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672. MIT X TAU Series: Africa’s Innovation in Education
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The ninth webinar in an eleven-part series focused on various aspects of sustainable development in Africa.
- Topic:
- Development, Governance, Innovation, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Africa
673. The Savings and Growth Nexus in Bangladesh
- Author:
- Sultan Hafeez Rahman and Md. Nahid Ferdous Pabon
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
- Abstract:
- The paper investigates the causal relationship between Bangladesh’s gross domestic savings (GDS) and gross domestic product (GDP) in the years 1980 to 2018. Using yearly time series data from the period, the authors employ one long-run and two short-run causality tests to identify the direction of causality between the two variables. Bangladesh experienced stellar GDP growth between 1990 and 2019, averaging 6.5 percent per year. In the latter years, this rate was over 7 percent per year. Despite that, its GDS rate only increased to 22 percent from 15 percent in the same period. This is in stark contrast to the scenario in countries like India, China, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Philippines, however, had a low savings rate like Bangladesh. A common feature of both countries is their large remittances and the broad-based growth effects in the economies. In both Bangladesh and the Philippines, gross national savings (GNS) rather than GDS caused greater investment. Thus, domestic savings were clearly not the key driver of growth in Bangladesh, which is inconsistent with the view of capital fundamentalists and neoclassical growth theory. The findings suggest that, in the short run, the direction of causality between savings and economic growth is unidirectional from economic growth to savings. And in the long run, there is no evidence of statistically significant causality in either direction. In other words, higher economic growth induced savings in Bangladesh in the studied period of time.
- Topic:
- Development, GDP, Economic Growth, and Savings
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia
674. Transforming the Systems that Contribute to Fragility and Humanitarian Crises: Programming across the triple nexus
- Author:
- Vittorio Infante
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Conflicts and shocks linked to climate change are more frequent and intense, leading to poverty and inequality, exacerbating these phenomena and people’s vulnerability. In this context, humanitarian relief, development programmes and peacebuilding are not serial processes; they are all needed at the same time to tackle the systemic inequalities that trap people in poverty and expose them to risk. The triple nexus, or programming across humanitarian-development-peace pillars, thus means creating synergies and common goals across short-term emergency response programmes and longer-term social change processes in development, as well as enhancing opportunities for peace so that individuals can enjoy the full spectrum of human rights. This briefing paper aims to identify the tensions and dilemmas that Oxfam faces when programming across the nexus and sets out new policy to address these dilemmas, building upon Oxfam’s 2019 discussion paper on the triple nexus.
- Topic:
- Development, Inequality, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
675. Still Treading Water: Reviewing six years of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism and the dire water situation in the Gaza Strip
- Author:
- Laila Barhoum
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of a 13 year blockade imposed by Israel. The water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing a stark deterioration of available WASH services at the community and household level. The reconstruction process is ongoing, but it is slow, costly, and hampers the humanitarian response. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely aggravated existing vulnerabilities, including access to water and sanitation. This strongly impacts the daily lives of over 2 million people living in the coastal enclave, of whom 1.5 million – or 75% – have been identified as being in need of humanitarian assistance. Oxfam has recently reviewed the challenges associated with the GRM and its impact on the WASH sector in Gaza. Its findings reveal that these challenges are an obstacle to the reconstruction of WASH infrastructure (including operation and maintenance), hindering efforts to address the increased needs of people in Gaza. Donors and UN agencies should consider the needs of people in Gaza today. Rather than continuing with the GRM, they should explore how they can improve their engagement to be able to challenge the Israeli access restrictions, work towards economic development, ensure accountability within access mechanisms, and facilitate inclusive Palestinian participation to access mechanisms and the reconstruction of Gaza.
- Topic:
- Development, Infrastructure, Conflict, COVID-19, and Humanitarian Response
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Palestine
676. In Our Own Words: Perspectives from local actors in the Horn, East, and Central Africa
- Author:
- Elizabeth Deng
- Publication Date:
- 02-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Oxfam is committed to supporting the participation of local actors in humanitarian and development responses. This includes ensuring their opinions and perspectives about priorities, needs, and appropriate ways of addressing issues are part of public debate. Oxfam advocates for their presence and participation in coordination meetings and other spaces for decision-making. We also provide support to local actors to write and publish their opinions and perspectives. This paper is a compilation of eight opinion pieces written by local actors in the Horn, East, and Central Africa region, with editing and publishing support from Oxfam. The pieces were originally published by Devex, Citizen Digital, Media Congo, IPS News, African Arguments, Nile Post, and WeInformers.
- Topic:
- Development, Local, Humanitarian Crisis, and Participation
- Political Geography:
- Africa
677. North Africa 2030: What the Future Holds for the Region
- Author:
- Karim Mezran and Armando Sanguini
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
- Abstract:
- More than ten years after the “Arab Spring”, the turmoil that swept across North Africa has taken many forms. But the Arab uprisings have also brought about a surprising amount of “more of the same”, as the problems that plagued the region have not gone away. This report, produced in collaboration between ISPI and the Atlantic Council, looks at the future of the region by asking: what will North Africa be in 2030? Which direction could the region as a whole, and specific countries, take? And what are the implications for Europe and the US?
- Topic:
- Development, Arab Spring, Future, and Regional Politics
- Political Geography:
- North Africa
678. Impact of Colonial Institutions on Economic Growth and Development in India: Evidence from Night Lights Data
- Author:
- Priyaranjan Jha and Karan Talathi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Many cross‐country studies find that quality of historical institutions is a major cause of disparity in present‐day economic development as measured by income per capita. Due to the unavailability of data on a comprehensive measure of development such as per capita income, studies examining the role of historical institutions on development at the subnational levels use alternate proxies of economic well‐being in their analysis. We examine the long‐term effects of British colonial institutions on overall economic development within India using satellite night lights data.
- Topic:
- Development, Economic Growth, Colonialism, Economic Policy, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
679. Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Agriculture in Ethiopia
- Author:
- Nuru Hussen, Ermias Mengistu, and Bedaso Taye
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The gender division of labor in Ethiopia hinders women smallholders’ efforts to improve productivity to close the gap with men’s farms. There is substantial evidence that where women have access to the same inputs and training as men, they can close that gap. The government’s national development plan identifies agriculture as the main driver of rapid and inclusive growth. The plan seeks to increase women’s participation in agriculture to 50 percent of all participants. But this can only happen with proper implementation of gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). Ethiopia has ratified a number of international conventions and agreements on women’s rights that have guided development of national laws and policies. Nonetheless, the national budgetary process is not yet gender responsive, and the country faces other challenges. Low awareness of gender issues, limited technical skill in mainstreaming gender issues and GRB, lack of adequate resources, and poor enforcement mechanisms are major constraints. A majority of women do not participate in decision-making or express their needs during public meetings because of sociocultural barriers that elevate the role of males. Women are usually not invited to meetings and discussions that concern them, under the assumption that men can convey any relevant messages. But information does not consistently get passed to women farmers owing to the erroneous perception that “women do not farm.” Women’s low levels of literacy and limited exposure to information and support by development practitioners also contribute to the problem. As a result, women are often unable to exercise their rights during program design and implementation. If agriculture is to lead inclusive development, gender and rural development policies need updating. In addition, achieving high-quality agricultural public spending will require a conducive policy environment and a budget process that promotes the participation and well-being of women and girls as well as men and boys.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Labor Issues, Farming, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
680. Social Mobility and Economic Development: Evidence from a Panel of Latin American Regions
- Author:
- Guido Neidhofer, Matias Ciaschi, Leonardo Gasparini, and Joaquín Serrano
- Publication Date:
- 09-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- We explore the role of social mobility as a driver of economic development by constructing a panel data set that includes measures of intergenerational mobility of education at the sub-national level in Latin America. First, we map the geography of educational mobility for 52 Latin American regions, as well as its evolution over time. Then, through a novel weighting procedure that considers the participation of cohorts to the economy in each year, we estimate the effect of changes in mobility on economic indicators, such as income per capita, poverty, child mortality, and luminosity. Hereby, we control for several covariates, including migration, educational expansions, initial conditions, and unobserved cross-regional heterogeneity. Our findings show that increasing social mobility had a significant and robust impact on the development of Latin American regions.
- Topic:
- Development, Economic Growth, Economic Mobility, Equality, and Equality of Opportunity
- Political Geography:
- Latin America