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Weekend Ruminations: Advice for shoot-from-the-hip nationalists: Take aim before firing

It's all good to be tactical - keep China out of strategic markets; hit back in the same coin if it looks to keep India's key sectors out - but don't shoot yourself in the foot.

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 Jun 2020

Environmental Governance and Environmental Performance

Along with the continuous development of the global economy, environmental deterioration has been widely recognized as a pressing issue nowadays, bringing environmental governance to the forefront of...

by Chun-Ping Chang | On 28 Mar 2019

Emerging Trends in India-Pakistan Trade

The study finds that there has been a limited impact of trade liberalization on the volume of trade between the two countries. The shift from positive list to negative list has not resulted in any maj...

by Nisha Taneja | On 05 Feb 2019

Trade, Trade Agreements and Subsidies: The Case of the Indian Apparel Industry

This paper presents India’s trade in apparel products by sub-sectors and key markets, and analyses its trade competitiveness across different sub-sectors. It examines the impact of trade agreements an...

by Arpita Mukherjee | On 04 Feb 2019

The Basel Capital Requirement, Lending Interest Rate and Aggregate Economic Growth: An Empirical Study of Vietnam

This paper investigates the effects of the Basel II capital requirement implementation in Viet Nam on the bank lending rate and national output. The paper provides a theoretical framework as well as e...

by Nguyet Thi Minh Phi | On 28 Jan 2019

Strong Regulation of Medical Products: Cornerstone of Public Health and Regional Health Security

National regulatory agencies (NRAs) are the gatekeepers of the supply chain of medical products such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices. It is through registration with an NRA that a manufacturer...

by Susann Roth | On 09 Oct 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

Fair play in Indian Health Insurance

In recent years there has been an increased role for health insurance in Indian health care, through government funded health insurance programs and privately purchased health insurance. Our analysis...

by Shefali Malhotra | On 15 Jun 2018

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

This paper provides an analysis of financial inclusion, literacy, and education issues in the Republic of Tajikistan. It discusses the recent progress in financial inclusion and the sector’s response...

by Roman Mogilevskii | On 11 Jun 2018

FDI in Services and India

Developing countries, including India, are increasing relying on foreign direct investments (FDI) for raising finance for infrastructure development and other projects. Consequently, coun...

by Tanu M Goyal | On 09 May 2018

India and Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement: Concerns and Way Forward

Services are a major component of global gross domestic product and employment, and a rising component of global trade and investment flows. This is the largest sector of the Indian ...

by Avantika Kapoor | On 25 Apr 2018

Nepal Human Development Report 2014: Beyond Geography Unlocking Human Potential

The report presents a rigorous statistical analysis across space and time, using the available national data.

by National Planning (NPC) | On 13 Apr 2018

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

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

by Emily Breza | On 10 Mar 2018

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

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

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

What Determined 2015 TPA Voting Pattern?: The Role of Trade Negotiating Objectives

This paper analyzes 2015-TPA voting patterns in the Congress in the context of the trade negotiating objectives.

by Yoon Joon | On 24 Jan 2018

Regulating the Digital Economy: Are we Moving Towards a 'win‐ win' or a 'lose‐lose' ?

The digital economy has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, mostly as a result of new digital technologies that are promoting a global transformation to industry 4.0. The resulting expa...

by Padmashree Gehl Sampath | On 23 Jan 2018

Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments

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

by United Nations Girls Education Initiative | On 22 Jan 2018

Military Courts in Pakistan: Will they return? What are the implications?

This paper narrates that during the first week of January 2017, many in Pakistan were surprised, when the government allowed the earlier Parliamentary legislation on the military courts to elapse.

by D. Chandran | On 09 Jan 2018

India and Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement: Concerns and Way Forward

Services are a major component of global gross domestic product and employment, and a rising component of global trade and investment flows. This is the largest sector of the Indian economy contributi...

by | On 30 Nov 2017

State Intervention: A Gift or Threat to India’s Sugarcane Sector?

This paper examines the nature, changes and factors responsible for issues and problems faced by the sugarcane growers and sugar mills in India. This paper is based on the latest available secondary d...

by Abnave Vikas B. | On 12 Sep 2017

Scoping Study on Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens in the Philippine Food Manufacturing Industry

The food manufacturing industry (FMI) is a major contributor to the country’s total manufacturing output.

by Nerlita M. et al. | On 08 Sep 2017

Environment and Labour on the Trade Agenda: Lessons for India from the TPP Agreement

This paper undertakes an evaluation of the Labour and Environment chapters of the TPP Agreement, with a view to determining India’s stand if the same or similar provisions are proposed in multilateral...

by Anwarul Hoda | On 08 Aug 2017

Report of The Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India

The Report projects, under different scenarios, the capital requirements till March 2018 in order that provisions are prudent, there is adequate balance sheet growth to support the needs of the econom...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 08 Aug 2017

Comments of the Reserve Bank of India on A New Capital Adequacy Framework

The report narrates that the Accord provided a framework for a fair and reasonable degree of consistency in the application of capital standards in different countries, on a shared definition of capit...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 03 Aug 2017

East Asia Department Knowledge Management Initiatives in 2014

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

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 Jul 2017

Making Money Work: Financing a Sustainable Future in Asia and the Pacific

This report explores some of the ways forward. It highlights not just the need to inject more money into investments that contribute to sustainable development, but also to attract funds toward them—t...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 21 Jul 2017

Renewable Energy Developments and Potential in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Renewable energy is a challenge, but also an opportunity for new industries, employment, and new ways to reduce dependency on fuel imports, provide electricity to poor remote areas, reduce air polluti...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 18 Jul 2017

Travel Demand Management Options in Beijing

This study is part of the Asian Development Bank’s initiative to support greener and more sustainable transport systems that are convenient and lessen carbon dioxide emissions. Read how congestion cha...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 03 Jul 2017

Strengthening City Disaster Risk Financing in Vietnam

This paper presents a summary of a technical assistance project on the development of disaster risk financing solutions for the cities of Can Tho and Hue and, by extension, for other cities in Viet Na...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jun 2017

Asia Bond Monitor - June 2017

This issue of the Asia Bond Monitor includes two special discussion boxes. Box 1 discusses the risks to emerging Asia’s financial stability under tightening global liquidity conditions. Box 2 discusse...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Jun 2017

Promoting Inland Waterway Transport in the People's Republic of China

This publication examines the constraints in developing inland waterway transport (IWT) based on a study in the PRC’s Hunan province. Six major challenges threatening the viability of IWT and its inte...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 30 May 2017

Tajikistan: Promoting Export Diversification and Growth

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

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Japan

The paper narrates that the Government of Japan raises significant amounts from domestic capital markets to finance government expenditures, mainly through the issuance of Japanese Government Bonds (J...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Malaysia

According to data published on AsianBondsOnline, total LCY bonds outstanding in Malaysia barely moved in the third quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, standing at MYR1,076 billion at t...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Thailand

The paper says that the government has continued to issue bonds since then with the primary objectives being to finance the annual budget deficit, support social and economic development, and restruct...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Hong Kong, China

The paper narrates that the bond market in Hong Kong, China has for some time been a significant market place for issuers and investors in both domestic and foreign currencies. The range of product of...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 May 2017

