Related Articles

Matching keywords : chronic poverty, poor, children, deaths

Indebtedness among the Rural Poor in Kerala

This study intends to understand the magnitude and nature of indebtedness among rural poor households in Kerala. The study d analyses the role played by various sources in meeting the credit requir...

by Aswathi Rebecca Asok | On 08 Mar 2021

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

Further Estimations of the Likely Total Infections and Deaths Due to COVID19 in Select Countries (Version 2 dt. April 10, 2020)1

We had earlier estimated the likely cases and deaths over the course of the pandemic for a number of countries. This was an early attempt and gave somewhat tentative results. With some 7 more days of...

by Sebastian Morris | On 09 May 2020

A Quick Estimate the Likely Total Infections and Deaths Due to COVID19 in Select Countries (Version April 1, 2020)

The main objective of the working paper series of the IIMA is to help faculty members, research staff and doctoral students to speedily share their research findings with professional colleagues and t...

by Sebastian Morris | On 09 May 2020

Assessing the Impact of Complete Lockdown on COVID-19 Infections in India and its Burden on Public Health Facilities

The COVID-19 has emerged as a global public health concern due to a large-scale community-based outbreak across countries. The number of confirmed cases has also increased in India in the past few w...

by Laxmi Kant Dwivedi | On 07 May 2020

How to Modernise the Working of Courts and Tribunals in India

Indian courts are clogged with large backlogs. Part of the reason for the problem is that cases take a very long time to move through the courts. It slows progress of court cases is harmful for the In...

by Pratik Dutta | On 30 Mar 2019

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

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

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

Vietnam’s Low National Competitiveness, Causes, Implications and Suggestions for Improvement

This study provides an in-depth analysis of main causes of Vietnam’s low competitiveness from the country’s perspective. These are structural problems due to its factor-based growth model, expansionar...

by LE Quoc Phuong | On 11 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

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

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

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

School Participation of Children with Disability: The Case of San Remigio and Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines

This paper is part of the joint project of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the Institute of Developing Economies looked into the school participation of children with disab...

by Adrian D. Agbon | On 03 Jul 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

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

Implementation of the POCSO Act: Goals, Gaps and Challenges

The study comes at a crucial time when key actors as well as the general public would like to know more about how effective is the implementation of the main law protecting children from sexual abus...

by Bharti Ali | On 24 Apr 2018

Restorative Care: Integral to Access to Justice

Existing research on “access to justice” has shown how the understanding of the term developed as the human rights approach gained ground. The conventional notion of access to justice was limited to s...

by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights | On 20 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

Social Interactions and Stigmatized Behavior: “Donating” Blood Plasma in Rural China

Despite the resultant disutility, some people, in particular, the poor, are engaged in behaviors that carry social stigma. Empirical studies on stigmatized behavior are rare, largely due to the form...

by Xi Chen | On 12 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

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

Dynamics of Employment of Children and Socio-Economic Reality: A Study of Children in Hazardous Occupations in East and West Jaintia Hills Districts of Meghalaya

The paper says that children working in the Mines from an early age are likely to burn themselves out by the time they reach 30 or 35 years.

by Helen Sekar | On 13 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

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

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: A Cross-National Comparison of Circumstances Related to State Forces’ Use of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts

This study aims to explore and identify circumstances related to the use of sexual violence by armed groups, and by state forces in particular. The overall purpose is to contribute to an understandi...

by Matilda Carlsson | On 20 Feb 2018

In the Long Run We are Dead, says Keynes Amen, says the Government!

This is a dreamy and populist Budget talking high numbers while missing out on empirical realities. The irony is that, looked at closely, it has neither pleased the free market theorists nor has it do...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 09 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

Union Budget 2018-19: Budget for Children in New India

India is currently going through a major demographic transition and it is this transition that is going to make India one of the world’s youngest countries with largest young population. Of this you...

by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights | On 05 Feb 2018

Budget Speech West Bengal: 2018

Finance Minister, Dr. Amit Mitra presented the West Bengal budget on 31st January, 2018.

by Amit Mitra FM, WB | On 05 Feb 2018

Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition

UNICEF, WHO, World Bank global and regional child malnutrition estimates from 1990 to 2017 reveal that we are still far from a world without malnutrition. The joint estimates, published in May 2017,...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 25 Jan 2018

Gender Inequality and Early Childhood Development

Plan International’s commitment to tackle discrimination and exclusion and advance children’s rights and equality for girls lies at the heart of our new Organisational Purpose. Our ambition to tackle...

by | On 22 Jan 2018

A Guide to Using Budget Analysis

Budget analysis entails analysis and assessment of budget from the lens of marginalised sections of population with the objective of prioritisation of public expenditures and collection of revenues...

by Happy Pant | On 17 Jan 2018

Health Financing and Delivery in India: An Overview of Selected Schemes

The paper shows that a range of institutional innovations are possible in terms of bridging the health equity divide.

by Kalpana Jain | On 04 Jan 2018

Cities, Rural Migrants and the Urban Poor

This paper tries to lay bare the intertwined histories of rehabilitation of the refugees from East Pakistan and the development of the city of Calcutta in the initial decades after the partition of Br...

by | On 02 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

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

Inclusive Urban Planning for the Working Poor: Planning Education Trends and Potential Shifts

The report outlines and critically assesses trends in urban planning education across the globe, specifically in countries of the global South, and the extent to which curricula address issues of incl...

by Vanessa Watson | On 07 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

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

The Development of Global Responses to Child, Early and Forced Marriages

This report attempts to map the history of global responses to eradicate child marriage. However, child marriage is not an isolated issue, as it often encompasses early and forced marriages, though th...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 21 Nov 2017

Inequality, Good Governance and Endemic Corruption

Can a society suffering contests between rich and poor achieve good governance in the face of endemic corruption? The paper examines a stylized poor state with weak institutions in which a “culture of...

by Gil S. Epstein | On 21 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

Inequality and Expectations in a Model of Technology Adoption and Growth

This paper highlights the role of initial wealth inequality in determining the technology adoption decision of firms, which in turn impacts upon the overall productivity in an economy. Wealth inequali...

by Surbhi Badhwar | On 08 Nov 2017

Empowering Civil Society Organizations for the Protection of Migrant Children

The EU grant project “Empowering Civil Society for the Protection of Migrants Children (ECPMC)” is implemented by World Vision Foundation of Thailand (WVFT) in collaboration with World Vision UK and F...

by | On 03 Nov 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

Trade Misinvoicing: What can we measure?

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

by Suranjali Tandon | On 10 Oct 2017

Learning: To Realize Education's Promise

The report narrates that for societies, it spurs innovation, strengthens institutions, and fosters social cohesion.

by World Bank [WB] | On 04 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

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

East Asian Financial and Economic Development

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

by Randall Morck | On 25 Sep 2017

Improving Data on Missing Migrants

The reports discuss the methodological challenges of gathering data on missing migrants.

by Frank Laczko | On 25 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

Health Experience of Women: A Gender Perspective

This review paper examines the ill-health experience of women, and whether it has been adequately explored in a socio-cultural context from a gender perspective. A deeper understanding of the wide ran...

by Annapuranam Karuppannan | 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

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

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

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

Gender Differences in Adolescent Nutrition: Evidence from two Indian districts

Using quantitative data from a one-time survey followed by ethnographic research in two sites in India (Koraput district in Odisha and Wardha district in Maharashtra), this paper seeks to examine the...

by Amit Mitra | On 16 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

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

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

Early Childhood Development and Violence Free Safe Environment for Women and Children in Selected Slums of Dhaka City

Bangladesh has experienced massive urbanisation in the last few decades with a staggering growth of seven millions slum dwellers. About two million people live in the slums of Dhaka city. Most of the...

by Polin Kumar Saha | On 26 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

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Bangladesh - Second Urban Primary Health Care Project

The project provided preventative and curative services, including access to immunization, reproductive health services, limited curative care, nutrition-related services, community outreach on health...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 25 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

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

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

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

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

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jul 2017

Maldives: Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State

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

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 Jul 2017

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

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

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

This report will help improve the quality of the workforce; enhance employability, productivity, and remuneration, leading to higher economic growth.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 30 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

Integrated Information and Communication Technology Strategies for Competitive Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific

The report narrates that early adoption of information and communication technology can allow developing countries in Asia and the Pacific to move from labor-intensive, natural resources-based to know...

by Jouko Sarvi | 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Public Health Care: Too Far, Too Little For Assam’s Riverine Islanders

Who is the public health system actually catering to, if not these vulnerable women and children of the riverine islanders who actually are in dire need of these services? Do they not come under the M...

by | On 10 Apr 2017

Cognitive Skills, Noncognitive Skills, and School-to-Work Transitions in Rural China

Economists have long recognized the important role of formal schooling and cognitive skills on labor market participation and wages. More recently, increasing attention has turned to the role of perso...

by | On 16 Mar 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

Development Planning and 'Urban' Context: Reflections on the Indian Scene

Through a broad portrayal of character of its development, changing urban patterns, nature of urban economic structure and contents of urban development policies, this paper takes a political econom...

by Biswaroop Das | On 17 Feb 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

Educational Inequality in India: An Analysis of Gender Differences in Reading and Mathematics

This paper analyzes gender differences in reading and mathematics among Indian children ages 8-11 using data from the 2005 India Human Development Survey. Employing descriptive statistics and ordered...

by | On 15 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

Child Labour in Agriculture

Children all over the world are being exploited, prevented from going to school, or pushed into work that endangers their health and normal development. In many regions, child labour is found mainly i...

by International Labour Orgnaization [ILO] | On 14 Feb 2017

The Long Shadow of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Intergenerational Transmission of Education

Between 1966 and 1976, China experienced a Cultural Revolution (CR). During this period, the education of around 17 birth cohorts was interrupted by between 1 and 8 years. In this paper we examine whe...

by | On 09 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

MDGs to SDGs: Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in India

India, with over 300 million people under the age of 15, is home to the 4 largest population of children in the world. This makes Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) one of the to...

by | On 02 Feb 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

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

Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition in Bangladesh

The battle against the challenges with food security and nutrition will have to be fought on many fronts at the same time. In general, anything that promotes broad-based or inclusive growth, thereby r...

by | On 18 Jan 2017

Jalli Kattu – Primitivity Amidst Modernity?

Jalli Kattu however glorified is a brutal sport for both the players and sometimes even to the sadistic crowd. It is one of the cultural markers of manliness and to express Bravery during civil times...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 13 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

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

Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India

The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) has launched a multicountry Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI) to study the economic impacts of poor sanitation and the costs and benefits of improved sani...

by | On 27 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

From Struggle to Law Reform: Eliminating Incarceration of Children as adults in Jails in India

India’s juvenile Justice Law started its journey in 1919-20 with Indian Jail Committee’s recommendation that children be removed from Jails. This mandate remains unfulfilled till date. One will stil...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 23 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

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

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

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

Costs and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case

Urbanization has both benefits and costs. In a market economy, the trade-off between benefits and costs determines the level, speed, and place of urbanization. This paper summarizes research finding...

by Kala Seetharam Sridhar | On 28 Oct 2016

Female Literacy and Access to Drinking Water in Rural India

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

by | On 25 Oct 2016

Rehabilitating Children in Conflict with the Law: Opportunities and Challenges

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

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

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

Problem of Food Security: A Brief Analysis of Tribal Area in India

The right to food is about freedom from hunger. The narrow meaning at hunger may be understood as the right to have two square meals a day, while in its broader meaning would include under nutrition....

by Johani Xaxa | On 17 Oct 2016

Prevalence of Long Hours and Skilled Women’s Occupational Choices

Gender differences in occupations account for a sizable portion of the persistent gender pay gap. This paper examines the relationship between the demand for long hours of work (as proxied for by the...

by | On 10 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

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

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

by Sutirtha Roy | On 10 Oct 2016

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

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

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

A Study of Government Urdu Primary Schools in Bengaluru

This study provides an overview of Urdu-medium primary schools in the Bengaluru urban district of Karnataka in India. Akshara’s research examined access to government-run Urdu-medium schools and iss...

by Divya Vishawanath | On 23 Sep 2016

The Power of Sport Values

The social and physical roles of sport are especially relevant today, in a global context deeply challenged by discrimination, insecurity and violence. We believe in the unique potential of physica...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 20 Sep 2016

Challenges for Maternal Health Efforts

Financing problems, new global goals, and provision of good quality care are some of the key challenges facing the next era of improving maternal health.

by The Lancet Maternal Health Series | On 20 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

Water for India’s Poor: Who Pays the Price for Broken Promises?

The poor do not consume as much water as the rest of the population, but despite the promises, despite the bland assertions of politicians and policy makers, they can and frequently do pay for what li...

by | 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

Multi-Sectoral Approaches to Nutrition: The Case for Investment by Agriculture

Globally, 165 million children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, or stunting, and more than half (85 million) of these children live in Asia. Increasing access to nutritious diets b...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | 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

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

Undernutrition in Infants and Young Children in India: A Leadership Agenda for Action

In India, child undernutrition happens very early in life; 30 per cent of Indian infants younger than six months old are underweight and 58 per cent of children in the age group 18–23 months old are s...

by M. S. Swaminathan | 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

School Feeding and Learning Achievement: Evidence from India’s Midday Meal Program

We study the effect of the world’s largest school feeding program on children’s learning outcomes. Staggered implementation across different states of a 2001 Indian Supreme Court Directive mandating t...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

Learning and Behavioral Spillovers of Nutritional Information

This paper provides evidence for informational spillovers within urban slums in Chandigarh, India. I identify three groups, a treatment group, a neighboring spillover group, and a nonadjacent pure con...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

Gender Bias in Education during Conflict: Evidence from Assam

Using a large-scale novel panel dataset (2005–14) on schools from the Indian state of Assam, we test for the impact of violent conflict on female students’ enrollment rates. We find that a doubling of...

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

Educating the Urban Poor: Case Study of Running Pre-schools in Non-notified Slums of Bengaluru

In the paper, an informal preschool program is described that Akshara Foundation administered over 12 months in a set of non-notified slums in Bengaluru. The intervention is particularly noteworthy be...

by K. Vaijayanti | On 29 Aug 2016

Impact of Caregiver Incentives on Child Health: Evidence from an Experiment with Anganwadi Workers in India

This paper provides evidence of effectiveness for performance pay among government caregivers to improve child health in India. In a controlled study of 160 daycare centers serving over 4,000 children...

by | On 29 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

Does the ICDS Improve the Quantity and Quality of Children’s Diets? Some Evidence from Rural Bihar

This study analyses the impact of supplementary nutrition provided through ICDS on intakes of calories, proteins, vitamin A and iron among young children in Bihar. The analysis is based on 24-hour d...

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

Women's Work, Maternity and Public Policy - Complete Report

Women as bearers and nurturers of children provide the foundation for generating future citizens for the country and labourers for the economy. In addition to reproductive or care work, women also con...

by | On 12 Aug 2016

Epigenetics as an Interplay between Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Disorders

There is growing unaddressed burden of cardiometabolic disorders particularly in the developing countries that is attributable to urbanization. One of the major life style factors that changes drastic...

by | On 11 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

Universal PDS: Efficiency and Equity Dimensions

India being home to the largest number of poor and malnourished population in the world, the tabling of National Food Security Bill has renewed the public pressure for universalization of PDS in Ind...

by Sowmya Dhanraj | On 03 Aug 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

Business as Usual: Responses within ASEAN to the Food Crisis

The United Nations estimates that the number of people worldwide who suffer from chronic food shortages might now exceed one billion. That skyrocketing prices of food in general, and...

by Randall Arnst | On 22 Jul 2016

Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025)

he United Nations General Assembly agreed a resolution proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025. The resolution aims to trigger intensified action to end hunger and eradicate...

by United Nations (UN) | On 20 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

Child Trafficking in India

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

by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral | On 20 Jul 2016

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

A Study on Financial Literacy and its Determinants among Gen Y Employees in Coimbatore City

Financial literacy is the mix of one’s knowledge, skill and attitude towards financial matters. It helps to make informed decisions and well-being of an individual. Research has been conducted globall...

by | On 18 Jul 2016

Youth Development in India: Does Poverty Matter?

This paper explores the differentials in youth development patterns determined by the economic condition of the household in India. The wealth index is used to glean youth development differentials in...

by Bijaya Kumar Malik | On 15 Jul 2016

Rising Food Prices in South Asia: A Policy Framework to Mitigate Adverse Effects

The recent commodity boom has seriously affected South Asia, particularly due to higher food prices and their impact on the welfare of poor and vulnerable populations. This paper describes the food cr...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 12 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

Old-Age Pension and Extended Families: How is Adult Children’s Internal Migration Affected?

