary needs to be created for DB pensions.Adequate information need...

by S.P. Subedar | On 12 Jan 2006

Agrarian Reform for a Liberal Pattern of Society? Karnataka's Land Policy and the New Dispensation

It is puzzling how much the discourse of development has backed away from the seemingly central question of rural poverty: land. Elaborate rules concerning its distribution, rights, regulation, prot...

by Ronald Herring | On 12 Jan 2006

The Economic Impact of EPAs in SADC Countries

The Cotonou Agreement introduces new fundamental principles with respect to trade between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries relative to the Lomé Convention: in particula...

by Alexander Keck | On 19 Dec 2005

Current WTO Negotiations on domestic Subsidies in Agriculture: Implications for India

This paper analyses the present state of play of WTO negotiations and evaluates how effective the current WTO provisions will be to reduce domestic subsidies in developed countries. The findings sugg...

by Parthaprathim Pal | On 12 Dec 2005

Poverty Knowledge and Poverty Action: Evidence from Three States in India

Even as some households are coming out of poverty, other households are concurrently falling into poverty. Poverty creation and poverty destruction are proceeding alongside. A bottom-up methodology...

by Anirudh Krishna | On 08 Dec 2005

East Asian Community: Prospects and Challenges

There is a growing need to a more institutionalized economic arrangement in East Asia. East Asia Economic Community might be an ideal form of such institution. However, the road is still long and...

by A Damuri | On 23 Nov 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

Singapore's Role in Building of an East Asian Community

An East Asian community(EAC) is an idea now being seriously pursued in spite of significant challenges. Proliferating bilateral deals in Asia could emerge as building blocks towards the EAC, provided...

by Rahul Sen | On 22 Nov 2005

Realizing The East Asian Community”

The enterprise of building an East Asian Community has already begun. The process will indeed be long-term. Malaysia, from the beginning , has been steadfast in not giving up on the concept. Despite...

by Stephen Leong | On 22 Nov 2005

Dams

The construction of large dams is one of the most costly and controversial forms of public infrastructure investment in developing countries, but little is known about their impact. This paper studies...

by Esther Duflo | On 21 Nov 2005

East Asian Community, Into Reality

Without trust-building, an East Asian community remains unrealized. The vision of an Asia-Pacific community offers a more attractive and viable option. A sound paradigm is community building and the w...

by David S. Hong | On 08 Nov 2005

Envisioning an East Asian Community--the Eu's Perspective and Role

EU's response to the East Asian community has to take account of several dimensions including Issues and dynamics of East Asian regional cooperation and integration; Scenarios of regional Community-bu...

by Willem vd Geest | On 08 Nov 2005

A sustainable and scalable approach in Indian pension reform

India is making sound progress on poverty elimination for those who can work. Poverty amongst the elderly will then become the dominant form of poverty in India, since the elderly do not work and thu...

by Ajay Shah | On 08 Nov 2005

Trade Liberalization, Poverty And Inequality: Evidence From Indian Districts

Although it is commonly believed that trade liberalization results in higher GDP, little is known about its effects on poverty and inequality. This paper uses the sharp trade liberalization in India i...

by Petia Topalova | On 29 Sep 2005

Gender and Malaria Among Rural Poor In Jharkhand

This is a qualitative study conducted by Sama in collaboration with Mahila Jagriti Sanstha,a community-based organisation in Gomia, Jharkhand to understand the interrelationship between gender and mal...

by SAMA .. | On 17 Sep 2005

Multifunctional Agroforestry Systems In India For Livelihoods: Current Knowledge And Future Challenges

Land-use options that increase resilience and reduce vulnerability of contemporary societies are fundamental to livelihoods improvement and adaptation to environmental change. Agroforestry as a tradit...

by Deep Narayan Pandey | On 10 Sep 2005

Minimum Wages And Poverty

Textbook analysis tells us that in a competitive labor market, the introduction of a minimum wage above the competitive equilibrium wage will cause unemployment. This paper makes two contributions to...

by Gary Fields | On 30 Aug 2005

A Framework For Scaling Up Poverty Reduction, With Illustration From South Asia

This paper develops a framework for thinking about the policy challenge of scaling up small scale interventions, governmental and non-governmental, that address poverty reduction successfully. The fra...

by S. Devarajan | On 30 Aug 2005

Further Reading

On political and social developments in Nepal

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

The Problem

Trapped for close to a decade in a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence, the royal proclamation of 1 February 2005 declaring an emergency, suspending the constitution and fundamental rights,...

