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3542. Why northern Ghana lags behind in Ghana’s growth and poverty reduction success
- Author:
- John Baptist D. Jatoe, Ramatu Al-Hassan, and Bamidele Adekunle
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- Ghana’s post adjustment growth and poverty reduction performance has been hailed as impressive, albeit with spatial disparities in the distribution of welfare, especially between the north and south of the country. Researchers generally agree that economic growth does not always reduce poverty. Indeed, the effectiveness of growth in reducing poverty depends on the level of inequality in the population. Growth that increases inequality may not reduce poverty; growth that does not change inequality (distribution-neutral growth) and growth that reduces inequality (pro-poor growth) result in poverty reduction. Policy makers can promote pro-poor growth by empowering the poor to participate in growth directly. Policy makers can focus on interventions that improve productivity in smallholder agriculture, particularly export crops, increasing employment of semi-skilled or unskilled labour, promoting technology adoption, increasing access to production assets, as well as effective participation in input and product markets. Also, increasing public spending on social services and infrastructure made possible by redistribution of the benefits of growth benefits the poor, indirectly.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Poverty, Labor Issues, Economic Growth, Labor Policies, Economic Policy, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
3543. Migrants in construction work: Evaluating their welfare framework
- Author:
- Shamindra Nath Roy and Mukta Naik
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- More than two decades after the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 came into force, the efficacy of this framework remains in question. Correctional steps have the potential to extend social benefits to construction workers, especially migrants who face particular vulnerabilities. Available data regarding implementation of the Acts by States presents a picture of overall tardiness and delay with wide variations. States need to ramp up worker registration; data suggests that lowering entry barriers for migrants improves registration and consequently, access to welfare benefits. While collection of cess funds has improved and is broadly proportionate to construction activity, their utilisation remains dismal. States need to think strategically on how to spend accumulated cess funds—especially on housing, occupational health and safety, grievance redressal and legal aid—and sustain welfare provisions over time. Accumulated unspent funds offer an opportunity for big-ticket, one-time expenditures. Examples from some States show that collaboration with civil society organisations could improve outreach, particularly to migrants.
- Topic:
- Migration, Labor Issues, Legislation, Labor Policies, and Welfare
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
3544. The Rupee's Reach: The Lending Curve of India's Development Diplomacy
- Author:
- Nimmi Kurian
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- India’s transition from being a recipient of aid to a donor makes for a feel-good story. The policy brief questions this rose-tinted rhetoric and argues that there is an urgent need to map and systematise the diversity of India’s engagement as an actor in this evolving space. What sort of normative choices and tensions are these likely to present for Indian diplomacy? At the end of the day, many of these issues will be fundamentally linked to how India perceives its role in the region and the world at large and how it chooses to engage with questions of benefit sharing, trade-offs and the allocation of risks and burdens. Outlining its development priorities and bringing greater clarity to conceptualising what foreign aid with Indian characteristics constitutes should be the first order of business that India needs to attend to, if it wants to stay ahead of the (lending) curve.
- Topic:
- Development, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, and Currency
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
3545. Opportunities and Challenges of Ensuring Stability in Kenya’s 2017 General Elections
- Author:
- Charles Nyuykonge and Nonjabulo Buhle Mazibuko
- Publication Date:
- 07-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- With Africa having steadily begun the litany of elections billed for 2017, the orderly manner in which Somalia’s elections took place restored a glimmer of hope in those who think only the worst for Africa’s democratic and electoral maturity. With over 20 elections scheduled to take place before December 2017, the African Union Commission (AUC) has identified potential fault lines across Kenya’s election processes, and those in Liberia, as sites for election-related violence. Accordingly, among other things, the AUC has trained approximately 50 long-term election observers to be deployed to Kenya, Liberia and other states – based on empirical evidence that these particular cases could be cause for concern. This Policy and Practice Brief (PPB) examines the prospect for a peaceful election in Kenya, and offers insights on what can be done to mitigate any possible election-related violence. With respect to the state of readiness of election management bodies (EMB), the Supreme Court and the government to deliver credible elections, this PPB examines and brings to light challenges that could potentially trigger election-related violence, with the view to make recommendations on how to mobilise key stakeholders to invest in supporting local and under utilised institutions or existing processes and practices capable of mitigating election-related violence. Some of these stakeholders are critical in ensuring the identification of conflict triggers, forewarning about them and preventing their escalation to national crises and conflict. Civil society organisations (CSOs), regional and international organisations should, in the build-up to the 8 August election, effectively co-ordinate their pre-assessment field visits to Kenya so as to identify potential options to avert the likelihood of election-related violence in the country.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Elections, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Liberia, and Somalia