This paper makes use of the most recent social pension reform in rural China to examine whether receipt of the pension payment equips adult children of pensioners to migrate. Employing a regression di...

by Xi Chen | On 11 Jul 2016

Does Social Health Insurance Reduce Financial Burden? Panel Data Evidence from India

Indian government launched the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a national health insurance scheme, in 2008 that provides cashless health services to poor households in India. The scheme is eval...

by Mehtabul Azam | On 11 Jul 2016

Deciphering Reproductive Mobilities in Indonesia: Trajectories of Infertility, Adoption and Migration

This paper engages the concept of reproductive mobilities to explore the nexus between the migration of female domestic workers and the adoption of their birth children by infertile couples who remain...

by | On 08 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

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

Best Practices in Regulation of Private Education

Current paper aims to understand how the governments in different parts of the world have leveraged upon the private sector to achieve specific educational goals. The idea here is not to recommend o...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 29 Jun 2016

Eradication of Child Labour- Socio–Legal Challenge and Judicial Activism in India

According to the NSSO (66th round of Survey) on Child Labour in Major Indian States, 2009-10 in the (Age group 5-14) is 49.83 lakh. Poverty and social conditions of the family are main reasons childre...

by | 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

The Kalikayatna Approach towards Primary Education: A Study of the Learning Initiative of Prajayatna

This paper attempts to study and evaluate the strengths and limitations of an alternative approach to learning -the Kalikayatna approach -that has been implemented in selected clusters in five distric...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 27 Jun 2016

Benefit Incidence of Public Expenditure in Health: A study of Karnataka

In this study an attempt is made to analyse the distribution of public health spending in Karnataka state, by analysing the Budget and Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) round-III data. The study als...

by Varun Sharma | 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

Poverty, Markets and Elementary Education in India

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

by | On 22 Jun 2016

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

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

Engaging with the Criminal Justice System: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Violence

In order to encourage prosecution of sexual offences, mandatory reporting was introduced by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (“POCSO Act”), and in 2013 the Criminal Law was am...

by | On 15 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

Nutrition: The First Two Years are Forever

This report reads from UNICEF’s policy, programme and communication experience globally and in India, both at national and state levels, and builds on the work by the National Coalition for Sustainabl...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 03 Jun 2016

Nutrition Moves: States Create Promising Change in India

This publication gathers a collection of twenty case studies that illustrate how Indian states are creating promising change to ensure the delivery of essential nutrition information, counselling, sup...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 03 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 Mixture as Before? Student Responses to the Changing Content of School Meals in India

We study how attendance rates of primary school children respond to cost neutral changes in the design of India’s school meal program. Municipal schools in the capital region of Delhi switched from pa...

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

Fairness for Children: A League Table of Inequality in Child Well-Being in Rich Countries

This Report Card presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It focuses o...

by | On 31 May 2016

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017 is a road map for the realization of the rights of every child. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 31 May 2016

Surveillance of Chronic Diseases: Challenges and Strategies for India

This paper describes the status, challenges and scope for strengthening surveillance of chronic disease risk factors, morbidities and mortality in India. Surveillance experience of four selected Stat...

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 30 May 2016

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper ca...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 27 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

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

Degradation and Loss of Peri-Urban Ecosystems

Rapid degradation of peri-urban ecosystems is resulting in a loss of associated ecosystem services. Water provision, storm- and waste-water regulation, along with protection from natural disasters and...

by Rockeffeller Foundation RF | On 25 May 2016

Stop Stunting in South Asia: A Common Narrative on Maternal and Child Nutrition

Governments in South Asia are progressively acknowledging that child stunting is both a marker and a maker of poor development. UNICEF regional and country offices in South Asia work with regional bo...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 24 May 2016

ICDS Mission: The Broad Framework for Implementation

Around 40 per cent of children remain undernourished with their growth and development impeded irrevocably, over the lifetime. Strong Constitutional, legislative policy, plan and programme commitments...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 23 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

Where All the Water Has Gone? An Analysis of Unreliable Water Supply in Bangalore City

The demand for urban water supply service is increasing rapidly as globalisation accelerates economic development and brings improvements in living standards in India with the interactive effects of...

by | On 12 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

Improving Air Quality in Delhi: Moving Beyond Status Quo

What are the management interventions that can be done to reduce the air pollution in Delhi?

by Prashant Gargava | On 11 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

Kerala: Education Report on Schools

Annual Status of Education Report is the largest annual household survey of children in rural India that focuses on the status of schooling and basic learning to find out whether children in rural Ind...

by Annual status of education report ASER | On 27 Apr 2016

Tamil Nadu: Education Report

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is an annual, nationwide survey of children's ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic that would engage ordinary citizens in finding out whether th...

by ASER Centre | On 27 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

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 National Budget: Philippines

The 2016 Budget reaffirms the belief that no one should be left behind as the country progresses.

by Strategic Communication Unit Philippines | 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

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

Linkages between Dispersed Urbanisation and Rural Industrialisation: A Case Study from West Bengal

In some poor parts of the world, rural areas are known as pastoral folk; for their heavily dependence on agricultural activities; and for having poor infrastructure, limited employment opportunities a...

by Subrata Dutta | On 20 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

Maldives Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State Country Diagnostic Study

This report identifies four critical constraints to inclusive growth in the Maldives: (1) inadequate and poor quality maritime infrastructure that constrains connectivity, limits provision of basic go...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

Market Provision of Quality: Impact of Economic Growth

Over the past three decades, the world has witnessed economic growth accompanied by widening of income inequalities. In the face of rising income inequalities, it becomes imperative to ask what happen...

by Sangeeta Bansal | On 16 Mar 2016

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

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

by Sujata Basu | On 15 Mar 2016

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

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

Liberalizing Lease Market The Andhra Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators Act

Tenancy has been on the rise in the post economic liberalization period from the decades of 1990s. It was also viewed that freeing the lease market for land may contribute to equity as well as efficie...

by E Revathi | On 14 Mar 2016

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

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

by Zareena Begum Irfan | On 10 Mar 2016

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

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

Tariff Reduction and Income Distribution: A CGE-based Analysis for Urban and Rural Households in Pakistan

This paper intends to explore functional and households personal income distribution across four different income groups in both the urban and rural areas. Using Social Accounting framework, Siddiqui...

by A. R. Kemal | 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

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

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

Legislative Efforts, Institutional Challenges And Neglected Concerns On Women’s And Children’s Rights In Indonesia And The Philippines

This Alert is the second in a series investigating the situation of women’s and children’s protection concerns in ASEAN. It aims to examine the domestic efforts that Indonesia and the Philippines have...

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

Transnational Organised Crime and its Ever¬- growing Threat

The United Nations, in its new report The Globalization of Crime, underscored the urgency of combating organised crime. The report examines major trafficking flows of drugs, firearms, counterfeit pro...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 04 Mar 2016

Libya – The Risky Business of Internal Conflict

What started off as a peaceful protest has descended into a full-scale armed insurrection, pitching opposition forces in the east against loyalist forces (estimated at 8,000 and 40,000 respectively)....

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 04 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

Situation of Children in Bhutan An Anthropological Perspective

The field study has comprised of survey visits covering all districts except Samtse and Dagana; while visits of longer duration and repeated revisits, have been made in Paro; Punakha; Phobjikha and Ru...

by | On 02 Mar 2016

Connecting the Dots: An Analysis of Union Budget 2016-17

It presents a comprehensive analysis of the priorities and proposals in Union Budget 2016-17, focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.)...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability CBGA | On 02 Mar 2016

Fiscal Policy Instruments and the Political Economy of Designing Programs to Reach the Poorest

This paper examines the fiscal instruments available to different levels of government and their interactions to enhance the effectiveness of public policies for the poorest and hungry groups. Address...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | 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

Access to Nutrition Index: Global Index 2016

ATNI is a global initiative that evaluates the largest food and beverage manufacturers’ policies, practices and disclosure related to all types of poor nutrition. It provides companies with a tool to...

by Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) | On 01 Mar 2016

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

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

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

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

Understanding Land Grabbing, Land Rights in the 21st Century

Issues or problems associated with land have become more multi-layered in the 21st century. In the Philippines, a number of “pro-poor” land laws were enacted after the Marcos dictatorship. These laws...

by Focus on the Global South FGS | 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

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

Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency Among preschool Children in Rural Areas

The objective of this paper is to assess the prevalence of clinical forms of vitamin A deficiency (particularly Bitot spots) among the pre-school children in the rural areas of the States covered by N...

by National Institute of Nutrition | On 29 Feb 2016

Diet and Nutritional Status of Tribal Population Report on First Repeat Survey

In this report about 90,885 individuals were covered for nutritional anthropometry and clinical examination from 30,390 households. The results indicated that there was reduction in the prevalence of...

by National Institute of Nutrition | On 29 Feb 2016

Diet and Nutritional Status of Rural Population

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

by National Institute of Nutrition | On 29 Feb 2016

Prevalence of Micro - Nutrient Deficiency

The present survey was carried out to assess the prevalence of common micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A deficiency (Bitot spots) among the preschool children (1-<5 years), Iodine deficienc...

by National Institute of Nutrition | On 29 Feb 2016

Union Budget Speech 2016

Budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

by Arun Jaitley | On 29 Feb 2016

Cyberspace and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

The most recent UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons identifies East Asia and the Pacific is an origin area for victims of trafficking where most of the victims consist of both adult and unde...

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

Recent Trends in Out-of-School Children in the Philippines

In 2008, about 12 percent of five- to fifteen-year-old children were not in school, five years later this had gone down to about 5 percent. Adjusted net primary school attendance rates have increased...

by Clarissa C. David | 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

Because the Personal is Political - A Documentation of the Work of the Special Cell for Women and Children 1984-1994

The documentation demonstrates the challenges waiting for the professional academic institutions to reach out beyond their walls to identify emerging issues and to develop new models of practice or st...

by Tata Institue of Social Sciences TISS | On 24 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

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

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

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

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

Bureaucracy and Pro-poor Change

This paper takes a political economy perspective in analysing the nature and causes on the decline in bureaucratic conduct.

by Ali Cheema | On 18 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

Parental Influences on Health and Longevity: Lessons from a Large Sample of Adoptees

To what extent is the length of our lives determined by pre-birth factors? And to what extent is it affected by parental resources during our upbringing that can be influenced by public policy? We stu...

by Mikael Lindahl | On 17 Feb 2016

Something in the Air? Pollution, Allergens and Children’s Cognitive Functioning

Poor air quality has been shown to harm the health and development of children. Research on these relationships has focused almost exclusively on the effects of human-made pollutants, and has not full...

by Dave Marcotte | On 17 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

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

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

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

by Kumar Shailabh | On 15 Feb 2016

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

Changing forms of violence: Struggles in non-marital intimate relationships: A study of the experiences of intervention at the Special Cells in Mumbai

Intimate partner relationships which are self-arranged, non-marital and non-cohabiting have rarely been a part of the violence against women (VAW) discourse. Such violence comes into the limelight esp...

by Anjali Dave | On 14 Feb 2016

Special Cell for Women and Children: The Spirit and Strategies to Meet the Challenges

The aim of the present endeavour is to highlight these commonalities in the nature of the work and individual functioning and thereby adhere to the team spirit and democratic principles of the Special...

by Tata Institue of Social Sciences TISS | 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

Private Schooling in India: A New Educational Landscape

Private schooling in India has expanded rapidly in the past decade. However, few studies have looked at its implications for educational quality. Using data from the recently collected India Human Dev...

by Sonalde Desai | On 14 Feb 2016

Corruption in the Education Sector

All parents hope for a good education for their children. It is the key to the next generation’s future, particularly for the poor. It equips young citizens with the knowledge and skills to thrive in...

by Transparency International TI | On 13 Feb 2016

Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in India: Understanding the Regional Differences

There is great regional variation on utilization of maternal health care services across India. While regional differences have long been established, why women in some states are more likely to utili...

by Sonalde Desai | On 12 Feb 2016

Can Conditional Cash Transfers Improve Education and Nutrition Outcomes for Poor Children in Bangladesh?

This paper uses panel data from a pilot project and evaluates the impact of conditional cash transfers on consumption, education, and nutrition outcomes among poor rural families in Bangladesh. Given...

by Céline Ferré | On 12 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

Urbanization, Inequity and Health in India: a Landscape

In India an official definition of the term urban by Census is: over 5000 population; a population density of over 400 persons per sq km; over 75% of male workforce in non-primary activities. This art...

by Organising Team (MFC) | On 09 Feb 2016

Life and Work in Jeedimetla: A Montage

The workers have to put up with poor housing and living conditions that cramp and disrupt their family lives. There is no government plan to house these workers when industrial areas like in Jeedimetl...

by Mithun Som | On 09 Feb 2016

Urban Health Programme in Chhattisgarh State: Evolution, Progress and Challenges

A Baseline Study was conducted in 11 cities in early 2012 by the State Health Resource Centre. The survey focused on understanding utilization of maternal and child health services by urban slum popul...

by Priyanka Sahu | On 09 Feb 2016

Capitalism and Not Modern Medicine is the Culprit

The article, “My Perspective on the Chronic Disease Epidemic in India” by Anand Zachariah (AZ) in mfc bulletin of Mar-Oct 2015, tries to understand the complex, somewhat perplexing scenario of chronic...

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

Statement 22: Recognition of Budget for Children in India

This paper traces the process of recognition of children’s budget and the introduction of Statement 22- Budget Provisions for Schemes for the Welfare of Children in the Expenditure Budget Volume 1. I...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | 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

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

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

Together Against Corruption: Transparency International Strategy 2020

Together against Corruption provides the strategic framework for Transparency International’s collective ambition and actions for the years 2016-2020. Our movement’s fourth strategy, it builds on the...

by Transparency International | On 03 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

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

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

by C. Peter Timmer | On 03 Feb 2016

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

Nutrition Political Economy, Pakistan Province Report: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

In this report we take a look at strategic opportunities and barriers for action on under-nutrition, particularly for women and children in KP Province in the post-devolution context. We will assess u...

by Shehla Zaidi | 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

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

Developing Technologies for Sustainable Fisheries in Asia

Governments in Asia must prioritise technologies that improve fishery productivity to meet the growing local and international demand for fish. This increased productivity must be sustainable, however...

by The WorldFish Center TWC | 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

Is Sustainable Recovery Possible for Haiti?

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

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

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

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

Social Work Intervention at Police Stations

This handbook on “Social Work Intervention in Police Stations” attempts to document the experiences of Prayas social workers in handling cases relating to women, children, youth, mentally or emotiona...

by Prayas NGO | On 30 Jan 2016

Initiating Work with Children of Prisoners

This Handbook on “Work with Children of Prisoners” attempts to document the experience of working with children of prisoners staying with their mothers inside as well as those left outside. These chil...

by Prayas NGO | On 30 Jan 2016

Initiating Work In Prison Settings

This Handbook on “Social Work Intervention in the Prison Setting” attempts to document the intervention strategies in working with various groups found in prison e.g. male and female prisoners, under...

by Prayas NGO | On 30 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

Playing with Pixels: Youth, Identity, and Virtual Play Spaces

Recreation Centers and Programmes have historically been designed by adults for adolescents as places of refuge, rehabilitation, and recreation. However, today’s virtual play spaces, such as Teen Seco...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Representations of Children and Childhood in Indian Television Advertisements

This article rests on the assumption that it is not possible to imagine universal and invariant characteristics of childhood. There are varying cultural conceptualizations and contexts within which ch...

by | 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

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

Institutional Arrangements in Providing Urban Health Services: Current Context and Possible Way Forward

This note looks beyond the parameters of a three-tier public health care system, to the supportive institutional arrangements necessary for provision of effective and accountable services to improve h...

by Shomikho Raha | On 28 Jan 2016

Potable Water for the Rural Poor in Arid Rajasthan: Traditional Water Harvesting as an Option

This paper enquires into the potential of wells (as TWHS) in the Thar Desert area of Rajasthan. Following a detailed analysis of hydrological and structural aspects of the source and quality of water,...

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

Role of Gender in Health Disparity: The South Asian Context

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

by Omrana Pasha | On 28 Jan 2016

Report of the National Consultation on "Children and Governance: In the Context of Federalism and Devolution"

Economists and experts have been batting for bringing the fiscal federalism, the activist fora has been criticizing the newly brought in fiscal arrangements between Centre and States. This contradict...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 28 Jan 2016

Health, Inequality and Economic Development

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

by | On 28 Jan 2016

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

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

Health Agriculture Labour Migrants (Denied) Access to Health Care in Andhra Pradesh

In most countries international migration has received more attention than internal agriculture labour migration. Even though internal agriculture labour migration has become an important livelihood...

by | 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

Focus on Children Under Six

This report is the outcome of a collective effort to bring children under six closer to the centre of attention in public debates and democratic politics. The report builds on a field survey of the In...

by | 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

Government Intervention and Prices of Medicines: Lessons from Tamil Nadu

This paper looks at the approach adopted by the government of Tamil Nadu where drug procurement and supply is done through an autonomous agency. The paper emphasises the need for such goverment interv...

by N. Lalitha | On 26 Jan 2016

Nutritional Deprivation Among Indian Pre-school Children: Does Rural-Urban Disparity Matter?

This paper focuses on a particular aspect of such rural-urban difference, namely nutritional status of children. Over the years it is found that under nutrition among children in India; have declining...

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 26 Jan 2016

Best Practices in the Integrated Child Development Services: Some Lessons for its Restructuring and Strengthening

Some innovations within the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) have demonstrated significant improvements in the nutritional status of children. This note discusses four such innovations, as...

by Ashi Kohli Kathuria | 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

Addressing the Unequal Burden of Malnutrition

The poor are not uniformly disadvantaged. For the most health indicators, the status of ‘excluded groups’ such as scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, and Muslims is significantly worse than that of...

by Sukhade Thorat | On 26 Jan 2016

The 1000 Day Window of Opportunity for Improving Child Nutrition in India: Insights from National-level Data

Using Data from National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), this note shows the patterns of child growth in India. It also shows that in India the status of recommended essential interventions in this wind...

by Purnima Menon | On 26 Jan 2016

Overcoming Challenges to Accelerating Linear Growth in Indian Children

Early childhood stunting or linear growth retardation predicts poor human capital. While stunting rates in India are unacceptably high, the decline in stunting over the past decades demonstrates that...

by Harshpal Singh Sachdev | 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

Drinking Water and Sanitation in Rural Madhya Pradesh: Recent Initiatives and Issues

This paper presents a brief account, based primarily on available secondary sources, of the current status of drinking water supply and sanitation in rural Madhya Pradesh. With a discussion on the lop...

by Keshab Das | 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

Regulating Microfinance through Codes of Conduct: A Critical Review of the Indian Experience

The paper critically reviews the course of events that led to the development of codes of conduct for the microfinance industry in the country and examines their effectiveness in motivating microfinan...

by Tara S Nair | On 25 Jan 2016

Inflation Accounting Across Income Groups: Does Inflation Hurt the Poor More in Bangladesh?

This note provides estimates of the contribution of food prices to inflation in Bangladesh. The results suggest that the current inflation takes a bigger toll on the poor because they spend more of th...

by M. Golam Mortaza | 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

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

Children still battling to go to school

The 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report exposed the hidden crisis of education in conflict-affected countries. Two years later, to mark the birthday of Malala, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Talib...

by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultura UNESCO | On 23 Jan 2016

Nutrition Security of Women and Children in India: Opportunity for Building Partnership with Low Income Countries (LIC)

Malnutrition in India is a public health emergency with serious health, academic and economic consequences. Malnutrition, though imperceptible, is in fact an underlying cause in about a third of preve...

by Sheila Vir | On 22 Jan 2016

Do Rich Countries Invest Less in Poor Countries Than the Poor Countries Themselves?

Could a rich-country social planner, capable only of forcing capital flows across borders but not directly into the hands of individual poor-country entrepreneurs, improve the efficiency of the global...

by | 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

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

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

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

Child Migration, Child Agency and Inter-generational Relations in Africa and South Asia

This paper arises out of the findings from a set of research projects carried out under the aegis of the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty (Migration DRC) at the Univ...

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

Stunting among Children Facts and Implications

Indian children are very short, on average, compared with children living in other countries. Because height reflects early life health and net nutrition, and because good early life health also helps...

by Alessandro Tarozzi | On 20 Jan 2016

Rural Sanitation Transformation in Himachal Pradesh

The relationship between poor sanitation, water borne disease, mortality and malnutrition is well documented. Statistics about the number of deaths due to diarrhea as well as stunting caused by malnut...

by Deepak Sanan | 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

Designing Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Investments

The present document is designed to serve as a tool to guide programme planners who are aiming to apply these recommendations in the design of agricultural investments and programmes. The persistence...

by Anna Lartey | 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

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

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

The Deprived, Discriminated & Damned Girl Child: Story of Declining Child Sex Ratios in India

This article traces the different elements that explain and help understand the phenomena of declining child sex ratios in India along with the debates on the subject, with specific focus on urban loc...

by Preet Rustagi | 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

Living on the Edge: Immunization Coverage among Children of Nomadic and De-notified Tribes in the Slums of M-East Ward, Mumbai

This study was carried out to assess the immunization status of the NT-DNT children in the 0 to 5 year age group and also to suggest an intervention strategy to immunize the non-immunized children....

by Praveenkumar Katarki | On 11 Jan 2016

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

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

The Indian Bond Market

This paper tries to explain the main characteristics of the Indian government and corporate bond markets and what has contributed to the poor development of the latter. It goes on to show that an oppo...

by Chandrani Sarma | 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

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

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

Activity Based Training of WaterAid India Partners in Water Quality Monitoring & Management

Effective monitoring of access to, quantity of and quality of water is a key consideration for India. Given the large investments and big programmes and schemes including the current thrust of Sector...

by People's Science Institute PSI | On 07 Jan 2016

Household Decision-Making Under Threat of Violence: A Micro Level Study in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

The rural household livelihood and children’s educational investment decisions are analyzed in a post-conflict setting located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. The study represents...

by | 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

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

Better Hospitals, Better Health Systems: The Urgency of a Hospital Agenda

This paper outlines the nature of the issues surrounding hospitals in emerging markets and makes the case for early action to bridge the abyss of neglected hospital investments and the path needed to...

by | On 06 Jan 2016

Antibiotics on the Farm: Agriculture’s Role in Drug Resistance

The evidence that antibiotic use in agriculture creates a pool of resistant bacteria in farm animals is not in dispute. The key questions relate to the magnitude of the risk to human health, and the p...

by | On 06 Jan 2016

Groundwater, Fluoride Contamination in Unnao District (U.P)

A recent survey done by Vikas Bharati, an Unnao-based voluntary organization, revealed that 35%, 47.8% and 60.3% of children were affected with dental fluorosis, in Junior High School, Thana, Janta Sh...

by People's Science Institute PSI | 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

Ending Child Labour in Domestic Work and Protecting Young Workers from Abusive Working Conditions

Report on domestic work provides detailed information on current data regarding the estimated number of child domestic workers worldwide. It also explores the hazards and risks of this type of work, a...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 04 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

Water and People: A National Perspective Mitti Aur Pani Mein Sona Hai

The failures of water management have been extensively studied and reviewed and the shortcomings are listed.

by Ravi Chopra | On 29 Dec 2015

Livelihood Transitions in Hilaungad Watershed

The Hilaungad watershed, a sub-catchment of the larger Lastargad basin, lies on the west bank of the Mandakini river which rises from the nearby snow covered peaks of the high Himalayas. For the purpo...

by Ravi Chopra | On 29 Dec 2015

Strengthening Municipal Governance through Performance-based Budget Allocation in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, pourashavas are an alternative destination to large cities. With the influx of urban residents within the next decades, governments and development partners must lead pourashavas toward...

by Norio Saito | On 29 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

State Capacity for Pro-Poor Delivery: Constructing Ownership, Forging Accountability

Severe chronic poverty persists in India, partly because of the poor capacity of the state in India to provide for its poor. An action research project, underway in five poorest districts in the count...

by Sajjad Hassan | 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

Second Demographic Transition or Aspirations in Transition: An Exploratory Analysis of Lowest-low Fertility in Kolkata, India

The paper argues that second demographic transition (SDT) might have to be redefined for a developing country in context to India. India currently has the lowest fertility rate (TFR 1.2). This could b...

by Saswata Ghosh | 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

Adaptation Activities In India

Highlights lessons learned from implementing development schemes and policies, which have incorporated adaptation due to the increasing incidence of extreme weather events.

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Challenges to School Edupreneurs in the Existing Policy Environment: Case Study of Delhi and Gujarat

The Indian education ecosystem today consists of the government, private sector, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that have helped provide education to millions of children. The enactment of t...

by Meril Antony | 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

Access to and Financing of Healthcare through Health Insurance Intervention in India

Health insurance is expected to promote equity in access to health, financial protection, reduce escalating healthcare cost, enhance provider networks and enable country to make an optimal use of limi...

by Shailender Hooda | 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

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

Meta-Study of Literature on Budget Private Schools in India

Budget Private Schools (BPS) are privately-run schools that charge very low fees, operating among the poorer sections of the society and have become relevant to the education discourse of India. This...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | 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

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

Hidden in Plain Sight: A Statistical Analysis of Violence against Children

The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to pro...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

For Every Child, a Fair Chance: The Promise of Equity

This report makes the case for closing persistent gaps in equity, because the cycle of inequity is neither inevitable nor insurmountable, and the cost of inaction is too high. UNICEF’s commitment to e...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

Unless We Act Now: The Impact of Climate Change on Children

Today’s children, and their children, are the ones who will live with the consequences of climate change. This report looks at how children, and particularly the most vulnerable, are affected and what...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the Front Line

The challenge of climate change is huge; it requires an urgent response from all generations. As the effects of climate change become more visible and extreme, they are likely to affect adversely the...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

Children of Migrants: The Impact of Parental Migration on Their Children's Education and Health Outcomes

This paper examines how parental migration affects children’s health and education outcomes. Using the Rural-Urban Migration Survey in China data we are able to measure the share of children’s lifetim...

by Xin Meng | 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

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

MQSUN Mixed Methods Report: Impact Evaluation of the DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh, Phase II

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 Barnett I. | 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

How Can Food Subsidies Work Better? Answers from India and the Philippines

This study explores the outcomes of food subsidies to the poor in the case of India and the Philippines. Both countries operate in-kind food subsidy programs with similar mandates, commonalities in...

by Shikha Jha | 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

Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed

This report is a global partnership initiative aimed at ending preventable child and maternal deaths. It also provides current information on causes of child and maternal deaths, and coverage of key i...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | 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

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

Budget for Children in Meghalaya 2015-16

Budgets are the most solid expression of a government’s priorities, performances, decisions and intentions both at the national as well as the level of the states. This budget for children (BfC) in Me...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | 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

‘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

Paris Climate Change Summit: Why it is Bound to Fail

Expectations are high for a good and fair new climate change agreement at the much anticipated on-going climate change summit in Paris. Such expectations are elusive if the negotiations fail to face...

by Raman Letchumanan | On 03 Dec 2015

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

One-Child Policy, Marriage Distortion, and Welfare Loss

Using plausibly exogenous variations in the ethnicity-specific assigned birth quotas and different fertility penalties across Chinese provinces over time, the paper provide new evidence for the transf...

by | On 01 Dec 2015

Indonesia’s Missing Millions: Erasing Discrimination in Birth Certification in Indonesia’s Missing Millions

Indonesia’s rate of birth registration is imprecisely measured but is low, especially among the poorer, rural, population. At the same time, the country has developed a system of population registrati...

by Cate Sumner | 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

Teaching Philosophy in Asia and the Pacific

The teaching of philosophy is undeniably one of the keystones of a quality education for all. It contributes to open the mind, to build critical reflection and independent thinking, which constitute...

by UNESCO UNESCO | 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

Upgrading a Piped Water Supply from Intermittent to Continuous Delivery and Association with Waterborne Illness: A Matched Cohort Study in Urban India

Intermittent delivery of piped water can lead to waterborne illness through contamination in the pipelines or during household storage, use of unsafe water sources during intermittencies, and limite...

by Ayse Ercumen | On 05 Nov 2015

Pragmatic Pathways: Critical Perspectives on Research Uptake in the Global South

One of social science’s core roles is to inform evidence-based policy making and policy interventions that produce pro-poor outcomes. This paper explores prominent debates on research uptake and polic...

by | On 05 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

Beyond Drugs: TB Patients in Bangladesh need Urgent Attention for Nutrition Support during Convalescene

This study measures the nutritional status (using Body Mass Index or BMI) of TB patients before, at two months, and after completion of TB treatment (DOTS) to study the changes during treatment and it...

by Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute | On 29 Oct 2015

Meta - Study of Literature on Budget Private Schools in India

Despite lack of infrastructure and facilities, studies over the past decade has shown that learning outcomes in these schools are equal to or better than those of far more resourcefu...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | 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

How Well Does the World Health Organization Definition of Domestic Violence Work for India?

Domestic violence (DV) is reported by 40% of married women in India and associated with substantial morbidity. An operational research definition is therefore needed to enhance understanding of DV epi...

by Seema Sahay | On 21 Oct 2015

Child Centred Approach to Climate Change and Health Adaptation through Schools in Bangladesh: A Cluster Randomised Intervention Trial

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. People are getting educated at different levels on how to deal with potential impacts. One such educational mode was the preparati...

by | On 21 Oct 2015

Child-Related Financial Transfers and Early Childhood Education and Care

This paper examines policies for the support of families with children, in particular child-related financial transfers and early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The analysis is mainly f...

by Mary Daly | On 21 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 Adoption Policies in India- A Review

Adoption provides a very important function in Indian society. India has long tradition of child adoption. In olden days, it was restricted within the family and was covered by social and religious pr...

by A.S. Shenoy | 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

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Sri Lanka - Improving Connectivity to Support Livelihoods and Gender Equality

This case study documents key gender equality issues as well as key achievements and lessons from a project carried out in post conflict Sri Lanka as part of urgently needed reconstruction. The Improv...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 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

Social Protection for Children: Key Policy Trends and Statistics

This policy paper: (i) provides a global overview of the organization of child and family benefits in 183 countries; (ii) presents the negative impacts of fiscal consolidation and adjustment measures...

by | 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

Utilization of ICDS Services and their Impact on Child Health Outcomes Evidence from Three East Indian States

The study analyses a rural household’s decision to participate in a public pre-school intervention called the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), and evaluates its impact on anthropometric out...

by Meenakshi J V | 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

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

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

Violence Against Women in Rural Bihar: A Case of Four Villages

This covers various kinds of violence in the private and public spheres faced by women in the four villages. It concludes with issues for further research and some policy suggestions.

by Shivani Satija | On 12 Oct 2015

Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–2012) Social Sector

The Eleventh Plan places the highest priority on education as a central instrument for achieving rapid and inclusive growth. It presents a comprehensive strategy for strengthening the education secto...

by Planning Commission, India | On 09 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

World Social Protection Report 2014-15: Building Economic Recovery, Inclusive Development and Social Justice

This ILO flagship report provides a global overview of the organization of social protection systems, their coverage and benefits, as well as public expenditures on social protection. The report follo...

by Internaional Labour Organization [ILO] | 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

Strategies for Safe Motherhood in Tamil Nadu: A Note

While most states in India are grappling with the problem of high MMR, states such as Tamil Nadu have managed to reduce MMR levels to 79 deaths per 100,000 live births (SRS 2011–13). This review also...

by William Joe | On 06 Oct 2015

Ground Water and Farm Incomes at Risk from Climate Change in Tamil Nadu, India

Research from South India suggests that climate change will affect ground water availability with serious and negative implications for agriculture. Any increase in temperature above a threshold of ...

by R. Balasubramanian | 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

The National Health Profile 2015

The National Health Profile 2015 prepared by the Central Bureau for Health Intelligence (CBHI) has revealed some disturbing facts about India’s healthcare sector. It shows the poor patient to bed rati...

by Central Bureau for Health Intelligence (CBHI) | 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

An Asessment of Implementation of the POCSO Act in Two Major Cities -Delhi and Mumbai

Almost three years since the enforcement of POSCP Act is a good time to review its implementation and build evidence that can be used to seek improvement and/or appropriate changes.

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 24 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

Food Security vs Nutritional Security: Need for Multi-Sectoral Convergence

The paper attempts to address the problem of undernutrition in India and its adverse effects on children and adults. Today, food security concerns include not only the problems of physical availabili...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Report of the Working Group on Public Distribution System and Food Security for the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)

This planning commission report on Food Security deals with the changing consumption pattern for food in India and reviews some studies on demand and supply projections for cereals in India. It also e...

by Planning Commission | 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

Rights-based Legal Guarantee as Development Policy: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

This paper analyses the legal framework and policy innovations undertaken towards achieving the stated objectives of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This paper seeks to cri...

by | On 15 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

Report of the National Consultation on Prevention of Child Marriage

The purpose of the national consultation was to bring together initiatives from across the country to share experience and challenges. This report is the final draft of the discussions and a common ag...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 14 Sep 2015

Overcoming the Curse of Malnutrition in India: A Leadership Agenda for Action

The leadership agenda for action released by Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India to promote policy, programme and budgetary focus on overcoming the curse of malnutrition. The Coaliti...

by Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security India | On 11 Sep 2015

Report of Working Group on Nutrition for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

This report details the vision for 12th Five Year Plan on Nutrition which is to move towards Nutrition Security- especially the more vulnerable infants and young children, adolescent, girls and women,...

by Planning Commission | On 10 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

Seventh All India School Education Survey

The broad objective of the survey is to assess the availability of schooling facility for primary, upper-primary, secondary and higher secondary stages within the habitations (including SC/ST) in diff...

by National Council of Educational Research &Training NCERT | On 10 Sep 2015

The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on the Matriculation of Junior High School Students into Rural China’s High Schools

The goal of this study is to examine whether promising a Conditional Cash Transfer (conditional on matriculation) at the start of junior high increases the rate at which disadvantaged students matricu...

by Fan Li | On 09 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

Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Domestic Violence in Urban Slums, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Domestic violence is identified as a public health problem. It is associated with adverse maternal health. This study examined the prevalence and determinants of domestic violence among women in urban...

by C.P. Prakasam | On 09 Sep 2015

Child Sexual Abuse: Issues & Concerns

The child sexual abuse is an under-reported offence in India, which has reached epidemic proportion. A recent study on prevalence of sexual abuse among adolescents in Kerala, reported that 36 per cent...

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

Sanitation India

Sanitation in India has to be improved. Women and children are the most affected due to the low sanitation. A check list is given to parliamentarians on how to improve sanitation in the country.

by Parliamentarian's Group for Children PGC | On 08 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

Institutional Constraints to Innovation: Artisan Clusters in Rural India

The paper offers a ctitical understanding of the policy approaches for rural industrialization by underscoring inadequate understanding of the dynamics understanding of the dynamics or specificities...

by Keshab Das | On 03 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

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

The New ‘MASVAW Men’: Strategies, Dynamics and Deepening Engagements. A Case Study of a Networked Approach to Challenging Patriarchy Across Institutions in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is ranked second among Indian states in ‘crimes against women’, which includes rape, abduction, dowry-related deaths, mental and physical torture and sexual harassment (Government of Utt...

by Jerker Edström | 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

Understanding Children’s Risk and Agency in Urban Areas and their Implications for Child-centred Urban Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia: Insights From Dhaka, Kathmandu, Manila and Jakarta

This paper presents the findings of a study undertaken by IIED in partnership with Plan International on urban children’s risk and agency in four large Asian cities: Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nep...

by | 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

Children in Conflict with Law

A juvenile or a child is any person below the age of 18 years. Over the last 10 years, crimes committed by children, as a percentage of all crimes committed in the country, have risen from 1.0% to 1....

by Apoorva Shankar | 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

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

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

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

Effectiveness of School Input Norms under the Right to Education Act, 2009

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 ratified education as a fundamental right and seeks to promote equitable access to education for all children up to the age of 14...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 13 Aug 2015

National Policy for Children, 2013

To affirm the Government of India commitment to the rights based approach in addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children, the government hereby adopts this resolutio...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 13 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

Urban Policies and the Right to the City in India: Rights, Responsibilities and Citizenship

This publication highlights the relevance in India and the multiplicity of entry points of the right to the city as a vehicle for social inclusion and sustainable social development for Indian cities....

by Centre de Sciences Humaines CSH | On 12 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

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

Children’s Work Activities in a Peasant Household: Epitome of Neo-Classical Rationality or Else?