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

Interview

Pradeep Giri is a central committee member of the Sher Bahadur Deuba led Nepali Congress (Democratic).

by Prashant Jha | On 30 Aug 2005

Dateline Nepal

Choronologically arranged events in Nepal

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

Dialogues: The Monarchy And Demovracy In Nepal

THE project on the State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) is a 30 month study undertaken to evaluate the democratic enterprise in five South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sr...

by Peter Ronald deSouza | On 30 Aug 2005

Comment: When The State Kills

The militarisation of society, already alarming, has visibly increased since 1 February. The king justifies his takeover as a move towards peace. Peace there will be in Nepal, only it will be the chil...

by Bela Malik | On 30 Aug 2005

Neighbourly Concerns

India has repeatedly asserted that there is no military solution to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. It is time that concrete and relevant initiative is taken by India in the direction of a viable poli...

by S. D. Muni | On 30 Aug 2005

The Working Of Democracy

Despite its many limitations, the processes of mobilization of socially diverse groups representing diverse constituencies and interests itself manifest a democratic practice at the lower level. Metho...

by Mukta Singh Lama | On 29 Aug 2005

Clarity Amidst Extremism

Another solution is needed now. An honest solution, a lasting one. One that might bring with it a republican Nepal. For this, certainly, is the call of the times: the monarchy must retreat to a strict...

by Manjushree Thapa | On 29 Aug 2005

The Future Of Democracy

This paper examines the future of democracy in Nepal against the current debate on political reforms, referred to in popular discourse as ‘restructuring the state'

by Krishna Khanal | On 29 Aug 2005

What The People Feel

This paper attempts to examine how far the king's assertions are in conformity with what the people of Nepal actually feel. It uses available evidence to analyze how the Nepali citizen may react to th...

by Krishna Hachhethu | On 29 Aug 2005

An Unavoidable Force

The ideological antipathy towards Maoism in particular and the left in general, forces international architects of Nepali democracy to conceal the monarchy's record of tyranny and bloodshed that far...

by Hari Roka | On 29 Aug 2005

Royal Regression

There is no doubt that the supine parliamentary democratic system has been snuffed out and autocratic monarchy restored in Nepal. Hence the questions arise: How could the limited bourgeois democratic...

by Baburam Bhattarai | On 29 Aug 2005

Will The Monarchy Survive?

Nepal's democratic order faces a serious setback with King Gyanendra's decision to assume all powers on 1 February 2005 for a period of three years. Now with a despotic monarch at the helm of politica...

by B. C. Upreti | On 29 Aug 2005

The Word And The World

This paper examines two sets of questions related to the meanings of ‘democracy' in Nepal. The first explores the various meanings that different groups of people currently attach to democracy. The se...

by Anil Bhattarai | On 29 Aug 2005

Political Economy And Social Movements

This note attempts to analyse the social and political environment in which the various social movements, including the Maoist struggle, have emerged.

by Arjun Karki | On 29 Aug 2005

No 548 Democracy Derailed :a symposium on the subversion of democracy by the monarch in Nepal

THE PROBLEM A short statement of the issues involved CLARITY AMID EXTREMISM Manjushree Thapa, author and political commentator, Kathmandu WILL THE MONARCH SURVIVE? B.C. Upreti, Senior Facul...

by Anonymous | On 29 Aug 2005

Discussion Paper on Pension Reform and New Pensiion System

PFRDA 1) Current provision of Pensions in India 2) Why review Pension Systems? 3) Governments’ Initiatives 4) New Pension System (NPS) 5) Present Status 6) Why PFRDA Bill? 7) Some clarificatio...

by Anonymous | On 28 Aug 2005

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin 310, April-May 2005

Medico Friend Circle, April-May 2005, featuring Background papers for annual Theme Meet on Quality and Cost of Health Care

by Anonymous | On 24 Aug 2005

Economic Reforms, Electrol Politics A Welfare

The introduction of economic reforms often hurts entrenched vested interests, which had prospered under state-led evelopment. For the ruling political party that introduces reforms, alienating such in...

by Ajit Karnik | On 19 Aug 2005

Pension funds may get tax breaks

The government is likely to re-work tax benefits to make investments in pension funds more attractive for private sector employees. At present, only central government employees can claim tax deductio...

by Ashish Agarwal | On 06 Aug 2005

Beyond The Human Development Index

The paper is a preliminary attempt to examine the human development scenario in Maharashtra. Its starting point is the Human Development Index, which indicates average levels of attainment in three di...

by Sangita Kamdar | On 05 Aug 2005

A New Practice of Labor Organizing: Community-based Organization of Migrant Women Workers in South China

With China’s access to World Trade Organization in November 2001, global competitions and local just-in-time productions became even more intense. Millions of migrant workers, in particular the young...

by Pun Ngai | 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

Change And The Everyday Politics Of Community Based Organisations

Membership based organisations are an increasingly important institutional form, encountered both in the social theories we use and in the practices of people we study. An examination of these organis...

by Joseph Devine | On 31 Mar 2005