The Emerging Indonesian Data Center Market And Energy Efficiency Opportunities

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

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 04 May 2017

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

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

by Subrata Sarkar | On 03 May 2017

Regulatory Responsiveness in India: A Normative and Empirical Framework for Assessment

This paper seeks to measure the extent to which Indian regulators are responsive in the performance of their functions. The paper focuses on one function common to all Indian statutory regulators, na...

by Anirudh Burman | On 08 Nov 2016

Long-Range Growth: Economic Development in the Global Network of Air Links

This paper studies the impact of international long-distance flights on the global spatial allocation of economic activity. To identify causal effects, it exploits variation due to regulatory and tech...

by Filipe Campante | On 21 Sep 2016

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill 2013: A Threat to our Food and Farming

The primary purpose of this policy brief is to expose the dangerous aspects of the Bill before Parliamentarians who must consider the potential harms to be caused by this Bill to our food and farming...

by Shubhi Sharma | On 30 Aug 2016

Signing away Sovereignty: How Investment Agreements Threaten Regulation of the Mining Industry in the Philippines

In the last decade, the resource-rich Philippines has bet heavily on the mining industry as a development strategy, an approach that has come under growing scrutiny. With 47 large-scale mines in oper...

by Cecilia Olivet | On 10 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

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) and Financial Sector Regulation in India

This paper examines the changes in regulation in four G7 countries post the financial sector breakdown of 2008 and suggestions made by the Financial Stability Board with respect to e.g. capital adequa...

by Jaimini Bhagwati | On 07 Jul 2016

The “Engine of Economic Growth”: An Overview of Private Investment Policies, Trends, and Projects in Cambodia

This paper aims to present an overview and analysis of the current investment landscape in Cambodia, as well as its impacts on people and the environment. It is hoped that the information ...

by Mark Grimsditch | On 01 Jul 2016

Farm Women Friendly Hand Book

This Handbook contains special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various on-going Missions/ Submissions/ Schemes of DAC & FW, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 29 Jun 2016

Maternal Anthropometry and Birth Outcome among Bengalis in Kolkata

This study has done a test as to what degree anthropometric measurements are useful and efficient in predicting birth outcome of pregnancy and also to determine the quantitative associations of anthr...

by Samiran Bisai | On 27 Jun 2016

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) and Financial Sector Regulation in India

The Financial Sector Reforms Commission (FSLRC) which was set up in 2011 by the Ministry of Finance was mandated to study existing legislation and financial sector regulatory practices in India and...

by Jaimini Bhagwati | On 22 Jun 2016

Corporate Debt Market in India: Key Issues and Policy Recommendations

The working paper outlines the significance of debt market in general and its role in accelerating the development of economic growth in particular. It reviews various regulatory and non-regulatory de...

by Anubhuti Sahay | On 06 Jun 2016

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

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

by | On 01 Jun 2016

Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

The present publication reinforces the importance of biodiversity, particularly in the context of sustainable development. It attempts to give an overview of the issue, by analysing the main thematic...

by | On 18 May 2016

Book Review: Fascinating Journey through the Life World

Review of A Fly in the Curry: Independent Documentary Film in India. Edited by K.P. Jayasankar & Anjali Monteiro, Sage Publications 2016

by Hemali Sanghavi | On 17 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

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

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

by Lakshmi Sreedhar | On 04 May 2016

Building an Institution of Insolvency Practitioners in India

This paper identifies the rationale for creating a cadre of insolvency professionals who can play an important role in the process of rescuing, restructuring or liquidating a distresse...

by Anirudh Burman | On 02 May 2016

The Functioning of Medical Council of India

The report examines the role and functioning of Medical Council of India with the ultimate aim of suggesting veritable solutions to the inadequacies that are currently plaguing our medical education a...

by Rajya Sabha Secretariat | On 08 Apr 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

The Enigma of the ‘Indian Model’ of Development

The paper is an attempt to unveil the enigma of the ‘Indian model’ of development. After discussing the evolution of India’s development policies over the last six decades, the paper attempts to unfol...

by Amit S. Ray | On 16 Mar 2016

Policy Options in the Iranian Nuclear Crisis

As reports circle of an advanced Iranian nuclear program, different policy options are considered by Israeli and American policy-makers. While officials in Jerusalem seem convinced that the military o...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

US-DPRK Bilateral Talks

The United States and North Korea resumed talks in Beijing on February 23–24, 2012, after a delay following the death of Kim Jong Il two months ago. Present at the talks were a delegation of the DPRK...

by Sangsoo Lee | On 14 Mar 2016

Global Health Donors Viewed as Regulators of Monopolistic Service Providers: Lessons from Regulatory Literature

Controlling healthcare costs while promoting maximum health impact in the recipient countries is one the biggest challenges for global health donors. This paper views global health donors as the regul...

by Han Ye | On 14 Mar 2016

Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia

China, Russia, and the Central Asian States have consistently engaged in economic relations. However, the bilateral trade statistics that are publicly available show a history of inconsistent and unre...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

China and North Korea: A Relationship in Transition?

Military tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been escalating for several months now. The latest events with the missile launches and newly released reports on the abduction of Chinese fishermen by N...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

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

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

by Amparo Castelló-Climent | On 09 Mar 2016

India’s Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken...

by | On 08 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

An Agenda for Peace: Curbing the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons

Although weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) are considered to pose the gravest threat to international peace and security, in practice, small arms and light weapons (SALWs) kill more people than WMDs....

by Pau Hangzo | On 04 Mar 2016

Human Factors Determine Extreme Weather Impact

The beginning of 2011 was marked by a series of rain-related disasters in various parts of the globe. Australia experienced one of the most severe (and most probably the costliest) wave of floods in i...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

Critical Reflections on Anti¬-Human Trafficking: The Case of Timor¬Leste

Human trafficking is commonly seen as a heinous crime affecting millions of migrants from all parts of the globe. The struggle against this phenomenon is perceived as noble, moral and necessary. Howev...

by | On 03 Mar 2016

Comparative Analysis of Indonesian and Korean Governance

This paper overviews governance issues in Indonesia and Korea from a comparative perspective. To do so, the WGI (World Governance Index) developed by the World Bank is employed for a more objective an...

by Prof. Yunwon Hwang | On 01 Mar 2016

Assessing the Impact of Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission's Open Access Order for Solar Power Generators in Karnataka

WRI is keen to track its on-ground impact to serve as a feedback mechanism to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) and as a learning for other state regulators who may be looking for sol...

by Deepak Sriram Krishnan | On 29 Feb 2016

Porous borders in a changing world: What does this mean for security in Southeast Asia?

The issue of borders, their porosity and the security challenges they create amid a rapidly changing regional and global strategic environment is indeed a serious one for Southeast Asia. The criticali...

by | On 27 Feb 2016

Planning for Asian food security towards 2025

Higher investment in the agricultural and food sectors, food price stability and regulatory barriers are among the key issues for Asia, according to experts at a recent meeting to discuss the region...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

2015: A Year for Reflection

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

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Protest Culture in Thailand

As the current anti-government demonstrations in Thailand enter a critical stage, the trend in Thai protests against the establishment, set since 1932, has been reinforced. The protesters are seeking...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Massive Open Online Courses: A Primer for Philippine State Universities and Colleges

Massive Open Online Courses and their advent and rising popularity have had a profound impact on the sphere of education in Philippines. Does this new model present an opportunity to re-envision how t...

by Philippine Institute for Development Studies | On 25 Feb 2016

The Use of MOOCs as a Potential Avenue to Modernize Learning in the Philippines

A framework is proposed for understanding the potential value-added of massive open online courses (MOOCs) along the lines of curation, credentialling, and cost. MOOCs are likely to appeal differently...

by Emmanuel S. de Dios | On 25 Feb 2016

National Treatment on Internal Taxation: Revisiting GATT Article III:2

The principle of non-discrimination which comprises national treatment and most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment is an important pillar of the multilateral trading system. The World Trade Organization (...

by Sherzod Shadikhodjaev | On 25 Feb 2016

Biosafety Protocol, International Trade and Agricultural Biotechnology: Policy Inferences for India

The growing development in and possibly greater diffusion of biotechnology products have further accentuated the intensity of trade restrictions on the entry of these goods in countries like EU, Japan...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 25 Feb 2016

The Political Economy of Trade Policy in Indonesia

This paper focuses on Indonesia’s trade policies after the economic crisis. It examines the trend towards protection and addresses the issues of competitiveness. The concluding part briefly discusses...

by M. Basri | On 25 Feb 2016

Bangladesh Apparels Export to the US Market: An Examination of Her Competitiveness vis-à-vis China

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), established in 1993, is a civil society initiative to promote an ongoing dialogue between the principal partners in the decision-making and implementing process....

by Mustafizur Rahman | On 24 Feb 2016

Pandemic Preparedness in Asia

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

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 24 Feb 2016

Regional Cooperation towards Multilateral Arrangements on Agriculture, Labour, and Environment in the Context of Globalisation: The Case of Indonesia

This study looks at Indonesia’s commitments to multilateral trade agreements, and assesses policies adopted by the government to meet the criteria set by those agreements. Particularly, three sectors...

by Titik Anas | On 24 Feb 2016

The Gharial – Our River Guardian

Gharial is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Between 2007-2008, over 100 Gharials in the Chambal perished in a mystery die-off attributed to a nephro-toxin...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests | On 24 Feb 2016

The Puzzle of Small Farming in Japan

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

by Yoshihisa Godo | On 24 Feb 2016

Financial Sector Reform: Longer-Run Policy Responses to the Asian Crisis

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 involved significant economic and social costs for the affected economies, but also highlighted fundamental weaknesses in the structure and operations of their finan...

by Kevin Davis | On 24 Feb 2016

Pakistan’s Flood Disaster: An Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis

The recent monsoon-related floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan. Decades of development outcomes have been wiped out and critical human security challenges have been precipitated. It is critical to b...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Asia’s Food Security Conundrum: More Apparent than Real?

There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, yet one billion people are hungry. Biotech approaches to food production will not enhance food security in Asia unless severe distortions in existin...

by | On 22 Feb 2016

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

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

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Pakistan, India and Kashmir: Will Nature force an Aceh Effect?

A recent seismic study has raised questions about the possibility of a “big earthquake” in the Kashmir region, “anytime”. Should one occur with the magnitude that caused the massive Indian Ocean tsuna...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

From Kyoto to Durban: The Fits and Starts of Global Climate Change Negotiations

The 2011 outcomes from the UN’s annual climate change meetings have again been met with both cautious optimism and charges that the process shows few signs of effectively addressing global climate cha...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

The Road to Rio+20: Ambitious Goals for Sustainable Development

The world’s biggest summit on environment and development in 20 years will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June this year. What are the opportunities and challenges for this global multilater...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Incremental Housing – The New Site & Services

Informal builders provide the bulk of affordable housing and define large areas of our cities. Originally created for those long considered as poor and unable to house themselves, over time the result...

by Dr. Reinhard Goethert | On 19 Feb 2016

Transforming Cities with Transit

In rapidly urbanizing and motorizing cities of the world, massive investments are being made in high-capacity transit systems to fend off worsening traffic congestion. Most investments have been guide...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Mass housing requires mass housing finance

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

by | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Outbound Investment: The US Experience

U.S. policy expressly welcomes Chinese investment, and since 2000 Chinese companies have invested nearly $50 billion in the United States. Notwithstanding those facts, the U.S. regulatory environment...

by Mark Feldman | On 19 Feb 2016

Food Security: What It Means for a Food-Importing Country

Most countries depend on three “food taps” – imports, self-production, reserve stocks – to make food available. All countries import some amount of food to meet their increasingly diverse dietary dema...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Agriculture’s Contribution To National Emissions

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

by Meryl Richards | On 17 Feb 2016

Effectiveness of Regulatory Structure in the Power Sector of Pakistan

This paper is an attempt to study the regulatory environment in the electricity sector of Pakistan. NEPRA, a regulatory authority was formed in 1997 to protect consumer interests in the area of electr...

by Afia Malik | On 16 Feb 2016

Suicide Drones, Mini Blimps and 3D Printers: Inside the New Army Arsenal

Flying grenades. Mini spy blimps. Robotic bomb-busters. Suicide-vest spotters. Battlefield 3D printers. The Army is retooling for a very austere, very remote way of war. And the gear that's required i...

by Noah Shachtman | On 14 Feb 2016

Making Anti-Corruption Regulation Effective for the Private Sector

A comprehensive regulatory framework for the private sector is a prerequisite for a transparent, honest and just society: where regulation is weak, corruption risks grow strong. As the primary rule ma...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

2015 and Beyond: The Governance Solution for Development

There are fewer than 1000 days remaining until the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Based on current progress, many will not be achieved. For Transparency Internati...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Foreign Direct Investment as a Key Driver for Trade, Growth and Prosperity: The Case for a Multilateral Agreement on Investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a powerful instrument for growth and development, and is key to enhancing prosperity worldwide and boosting the global economy. Building on its previous work on the...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 11 Feb 2016

Matching Skills and Labour Market Needs: Building Social Partnerships for Better Skills and Better Jobs

Skills are critical assets for individuals, businesses and societies. Matching skills and jobs has become a high-priority policy concern, as mismatches, occurring when workers have either fewer or mor...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 11 Feb 2016

Rivalry and Cooperation: A New "Great Game" in Myanmar

Myanmar since its reform and opening up has become the locus for a new "Great Game" between the world's major powers. This brings with it new challenges for China which has hitherto been the preeminen...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

Guaranteeing Public Participation In Climate Governance

Effective public participation has three interrelated elements: access to information; direct engagement; and oversight. All three factors can play a critical role in reducing corruption risks and the...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Tackling Forestry Corruption Risks In Asia Pacific

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

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Factors Determining Public Demand for Safe Drinking Water (A Case Study of District Peshawar)

This study was undertaken to analyze the magnitude of awareness, perception, practices, and demand for safe drinking water. The study further elaborated HHs Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved water...

by Iftikhar Ahmad | On 06 Feb 2016

Tunisia: Revolution of the Citizenry… a Revolution without a Head

The Tunisian revolution exhibited itself as a popular revolution by all measures, catching the attention of many historians and writers in various fields; for years to come, the revolution will be a r...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

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

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

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

Integrating Urban Agriculture and Forestry Into Climate Change Action Plans: Lessons From Western Province, Sri Lanka And Rosario, Argentina

Climate change adds to the existing challenges faced by cities. Cities – as net consumers rather than producers of food – are already highly vulnerable to the disruption of critical food and other sup...

by Marielle Dubbeling | On 30 Jan 2016

Identifying Products with Climate and Development Benefits for an Environmental Goods Agreement

caling-up renewable energy as a means to address climate change will require addressing impediments to the global diffusion of sustainable energy goods and services. Trade policy can contribute in thi...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Comparing Safeguard Measures in Regional and Bilateral Agreements

This study provides trade negotiators, policy-makers and other stakeholders with a clear, practical comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the various safeguard clauses included i...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Technological Change and New Actors: Debate on Returns and Regulations

New technology in the seed sector has brought in new actors and new requirements for regulation. It is important to discuss how far India is working on new opportunities and policy options for effecti...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 30 Jan 2016

Russia and the Arab Spring: Changing Narratives and Implications for Regional Policies

The Arab Spring was a milestone for contemporary Middle Eastern history. The global phenomenon not only transformed the Arab world from within, but also challenged the regional status of major externa...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Investment and Trade Regimes Conjoined: Economic Facts and Regulatory Frameworks

Recent research suggests that trade and investment are closely linked as two-way economic complements. Trade liberalization facilitates investment, but even complete trade openness will not overcome a...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Renewable Energy and Process and Production Methods

In the debate on climate change, methods of producing products and energy are of paramount importance. While the product or the form of energy resulting may be the same, diverging production processes...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Rethinking International Intellectual Property Law: What Institutional Environment for the Development and Enforcement of IP Law?

The establishment of the WTO Agreement on TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and the proliferation of plurilateral, bilateral and regional agreements have significantly cont...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Regulatory Cooperation: Lessons from the WTO and the World Trade Regime

Trade friction today is largely due to regulatory diversity as contemporary markets are chiefly segmented through non-tariff barriers. The purpose of the paper is to enquire into regulatory cooperatio...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Enhancing Coherence and Inclusiveness in the Global Trading System in the Era of Regionalism

Over the past two decades, regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated alongside the WTO system, involving a wide variety of agreements. In the absence of significant progress on the multilater...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Global Regulatory Imperatives and Small Firms: Case of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper enquires into the implications of the technological paradigm shift for small enterprises. Those who would not consider conforming to the regulatory framework (specifically enlisted under...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Jan 2016

How Can We Know (More) About the Trade Effects of Regulation?

Standards and regulations have externalities for other governments, citizens, and economic actors. The vector for those externalities is international trade, which is the reason that trade agreements...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

A Role for the World Trade Organization on Regulatory Coherence

The way the world trades has changed since the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established. Fewer goods and services originate from any one supplier or country. Components and intermediate services...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Competition Law/Policy and the Multilateral Trading System: A Possible Agenda for the Future

Important synergies or complementarities exist between trade liberalization initiatives and the application of measures to suppress anti-competitive practices or arrangements. In fact, both anti-compe...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Agriculture and Food Security: New Challenges and Options for International Policy

New challenges are facing the global food and agriculture trading system in the 21st century. The present paper identifies options for how policies and international trade rules can respond to this ne...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

A New Look at the Extensive Trade Margin Effects of Trade Facilitation

We estimate the effects of trade facilitation on the extensive margins of trade. Using OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators – which closely reflect the Trade Facilitation Agreement negotiated at the Bal...

by Robert Teh | On 27 Jan 2016

Intellectual Property Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements: Revision and Update

The paper assembles detailed information about the IP provisions contained in active RTAs notified to the WTO. The goal was to expand beyond the more commonly studied RTAs, to review the full array of...

by Maegan McCann | On 27 Jan 2016

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

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

by Robert Anderson | On 26 Jan 2016

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

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

by Kodjo Osei-Lah | On 26 Jan 2016

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

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

by Marc Auboin | On 26 Jan 2016

Charting the Evolving Landscape of Services Trade Policies: Recent Patterns of Protection and Liberalization

While greater focus has been cast on analysis of policy changes affecting trade in goods in the aftermath of the financial crisis, little is known about the direction of policies affecting trade in se...

by Martin Roy | On 26 Jan 2016

Tbt Provisions In Regional Trade Agreements: To What Extent Do They Go Beyond The WTO TBT Agreement?

This paper investigates whether TBT provisions included in RTAs differ from those under the WTO TBT Agreement, and, if they do, whether they entail broader commitments. Our analysis covers 238 RTAs, o...

by Vira Khoroshavina | On 26 Jan 2016

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

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

by Samira Guennif | On 26 Jan 2016

A Status Paper on the Pharmaceutical Industry in France

This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive view of the status of the Pharmaceutical industry in France. As a background to the discussion, the paper first elaborates on the demographic features of...

by N. Lalitha | On 26 Jan 2016

New Trade Links: A Step towards Asian Economic Integration?

This paper states that the sheaf of trade- and investment-agreements that India and Bangladesh have now signed will open up opportunities for New Delhi to look at, and beyond, its near-East neighbour...

by | On 23 Jan 2016

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Opportunities and Challenges for Bangladesh - Framework Issues

In the backdrop of rise in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in developing countries, particularly after the global financial and economic crisis, Bangladesh is still ambivalent in setting its strategies r...

by Khondaker Moazzem | On 23 Jan 2016

An Analysis of Private Commercial Borrowing from Foreign Sources in Bangladesh

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

by Sayera Younus | On 23 Jan 2016

Dynamics of Pharmaceutical Quality Systems for the Export of Pharmaceuticals from India to Africa

India’s pharmaceutical industry of more than 10,000 manufacturing sites is estimated to generate US$ 22 billion in revenue , half of which is exported to more than 150 countries across the globe. Expo...

by Empower School of Health ESH | On 22 Jan 2016

The E15 Initiative: Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century

World trade has experienced a significant slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis. Over this period, the global ratio of trade expansion to income growth has halved. An effective global trade and inv...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 22 Jan 2016

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has emerged as a major regional initiative for trade and investment liberalisation and towards enhancing competitiveness of the twelve participant countries drawn f...

by V. S. Seshadri | On 21 Jan 2016

Synthetic Biology in India: Issues in Risk, Power and Governance

In this discussion paper, the status of synthetic biology in India and debates in India on synthetic biology are discussed and the discourses on synthetic biology in India are also analysed. The paper...

by Krishna Ravi Srinivas | On 21 Jan 2016

Long-term care protection for older persons: A review of coverage deficits in 46 countries

This paper: (i) examines long-term care (LTC) protection in 46 developing and developed countries covering 80 per cent of the world’s population; (ii) provides (data on LTC coverage for the population...

by Xenia Scheil-Adlung | On 19 Jan 2016

India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement: Follow-up Concerns Need a Fair Approach

The recent success of India and Bangladesh in settling the complicated issue of political enclaves in each other’s territories could be traced to the spirit displayed by the leaders of the two countri...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

India-Myanmar Ties: New Hope, Old Despair

India’s current trade negotiations have three agreements as top priorities. Two of these the India ASEAN services agreement and the bilateral trade and investment agreement with the European Union (EU...

by Laldinkima Sailo | On 09 Jan 2016

Asia-Latin America Free Trade Agreements: An Instrument for Inter-Regional Liberalization and Integration?

Trade integration and free trade agreement (FTA)-led cooperation between Asia and Latin America has increased since the early 2000s. Using new criteria, this paper examines whether Asia-Latin America...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 07 Jan 2016

Socio-Economic Uncertainty and Violent Conflicts

This paper, with reference to the literature on research on violent conflicts, discusses socio-economic uncertainty and characteristics of coping with it in the context of violent mass conflicts. Rese...

by Gyöngyvér Demény | On 07 Jan 2016

India in the International Trade of Intermediates & Final Products – A Sector Level Study

International trade is redefined today in terms of trade in value added and global value chains. Most countries trade both in finished goods as well as intermediates. India, a less talked about countr...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

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

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

by Suthiphand Chirathivat | On 07 Jan 2016

Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism

Motivated by the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) in Asia over the last decade, this paper studies the challenges faced by the Asian “noodle bowl” — overlapping, multiple trade rules, reg...

by Richard Baldwin | On 07 Jan 2016

Plurilateral Agreements: A Viable Alternative to the World Trade Organization?

The paper looks at some issue-based plurilateral agreements — such as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), the Financial Services and Basic Telecommunication Services Agreements, and the Anti-C...

by Michitaka Nakatomi | On 07 Jan 2016

Regional Trade Agreements and Enterprises in Southeast Asia

This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the impact of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It finds that firm-heterogeneity matters in RT...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 07 Jan 2016

The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the Proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement: A Closer Look

The India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement has been in operation for more than a decade. The paper provides the Sri Lankan perspective of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) highlighting both the positive ou...

by Saman Kelegama | On 29 Dec 2015

Assessing the Experience of South Asia–East Asia Integration and India's Role

This paper examines the gains for South Asian economies from integratingwith East Asia and India’s role in this process. Evidence of increased pan-Asian integration exists but the process is uneven. B...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | 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

Asymmetric Influence in Global Banking Regulation

Global regulatory standard setting is one of the most lucrative battlefields of the international political economy. Asymmetric influence and regulatory capture in setting such standards can undermine...

by Roman Goldbach | On 23 Dec 2015

The Future Availability of Natural Resources

This report takes a novel approach to enhance the understanding of natural resource availability over a 20-year time frame. It combines an analysis of the important factors of supply and demand at a g...

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Regulatory Structure of Higher Education in India

This report analyses the current regulatory framework of higher education in India and highlights areas that require important policy reforms in order to encourage greater private participation. This...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 21 Dec 2015

The High and Low Politics of Trade

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in trouble. Its negotiating mechanism has mostly seized up, as reflected in the failure to conclude the long-running Doha Round. No obvious solution to this conun...

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Enabling war and peace: Drugs, logs, gems, and wildlife in Thailand and Burma

In this policy paper, Vanda Felbab-Brown explores the relationship between conflict, peace dynamics, and drugs and other illicit economies in Thailand and Myanmar/Burma since the 1960s through...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 16 Dec 2015

Theories of Change in International Development: Communication, Learning or Accountability?

This paper provides a much needed analysis of how Theories of Change are used in the day-to-day practice of an international development organisation, The Asia Foundation. The Foundation uses the appr...

by | On 16 Nov 2015

Disability and Forced Migration: Critical Intersectionalities

The vast majority of the world’s displaced people are hosted in the global South, in the poorest countries in the world. This is also a space with the highest numbers of disabled people, many of who l...

by | On 13 Nov 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

The Social Dimensions of Free Trade Agreements

The report provides a comprehensive review of all existing trade agreements that include social provisions and discusses impacts for enterprises and workers.It also helps assess the challenges for ari...

by International Labour Organiztion [ILO] | On 23 Sep 2015

Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms

This report – “Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms” is a scorecard to take stock of what reforms have happened, and to identify the way forward for States. The report highlights the...

by World Bank | On 15 Sep 2015

Theories of Change in International Development: Communication, Learning, or Accountability?

Critically analysing assumptions is a much needed endeavour in international development policy and practice: existing management tools rarely encourage critical thinking and there are considerable po...

by | On 08 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

Has Indian Plantation Sector Weathered the Crisis? A Critical Assessment of Tea Plantation Industry in the Post-reforms Context

the paper provides an overview of the growth and status of Indian tea plantation sector delineating the trends in economic performance in the global context in a historic perspective. It then examine...

by Viswanathan P K | On 25 Aug 2015

Regulatory Barriers to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Against the post-New Industrial Policy (1991) growth witnessed in large-scale industries, a corresponding boom in the small and mid-sized domestic industry has been conspicuously absent. The paper see...

by Amit Chandra | On 13 Aug 2015

How are Firms Responding to Philippine Free Trade Agreements?

The Philippines has been more cautious in its policy toward free trade agreements (FTAs) than other ASEAN member-states, having signed, so far, only one bilateral agreement with Japan in addition to t...

by Rafaelita M. Aldaba | On 20 Jul 2015

Net Neutrality: DoT Committee Report

In March 2015, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper titled “Regulatory Framework for Over-the-Top (OTT) Services” wherein the issue of Net Neutrality in the bac...

by DoT Committee on Net Neutrality | On 16 Jul 2015

Renewable Energy: Market and Policy Environment in India

India's significant economic growth over the last decade has led to an inexorable rise in energy demand. Currently, India faces a challenging energy shortage. To grow at 9 per cent over the next 20 ye...

by Vivan Sharan | On 05 Jun 2015

Network Neutrality – Hong Kong’s Perspectives

The next generation broadband infrastructure will provide access to two categories of content, applications and services – those delivered over the Internet and those provided on the managed networks...

by | On 14 Apr 2015

Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services

The objective of this Consultation Paper (CP) is to analyse the implications of the growth of OTTs and consider whether or not changes are required in the current regulatory framework. To understand...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) | On 13 Apr 2015

Free Trade Agreements: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This FAQ is intended to be a ready reckoner for trade and industry including their associations and bodies; students of international trade, academicians, trade researchers etc for understanding the s...

by | On 16 Mar 2015

India's Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken is...

by | On 27 Feb 2015

Straw in the Wind

What does the decision to save groundwater in Punjab or Haryana have to do with air pollution in Delhi? Plenty. We need to know this because many actions have unintended and deadly consequences.

by Sunita Narain | On 26 Feb 2015

India’s Climate Strategy Needs Revision

Developing countries do not come with a clear plan or proactive position to climate change negotiations, whereas industrialised nations do - to erase their contribution to the emissions already presen...

by Sunita Narain | On 22 Jan 2015

Trade Policy Uncertainty and the WTO

This paper discusses the impact of WTO commitments on changes in MFN applied tariffs, isolating pure trade policy changes from any other change in the level of protection due to market conditions by f...

by Valeria Groppo | On 22 Jan 2015

Role of Audit Committees in Financial Conglomerates

The speech tells us about the expectations of the regulators from the Audit Committees and highlight emerging trends in the regulatory/supervisory domain that should engage the minds of the Audit Comm...

by S.S. Mundra | On 21 Jan 2015

Women’s Malnutrition in India: The Role of Economic and Social Status

This study has used India Human Development Survey, 2005 to study the factors influencing the Body Mass Index (BMI) of women between 20 to 40 years of age in India. BMI captures both undernutrition...

by Shikha Dahiya | On 28 Nov 2014

Worker’s Rights and Practices in the Contemporary Scenario: An Overview

This book offers a careful summary of the rights and practices of work in the Indian labour market. In specific, it deals with rights deficiency of workers in different sectors especially on agricultu...

by V.V. Giri Labour Institute | On 19 Sep 2014

Economic and Financial Outlook

A picture about the macroeconomy that is, the world economy and the domestic economy is given. The two recent regulatory measures are given here. [FICCI/IBA Annual Banking Conference].

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 18 Sep 2014

Event, Memory and Historical Analysis: A Reconstruction of Temple Destructions in India

This paper will highlight the myths that surround the question of mass conversion to Islam and the so called temple destructions by the Muslims during the formative years of the Sultanate and the Mugh...

by Amit K Suman | On 24 Jul 2014

Of Reigning Silences and Quivering Words: Kumher Kaand of 1992

This paper is an attempt to revisit an event that was barely given any space in public memory – the Kumher Dalit Massacre of 1992. The pogrom in question is one of the most brutal instances of choreog...

by Ridhima Sharma | On 24 Jul 2014

BCIM Economic Corridor: Prospects and Challenges

Given the commonalities in terms of history, culture, languages and trade complementarity in many cases, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor is a win-win arrangement. The linkages of tr...

by Pravakar Sahoo | On 15 Jul 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

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

Television as a public health awareness tool to reduce tobacco use in India

Tobacco continues to be a major social and health menace across the globe. It is estimated that by 2030, it would account for the death of about 10 million people per year; half of them aged between 3...

by Dr. Pragati Hebber | On 09 Jan 2014

The Future of the World Trade Organization

The continued difficulties of the World Trade Organization to achieve further multilateral trade liberalization in the Doha Round negotiations have raised questions about its continued relevance. This...

by Biswajit Dhar | On 19 Nov 2013

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Reform Challenges and Key Tasks for the Philippines

The paper calls the attention of policymakers to address critical constraints affecting the effective utilization of free trade agreements, growth, trade facilitation and customs administration, servi...

by Gilberto M. Llanto | On 15 Nov 2013

A Good Model for Grievance Redressal? Kerala’s Award-Winning Mass Contact Programme

Kerala’s innovative programme for redressing grievances and rooting out corruption has won the chief minister accolades even as it served to connect people to political leaders directly.

by Amrutha Jose Pampackal | On 22 Jul 2013

Child malnutrition in India: Why does it persist?

An estimated forty per cent of the world’s severely malnourished children under five live in India. This is a shameful stain on a country that, with China, will be one of the great economic powerhouse...

by Sam Mendelson | On 28 Jun 2013

Homo Biometricus: Biometric Recognition Systems and Mobile Internet Services

Biometric procedures are already accepted by millions of people every day on a variety of (social) internet platforms. Biometric identification procedures and their potential applications in everyday...

by Thomas F Dapp | On 05 Jul 2012

Dispute Settlement in the WTO, Developing Countries and India

The paper undertakes an examination of the experience of developing countries with dispute settlement vis-à-vis developed countries during the 17 years since the entry into force of the WTO Agreement....

by Anwarul Hoda | On 08 May 2012

Audio-visual Services: International Trade and Cultural Policy

The audiovisual sector is a significant component of the economy in terms of wealth creation and employment and audiovisual industries also play an important cultural role. This study reviews the main...

by Gillian Doyle | On 20 Apr 2012

Plan vs. Performance Winter Session – November 22 to December 29, 2011

This note lists the legislative business planned by Parliament and compares it with the actual performance during the Winter Session. [PRS Note]. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/ge...

by Kusum Malik | On 30 Dec 2011

Will Neoliberal Policies Resolve Water Sector Dilemmas? Learnings from Maharashtra and Gujarat

This paper examines how the neoliberal policies have influenced the water sector reform policies and interventions in India, particularly, in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. In doing so, the...

by Viswanathan P K | On 26 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

A Regulatory Approach to Financial Product Advice and Distribution

Financial distribution, where the distributor is the agent of both the product provider and the customer, has been found to inherently work against the interests of customers, in the form of high ser...

by M Sahoo | On 08 Dec 2011

Legislative Brief: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for Finance on March 24, 2011. The Bill was referred to the St...

by M. R. Madhavan | On 01 Dec 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

Unilateral Carbon Border Measures: Key Legal Issues

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been engaged in discussions on the future of the climate change regime. While the principle of “common but differenti...

by Anuradha R. V. | On 01 Nov 2011

Comparison of Privatization Processes of Telecom Services in India and Brazil

Apart from being BRIC countries, what India and Brazil have in common is a large service sector that contributes significantly to the GDP. The service sector contributed 66% to the Brazilian GDP and 5...

by Rekha Jain | On 18 Oct 2011

An Economic Policy and Legal Analysis of The Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill, 2011

In response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010, the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) ...

by Shubho Roy | On 17 Oct 2011

Working Group on the Issues and Concerns in the NBFC Sector: Report and Recommendations

The Working Group was constituted to review the existing regulatory and supervisory framework of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) with special focus on the risks in the sector. The approach adopt...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 30 Aug 2011

Of Opening Colleges & Obtaining Licences

Education, as anyone would agree, is an inevitable element in our lives. In the pursuit to familiarise with the system, first the authorities concerned are enlisted and their specific functions are...

by Shailly Arora | On 25 Aug 2011

Darwin in Mind: New Opportunities for Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology (EP) views the human mind as organized into many modules, each underpinned by psychological adaptations designed to solve problems faced by our Pleistocene ancestors. It...

by Johan J Bolhuis | On 09 Aug 2011

Consultation Paper on Mobile Value Added Services

TRAI has initiated this consultation paper suo-motu focusing on future looking regulatory framework for provisioning of Mobile Value Added Services. URL:[http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/uplo...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) | 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

World Trade Report 2011- The WTO and Preferential Trade Agreements: From Co-existence to Coherence

The ever-growing number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) is a prominent feature of international trade. The World Trade Report 2011 describes the historical development of PTAs and the current...

by World Trade Organisation WTO | On 22 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

Policies and Measures to Mitigate Potential Environmental Impacts of Cross Border Infrastructure Projects in Asia

While bringing positive impacts and benefits, cross-border infrastructure projects face additional challenges relative to national projects. Moreover, such projects involve a variety of technical, reg...

by ZhongXiang Zhang | On 27 Jun 2011

Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery

After a natural catastrophe in a developing country, international migration can play a critical role in recovery. But the United States has no systematic means to leverage the power and cost-effecti...

by Royce Bernstein Murray | On 08 Jun 2011

Social Assistance and the ‘Dependency Syndrome'

This policy brief discusses the fact that social assistance is critical to counter the insecurity and vulnerability experienced by chronically poor people. Evidence shows that as well as preventing pe...

by Andrew Shepherd | On 30 May 2011

Enhancing Intra-SAARC Trade: Pruning India’s Sensitive List under SAFTA

The study suggests an approach to reduce India’s sensitive list under SAFTA. The concept of Revealed Comparative Advantage has been used to pair the RCAs for products on India’s sensitive list with th...

by Nisha Taneja | On 29 Apr 2011

Improving the Legal Process in Enforcement at SEBI

The legal processes at SEBI is examined and described with a focus on the enforcement process, particularly on the quasi-judicial functions. An attempt is made to lay out the principles that ought t...

by Dharmishta Raval | On 15 Apr 2011

A Policy Reponse to the Indian Micro-finance Crisis

Recent events in India have brought a fresh focus upon the problem of regulation in the field of micro-finance. This paper delineates the three distinct aspects where government needs to play a role...

by Renuka Sane | On 13 Apr 2011

What Regulatory Policies Work for Emerging Markets?

This paper discusses the banking regulatory and supervisory practices in People’s Republic of China (PRC) with reference to the international standard for banking supervision, namely, the Basel Core P...

by Luo Ping | On 28 Mar 2011

Banking Laws Amendment Bill

The government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that seeks to align voting rights in private banks with shareholding, enhance the central bank’s regulatory powers over banks and give grea...

by Economic Times ET | On 23 Mar 2011

Enhancing Development through Policy Coherence

Policy coherence implies that donors in pursuing domestic policy objectives should avoid adversely affecting the development prospects of poor countries. To achieve policy coherence donors and multila...

by Amelia U. Santos Paulino | On 14 Mar 2011

Central Bank Lessons from the Global Crisis

Nine preliminary lessons from the Great Recession for monetary and financial policies are presented. [3rd P. R. Brahmananda Memorial Lecture].

by Stanley Fischer | On 18 Feb 2011

Indo-U.S. FTA: Prospects for Audiovisual Services

Many WTO (World Trade Organization) member countries, including India, are defensive about opening up of the audiovisual sector in the Doha Round due to reasons of cultural sensitivity. On the other...

by Arpita Mukherjee | On 17 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

Population Ethics and the Value of Life

Public policies often involve choices of alternatives in which the size and the composition of the population may vary. Examples are the allocation of resources to prenatal care and the design of...

by Charles Blackorby | On 28 Dec 2010

Credibility and Reputationin Peacemaking

The paper analyses credibility and reputation in the context of peace negotiations. Where war provides economic gains to one side, peace is not incentive compatible, and peace agreements will necess...

by Tony Addison | On 08 Dec 2010

Mapping of Media (Print) Industry in the North East

A state-wise study of print media is done instead of taking the North Eastern region as a whole. Information about respective state's print media is given. The approach will also throw light on the di...

by Athikho Kaisii | On 22 Nov 2010

Handbook on Nuclear Law: Implementing Legislation

Access to a well organized body of resource materials for helping States in drafting nuclear legislation is possible with the help of this handbook. [IAEA]. http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/...

by Carlton Stoiber | On 17 Sep 2010

Discontinuity in the Environment, Firm Response, and Dynamic Capabilities

This paper identifies and focuses on a specific type of environmental development called discontinuity. Discontinuities in the forms of rapid technological innovations, regulatory reforms, instituti...

by M. R. Dixit | On 24 Aug 2010

Microfinance Engagements of the ‘Graduated’ TUP Members

This study takes a look at the beneficiaries who were selected at the first round in 2002 to explain various dimensions of their engagement with microfinance. With a lower borrower-member ratio and re...

by Munshi Sulaiman | On 02 Jul 2010

How Does a Single Professional Issue Become Social Movement Discourse? Case of Lawyers’ Movement in Pakistan

This paper explores the modification of a discourse in the context of emergence of social movement from a single issue professional campaign through a framework of Habermasian communicative action the...

by Muhammad Anwar | On 22 Jun 2010

Knowledge Work and Human Rights in the Cybercultural Age

The current knowledge economy in terms of their human rights component, the author argues, offers a space where demands and claims can be articulated. Websites, databases, documentation and archives a...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 06 Jun 2010

Revisiting the Need of Improved Stoves: Estimating Health, Time and Carbon Benefits

This study generates some evidence on the costs and benefits of a particular indoor air pollution control initiative. The study is based on a survey of 400 households in Rasuwa district, Nepal,

by Min Bikram Malla Thakuri | On 02 Feb 2010

Cuba: A Country Profile on Sustainable Energy Development

A concise overview of the energy related aspects of sustainable development programmes and declarations, followed by a short summary of events and documents explicitly devoted to energy matters are gi...

by International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA | On 25 Jan 2010

Global Nutrition Institutions: Is There an Appetite for Change?

This paper describes the major institutional weaknesses in global nutrition and presents two recommendations to address the joint problems of incoherence, lack of institutional leaders, and persistent...

by Ruth Levine | On 27 Oct 2009

Kerala Fights Clock in ASEAN Free-Trade Deal

The paper discusses the impacts of free-trade policy on the agricultural exports of Kerala.

by Ranjit Devraj | On 08 Oct 2009

Financialization of Capital - Deterioration of Working Conditions

This paper addresses the issue of establishing a regulatory regime along the production, supply and value chains of multinational corporations in terms of setting labor standards and protecting worker...

by Fichter Michael | On 08 Jul 2009

Preliminary Note on Financial Crisis and Trade and Investment Treaties

North-South free trade agreements (FTAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments often contain a number of provisions that can increase the likelihood of a...

by Third World Network | On 28 Jun 2009

Disentangling the Global Financial Crisis: A Review of the Global Response

At this moment, the world is undergoing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s. It is not clear exactly which factors instigated the crisis, but there are many candidates; the f...

by H. N. Thenuwara | On 15 Jun 2009

Regulatory Structure Under EC Competition Laws: Lessons for India

Competition law is different from other branches of law. It is not about the fairness or morality to be instilled in the actions which mark societal behaviour. Instead the rules of competition reflect...

by Tarun Jain | On 14 Jun 2009

Ensuring the Conformity of Domestic Law with World Trade Organisation Law India as a case study

The 1994 Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (the WTO Agreement), requires each WTO member to “ensure the conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures wi...

by Chaisse Julien | On 04 Jun 2009

Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies

Mass media plays a crucial role in information distribution and thus in the political market and public policy making. Theory predicts that information provided by mass media reflects the media’s ince...

by Alessandro Olper | On 29 May 2009

The Asian “Noodle Bowl”:Is It Serious for Business?