This paper reflects upon a simple micro-economic model of a small peasant household economy has been formulated to derive the conditions for optimum labour time allocation among different gainful acti...

by Arup Maharatna | On 10 Aug 2015

Analysing the Status of the Surrogate Mother under the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010

The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010 is a new legislation that aims to regulate the surrogacy industry for which India has become a preferred destination by foreign citizens...

by Jwala D Thapa | On 10 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

Undeniable Violations and Unidentifiable Violators

The Human Papillomavirus vaccine "demonstration projects" conducted by a United States non-governmental organisation in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research were suspended by the...

by Amar Jesani | 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

Forgotten Voices: The World of Urban Children in India

This report discusses how the major urban development schemes in India do not adequately take into account issues related to children’s health, education, growth, safety and participation. The rising...

by Save Children | On 28 Jul 2015

Juvenile Justice in India: Policy and Implementation Dilemmas

The article tells us about what are the positive aspects of Juvenile Justice bill what it is lacking.

by Bharti Ali | On 23 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

Health Implications from Monocrotophos Use: A Review of the Evidence in India

This document is based on a literature review and which was prepared for the Regional Office of South-East Asia. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WHO have encouraged countries to phase...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 20 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

Alternative Report on the State of Child Rights in Pakistan

The Alternative Report has been prepared by Save the Children UK (Pakistan office) and the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC). It reflects the views of a large number of civ...

by ECHO Save the Children (U.K) | On 17 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

Indonesia’s Missing Millions: Erasing Discrimination in Birth Certification in Indonesia

Indonesia’s rate of birth registration is imprecisely measured but is low, especially among the poorer, rural, population. At the same time, the country has developed a system of population regist...

by Cate Sumner | 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

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

Action Alert? A Mid-Day Meal for Children: A Story Full of Non-Compliance, Poor Performance and Irregularities, Say the CAG Findings

Is the mid-day meal scheme following the nutritional standards? Are funds properly allocated? HARCRC is showing a clear picture of what is happening to the mid-day meal scheme.

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 Jul 2015

The Urban Disadvantage: State of the World's Mothers 2015

This report focuses on our rapidly urbanizing world and the poorest mothers and children who must struggle to survive despite overall urban progress. This report presents analysis of health disparit...

by Save the Children | On 07 Jul 2015

The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing

Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stre...

by Anant Sudarsan | On 07 Jul 2015

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

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

The Migration of Women Domestic Workers from Sri Lanka: Protecting the Rights of Children Left Behind

Remittances that flow from low-skilled labor migration are critical to many developing countries, yet these economic benefits can come at a high price. Roughly half of all migrant workers are women, m...

by Brian Opeskin | On 12 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

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

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

Report of the Working Group on Child Rights for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The core concerns highlighted in this report of working group on child rights includes ensuring the right of all children to life, survival (especially in the context of gender-based sex selection) an...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 27 May 2015

A World that Counts: Mobilising the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development

New technologies are leading to an exponential increase in the volume and types of data available, creating unprecedented possibilities for informing and transforming society and protecting the enviro...

by Independent Extpert Advisory Group on a Data Revol (UN-IEAG) | On 21 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

The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand

The Rohingya are an ethno-religious minority group from the Rakhine region, which today is encompassed within the borders of Myanmar and is adjacent to Bangladesh. The majority of Rohingya in Myanmar...

by The Equal Rights Trust | On 14 May 2015

Globalisation and Child Labour: Evidence from India

Child labour is a complex problem basically rooted in poverty. The Government of India has formulated policies since the economic reforms of the early 1990s. Children under fourteen comprise 3.6 per c...

by Mita Bhattacharya | On 14 May 2015

Fortieth Report: The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012

The Standing Committee on Labour and Employment (Chairman: Mr. Dara Singh Chauhan) presented its 40th report on the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 on December 13, 2013....

by Ministry of Labour and Employment | On 14 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

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

Performance Evaluation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)

The study finds that about 58 per cent of the subsidized food grains issued from the Central Pool do not reach the BPL families because of identification errors, nontransparent operation and unethical...

by Planning Commission | On 08 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

Pink Frilly Dresses (PFD) and Early Gender Identity

The color pink has a clear and compelling connotation in contemporary American culture. It symbolizes females and femininity. But why would little girls refuse to wear anything but pink, not only dres...

by | On 07 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

HUNGaMA: Fighting Hunger & Malnutrition

The HUNGaMA Survey collects data on nutritional status of children, it also captures the voice of mothers and takes a quick look at the Anganwadi Centres in villages across 100 districts in India. The...

by HUNGaMa for Change HUNGaMa | On 06 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

Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Rural India

This Report is an update of the Rural Food Insecurity Atlas of 2001 released by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Since then, numerous new programmes...

by V B Athreya | 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

Children in India 2012: A Statistical Appraisal

The publication ‘Children in India 2012 – A Statistical Appraisal’, analyses the conditions of children in the fields of child survival, child development and child protection. The publication include...

by Ministry of Statistics and Prog Implementation (MOSPI) | 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

Demands for Grants 2015-16 (Demand No. 48) of the Department of Health and Family Welfare

The National Health Policy framed from time to time provides the framework for the implementation of policies and programmes for health care. The Eleventh Five Year Plan had focused on the poor and th...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | 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

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 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

Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Pakistan

This Situation Analysis shows that females in Pakistan face discrimination, exploitation and abuse at many levels, starting with girls who are prevented from exercising their basic right to education,...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 01 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

Budget for Children in India 2008-09 to 2013-14: A Summary

Budget for children is not a separate budget. It is merely an attempt to disaggregate from the overall allocations made, those made specifically for programmes that benefit children. This enables us t...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 24 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

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

Global Strategy for Women' s and Children's Health

The global strategy for women’s and children’s health reports the challenges on health and services provided to women and children around the world. It sets out the key areas where action is urgently...

by United Nations UN | On 03 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

Of Bold Strokes and Fine Prints - An Analysis of Union Budget 2015-16

This publication highlights a range of pertinent issues primarily focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.) and the responsiveness of th...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 02 Mar 2015

Maharashtra State Consultation to Review the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

“The children are the stakeholders...we are the duty bearers and should do our duty to the best of our ability”, was the message given by Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Mohit Shah, while inaugur...

by Majlis Legal Centre MLC | On 01 Mar 2015

Recognising Gender Biases, Rethinking Budgets

Gender Budgeting highlights that a government policy or intervention, if formulated and implemented without any attention to the gender-based disadvantages confronting women, might even end up reinfor...

by Pooja Parvati | On 26 Feb 2015

Politics, Paisa or Priorities: Where Would Children Fit into the 2015-16 Union Budget?

It is a well-known fact that children are not getting much attention in the Union Budgets. There are some schemes by the government for children. Many of them are not properly implemented or lack fund...

by Bharti Ali | On 25 Feb 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

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

Why Are Indian Children So Short?

The authors examined height-for-age for 170,000 Indian and African children to understand why, despite two decades of sustained economic growth, the child malnutrition rate in India remains among the...

by Seema Jayachandran | On 23 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

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

Study of Impact of Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Programme on School Enrolment & Retention

Chhattisgarh is one of the youngest states of the Republic of India. It came into existence in the year 2000 by bifurcating 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking south-eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh. Raipur...

by | On 22 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

Paediatric HIV - Trends & Challenges

With the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection, which was once considered a progressively fatal illness, has now become a chronic treatable condition in children, as in adults. ...

by | On 15 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

GIS Study for Malnutrition and Agro Biodiversity in Maharashtra State, India

Malnutrition is found to be a leading killer throughout the world, with undernutrition in the developing world the main nutrition problem. India is one of the fastest growing country in terms of pop...

by Rahul R. Sagar | On 10 Dec 2014

Multidimensional Poverty and Child Survival in India

Though the concept of multidimensional poverty has been acknowledged cutting across the disciplines (among economists, public health professionals, development thinkers, social scientists, policy make...

by Sanjay K. Mohanty | On 02 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

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

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

The exploitation of one human being by another is the basest crime. And yet trafficking in persons remains all too common, with all too few consequences for the perpetrators. Trafficking happens every...

by United Nations Drugs and Crime | On 26 Nov 2014

Need for and Access to Health Care and Medicines: Are There Gender Inequities?

Differences between women and men in political and economic empowerment, education, and health risks are well-documented. Similar gender inequities in access to care and medicines have been hypothesiz...

by Anita K. Wagner | On 26 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

Pathways of Economic Inequalities in Maternal and Child Health in Urban India: A Decomposition Analysis

Children and women comprise vulnerable populations in terms of health and are gravely affected by the impact of economic inequalities through multi-dimensional channels. Urban areas are believed to ha...

by Srinivas Goli | On 19 Nov 2014

Extended Families and Child Well-being

Using rich longitudinal survey data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), evidence is presented on the relationship between three measures of health- and education-related human capital of c...

by Daniel LaFave | On 17 Nov 2014

Irrelevance of Children’s Day

Every year, November 14 is celebrated as Children’s Day. Nearly six decades into independence, however, the difference between the haves and have nots is stark. The children of the latter suffer the m...

by Vidhya Das | On 14 Nov 2014

Accelerating Progress toward Reducing Child Malnutrition in India

India is home to 40 percent of the world’s malnourished children and 35 percent of the developing world’s low-birth-weight infants; every year 2.5 million children die in India, accounting for one in...

by Marie Ruel | On 13 Nov 2014

Trends in Child Immunization across Geographical Regions in India: Focus on Urban-Rural and Gender Differentials

Although child immunization is regarded as a highly cost-effective lifesaver, about fifty percent of the eligible children aged 12–23 months in India are without essential immunization coverage. Despi...

by Prashant Kumar Singh | On 13 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

Social Exclusion and (RSBY) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana in Maharashtra

Out-of-pocket payments make up a large proportion of total health expenditure leading to inequity amongst the poorer sections. Recently government of India has instigated various demand side financing...

by Harshad Thakur | On 11 Nov 2014

Cause of death among reproductive age group women in Maharashtra, India

Reliable data on mortality and morbidity among women of reproductive age group are scarce in India. The present study is the Maharashtra component of a large multicentric task force study on the c...

by Ragini Kulkarni | On 11 Nov 2014

Too Little, Too Late: Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana in Maharashtra

While the union government announced its plan to extend the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to the unorganised working class poor. The Government of Maharashtra has decided to scrap RSBY and replace it...

by Sujata Gothoskar | On 11 Nov 2014

Mortality Burden and Socioeconomic Status in India

The dimensions along which mortality is patterned in India remains unclear. We examined the specific contribution of social castes, household income, assets, and monthly per capita consumption to mort...

by Y. T. Po June | On 07 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

Young People in Azerbaijan: The Gender Aspect of Transition from Education to Decent Work

Youth is a crucial time in life, as it is the time that young people start fulfilling their aspirations, assuming their economic independence and finding their place in society. In 2009, the key indic...

by Marina Baskakova | On 04 Nov 2014

Socioeconomic Dynamics of Gender Disparity in Childhood Immunization in India

Recent evidence indicated that gender disparity in child health is minimal and narrowed over time in India. However, considering the geographical and socio-cultural diversity in India, the gender gap...

by Ranjan Kumar Prusty | On 03 Nov 2014

Decomposing the Gap in Childhood Undernutrition between Poor and Non–Poor in Urban India, 2005–06

Despite the growing evidence from other developing countries, intra-urban inequality in childhood undernutrition is poorly researched in India. Additionally, the factors contributing to the poor/non-p...

by Abhishek Kumar | On 03 Nov 2014

Is the NREGS a Safety Net for Children? Studying the access to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for Young Lives families, and its impact on child outcomes in Andhra Pradesh

The NREGS is an ambitious public works program intended to provide a basic safety net to the rural poor in India. This paper attempts to study two aspects of the program’s functioning using data from...

by Vinayak Uppal | On 31 Oct 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

What Undermines Aid’s Impact on Growth?

Why it is so hard to find a robust effect of aid on the long-term growth of poor countries, even those with good policies. A possible offset to the beneficial effects of aid is examined using a meth...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 20 Oct 2014

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

Youth in Transition: The Challenges of Transitional Change in Asia

This book originates from a conference of the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils and contains writings and research reports on Youth in Transition in the Asia and Pacific region. Th...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 16 Oct 2014

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

Global Hunger Index 2014: The Challenge of Hidden Hunger

A staggering 2 billion people get so little essential vitamins and minerals from the foods they eat that they remain undernourished, according to the 2014 Global Hunger Index (GHI) being released toda...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | 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

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

Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

‘Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ offers a summary of the main themes...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | 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

Nutritional Status of Women and Children and Working of ICDS in Flood Prone Districts of Bihar 2005

ICDS is one of the most critical programmes of the Government of India, implemented by Department of Women and Child Development. In course of several fieldwork in North Bihar the investigating team o...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 15 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

School Related Gender Based Violence in the Asia-Pacific Region

For some children in Asia-Pacific, particularly girls, the mere walk to school is menacing and comes with the daily threat of violence. Once at school, they might also be subject to physical, psychoso...

by UNESCO UNESCO | 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

The Effects of Mortality on Fertility: Population Dynamics after a Natural Disaster

Understanding how mortality and fertility are linked is essential to the study of population dynamics. The fertility response to an unanticipated mortality shock is investigated that resulted from the...

by Jenna Nobles | On 02 Sep 2014

Employment Guarantee for Women in India Evidence on Participation and Rationing in the MGNREGA from the National Sample Survey

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which guarantees employment of every rural household for 100 days, has different progressive provisions which incentivise higher p...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 25 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

CRY’s Response to the Draft Juvenile Justice, Bill 2014 circulated by Ministry of Women and Child Development

Suggestions for sections of the bill is given.

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 08 Aug 2014

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014

An act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their developmental needs through proper care, protection a...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 08 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

Yes to Justice, No to Death

PUDR’s opposition to the penalty of death is three decades old. Like everything else our opposition on capital punishment is evolving and is a ‘work in progress’. Starting with serious objections to t...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 25 Jul 2014

New Government Gives Little Hope to Children: Budget for Children 2014-15

Children have been given only 4.6 per cent of the total budget of 2014 -15. In fact the share of children in has decreased. Is this the Finance Minister’s gift to children on India?

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 17 Jul 2014

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

Gujarat Gender Budget Statement 2014-15

As per census 2011, there are 289.48 lakh women and girls in the state of Gujarat, comprising 47.90 per cent of total population. “Gender Budget 2014-15” shows financial allocations for women in vario...

by Ministry of Finance Government of Gujarat | On 03 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

World Social Protection Report 2014/15 - Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice

This ILO flagship report: (i) provides a global overview of the organisation of social protection systems, their coverage and benefits, as well as public expenditures on social security; (ii) followin...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 17 Jun 2014

Child labour in India

To study the various definitions of a child as highlighted under the Constitution as well as under various other legislations and compare the various objectives which led to the differential criteria...

by Mubashshir Sarshar | On 09 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

Developmental Disability Index for Hill States in India

Tthe first objective of this study is to construct a cost disability index in provision of developmental infrastructure. The second objective is rooted in the poor state of developmental infrastructur...

by Ritu Pandey | On 20 May 2014

World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

Gender equality is one of the six goals of the global Education for All campaign that UNESCO leads. This was launched in 2000, when the countries of the world agreed to “eliminate gender disparities i...

by Edward B. Fiske | On 12 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

Indoor Air Pollution and Child Health in India

Indoor air pollution, associated with using biomass cooking fuels, causes an estimated 871,500 child deaths globally every year from respiratory related complications. Children are particularly vulner...

by Meena Sehgal | On 02 May 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

Food and Nutrition Security Status in India

Ensuring food and nutrition security is a challenge for India, given its huge population and high levels of poverty and malnutrition. India is a net agricultural exporter, particularly of milk, fruits...

by Pravesh Sharma | On 28 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

Elections 2014: What Do the Manifestos of Political Parties Promise Children?

A quick look at the manifestos of the five national political parties, Indian National Congress (INC), Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Aam Admi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) and S...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 10 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

Food Prices and Child Nutrition in Andhra Pradesh

This paper makes an attempt to assess the impact of food price rise on the nutritional status of children of five year old. Young lives panel data provides the nutritional status of the children whe...

by S. Galab | On 27 Mar 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

Election 2014: What Political Parties Must Commit to Children

What children need are effective institutions, equitable services and adequate resources, combined with political will and accountable leadership. This is what political leaders can promise them. [H...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 20 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

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

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

Functioning of the Public Distribution System: An Analytical Report

During September 2013, Parliament passed the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The NFSA seeks to make the right to food a legal entitlement by providing subsidised food grains to nearly two-th...

by Sakshi Balani | On 07 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

Child Work and Schooling in Rural North India: What do Time Use Data Say about Tradeoffs and Drivers of Human Capital Investment?

This study examines time use data for 1244 children in the age-group 6-12 years in 274 villages in eight states in rural north India to understand the tradeoffs between time spent in school, time sp...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 02 Dec 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

Left-Behind Children and Return Decisions of Rural Migrants in China

This paper examines how left-behind children influence return migration in China. A simple illustrative model based on Dustmann (2003) is presented that incorporates economic and non-economic motive...

by Sylvie Démurger | On 13 Nov 2013

In Search of Inclusion: Informal Sector Participation in a Voluntary, Defined Contribution Pension System

This paper examines who contributes and who persists in contributing in a national, voluntary, defined contributory pension program, where the government provides the incentive of matching contributi...

by Renuka Sane | On 28 Oct 2013

Arresting Child Mortality Rates: What Do the Report Cards Say?

The issue of child mortality in India has been under the scanner in several research publications in recent times. All the reviews acknowledge that India will not achieve the required reductions of un...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 28 Oct 2013

Global Slavery Index

Modern slavery includes slavery, slavery-like practices (such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children), human trafficking and forced labour. This is the first year of...

by Walk Free Foundation | On 18 Oct 2013

Global Hunger Index 2013 - The Challenge of Hunger: Building Resilience to Achieve Food and Nutrition Security

The 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI), which reflects data from the period 2008–2012, shows that global hunger has improved since 1990, falling by one-third. Despite the progress made the level of hunger...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 16 Oct 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

Release of Socio-Cultural Tables-Age: Data Highlights

Age is one of the core topics in Census. In Census 2011, for the first time data on both date of birth and age has been recorded. [Census 2011].

by Registrar General, India | 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

Child Focussed Questions in Parliament in 2012

One third of the population of India are children below the age of 18 years. They are citizens of this country. Even though they do not vote, they have all rights as equal citizens of the country. How...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 07 Oct 2013

Performance Lessons from India’s Universal Identification Program

India’s Unique Identification (UID) project offers important lessons for other countries. UID’s performance data show that large countries can implement biometric ID programs with low levels of excl...

by Alan Gelb | On 07 Oct 2013

Interrogating 'Best Practices' for the Implementation of School Nutrition Programme in Urban India

This study examines the differences between two major Mid-day Meal implementation models: the decentralized model where food is cooked and served within the schools premises, and the centralized model...

by Shankar Priya | On 01 Oct 2013

Governance by Denial: Forced Eviction and Demolition of Homes in Ejipura/ Koramangala, Bangalore: Report of a Fact-Finding Mission

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is responsible for providing infrastructure and services in the metropolitan area. From January 18 to 21, 2013, it bulldozed 1,512 homes (42 blocks) and...

by PUCL Karnataka | On 30 Sep 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

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

Hungama - Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition

Despite India’s remarkable economic growth over the last decade, many children still struggle to meet their most basic needs, including access to sufficient food and health c are. According to the 2 0...

by Hungama - Citizen's Alliance Against Malnutrition | On 30 Aug 2013

Committing to Child Survival - A Promise Renewed

To advance Every Woman Every Child, a strategy launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNICEF and other UN organizations are joining partners from the public, private and civil socie...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 30 Aug 2013

India Shadow Report

The gains made since ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are plenty, but the reality of children’s situation is disturbing on many counts calling for urgent and serious att...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 26 Aug 2013

The Impact of Parental Death on Child Well-being: Evidence from the Indian Ocean Tsunami

Identifying the impact of parental death on the well-being of children is complicated because parental death is likely to be correlated with other, unobserved, factors that affect child well-being....

by Ava Gail Gas | On 16 Aug 2013

The '4 in 1' Training Programme: Capacity Building Initiative for Building Health/Nutrition Workers’ Skills in Infant and Young Child Feeding Counseling

Breastfeeding is the optimal nutrition for infants and reduces the risk of infectious diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia substantially.4 Breastfeeding may also enhance the effect of some vaccines....

by Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India BPNI | On 06 Aug 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

Can breastfeeding lower breast cancer risk?

The research on breastfeeding and breast cancer risk, it is clear that this has been a difficult area to study. If breastfeeding does lower risk, the level of protection is small and depends on women...

by Debbie Saslow | On 01 Aug 2013

Infant and young child feeding

Undernutrition is associated with more than one third of the global disease burden for children under five. Infant and young child feeding is a key area to improve child survival and promote healthy g...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 01 Aug 2013

Promoting proper feeding for infants and young children

Nutrition and nurturing during the first years of life are both crucial for life-long health and well-being. In infancy, no gift is more precious than breastfeeding; yet barely one in three infants is...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | 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

An Economic Investigation of Corruption and Electricity Theft

Theft and corruption are common in electricity distribution systems worldwide. Electricity theft is analysed in the framework of an individual’s choice under uncertainty and through a three-layered pr...

by Faisal Jamil | On 10 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

The National Policy for Children, 2013

To affirm the Government’s commitment to the rights based approach in addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children, the Government of India hereby adopts this Resol...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 13 Jun 2013

Delhi State Budget 2013—2014 Disappoints Children Once Again

On the 20th of March 2013, the Honorable Chief Minister of Delhi presented her budget to the Legislative Assembly. What did she have in it for children? The budget has to be analysed in the light of t...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 03 Jun 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

The National Policy for Children, 2012

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the National Policy for Children, 2012. The Policy reaffirms the government’s commitment to the realization of the rights of all children in the country.

by Anonymous | On 27 May 2013

Profile of Out-of-School Children in the Philippines

The Philippines committed to Millennium Development Goals and Education for All (EFA) targets that include universal primary education. However, various data sources, including the Department of Educa...

by Jose Ramon G Albert | On 23 May 2013

Water in India: Situation and Prospects

This report attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the state of water resource development and management in India, based on secondary information. It maps the current challenges and sugg...

by Anjal Prakash | On 30 Apr 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 Criminal Law (Amendement) Bill, 2013 as passed by Lok Sabha

A bill further to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 [PRS]. URL:[http://www...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 08 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

Do School get Their Money? PAISA 2012

The PAISA exercise uses planning and budgeting systems as the entry point, it is an attempt to build an empirical understanding of current governance processes at the grassroots to push for a larg...

by Accountability Initiative | On 29 Mar 2013

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, GOI, 2013-14

This brief gives the idea about the allocations to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan by Government of India in 2013-14 [Accountability Initiative]. URL:[http://www.accountabilityindia.in/sites/default/files/ssa_2...

by Accountability Initiative | On 07 Mar 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

Empowering the Street Vendors in Changing Indian Cities: A Case Study of Bhubaneswar (Orissa)

The case of Bhubaneswar vending zone perfectly qualifies the theme of making market work for the poor. This is a pioneering lead taken to develop an exclusive market for the vendors which presents a...

by Randhir Kumar | On 01 Mar 2013

Much Ado about Nothing…Budget for Children a Mere Lip Service! India Fails to Protect its Children Once Again

Share of Dudget for Children in the Union Budget. [HAQCRC]. URL:[http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/BfC%20Analysis%202013-14-1.pdf]

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 01 Mar 2013

Focus on Rural India

The budget has come with schemes for rural India. It has got schemes for women, youth and poor.

by Sunil Duggal | On 28 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

Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

The proposed legislation marks a paradigm shift in addressing the problem of food security – from the current welfare approach to a right based approach. About two thirds of the population will be ent...

by MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DIST GOI | On 15 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

The Changing Perspective of Mental Health of Children and Adolescents

Review of the book 'Child and Adolescent Mental Health' edited by Usha Nayar, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children; February 2013; pp 363; Rs 115...

by Aarti Salve | On 07 Feb 2013

Juvenile Justice in Different Countries: Age of Criminal Responsibility and Treatment of Juvenile Offenders

In the world, there are three models that inspire administration of juvenile justice: • The Welfare Model • The Justice Model or Control model - Retributive • The Restorative Model The age of c...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 06 Feb 2013

Political Clientelism and Capture: Theory and Evidence from West Bengal, India

There are relatively few theoretical models or empirical analyses of clientelism which analyse the sources and consequences of clientelism. Data from household surveys in rural West Bengal are used t...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 14 Jan 2013

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

Action Alert! Even Money Does not Make them Accountable to Children: Children Still Die in India’s Oldest Paediatric Hospital

The one and only one government hospital for children in the country supported by the Central Government with a budget of Rs. 55.40 Crore in the year 2012-13 is once again in news for miserable cond...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 26 Nov 2012

It’s a Boy! Women and Non-Monetary Benefits from a Son in India

Son preference is widespread in a number of developing countries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women may contribute to the persistence of this phenomenon because they derive substantial long-run...

by Laura Zimmermann | On 19 Nov 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

Mapping Exercise of Home Based Workers in Maharashtra

Home-based work has a much wider scope of activity than the singular task of an individual working from his/her home. This essential service is tied in with a larger chain of forward and backward lin...

by Indira Gartenberg | On 16 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

Legislative Brief: The National Food Security Bill, 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution on December 22, 2011. The Bill was referred to the Stand...

by Sakshi Balani | On 28 Sep 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

Examining the Effect of Household Wealth and Migration Status on Safe Delivery Care in Urban India, 1992–2006

Although the urban health issue has been of long-standing interest to public health researchers, majority of the studies have looked upon the urban poor and migrants as distinct subgroups. Another co...

by Prashant Kumar Singh | On 24 Sep 2012

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

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

MTNL: Why the Slow Death?

What is the cause of deteriorating services from MTNL? Suggestions are given to improve its services.

by Alex George | On 03 Sep 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

Averting an Impending Storm: Can We Reengineer Health Systems to Meet the Needs of Aging Populations?

The proportion of elderly in the world population is increasing. Health systems across the globe are ill prepared to meet the needs of aging populations. The needs of the elderly are different from t...

by Arlene S Bierman | On 08 Aug 2012

Pilot Intervention of Improved Cook Stoves in Rural Areas: Assessment of Effects on Fuel Use, Smoke Emission and Health

This study aims to explore the impact of improved cook stoves (ICS) on fuel expenditure (consumption), smoke emission, and health of women (cook) in rural households of Bangladesh. In the follow-up...

by Nepal C. Dey | On 06 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 Draft National Policy for Children, 2012

To affirm the Government’s commitment to the rights based approach in addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children, the Government of India adopted this Resolution...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 30 Jul 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

Child Malnutrition in Pakistan: Trends and Determinants

The major objective of this paper to examine the determinants of child malnutrition, based on the Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS-2010). The study has focused on individual (child), household an...

by G M Arif | On 16 Jul 2012

How Close Does the Apple Fall to the Tree? Some Evidence on Intergenerational Occupational Mobility from India

Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2005, intergenerational occupational mobility in India is examined, an issue on which very few systematic and rigorous studies exist. Individ...

by Sripad Motiram | On 12 Jul 2012

India’s 2012 UPR Examination: No Commitment on Enhancing Human Rights but a Mountain to Climb

On 24th May 2012, the United Nations Human Right Council reviewed India’s human rights record during the 13th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland. This was India’s...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 12 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

School Libraries and Language Skills in Indian Primary Schools: A Randomized Evaluation of the Akshara Library Program

A randomized evaluation of a school library program on children’s language skills is conducted. The program had little impact on students’ scores on a language test administered 16 months after implem...

by Evan Borkum | On 09 Jul 2012

Troubled Encounter: Japan–DPRK Non-Relations

This paper explores the interplay between two neighbors that have been victims of history, Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). [ISDP Asia Paper]. U...

by Bert Edström | 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

Budget for Children in CM’s ‘Caring City’! A Brief analysis of the Delhi Budget 2012-13

Status of Children in India’s Capital. [HAQCRC]. URL:[http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/BfC%202012-13%20final.pdf].

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 02 Jul 2012

Determinants of Child Morbidity and Factors Governing Utilisation of Child Health Care: Evidence from Rural India

The objective in this paper is to estimate the role played by such factors in determining the utilisation of formal health care to cure diarrhoea and certain respiratory illnesses plaguing young ch...

by Anindita Chakrabarti | 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

What Should Regulation do in the Field of Micro-finance?

Recent events in India have brought a fresh focus on the appropriate regulatory stance towards micro-finance. In this paper, facts and recent experience about Indian microfinance is reviewed. The puz...

by Renuka Sane | On 19 Jun 2012

The Effect of Village-Based Schools: Evidence form a Randomized Controlled Trial in Afghanistan

A randomized evaluation was conducted of the effect of village-based schools on children's academic performance using a sample of 31 villages and 1,490 children in rural northwestern Afghanistan. The...

by Dana Burde | On 04 Jun 2012

Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater in Bangladesh

Shallow groundwater with high arsenic concentrations from naturally occurring sources is the primary source of drinking water for millions of people in Bangladesh. It has resulted in a major public...

by Imran Matin | On 28 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

Trafficking in Persons: Singapore's Evolving Responses

For a long time, sending countries have been the focus of efforts to combat trafficking in persons (TIP). However, in recent years, destination countries such as Singapore have also stepped up their e...

by Pau Khan Khup Hangzo | On 23 May 2012

Internal vs. International Migration: Impacts of Remittances on Child Well-Being in Vietnam

This paper focuses on the effects of domestic and international remittances on children’s well-being. Using data from the 1992/93 and 1997/98 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys, an investigation of the...

by Michele Binci | On 11 May 2012

Developing Asia’s Pension Systems and Old-Age Income Support

A broad overview of the current state of pension systems in the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam is provided. An anal...

by Donghyun Park | On 30 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

NAC Working Group on Gender and the Sex Ratio Draft Recommendations

The NAC Working Group held three national consultations on different aspects of the issue of declining child sex ratio. The Working Group conveners also separately met with Ministry of Women and Child...

by Farah Naqvi | On 25 Apr 2012

Corruption

In this paper, a new framework for analyzing corruption in public bureaucracies is provided. The standard way to model corruption is as an example of moral hazard, which then leads to a focus on bette...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 24 Apr 2012

The Negative Consequences of Overambitious Curricula in Developing Countries

Learning profiles that track changes in student skills per year of schooling often find shockingly low learning gains. Using data from three recent studies in South Asia and Africa, it is shown that ...

by Lant Pritchett | On 23 Apr 2012

Draft National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy reaffirms the commitment of the Government of India to provide integrated services for holistic development of all children, along the con...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 20 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

Brides for Sale: Cross-Border Marriages and Female Immigration

Every year, a large number of women immigrate as brides from developing countries to developed countries in East Asia. This phenomenon virtually did not exist in the early 1990s, but foreign brides...

by Daiji Kawaguchi | On 16 Apr 2012

Approaches to Food Security in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico and Nigeria: Lessons for Developing Countries

This paper provides a synthesis of the experiences of six countries (Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Nigeria) in enhancing food security of their population. Approximately 46 per cent of t...

by Pooja Sharma | On 16 Apr 2012

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

The State of Juvenile Justice in Karnataka

The situation of juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection across India is precarious. Nothing underlines this more than the situation in Karnataka. While the State Hu...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 05 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

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

Tamil Nadu Budget Speech: 2012-13

Speech of Thiru O. Panneerselvam, Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Government of Tamil Nadu, presenting the Budget for the year 2012-2013 to the Legislative Assembly on 26th March, 2012. [Government...

by Tamil Nadu Government | 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

The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010

A bill further to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. [PRS]. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Marriage%20Laws/Marriage%20Laws%20Bill%202010.pdf].

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 26 Mar 2012

How Much Does Natural Resource Extraction Really Diminish National Wealth? The Implications of Discovery

The paper considers the process of discovery for subsoil resources, including both hard minerals and hydrocarbons and estimates its magnitude in recent years, as derived from the sum of extraction an...

by Alan Gelb | On 20 Mar 2012

NRHM, GOI, 2012-13

Using government data, this brief reports on NRHM expenditures along the following parameters: a) Overall trends in fund allocation and expenditure: GOI and States, b) Allocation and expenditure...

by Accountability Initiative | 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

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, GOI 2012-13

This brief uses Government reported data to analyse Sarva Shiksha Ahiyan performance along the following parameters: a) Overall trends in allocation and expenditures, b) Expenditure performance across...

by Accountability Initiative | On 16 Mar 2012

Towards Building A Happy, Prosperous and Caring Bangladesh: Budget Speech 2011-12

Budget speech 2011-12 by Finance minister. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/budget/11_12/budget_speech/speech_en.pdf].

by Abul Maal Abdul Muhith | On 14 Mar 2012

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

Parents’ Economic Support of Young-Adult Children: Do Socioeconomic Circumstances Matter?

This paper assesses how the economic support provided by parents to young adults as they complete their education and enter the labor market is related to the family’s socioeconomic circumstances. W...

by Deborah Cobb clark | On 07 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

Report of the Sub-Groups on Child Rights for 12th Five Year Plan

A Working Group on Child Rights was constituted by the Planning Commission to recommend priorities and strategies for children in the 12th Five year Plan 2012-17. Five Sub Groups of the Working group...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 06 Mar 2012

Theft and Loss of Electricity in an Indian State

Utilizing data from the power corporation of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the politics of electricity theft over a ten year period (2000–09) is studied. It is seen that electricity the...

by Miriam Golden | On 06 Mar 2012

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

The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World

The experience of childhood is increasingly urban. Over half the world’s people – including more than a billion children – now live in cities and towns. This report adds to the growing body of eviden...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 01 Mar 2012

More Money or More Development: What Have the MDGs Achieved?

What have the MDGs achieved? And what might their achievements mean for any second generation of MDGs or MDGs 2.0? We argue that the MDGs may have played a role in increasing aid and that developmen...

by Charles Kenny | On 24 Feb 2012

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

Study on Impact of Micro Finance in Reduction of Domestic Violence Against Women

The main objective of the study is to investigate whether there is any evidence to support the view that the disbursement of micro finance to women reduces the incidence of domestic violence, and if...

by Institute of Social Studies Trust ISST | On 23 Feb 2012

Health Education

There is an uneven geographical distribution of health workers. The shortage of health workers is compounded by the fact that their skills, competencies, clinical experience, and expectations are ofte...

by Nandini Dube | On 14 Feb 2012

Selling Formal Insurance to the Informally Insured

Unpredictable rainfall is an important risk for agricultural activity, and farmers in developing countries often receive incomplete insurance from informal risk-sharing networks. The demand for, and...

by A. Mushfiq Mobarak | On 10 Feb 2012

Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages and Policies in India

This paper looks at some key entry points for agriculture to influence nutrition and suggests policies for nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, within the current policy framework. In additi...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 07 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

Girls Take Over: Long-term Impacts of an Early Stage Education Intervention in the Philippines

This paper examines the long-term impacts of improved school quality at the elementary school stage on subsequent schooling investments and labor market outcomes using unique data from a recent survey...

by Futoshi Yamauchi | On 31 Jan 2012

The Complexity of Immigrant Generations: Implications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Integration of Hispanics and Asians

Much of the socioeconomic mobility achieved by U.S. immigrant families takes place across rather than within generations. When assessing the long-term integration of immigrants, it is therefore impo...

by Brian Duncan | On 31 Jan 2012

Global Health and the New Bottom Billion: How Funders Should Respond to Shifts in Global Poverty and Disease Burden

After a decade of rapid economic growth, many developing countries have attained middle-income status. But poverty reduction in these countries has not kept pace with economic growth. As a result, mos...

by Amanda Glassman | On 31 Jan 2012

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

Findings From the Rapid Survey of Severely Malnourished Children in 11 Districts of Karnataka

A rapid survey was undertaken in Karnataka to understand access of severely malnourished children to health and child care services, understand these families’ experience of seeking care in PHC and an...

by Republic of Hunger RoH | On 30 Jan 2012

India’s Food Security Bill: A Waste or Win for the Hungry?