3546. In Defense of Democracy: Lessons from ECOWAS' Management of The Gambia's 2016 Post-Election Impasse
- Author:
- Brown Odigie
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The years 2015 and 2016 were crucial for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from the perspective of its efforts to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the region, through supporting the conduct of peaceful elections and the orderly transfer of power. A total of 10 of its 15 member states held elections in 2015 and 2016. ECOWAS has a rich history of managing political transitions and elections in the past 18 years, following the adoption of the 1999 Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping and Security (referred to as “the mechanism”), as well as the 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. This Policy and Practice Brief (PPB) examines ECOWAS’ interventions around the electoral processes of its member states, with particular focus on its management of the 2016 post-election impasse in The Gambia. This highlights how effective a mediation process can be when mandates are grounded within institutions’ normative and legal instruments, and when international actors work in partnership with regional organisations with respect to the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity and comparative advantages. The lessons from this intervention might therefore be relevant to other regional economic communities (RECs), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) in avoiding the pitfalls of working in silos or engaging in a multiplicity of interventions, which are often at cross-purposes.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Democratization, Peacekeeping, Elections, Democracy, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Gambia
3547. Nepal Policy Brief: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children in Aims to Help
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Elevate Children Funders Group
- Abstract:
- Private philanthropic support for vulnerable or orphaned children often has a strong focus on the funding of orphanages. Despite powerful evidence of the negative impact of orphanage care, private donors continue to provide large amounts of funding to orphanages through donations, volunteer tourism, mission trips and other forms of fundraising – adding to the pull factors drawing more vulnerable children into institutional care and away from family or community care.
- Topic:
- Children, Youth, Public Policy, and Funding
- Political Geography:
- Nepal
3548. Haiti Policy Brief: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children it Aims to Help
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Elevate Children Funders Group
- Abstract:
- Private philanthropic support for vulnerable or orphaned children often has a strong focus on the funding of orphanages. Despite powerful evidence of the negative impact of orphanage care, private donors continue to provide large amounts of funding to orphanages through donations, volunteer tourism, mission trips and other forms of fundraising – adding to the pull factors drawing more vulnerable children into institutional care and away from family or community care.
- Topic:
- Children, Youth, Public Policy, Private Sector, and Funding
- Political Geography:
- Haiti
3549. Mapping Knowledge Brokers Working to Prevent Violence Against Girls and Boys, 2017
- Publication Date:
- 05-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Elevate Children Funders Group
- Abstract:
- As interest has grown at the global level around preventing violence against girls and boys, a diverse range of actors from international and non-governmental organizations, government and philanthropy have increasingly supported efforts to build knowledge about the problem and effective interventions and translate that evidence into action. Many within this growing community of “knowledge brokers” have partnerships and collaborate on joint efforts, but there remains significant room for improved coordination and collective action.
- Topic:
- Non-Governmental Organization, Children, Youth, Violence, Philanthropy, and Funding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3550. The Prison Terrorism Nexus: Recommendations for Policymakers
- Author:
- James Howcroft
- Publication Date:
- 09-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Among the many challenges in the fight against terrorism today is the issue of terrorists within prisons. Cross-pollination of terrorist and criminal networks and, in particular, the radicalization and recruitment of ordinary criminal offenders present significant and growing threats to security. What can countries do to manage and reduce these threats? To discuss these issues and exchange best practices, the Marshall Center hosted a Global Counter-Terrorism Alumni Community of Interest (COI) workshop from 29-31 August, 2017. Six alumni from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as French and U.S. subject matter experts, shared their countries’ national experiences. This served as a catalyst for discussion among sixty-five counter-terrorism (CT) professionals from forty-six countries. The following recommendations are the product of these discussions. 1. Include prisons in national CT strategies and develop an action plan to counter radicalization in prisons. COI participants identified insufficient political will and attention to the issue of prison radicalization as a key challenge. Inclusion of prisons within national CT strategies may help to focus attention on the issue while clarifying the roles and responsibilities of relevant agencies. It is also essential to develop research-based action plans for the management of terrorist offenders in prison in order to reduce the level of risk and prevent further radicalization.
- Topic:
- Security, Intelligence, Terrorism, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Counter-terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus