Suchergebnisse

The cartography of autonomous Palestine, as it has been forming since the peace process, appears to be designed for failure. A sovereign state consisting of fragmented territorial units harbors serious obstacles to effective governance. The national boundaries of such a state alone pose a major challenge in terms of internal and external security, national unity, trade, resource allocation, transportation/mobility, and socioeconomic development. Moreover, these challenges are immensely magnified relative to a newly independent, underdeveloped state, as seen in historical examples. This article analyzes the (non)governance of divided territories, drawing on the analogy of divided Pakistan. The case of East Pakistan/Bangladesh serves as an example of the difficulties embodied in governing geographically separated territories. This article proposes that autonomous Palestine is seemingly at risk of making similar mistakes in attempting to govern divided territories.

Group-based interventions are fast gaining traction in developing countries, often bolstering existing government service delivery systems. Such groups provide development programs with a means of extending their reach to households and individuals that might otherwise not seek public goods and services. However, the very reliance on the notion of "community" in these programs can constrain participation to those with a shared identity. In India, shared caste identity remains a central, and often controversial, element in many community-based programs. We explore the salience of caste identity with a field experiment conducted among women's self-help groups in an eastern state of India. The experiment focused on the provision of information on nutrition, diet, and kitchen gardens. Specifically, we test the interplay between (a) the provision of information to self-help groups and (b) the caste identity of the information provider relative to the group's caste identity, to assess what matters more –the message or the messenger. We randomize two treatments – an information treatment and ahomophily treatment – and measure the effect of these treatments on two outcomes: group members'willingness to contribute to a group-owned club good (a collectively managed kitchen garden), andindividual members' retention of the information they received. We find that (1) information is veryimportant, (2) homophily, or shared caste identity with the information provider, is not that important,but (3) higher-caste information providers elicit greater willingness to contribute. These findings haveseveral implications for the design of public programs that rely on community-based organizations andagents as implementing partners and may thus be susceptible to identity issues, such as the exclusionof lower castes from certain occupations, public spaces or public goods. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS) ; EPTD; PHND

The Great Recession, fallout, and what we learned / Eskander Alvi -- The Great Depression and the Great Recession in a historical mirror / Barry Eichengreen -- The Great Recession and lessons for policymaking / Gary Burtless -- Central banking in the Great Recession : new policies, old principles / Donald Kohn -- Fiscal policy and full employment / Laurence Ball, J. Bradford DeLong, and Lawrence H. Summers -- International dimensions of the Great Recession and the weak recovery / Kathryn M.E. Domiguez.

This study examines the governance structures and mechanisms influencing the performance of Indonesia's regional development banks (BPDs) during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing financial and annual reports from 27 regional development banks across Indonesia, the study explores both the immediate and lasting impacts of governance elements, including board size, board independence, and committee structures, on bank performance. Using a two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression model, findings reveal that certain governance elements, such as the risk monitoring committee size, positively impacted performance during the pandemic, whereas larger board sizes and higher board independence were associated with negative outcomes. Additionally, other governance factors, such as board meeting frequency and audit committee size, did not significantly influence performance during the crisis. The research highlights that the stability observed in BPDs during the pandemic was primarily driven by external factors, including regional economic growth and credit expansion, rather than governance mechanisms alone. These findings suggest that while crisis-era governance structures were adequate during the pandemic, post-pandemic recovery and resilience will require more adaptable governance frameworks. As BPDs face evolving challenges in the financial sector, this study underscores the importance of enhancing strategic oversight and adjusting governance practices to foster long-term stability. This research contributes to the literature on governance and crisis management in regional banks, offering insights for regulators and practitioners seeking to reinforce governance frameworks that support sustainable performance in the face of new economic realities.

A vast majority of the relief and rehabilitation packages announced in the months following the nationwide lockdown in India have focused on economic rehabilitation. However, the education sector has remained absent from this effort, including in India's central government's 250 billion dollar stimulus package. In this paper, we discuss the implications of lockdown-induced school and rural child-care center closures on education and health outcomes for the urban and rural poor. We especially focus on food and nutritional security of children who depend on school feeding and supplementary nutrition programs. We argue that the impacts are likely to be much more severe for girls as well as for children from already disadvantaged ethnic and caste groups. We also discuss ways in which existing social security programs can be leveraged and strengthened to ameliorate these impacts. ; IFPRI3; ISI; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme ; EPTD; SAR ; PR