Home to over 25 per cent of the world’s hungry poor, India faces major food security challenges and the situation has barely improved in two decades. Will the National Food Security Bill that the Indi...

by Sally Trethewie | On 27 Jan 2012

Total Sanitation Campaign - Progress and Issues: Situational Analysis of Andhra Pradesh with reference to Total Sanitation Campaign

This paper has tried to address some key research questions like will India and Andhra Pradesh achieve the Millennium Development Goal of Sanitation ? Are the TSC targets realistic? What is coverage...

by M Snehalatha | On 25 Jan 2012

K to 12: The Key to Quality Education?

The continuous deterioration of the quality of education in the Philippines has prompted the DepEd to push for the implementation of the K to 12 program, which entails the institutionalization...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 23 Jan 2012

Rural to Urban Migration in Pakistan: The Gender Perspective

This paper analyses gender dimensions in rural to urban migration (age 10 years and above) in Pakistan. The study is based on Labour Force Surveys 1996-2006. The findings of the study show that over...

by Shahnaz Hamid | On 20 Jan 2012

Energy in the Development Strategy of Indian Households-The Missing Half

The present paper explores the nexus between gender-energy-poverty, highlights areas of gender concern, and suggests actions. It is analyzed how women from rural areas and low income households are...

by B. Sudhakara Reddy | On 19 Jan 2012

The HUNGaMA Survey Report – 2011

The HUNGaMA (Hunger and M alnutrition) S urvey conducted across 112 rural districts of India in 2011 provides r eliable estimates of c hild n utrition covering nearly 20% of Indian children. The H...

by HUNGaMa for Change HUNGaMa | On 12 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

Poor Diet in Shift Workers: A New Occupational Health Hazard?

As the world of work becomes increasingly 24 hour, shift work will become more common. Shift work has the potential to accelerate the progression of the global epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Ob...

by PLoS Medicine Editors | On 06 Jan 2012

Right to Food Security Bill: Challenges and Opportunities

The financial implications of the food security bill can be questioned. But the Bill proposes to protect the citizens from hunger and improve the nutritional intake of women and children.

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 30 Dec 2011

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

Changes in the Use of Safe Water and Water Safety Measures in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Intervention Areas of Bangladesh: A Midline Assessment

The BRAC Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme reached 150 upazilas in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh since 2006. This study assessed the changes in the use of tubewell water and w...

by Nepal C. Dey | 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

Can these Policies Change their Life?

Women who come into the stream of domestic workers are poorly educated and do not know their rights. It is necessary that these women know about their rights. Even after reading the policies some ques...

by Anwesha Sen | On 19 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

Assessing Characteristic Differential in Dichotomous Outcomes: A Case of Child Undernourishment

This paper tries to highlight the importance of intensity and severity of any deprivation while comparing welfare outcomes across the groups for any given relevant characteristics. It argues that whe...

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 15 Dec 2011

The Effect of Foreign Remittances on Schooling: Evidence from Pakistan

The underlying study intends to show the impact of foreign remittances on the educational performance of children in the households receiving these remittances. Much of the literature in this area c...

by Muhammad Nasir | On 13 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

Quality of Maternal Health Care: A Call for Papers for a Maternal Health Task Force–PLoS Collection

The MHTF–PLoS Collection in 2011–12 will focus on quality of maternal health care, as it is clear that such a focus is now a global imperative [9]. The quality of maternal health care is highly va...

by Samantha R Lattof | On 02 Dec 2011

Draft of combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of India to CEDAW

This Report covers developments in implementation of the Convention in India from 2006 to 2011. The harmonised guidelines for preparation of Common Core Document and the reporting Guidelines of the...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 25 Nov 2011

Policies for Increasing Non-Farm Employment for Farm Households in India

The present paper adopts a diagnostic approach; problems of non-farm employment in rural sector are identified by studying pattern and process of rural employment using data from the NSS quinquennia...

by Brajesh Jha | On 22 Nov 2011

Torture in India 2011

Torture in India series have been instrumental for bringing national and international spotlight on torture in india. The Government of India regrettably has been reluctant to address torture. It draf...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 21 Nov 2011

Development and Health in Poor Countries: Role of Interntional Organizations and Switzerland

The study tries to better understand three fields which seems to be essential with respect to the problem of a facilitated access to medicines : 1. the ambiguous position of intellectual property...

by Bastein Briand | On 17 Nov 2011

Where is the Virtue in the Middle Class?

It is widely agreed by economists and political scientists that the middle class is vital to progress because of its many virtues. But it is difficult to define a middle class by income in a manner t...

by Charles Kenny | On 16 Nov 2011

Millenium Development Goals: How is India Doing?

This paper evaluates the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) as a framework for measuring development and, subject to qualifications arising from that evaluation, assesses how India is doing in terms o...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 11 Nov 2011

Brand India: No Equity for Children

India has embarked upon an economic model driven by the free market incorporating processes of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. Our children today live, in what some describe as “Brand...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 10 Nov 2011

Regulate the Share Markets and Save the Country

The 1% rich and powerful have found the Occupy Wall Street movement unsettling and have also made attempts at curbing its influence and outreach. It is now possible for stock-traders in international...

by Bhalchandra Kango | On 08 Nov 2011

Hospital based Crisis Centre for Domestic Violence: The Dilassa Model

The brief is based on the experience and the success of a hospital based Crisis Centres for women facing domestic violence in Mumbai - Dilaasa. It is a joint initiative of the MCGM and CEHAT, establ...

by ... CEHAT | On 02 Nov 2011

Agriculture, Food, and Water Nanotechnologies for the Poor: Opportunities and Constraints

This brief presents a review of the potential opportunities and challenges of using nanotech applications for agriculture, food, and water in developing countries. [IFPRI Policy Brief 19]. URL:[http...

by Guillaume Gruère | On 01 Nov 2011

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

What is driving the Indian middle class towards electoral politics? Evidence from Delhi

Neighborhood Associations have assumed an important role in public policy decision making as the principal voice of the middle class across urban India. In recent years, these associations have sought...

by Poulomi Chakrabarti | 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

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

Position Paper: National Focus Group on Education of Children with Special Needs

The paper discusses the issues relating to the provisions, practices and curricular concerns for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Though SEN may result from a number of factors, in thi...

by National Council of Educational Research &Training NCERT | On 29 Sep 2011

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

The Optional Protocol (OP) on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was ratified by India on November 30, 2005, and is in effect since December 30, 2005. This is t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 29 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

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

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

The Optional Protocol (OP) to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography was ratified by India on September 16, 2005. This is t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 16 Sep 2011

Household Level Pollution in India: Patterns and Projections

This study analyses the pollution-income relationship (for both local and global pollution), separately across rural and urban households in India based on unit record data on fuel consumption obta...

by K S Kavi Kumar | On 14 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

Mortality, the Family and the Indian Ocean Tsunami

Over 160,000 people died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The correlates of survival are examined using data from the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR), a population-representative...

by Elizabeth Frankenberg | On 06 Sep 2011

The Seed and Agricultural Biotechnology Industries in India: An Analysis of Industry Structure, Competition, and Policy Options

This paper examines the structure of India’s cereal seed and agbiotech industries, its potential effects on innovation and social welfare, and the policies that may improve both industry performance a...

by David J Spielman | On 31 Aug 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

The Gender Implications of Large-Scale Land Deals

Whether viewed as “land grabs” or as agricultural investment for development, large-scale land deals by investors in developing countries are generating considerable attention. However, investors,...

by Julia Behrman | On 29 Aug 2011

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

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

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2010

A bill further to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. [Rajya Sabha passed this bill]. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Juvenile%20Justice/juvenile%20jus...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 23 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

From Economic Meltdown to Social Crunch – Impact of the Global Economic Recession on Social Capital Building in Developing Countries and What We still Don't Know!

This paper draws on the experiences of the Far East Economic Crisis in 1998 and argues that: (1) the poor depended heavily on bonding social capital during the Crisis, but the crunch-point beyond wh...

by Sam Wong | On 22 Aug 2011

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

Tackling Malnutrition: What can Targeted Nutritional Interventions Achieve?

A key queestion is: which groups should receive priority in a situation of constrained resources? Ideally the twin dangers of leaving out malnourished groups from the purview of the policy, and cov...

by Gopalakrishna Kumar | On 17 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

Food Quality in Domestic Markets of Developing Economies: A Comparative Study of two Countries

Food quality has become an important determinant of success in global food trade and growers for international markets have to continuously adjust to buyers’ requirements. It is however not clear to w...

by Anneleen Vandeplas | On 03 Aug 2011

Getting the Politics Right for the September 2011 UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases

The UN General Assembly’s decision to convene a “high-level meeting on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide” in September 2011 creates a major, timely opportunity to...

by Devi Sridhar | On 02 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

Performance Evaluation of Cooked Mid-Day Meal (CMDM)

The study covered 17 states and 48 districts. Two blocks from each district were selected. Five schools from each block was selected. A village where the sample school was located stood selected as...

by Planning Commission, India | On 02 Aug 2011

Parliament Session Alert: Monsoon Session: August 01 – September 08, 2011

Parliament meets for the Monsoon Session between August 01 and September 08, 2011. There will be a total of 26 sittings. The agenda for government Bills includes 35 pending Bills for consideration...

by Kusum Malik | On 01 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

Transfer Paths and Academic Performance: The Primary School Merger Program in China

In this paper, the overall goal is to examine the impact of the Rural Primary School Merger Program on academic performance of students using a dataset from a survey that we designed to reflect tran...

by Alexis Medina | On 27 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

Fair Shares: Crediting Poor Countries for Carbon Mitigation

Focusing on the power sector, Wheeler estimates energy growth and incremental costs for six low-carbon energy technologies (biomass, solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and nuclear) in 174 countries from...

by David Wheeler | On 25 Jul 2011

Bentham from the Crypt Once More: Politicians in Pursuit of Happiness

There is a burgeoning academic literature on happiness polls that has used a range of different measures and approaches across countries rich and poor alike to answer the question, “what makes peopl...

by Charles Kenny | On 21 Jul 2011

Final Report on the Functioning of Anganwadi Centres in Assam and Meghalya

In the states of Assam and Meghalaya the ICDS project has been in operation since 1980. Assam and Meghalaya have a total of 26,000 AWCs of which 2,218 are located in seven districts of Meghalaya and t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | 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

Improving Reading Skills by Encouraging Children to Read: A Randomized Evaluation of the Sa Aklat Sisikat Reading Program in the Philippines

An evaluation of a program that aims to improve children’s reading skills by providing classes with age‐appropriate reading material and incentivizing children to read through a 31 day readR...

by Ama Baafra Abeberese | On 12 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

Primary School Teachers: The Twists and Turns of Everyday Practice

The paper examines the role played by of classroom environment in the development of a teacher. The paper studies the concept of 'teacher development' in India. URL:[http://www.eruindia.org/files/Tea...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 08 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

Report of the Two Day Consultation on Access to Health Care of Vulnerable Groups in Mumbai

The two day consultation on access to health care of vulnerable groups in Mumbai was organised by the Mumbai chapter JSA. Vulnerable groups taken are people living in institutions, queer women, sex...

by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan | 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

A Framework for Developing a Research Agenda for Diseases Disproportionately Affecting the Poor:The Cases of Malaria, Diabetes, Rotavirus

In this paper three diseases- malaria,diabetes and rotavirus- selected because of their contrast. The paper examines the severity of their presence in developing countries and suggests viable solution...

by Alyna C Smith | On 07 Jul 2011

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

Tackling Chronic Poverty:The Policy Implications of Research on Chronic Poverty and Poverty Dynamics

This report presents its key messages from ten years of research. The report highlights that tackling chronic poverty can be done, but involves a somewhat different set of policies and programmes addi...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre | On 29 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

The Arc of the Jubilee

The Jubilee 2000 movement, which called for the cancellation of the foreign debts of the poorest nations, reached its zenith in the late 1990s and 2000—and then, by design, shut down. In the space of...

by David Roodman | On 22 Jun 2011

Evaluation of Food-for-Work (FFW) Component of Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) in Selected Districts of Maharashtra

The present study is an evaluation of the food-for-work component of Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) in Satara, Aurangabad, Gadchiroli and Akola districts of Maharashtra. SGRY was launched al...

by Manoj Panda | On 21 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

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 burden from tank deterioration. Tank-based agricultural income make...

by R. Balasubramaniam | 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

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

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 c...

by Zulfiqar Ali | On 03 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

Budget for Children Analysis: A Beginner's Guide

This toolkit is designed to train individuals and civil society on how to conduct a child centered budget analysis to support their advocacy work and to hold state accoutable for the fulfilment of chi...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 02 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

Indian Study on Epidemiology of Asthma, Respiratory Symptoms and Chronic Bronchitis (INSEARCH)

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) which includes asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), may account for an estimated burden of about 100 million individuals in India. There are only...

by Indian Council of Medical Research | On 25 May 2011

Education and the Developing World

People agree that all children have the right to an education. But investing in education is also the smart thing to do. Because education gives people the skills they need to help themselves ou...

by Centre for Global Development | On 24 May 2011

Five Year Strategic Plan (2011-2016)

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has nodal responsibility to advance the rights and concerns of women and children and promote their survival, protection, development and participation in a...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 20 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

Youth Employment and Unemployment in India

This paper examines the employment and unemployment situation of the youth in India during the last two-and-half decades namely, 1983 to 2007-08. It analyses the trends in labour force and workforce...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 10 May 2011

Children and Human Rights

Essay on the subject. In Gujarati [Gyansadhana 2009-10]

by Falguni B. Vahanwala | On 09 May 2011

Awareness of Urban Poor Customer for Malls

“Sell to the poor if you want to be rich” were the words spoken by the experts in rural marketing. Every marketer loves to reach out to the fat wallets where the selling is obvious, easy and conspicuo...

by Kusum Dharamshi | On 09 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

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

Is Economic Growth Associated with Reduction in Child Undernutrition in India?

Economic growth is widely perceived as a major policy instrument in reducing childhood undernutrition in India. The association between changes in state per capita income and the risk of undernutriti...

by Malavika A Subramanyam | On 13 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

An Alternative to Conventional Public Water Service: "User Group Networks" in a Mumbai Slum

This article is a research on the water services available in north eastern parts of Mumbai. It aims as highlighting the ability of communities to design and run functional systems to overcome the sho...

by Rémi de BERCEGOL | On 08 Apr 2011

Comments from HAQ:Centre for Child Rights

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 Apr 2011

Delhi Fails to Protect its Children

Can Delhi really hold its head high when it cannot even protect its own children? URL: [http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/Delhi%20Fails%20to%20Protect%20its%20Children_BfC%202011-12(2).pdf]

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 30 Mar 2011

Parliament Session Wrap: Budget Session – February 21 to March 25, 2011

Nine legislative Bills were introduced during the session. Five Bills were passed and one Bill was withdrawn during the session. Several hours were lost due to interruptions on the issues of appointme...

by Kusum Malik | On 28 Mar 2011

Cabinet Approves Bill to Protect Children Against Sexual Crimes

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a watershed bill to protect children below the age of 16 against sexual offences, aimed at speedy trail through special courts and having a legal regime at par w...

by Chetan Chauhan | On 26 Mar 2011

The Protection Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011

Current Status of the Bill: Pending URL:[http://prsindia.org/uploads/media/children%20against%20sexual%20offences.pdf].

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 25 Mar 2011

Ban on Employment of Children in Domestic Sector, Dhabas and Eateries

The social audit aimed at reflecting questions such as what has the ban resulted in, what steps have been taken to make it effective, is there any visible change in the attitudes of the people in i...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 25 Mar 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

Trends in Diversion of PDS Grain

This article estimates the proportion of grain "diverted" from the Public Distribution System (PDS) to the open market, using the well-established method of matching state offtake figures published by...

by Reetika Khera | On 21 Mar 2011

The New Bottom Billion: What If Most of the World’s Poor Live in Middle-Income Countries?

Most of the world’s poor no longer live in low-income countries. An estimated 960 million poor people—a new bottom billion—live in middle-income countries, a result of the graduation of several populo...

by Andy Sumner | On 21 Mar 2011

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

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

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

Health and Human Rights in Chin State, Western Burma: A Population-Based Assessment Using Multistaged Household Cluster Sampling

The Chin State of Burma (also known as Myanmar) is an isolated ethnic minority area with poor health outcomes and reports of food insecurity and human rights violations. A report on a population-base...

by Richard Sollom | On 09 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

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Gender Budget 2011-12

The Corporation has decided to implement various schemes for females within the framework of its obligatory and discretionary functions as laid down in the M.M.C. Act. A step towards it, is a separat...