A lively debate is taking place over the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) on East Asia's business between those who view the agreements as a harmful Asian "noodle bowl"—i.e., overlapping regiona...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 13 May 2009

States Reorganisation: Contemporary Concerns

Language alone can no longer be the basis for division of states. Issues such as size, governance, economic viability and recognition of new identities are equally important to consider the demands f...

by Asha Sarangi | On 14 Jan 2009

Consultation Paper on Review of Interconnection Usage Charge (IUC)

Written comments on the issues raised for consultation may please be furnished to Principal Advisor (FN), TRAI by 30th January, 2009. The comments may be sent in writing and also preferably be sent in...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 08 Jan 2009

Ensuring ‘Collective Action’ in ‘Participatory’ Forest Management

This paper is based on a qualitative analysis of three case studies, each belonging to one of three types of institutional structures: Self-initiated, NGO-promoted, and Government-sponsored JFM. The b...

by Rucha Ghate | On 14 Nov 2008

Affective Cosmopolitanism Ashis Nandy’s Utopia

Ashish Nandy’s utopia is based on a particular view of cosmopolitanism – one that acknowledges and acts upon suffering as a global feature irrespective of geographical and historical location. Nandy’s...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 16 Oct 2008

Kandhamal Massacres: Where is the State? Central Government of India must stop the killings

Over 50 persons, mainly Christians, have been killed since the Hindu fundamentalists launched an attack on the Christians following the murder of four members of the VHP including 90 year old Laxmanan...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 22 Sep 2008

India's Climate Change Policy and Trade Concerns: Issues, Barriers and Solutions

This study assesses the Five Year Plans and relevant government policies adopted to garner India's climate change goals and priorities. It attempts to highlight key climate change concerns from a brie...

by Centre for Trade and Development CENTAD | On 17 Sep 2008

In the Balance: Press Freedom in South Asia 2007-2008

The challenges for journalists and the media community in South Asia encompass a range of factors that indicate the level of press freedom in any country: Physical attacks, threats and questionable le...

by Sukumar Muralidharan | On 04 May 2008

Ethics in Indian Journalism: The Context for the Discussion

The rapid growth of the Indian media has occurred in a regulatory vacuum. Nor are there are accepted standards on the exercise of the free speech right in the Indian media. In this draft discussion no...

by Sukumar Muralidharan | On 11 Apr 2008

India, Democracy and the Press

The impressive growth of the Indian media is largely taking place outside of the voting classes, ensuring that the media are not playing a significant public service role. Ultimately, the author sugge...

by James Mutti | On 11 Apr 2008

Consultation Paper on Policy Guidelines for Television Audience Measurement (TAM)/ Television Rating Points (TRP)

Reliability of audience measurement reports both from the perspective of viewers and competitive relations between broadcasters have been of concern to the Regulators in most countries. Internationall...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 01 Apr 2008

The Sexual Internet

The ‘sexual Internet’ is clearly a social space where multiple economies – commercial, political and libidinal – intersect. It is a phenomenon that requires exploration from multiple angles: economic,...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 21 Feb 2008

Environmentally Sound Technologies for Sustainable Development of China and India

The paper compares policy responses of China and India to the global requirements of trade and environment regimes as well as the domestic compulsions are compared.

by Sankar U | On 11 Feb 2008

Media Literacy

Information access and the realisation of the knowledge are the basic rights of the citizens. Mass media are the main sources for information and knowledge today. Audiences are not only the consumers...

by Nurcay Turkoglu | On 22 Dec 2007

The Growth Performance Of India’s Telecommunications Services Industry, 1991-2006. Can It Lead To The Emergence of a Domestic Manufacturing Hub?

A distinguishing aspect of the growth performance is that India now has five mobile phones for every one fixed telephone and the monthly additions to mobile subscribers are well over six million. Such...

by Sunil Mani | On 26 Nov 2007

Consultation Paper on Issues Relating to Mobile Television Service

The key to making mobile TV a reality lies in combining traditional broadcast standards with features specific to handheld devices: mobility, smaller screens and antennas, indoor coverage, and relianc...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 24 Sep 2007

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 318-319, August-November 2006

Contents: Data Exclusivity: Another Self-Goal and a Trade Barrier S.Srinivasan. Medico Friend Circle Letter to PM on DE. DE in International Trade Agreements. IDMA on DP and DE. Safeguards if...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 01 Feb 2007

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, August-November 2006, 318-319

Data Exclusivity: Another Self-Goal and a Trade Barrier S.Srinivasan Medico Friend Circle Letter to PM on DE DE in International Trade Agreements IDMA on DP and DE Safeguards if Decision by Go...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 03 Nov 2006

Are we there yet? The deferral of justice and the promise of human rights

Utilizing the critical theory of Drucilla Cornell and Costas Douzinas, and looking back to the utopianism of Ernst Bloch, the paperI offers an argument that acknowledges the limits of the law and th...

by Narnia Bohler-Muller | On 28 Jul 2006

The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict

Many aspects of the Iraq venture have turned out differently from what was purported before the war: there were no weapons of mass destruction, no clear link between Al Qaeda and Iraq, no imminent dan...

by Linda Bilmes | On 25 Feb 2006

Weapons of Mass Destruction? Or, of Mass Deception? Media in Iraq War and After

The close relationship, a symbiotic one, between the media and the government of the day has long existed. In the run up to the Iraq war and afterwards, the Bush Administration and legislators in t...

by Yasemin Inceoglu | On 16 Feb 2006

Consultation Paper on Issues Relating to Convergence and Competition in Broadcasting and Telecommunications

This Consultation Paper, being issued with a view to making recommendations to the Government under section 11(1)(a)(iv) of the TRAI Act, focuses on the need to bring about convergence in all aspects...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) | On 04 Jan 2006

Pharmaceuticals, WTO/TRIPs and Women

This paper looks at the effects of WTO/TRIPS and pharmaceuticals on women. The focus is on the poor and women. The first part of the paper tries to show the linkages between the idea of intellectual p...

by S Srinivasan | On 27 Nov 2005

East Asian Integration: Opportunities for Fukuoka and Japan

In order to advance regional integration in East Asia, there needs to be a rapid expansion of FTAs. The obstacles in promotion of FTAs need to be resolved. Some of the features in realising FTAs are:...

by Shujiro Urata | On 22 Nov 2005

Singapore's Role in Building of an East Asian Community

An East Asian community(EAC) is an idea now being seriously pursued in spite of significant challenges. Proliferating bilateral deals in Asia could emerge as building blocks towards the EAC, provided...

by Rahul Sen | On 22 Nov 2005

Peasant Movement in South Maharashtra: Not only 'Issue based' Anymore

The February agitation of farmers and the drought affected of rural South Maharashtra, in the form of a two-day ‘sit in’ last in Mumbai led to ministerial-level negotiations and several important deci...

by Anant Phadke | On 04 Oct 2005

Comment: When The State Kills

The militarisation of society, already alarming, has visibly increased since 1 February. The king justifies his takeover as a move towards peace. Peace there will be in Nepal, only it will be the chil...

by Bela Malik | On 30 Aug 2005

The Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority Ordinance, 2004

An Ordinance to provide for the establishment of an Authority to promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds, to protect the interests of subscribers to sc...

by Government of India GOI | On 06 Aug 2005

Trade Liberalization And Pollution Havens

U.S. Presidential Executive Order 13141 commits the United States to a "careful assessment and consideration of the environmental impacts of trade agreements." The most direct mechanism through which...

by Josh Ederington | On 06 Aug 2005