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 07 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

Failed States, Vicious Cycles, and a Proposal

The problems of failed states, including the repeated return to power of former warlords are examined. It is argued that this causes institutions to become weaker and people to get poorer. It is argue...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 04 Mar 2011

No Protection for the AamBachcha

Despite some commendable efforts and achievements of the Indian state, it is an explicit fact that the majority of children in India are suffering, deprived of basic resources and needs for an average...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 01 Mar 2011

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, GOI 2010-11

Using government data, this brief reports on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) performance along the following parameters: a) Overall trends in allocation and expenditures, b) Expenditure performance across...

by Avani Kapur | 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

Policy Implications based on the Work done by the CPRC India

The twenty five papers in the CPRC-IIPA working paper series are a substantial contribution to the understanding of chronic poverty issues in India, a residual poverty condition which seems to need un...

by N.C.B. Nath | On 17 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

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

Children's Rights to be Heard in Judicial Process in India

This submission to the UNCRC Committee is primarily addressing the right to be heard in judicial processes. It analyses the space available within the legal system that ensures that children are giv...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 07 Feb 2011

Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2010 (Provisional)

Since 2005, every year the ASER report presents estimates of enrollment and basic reading and arithmetic learning outcomes for every district in rural India. Every year the core set of questions rega...

by Pratham Pratham | On 02 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

Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaptation Assistance

The effects of climate change have been and will be worse in poor countries and small-island states, those least able to adapt to the climate-related disasters. In this paper, senior fellow David Whee...

by David Wheeler | On 01 Feb 2011

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

Rising Food Crisis and Financial Crisis in India:Impact on Women and Children and Ways of Tackling the Problem

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of rising food prices and financial crisis on the impact of women and children in India. It identifies the pathways for dealing with the effects of...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 31 Jan 2011

NREGS and Child Well Being

There have been many evaluation studies on the impact of NREGS but there are hardly any systematic studies relating to impact of the scheme on children. This paper tries to fill this gap. There is a...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 31 Jan 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

Nutritional Situation and Related Factors in MNCH Project Area at Baseline

Objective of this survey was to establish a baseline nutritional profile to assess the impact of the MNCH programme interventions at the end of the project duration. Nutritional status and related f...

by Farhana Haseen | On 27 Jan 2011

The Effect of Classification of Nutritional Status on the Interventions Provided in the National Nutrition Program

This exploratory study looked at the process involved in growth monitoring sessions as carried out in the National Nutrition Programme. The specific aim of this study was to identify misclassificati...

by Christine M Least | On 27 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

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

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

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

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

An Inside Look at Two BRAC Schools in Matlab

Since 1985, BRAC has been implementing its Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) Programme for disadvantaged children, primarily in the rural areas. From a modest start, the programme has rapidly expa...

by Sabina Rashid | 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

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 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

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

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

Cost of Providing Sustainable Water,Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services: An initial assessment of LCCA in Andhra Pradesh

Using information in the public domain and data from a pilot study, this paper argues that adoption of life-cycle cost approaches (LCCA) could play a significant role in rectifying this situation by...

by V Ratna Reddy | On 08 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

A Study of Children Dependent on Prostitutes in Selected Areas of Uttar Pradesh

Many studies simply demonstrate that there is paucity of empirical data, research findings and literature on the status of children dependent on prostitutes in Uttar Pradesh. Thus, it is imperative...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 02 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

Fighting Junk Food Marketing to Kids

In the recent years a vast range of ready-made food selling companies and fast food joints have cropped up in the markets. This paper analysis the effect of marketing strategies of such companies on y...

by Berkeley Media Studies Group BMSG | 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

'Slippage': The Bane of Rural Drinking Water Sector (A Study of Extent and Causes in Andhra Pradesh)

Slippage is one of the main bottlenecks of achieving full coverage of water and sanitation services in India. This paper makes an attempt to identify the causes of slippage in a systematic manner. T...

by V. Ratna Reddy | 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

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

Social Responsibility of Indian Microfinance: A Critical Review

This paper discusses the issue of social responsibility of Indian microfinance using two theoretical streams from business social responsibility research – stakeholder theory and social contract the...

by Tara S Nair | On 15 Nov 2010

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

Skills, Informality and Development

This paper makes an attempt to estimate the index of informal sector employment which can be attributed to the supply-push phenomenon. Factors which explain the inter-state variations include the...

by Dibyendu S. Maiti | On 02 Nov 2010

Solicited and Unsolicited Credit Ratings: A Global Perspective

They conducted a global study of the long-term issuer ratings of nonfinancial firms from Standard and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) for the period 1998–2003. Specifically, they focused on the solicite...

by Winnie P. H. Poon | On 02 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

Understanding NREGA: A Simple Theory and Some Facts

A developing economy like India is often characterised by a labour market with demand and supply of labour and a wage that even if competitively determined may not be adequate for the poor household t...

by Diganta Mukherjee | 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

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

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

On the Non-Random Distribution of Educational Deprivation of Children in India

The emphasis on education assumes importance given the recent recognition of human capital, human rights and human development perspectives of development. Hence educational deprivation is recognise...

by Mothuri Venkatanarayana | On 08 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

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

Act, Support and Protect: South Asia Forum for Ending Violence Against Children

Seven girls and five boys from six countries in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) took part in the Regional Children's Consultation for the first South Asia...

by Ravi Karkara | On 21 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

Living Environment and Prevalence of Diseases among Women and Children in Selected Metropolitan Cities in India

This study makes an attempt to examine living environment and health status of women and children in slum and non-slum areas of selected metropolitan cities in India. The selected metropolitan cities...

by Chandra Sekhar | On 17 Sep 2010

Working Group on Development of Children for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012): (Volume One)

Nineteen per cent of world’s children live in India. India is home to more than one billion people, of which 42 per cent are children, defined as persons under 18 years of age. In international co...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | 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

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

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

Book Review: Golden Tickets: Inequality and Children's Consumption

H Net Review of Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture by Allison J. Pugh University of California Press, Berkeley; 2009. 320 pp. $55.00 (cloth)

by Hilary Levey | On 09 Jul 2010

What is Wrong with the Constituency Development Funds?

This brief will argue that Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) have a negative impact on accountability and service delivery that most poor countries can ill afford. The risks associated with CDFs s...

by Albert van Zyl | On 08 Jul 2010

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

NCPCR Report on Children Affected by Civil Unrest Dantewada and Khammam

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) conducted a factfinding visit from 17th to 19th December 2007, to Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) and Khammam (Andhra Pradesh), in order t...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 18 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

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

Koi Bhookha Na Soye

A report of the workshop ‘Koi Bhookha Na Soye’ was held at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on 14th and 15th of May, 2010.

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 03 Jun 2010

The Importance of Being Wanted

We identify birth wantedness as a source of better child outcomes. In Vietnam, the year of birth is widely believed to determine success. As a result, cohorts born in auspicious years are 12 percent l...

by Quy-Toan Do | On 02 Jun 2010

The (Indispensable) Middle Class in Developing Countries; or, The Rich a the Rest, Not the Poor and the Rest

In this paper an argument is made that the concept of inclusive growth should go beyond the traditional emphasis on the poor (and the rest) and take into account changes in the size and economic c...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 31 May 2010

Civil Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation: The Long Term Effects of Political Violence in Perú

This paper provides empirical evidence of the long- and short-term effects of political violence exposure on human capital accumulation. Using a novel data set that registers all the violent acts an...

by Gianmarco Leon | On 27 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

Can Social Security Boost Domestic Consumption in the People’s Republic of China?

This paper reviews the development of the social security system and trends in the urban labor market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite its remarkable economic achievement, the PRC face...

by Wang Dewen | 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

The Shape of Temptation: Implications for the Economic Lives of the Poor

This paper argues that the relation between temptations and the level of consumption plays a key role in explaining the observed behaviors of the poor. Temptation goods are defined to be the set of...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 13 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

Education Impact Study: The Global Recession and the Capacity of Colleges and Universities to Serve Vulnerable Populations in Asia

This paper reviews the capacity of colleges and universities to serve poor and vulnerable populations during past and present economic shocks. The main argument is that the environment of the global r...

by Gerard Postiglione | On 12 Apr 2010

North East: Fallen off the Media Map?

Report from the 11th Media Dialogue ’North East: Fallen off the Media Map? or Why Does the Media Give so Lettle Space to this Vast Region?

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 07 Apr 2010

'Bed and Board' in Lieu of Salary: Women and Girl Children Domestics in Post Partition Calcutta (1951-1981)

The present study attempts to see how a particular labour market, that is, domestic service, a traditionally male domain, became segregated both by gender and age in post partition West Bengal (WB) a...

by Deepita Chakravarty | On 25 Mar 2010

Quietly They Die: A Study of Malnourishment Related Deaths in Mumbai City

The attention of the media and planners has been focussed almost exclusively on rural and tribal malnutrition. However, malnutrition among urban children, particularly the economically vulnerable slum...

by Neeraj Hatekar | On 22 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

Kerala Budget 2010-11

Budget speech by finance minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 05 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

Children not included in "Inclusive‟ Budget: Where is the "Aam Bachcha” in the Budget, Mr FM?

Finance Minister’s Pranab Mukherjee’s “inclusive” Budget 2010-11 does not include children, who are over 42 per cent of the population. Out of every rupee spent in the budget, he has allotted only 4.6...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 02 Mar 2010

Railway Budget 2010-11

Railway Budget 2010-11.

by Mamata Banerjee | On 25 Feb 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

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

Assessing the Fiscal Capacity of Indian Governments

The record of different post reform governments in meeting their targets and improving both delivery and finances is assessed. A variety of indices are constructed, and consistency checks devised to m...

by Ashima Goyal | On 27 Jan 2010

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

Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2009 (Provisional)

The purpose of the ASER 2009’s rapid assessment survey in rural areas is twofold: (i) to get reliable estimates of the status of children’s schooling and basic learning (reading and arithmetic level)...

by Pratham Pratham | On 21 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

Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality

Available evidence suggests high intergenerational correlation of economic status, and persistent disparities in health status between the rich and the poor. This paper proposes a novel mechanism li...

by Shankha Chakraborty | On 19 Jan 2010

Who Owns Children and Does It Matter?

In this paper a particular market failure that may lead to inefficiently low equilibrium fertility and therefore to a need for government intervention are analysed. The friction which is investigated...

by Alice Schoonbroodt | On 18 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

Re-Activating Primary Health Centres Through Industrial Partnership in Tamilnadu Is it a Sustainable Model of Partnership?

Kerala’s success in human development demonstrated that efficient functioning of government health care delivery system opens the doors of prosperity for the poor and vulnerable sections of the popu...

by Varatharajan D | On 21 Dec 2009

A Report of Fact Finding Team on Children Rescued from Zari Industry, Delhi and Restored in Their Families in Various Districts in Bihar

A fact-finding mission was undertaken by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights in June 2006 at the request of the Child Welfare Committee, Nirmal Chhaya, Delhi, to follow-up on the children rescued from the Za...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 16 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

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

Access and Mobility for the Urban Poor in India: Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Needs

Indian cities are characterised by rapid growth in human as well as motor vehicle populations. Although the poor benefit the least from motor vehicle activity, they bear the brunt of its impacts. The...

by Madhav Badami | On 26 Nov 2009

Climate Conference in Copenhagen Success is a Political Must

This conference is one of the most important and most complex in the history of climate policy negotiations. The objective is to form a treaty as a successor for the Kyoto Protocol. To enable a breakt...

by Eric Heymann | On 26 Nov 2009

Statistical Trends in Pharmaceutical Research for Poor Countries

Introducing patent rights in developing country markets might stimulate greater R and D investment targeting their specific health needs – areas long neglected. This paper examines this argument using...

by Jean O Lanjouw | On 26 Nov 2009

Delivering (sustainable) Services on Scale : Anywhere

This paper addresses issues related to public private partnerships that can enable delivery of comprehensive health care to rural communities.

by Prachi Shukla | On 25 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

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

Can Public Private Partnership reduce Maternal Mortality? Assessing Efforts Made by the ‘Chiranjeevi’ Scheme in Gujarat

The Chiranjeevi Yojna is considered to be a successful PPP model and has also received a prestigious Asian Innovations Award by the Wall Street Journal. It is a flagship scheme of the Gujarat state mi...

by Akash Acharya | On 13 Nov 2009

Track Record of Financial Institutions in Assisting the Poor in Asia

A variety of institutional forms of microfinance are being introduced in Asia including by the ADB-and financial institutions pursue different objectives, so it is difficult to assess how well micro...

by Richard L Meyer | On 13 Nov 2009

The Chinese Aid System

Questions about Chinese aid—how large it is and how fast it is growing; how decisions are made on how much aid is provided each year; which countries receive it and how much they get; how the aid is m...

by Carol Lancaster | On 10 Nov 2009

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

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

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

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

Note on the Maharashtra Government Resolution, April 2006

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was passed in 1986. It banned Child Labour from a list of hazardous industries, and over the next 25 years, continued to add sectors and tasks to the...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 07 Oct 2009

The Place of Nature in Economic Development

Review of the most salient issues in ecological economics when the subject is applied to the field of economic development. The aim here has not been to be scholastic but to examine the lives of the...

by Partha Dasgupta | On 06 Oct 2009

Emerging Asia's Middle Class-A Force to be Reckoned With

The emergence of a large and dynamic middle class raises Asia’s profile as an attractive market destination for products ranging from consumer goods to financial services. There are even hopes that th...

by Steffen Dyck | On 06 Oct 2009

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

Are Gender Differentials in Educational Capabilities Mediated through Institutions of Caste and Religion in India?

In this paper, with empirical data, the Capabilities Approach to identify 'conversion factors' that are not typically addressed in the utility approach is used. The two approaches are juxtaposed to...

by Jeemol Unni | On 01 Oct 2009

Situational Analysis of Reporting and Recording of Maternal Deaths in Gandhinagar District, Gujarat State

A situational analysis of recording and reporting maternal deaths in Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, India and to suggest improvements in the system for reporting and recording maternal deaths based o...

by Tapasvi I Puwar | On 23 Sep 2009

Global Warming and Agriculture: New Country Estimates Show Developing Countries Face Declines in Agricultural Productivity

There is a growing recognition that global warming is a problem, but little attention has been paid to the likely impact at the country level, especially in the developing world. The stakes for worl...

by William R Cline | On 23 Sep 2009

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

Child Protection A Handbook for Panchayat Members

This handbook on child protection will help Panchayat Raj members to understand the actions they can take to protect children resulting in better convergence of programmes and increased allocation of...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 16 Sep 2009

Ethics and the World of Finance

How do we, as individuals, approach issues of ethics and values? Are our approaches different in our personal and professional lives? Are issues of ethics different in the financial sector? What are t...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 02 Sep 2009

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

Reforming Foodgrains Management: Achieving Food Security with Cost-Effectiveness

This paper examines the efficacy of the current system of public foodgrains management and policies in promoting food security in the country. It argues that the system has outlived its usefulness,...

by A. Ganesh Kumar | On 13 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

Conflict, Crisis, and Abuse in Dharavi, Mumbai: Experiences from Six Years at a Centre for Vulnerable Women and Children

Many victims of domestic violence go to hospitals, but interaction with doctors and nurses tended to stop at treatment for injuries. Engaging with the wider issues—emotional, psychiatric, social, and...

by Nayreen Daruwalla | On 29 Jul 2009

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008

A bill to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 27 Jul 2009

Aam Admi Budget Bypasses India’s Children

Money for Education, Health, Child Protection not enough for 400 million children’s basic rights

by Juhi H | On 17 Jul 2009

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

Inflation and the Poor in Bangladesh

This note analyses the major characteristics of the current inflationary episode in the economy along with its probable impact on different population groups in Bangladesh. The note also draws some po...

by Mustafa. K. Mujeri | On 27 Jun 2009

Is the BDP Ultra Poor Approach Working? Survey of Some Key Issues

The objectives of this paper are to assess the knowledge retention on IGA training, and to explore the quality of participation in financial and non-financial services by the BDP ultra poor. We found...

by Proloy Barua | On 25 Jun 2009

Sal Seeds, an Untapped Resource in India

Sal seeds could provide effective livelihoods support for poor people when few alternative natural resource based strategies are available

by Sanjoy Patnaik | On 23 Jun 2009

Crime, City and Space: A Case of Mumbai Megapolis

The present study has been an attempt to examine spatial distribution of various forms of crimes in Mumbai city (Municipal Corporation) and find out their correlates. More specifically the attempts ha...

by Abdul Shaban | On 23 Jun 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

Barso Mhare Des… Children's Perception of Drought

The chronic drought in Rajasthan affects everyone. But people are affected in different ways. This may be because of locality, form of livelihood, caste and class.This report carries the voices of gir...

by ECHO Save the Children (U.K) | On 31 May 2009

Cheery Children, Growing Girls, and Developing Young Adults: On Reading, Growing, and Hopscotching Across Categories

This paper is about hopscotching, and in turn jumps over many disciplinary categories, from literature to gender studies to development studies. At one level this is the voice of the interdisciplinary...

by Barnita Bagchi | On 29 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

Managing Prolonged Low Fertility: The Case of Singapore

This paper analyzes Singapore’s multi-pronged approach to managing prolonged low fertility which has led to population aging, labor force shortages, increasing elderly dependency ratios, and feminizat...

by Mukul. G Asher | On 15 May 2009

Gender and Innovation in South Asia

To understand how gender, women’s rights and citizenship intersect with innovation in SouthAsia, one must begin by considering some of the main features of life for South Asian women, about a half of...

by Sujata Byravan | On 06 May 2009

Advance Marketing Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal vaccine is siphoning off MGD funds

By entering into Advance Marketing Commitments (AMC) for vaccines, accessed at http://www.vaccineamc.org/) with vaccine manufacturers to market this vaccine in developing countries MGD and GAVI funds...

by All India Drug Action Forum AIDAN | On 06 May 2009

Open Letter to DG, WHO from DAF-K

Drug Action Forum – Karnataka (DAF-K), from India would like to bring to your notice facts which are really alarming and indicate the strong influence that profit making vaccine companies have on the...

by | On 06 May 2009

WHO response letter on Pneumoccal Vaccines

The introduction of pneumococcal vaccines, where merited by evidence of the disease burden, would be of tremendous benefit, saving many lives, particularly of children

by World Health Organisation WHO | On 06 May 2009

Pneumoccal Vaccines are Effective and Safe

Recently, there were articles in the media expressing concerns about the risks and benefits of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are effective in preventing serious...

by World Health Organisation WHO | On 06 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

Nutritional Deprivation Among Indian Pre-School Children: Does Rural-Urban Disparity Matter ?

The rural-urban disparities are a reality in developing countries like India. Post reform, there are lot of empirical studies which has focused on this aspect of development experience in India. The v...

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 01 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

Report of The National Children’s Consultation on Their Right To Housing

A consultation with about 40 children who have faced violations of their housing rights in some form or the other was organized on 13th November 2006 from 9 – 12 am on the National platform of India S...

by India Social Forum ISF | On 14 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

Children Out of Focus....Interim Budget at a Glance 2009-10

Examines whether there are any funds for children related activities.

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 19 Feb 2009

The State of the World's Children 2009

The State of the World’s Children 2009 focuses on maternal and neonatal health and identifies the interventions and actions that must be scaled up to save lives.

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 13 Feb 2009

Beyond Industrialization New Approaches to Development Strategy Based on the Service Sector

This paper argues that it is becoming increasingly difficult for most developing countries to achieve rapid growth through industrialization, and especially through export oriented activities. But th...

by Peter Sheehan | On 03 Feb 2009

Planning for Results: The Public Accountability Information System

The paper proposes a Public accountability information system (PAIS), with a web enabled public information system and a smart card recording all the benefits that the poor are entitled to receive thr...

by Arvind Virmani | On 22 Jan 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

Child Labour in Kerala's Coir Industry-Study of Few Selected Villages

The objective of this study is to report on the extent and nature of involvement of children in the coir industry. For this purpose, it was decided to study only those operations of the industry in w...

by Leela Gulati | On 24 Dec 2008

Gestational Surrogacy Contracts: Altruistic or Commercial ?

The paper provides an analytical structure to endogenize the optimal gestational surrogacy contract in terms of a simple moral hazard framework. The study shows that altruistic surrogacy is optimal...

by Swapnendu Banerjee | On 23 Dec 2008

Interactive Food and Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age

The paper discusses the poor health statistics for children in the age group of 11-19. The main reasons for deteriorating health are identified as reduction in cost of food products, lack of physical...

by Jeff Chester | On 22 Dec 2008

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

Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2007

The purpose of the ASER 2007’s rapid assessment survey in rural areas is twofold: (i) to get reliable estimates of the status of children’s schooling and basic learning (reading and arithmetic level)...

by Pratham Pratham | On 12 Dec 2008

Inside the Family A Report on Democratic Rights of Women

The report highlights the following aspects: 1. the inability of the legal system to recognise the unique unequal , 2. position of women; 3. the perception of women as peripheral to economic develo...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 01 Dec 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

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

Forgotten Youth: Disability and Development in India

In 2001, it is estimated that 270 million Indians belonged in the 12-24 years age group. While attention is being focused on these young people’s potential for social transformation, some of them –...

by Nidhi Singal | On 04 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

Aspirations, Segregation and Occupational Choice

This paper examines steady states of an overlapping generations economy with a given distribution of household locations over a one-dimensional interval. Parents decide whether or not to educate the...

by Dilip Mookherjee | On 06 Oct 2008

Political Economy of Child Rights in India Inc and Child Budget Analysis: A Concept Note

Over the last decade countries across the world have embarked on changing existing economic models in favour of ones driven by the free market, incorporating the process of liberalisation, privatisati...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 03 Oct 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

Can Participatory Watershed Management be sustained? Evidence from Southern India

Watershed development is a very important rural development programme in India. This paper studies 60 community groups in 12 micro-watersheds in South India to understand how villagers cooperate to ma...

by D. Suresh Kumar | 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

Persistent Inequality: An Explanation Based on Limited Parental Altruism

This paper provides an explanation for the observed persistence in income inequality across households in terms limited parental altruism. It is postulated that the degree of parental altruism is ‘lim...

by Mausumi Das | On 24 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

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

EFA Case Study India 20 June 2003: Gender Equality in Education (India) Progress in the Last Decade.

The decade of the 1990s has seen noteworthy progress in the field of elementary education. There has been progressive improvement in overall literacy levels across the country. The problem of access h...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 20 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

Proportion of Births Attended by a Skilled Health Worker 2008 Updates

In our analysis, attempts have been made to quantify the proportion of births attended by health workers other than doctors, nurses and midwives in order to show the proportion of births conducted by...

by World Health Organisation WHO | On 08 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

EFA Case Study India 2003:Gender Equality in Education (India) Progress in the Last Decade.

While the decline in infrastructure, functionality, quality and attitudes affect all children, given the prevailing social inequalities and hierarchies, these factors affect poor children and among th...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 28 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

Are Fair Trade Labels Effective Against Child Labor?

In this paper, a model of North-South trade is developed to analyze the impact of a label certifying the absence of child labour in the export production of the South. [WP no 144].

by Jean Marie Baland | On 19 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

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

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 322, April-May 2007

Contents Mashelkar’s Folly - Gopa Kumar 1 Statement by Scientific and Public Interest Groups 5 The Glivec Story: Some Key Dates 7 Q&A on Patents in India and the Novartis Case 9 Gleevec Updates 1...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 31 May 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

Children’s Perception of Sarkar: A Critique of Civics Textbooks

Where do we locate the value of political education in our country, which has largely been imparted under the category of civics? Since textbooks are on possible site for finding answers, this study...

by Alex M. George | On 29 May 2008

Climate Variability and Climate change: Implications for Chronic Poverty

The principles of the ‘bottom-up’ approach to adaptation are followed. It believes that one of the starting points for adaptation to climate change should be the present. The focus should not just be...

by Lucy Scott | On 13 Apr 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

Inclusive Growth - The Role of Banks in Emerging Economies

Speech describes India’s experiences on ‘Inclusive Growth’ - a topic which is both current and close to the hearts of public policymakers and central bankers of emerging economies. [Independence Comme...

by Usha Thorat | On 14 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

Budget 2008-09 and Children A First Glance

Budget for Children (BfC) is not a separate budget. It is merely an attempt to disaggregate from the overall budget, the allocations made specifically for programmes that benefit children. From 2000-0...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 04 Mar 2008

Union Budget 2008-09: A Bag of Tricks to Get the Vote

The budget is an election budget. There are lots of sectors which needs more attention. Many questions are raised at the end of the document which the government may fail to answer

by Arun Kumar | On 04 Mar 2008

The Evolutionary and Developmental Foundations of Mathematics

Recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies with humans and monkeys provide compelling evidence of shared numerical capacities across species. In this primer, it is explained why our understanding of t...

by Michael J. Beran | On 12 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

Market Failure and the Poverty of New Drugs in Maternal Health

A new survey finds that only 17 drugs are under active development for maternal health indications, which is less than 3% of the pipeline in cardiovascular health (660 drugs). The international agenci...

by Nicholas M Fisk | On 30 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

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

Book Review: Visualizing Children: Images and Imagination

Review of Erika Langmuir Imagining Childhood. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. 256 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-300-10131-7.

by Loren Lerner | On 15 Jan 2008

Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education is a widely accepted term to describe a program aimed at providing all round development for children between ages of 2 and 6 years. It paves the way for effective learning....

by Sonawat Reeta | On 25 Dec 2007

Girls, Educational Equity and Mother Tongue-based Teaching

One of the principal mechanisms through which inequality is reproduced is language, specifically the language used as the medium of instruction. The learner’s mother tongue holds the key to making sc...

by Carol Benson | On 21 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

Education for All by 2015 Will We Make It?

The EFA Global Monitoring Report offers an authoritative reference for comparing the experiences of countries, understanding the positive impact of specific policies and recognizing that progress ha...

by UNESCO Publishing | On 05 Dec 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

Thirty Ways to Improve the Health of the World’s Poorest People

Only when (and if) the “haves” develop genuine empathy for the “have-nots,” and come to acknowledge their own long-term interdependence with all other humans, will the global economy be improved to an...

by PLoS Medicine | On 06 Nov 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

Governance and Health

As we celebrate 60 years of political independence and take pride in our dynamic private sector, our remarkable IT successes and all the other usual dimensions of success, let us remind ourselves that...

by Shankar Acharya | On 08 Oct 2007

Reproductive Health Research Priorities in India: a Framework for Action

A research framework is proposed that needs to be pursued in order to achieve RCH goals in time bound manner. It is being argued that need for additional research inputs largely stems from the current...

by Dinesh Agarwal | On 01 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

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

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

Institutional Influences on Human Capital Accumulation: Micro Evidence from Children Vulnerable to Bondage

The paper examines child labour, lower schooling attendance and attainment, and significantly elevated fertility in families vulnerable to debt bondage.

by Eric Edmonds | 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

Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns

The educated and socially empowered Asian Woman is the key to improving the nutrition and mental acuity of young children and that improvement sets in motion lifelong prospects for heightened learning...

by Nira Ramachandran | On 24 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

Public Distribution System in Gujarat: A Synoptic Overview

The PDS programme in Gujarat since the formation of the State in 1960 is reviewd and comments are given briefly upon its effectiveness in delivery. The food security issue for the poor is also address...

by Sudarshan Iyengar | On 04 Jul 2007

The Changing Face of Occupational Medicine

Work related accidents are a major cause of death and disability. Occupational health is not a minority interest but one that must involve all of society. One important industry where the consumers e...

by PLoS Medicine | On 03 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

The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children

This paper presents the case for investing more in young American children who grow up in disadvantaged environment. It is argued that, on productivity grounds, it makes sense to invest in young child...

by James J Heckman | On 22 Jun 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

Health Domain of the Ultra Poor: An Exploration

Relatively small proportion of literature has focused upon health behaviours and types of health services used by the poor in rural Bangladesh, particularly ultra poor households.This study aimed to e...

by Shahaduz Zaman | On 14 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

Our Mining Children A Report of the Fact Finding Team on the Child Labourers in the Iron Ore and Granite Mines in Bellary District of Karnataka

Chid labourers are working in very large and alarming numbers in the iron-ore and granite mines of Hospet-Bellary region of Karnataka state in direct violation of the Constitutional rights of children...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 04 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

Right To Education Bill, 2005

The bill tells us about the child's right to free and compulsory education which is of equitable quality. The reposibility of the state, reponsibility of the schools to give education, entry age, repo...

by Pratham Pratham | On 30 Mar 2007

An Online Magazine for and by Children: A Quasi Experimental Study

The objective of the study was to help children conceptualise and develop an on-line magazine and observe changes in their skills and confidence as communicators due to their experience of developing...

by Kaustubh Nande | On 22 Mar 2007

Budget 2007-08 and Children: A First Glance

Of every 100 rupees in the Union Budget 2007-08, only 4 rupees and 84 paise has been promised by the Finance Minister for children. Within the child budget, the share of education and child protectio...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 05 Mar 2007

On the Random Distribution of Educational Deprivation of Children in India

The emphasis on education assumes importance given the recent recognition of human capital, human rights and human development perspectives of development. Hence educational deprivation is recognized...

by M. Venkatnarayana | On 02 Mar 2007

Campaign Issues in Child Health

The health and survival of children is a key index of the level of development of any society. Unfortunately, India's track record on this front continues to be dismal and is a true reflection of a f...

by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan | On 02 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

Why Children Should be Seen and Heard

The paper first provides some examples of how the media tend to neglect children as sources and resources and goes on to describe how briefly about how children have proved themselves eminently capa...

by Ammu Joseph | On 24 Feb 2007

Child health inequities in developing countries: differences across urban and rural areas

The urban advantage in health masks enormous disparities between the poor and the non-poor in urban areas of Sub Saharan Africa. Specific policies geared at preferentially improving the health and nu...

by Jean-Christophe Fotso | On 23 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

Pro-Poor Targeting and Accountability of Local Governments in West Bengal

A commonly alleged pitfall of decentralization is that poverty, socio-economic inequality and lack of political competition allow local elites to capture local governments. This hypothesis is empirica...

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

Maternal Mortality in India, 1997-2003 : Trends, Causes and Risk Factors (Sample Registration System)

This Report provides estimates of maternal mortality for the period 1997-2003. The study shows that overall MMR which was in the vicinity of 400 in 1997-98, has come down to about 300 in 2001-03, thus...

by Registrar General, India | On 20 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

Educational Deprivation of Children in Andhra Pradesh: Levels and Trends, Disparities and Associative Factors

In line with the perspectives of human capital, human development and human rights, this paper conceives education to be the basic right of children and re-christens all children who are not in schoo...

by M. Venkatnarayana | On 06 Dec 2006

System of Rice Intensification in India: Innovation History and Institutional Challenges

This report documents the history of the systems of rice intensification (SRI, for short) in India in the last few years and presents some of the institutional changes and challenges that SRI throws u...

by C. Shambu Prasad | On 06 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

Children, Youth and Media Around the World: An Overview of Trends and Issues

This overview of trends and issues concerning young people and the media is based on a broad review of existing print and electronic sources, interviews with child media experts from different regions...

by Susan Gigli | On 14 Nov 2006

Prospective Study of One Million Deaths in India: Rationale, Design, and Validation Results

Over 75% of the annual estimated 9.5 million deaths in India occur in the home, and the large majority of these do not have a certified cause. India and other developing countries urgently need reliab...

by Prabhat Jha | On 31 Oct 2006

Children of Women Prisoners in Jails: A Study in Uttar Pradesh

Imprisonment of mothers with dependent young child is a problematic issue. The effects of incarceration can be catastrophic on the children and costly to the state in terms of providing for their car...

by Planning Commission, India | On 30 Oct 2006

Targeting the Poorest in Microfinance: Poverty Outreach of BDP Ultra Poor Programme

Despite the general consensus that microfinance does not reach the poorest; recent evidence suggests that nearly 15% of microfinance clients in Bangladesh are among the poorest. It is from the realiza...

by Proloy Barua | On 25 Oct 2006

Studies on Self-Help Groups of the Rural Poor

In pursuance of a recommendation made by the Asian and Pacific Regional Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with some...

by | On 23 Oct 2006

Linking Banks and (Financial) Self Help Groups in India: An Assessment

A review of the progress and impact of the overall strategy for scaling up the SHG Bank Linkage Programme over the last decade. [Paper presented at the Seminar on SHG-bank Linkage Programme at New Del...

by Erhard. W. Kropp | On 23 Oct 2006

Using Change Rankings to Understand Poverty Dynamics: Examining the Impact of CFPR/TUP from Community Perspective

Studies of poverty dynamics relying solely on household income-expenditure surveys can yield noisy results, overestimating transient poverty and underestimating persistence of poverty, especially for...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 23 Oct 2006

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 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

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

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

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

Hunger and Health: Addressing Urgent Issues

This statement following a workshop on ‘Hunger and Health: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue attended by a cross-section of India’s nutritional scientists, health professionals, public health specialists,...

by Workshop on Hunger and Health Interdisciplinary Dialogue | On 13 Mar 2006

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2005: Executive Summary

ASER 2005 is a citizen's assessment of the status of elementary education in rural India. Facilitated by Pratham, & executed by local groups in each district, it is the largest household survey on s...

by PRATHAM | On 20 Jan 2006

Karnataka Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme: Towards Comprehensive Health Insurance Coverage in Karnataka?

This is a case study of the Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme for rural farmers and peasants in Karnataka. The scheme, now in its second year of operation, covers 2.2 million farmers and peasants w...

by Sarosh Kuruvilla | On 13 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

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

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

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

Mental Health And Reproductive Health Of Urban Poor Women In Delhi

This study looked at the intersection of reproductive health and mental health of women among the urban poor in Delhi, India. It is part of a larger study that seeks to understand how differences in e...

by Ranendra Das | On 17 Sep 2005

Involuntary Childlessness Among The Middle Classes In Vadodara City

The research focuses on experiences of involuntary childlessness among women and men and societal perceptions of the state of childlessness. A significant aspect of the research is the gendered unders...

by Bhamini Mehta | On 17 Sep 2005

Uncertainity And Discrimination: Family Structure And Declining Sex Ratios In Rural India

This article builds upon the recognition that the declining child sex ratios are a result of an ongoing process of societal change. Looking at areas both in the north and in the south which have shown...

by Mattias Larsen | On 03 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

Infant And Under-Five Mortality In India: Levels, Patterns And Correlates

General economic growth (resulting in higher living standards), improved infrastructure, and greater child immunization coverage will be essential in lowering infant and under-five mortality rates in...

by Anil B. Deolikar | On 26 Aug 2005

Reducing Accidents by Improving Road Safety Infrastructure

Pedestrians and cyclists account for 60-80% of the fatal accidents in metropolitan areas . High rate of traffic accidents is as much due to perfunctory enforcement of rules as due to poor road traffic...

by Sanjeev Shami | On 24 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

Membership-Based Organizations Of The Poor: The South African Experince

The broad question this paper seeks to address is whether the notion of a membershipbased organisation of the poor (“MBOPs”) has practical application in modern day South Africa. There are some obviou...

by Jan Theron | On 31 Mar 2005

Organizations of the Poor: Conditions for success

Based on the undocumented field experiences of FAO staff working with rural institutions in developing countries and project documents produced by UN agencies, this paper provides an overview on some...

by E Crowley | On 30 Mar 2005