Governance for Development

How a silent revolution in rural Bihar is empowering women to be agents of change

Farah Zahir — Wed, 02 May 2018 18:00:00 +0000

Women are agents of change in Bihar, India. Photo: World Bank

Empowering women in a society is essentially a process of uplifting the economic, social and political status of women and the underprivileged. It involves building a society wherein women can breathe without the fear of oppression, exploitation, apprehension, discrimination, and a general feeling of ill-treatment that symbolized a woman in a traditional male-dominated society like the one in India.

With the implementation of gender quotas since India’s 73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendment Acts, the percentage of women in political activities at the local level has risen from 4-5% to about 35-40%. Reserving one-third of seats for women in the elected bodies of rural local governments in India has unleashed a silent revolution.

For the first time, rural women began to participate in local governance to improve their status and acquire a decisive say in matters crucial to their livelihoods. This decision to ensure the participation of women in local government is perhaps the best innovation in a grassroots democracy, contributing to improving the well-being of rural women.

Control over local government resources and the collective power of women have helped women discover their own self-respect and confidence. In the recent discourse on women empowerment in the 62^nd session of the Commission on Status of Women, the government of India has said gender equality and emancipation of rural women is a key driver of inclusive growth.

How to catalyze innovation to end corruption

Ravi Kumar — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 16:44:00 +0000

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva giving opening remarks at a high-level anti-corruption event at the 2018 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group. Photo: World Bank

We have to fight corruption by making sure it doesn’t happen in the first place and use technology to give every citizen a voice in this effort, said World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva in her opening remarks at a high-level event last Wednesday where leaders from government, the private sector, civil society, media, and academia discussed how to catalyze innovation to end corruption.

During a lively discussion, Thuli Madonsela, an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, emphasized that public officials must have a track record of the highest standard and integrity. Peter Solmssen, Former General Counsel of Siemens AG, and AIG encouraged building trust that can lead to embracing the private sector as a potential partner.

What’s the latest research on the quality of governance?

Daniel Rogger — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 14:02:00 +0000

Photo: Gerhard Jörén / World Bank

Editor's note: This blog post was previously published on the World Bank's 'Let's Talk Development' blog platform.

Last week I attended Stanford University’s Quality of Governance conference, expertly organized by a rising star of the field, Saad Gulzar. I thought I’d follow in the footsteps of Dave Evans and others and summarize the findings of the papers presented. They provide a sketch of the frontier of research on state capacity.

"Real governance" in Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent States - What is that?

Camilla Lindstrom — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 17:29:00 +0000

Children in a school in Kinshasa. Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank.

The Fragility Forum was held in Washington D.C. from March 5 to 7. More than 1,000 people from over 90 different countries attended. At one of the events, ‘Real Governance in FCV settings: Engaging State and Non-State Actors in Development’ practitioners and policy-makers discussed which actors to work with in complex FCV situations, and what the choice of actors would mean from a human rights and social accountability perspective.

In Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent States (FCVs), the formal state typically has a low capacity to deliver basic services, to respond to demands and to impose security. It often does not have full or exclusive authority over its territory and is competing with other groups for legitimacy to exercise state powers.

Raising the bar on responsible tax for a sustainable future

Rajiv Joshi — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 16:45:00 +0000

Editor’s note: The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the World Bank Group, its Board of Directors or the governments they represent.

For business, the conversation around tax and sustainable development can be tough. Yet if we are to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reach our ambition to end poverty, reverse inequalities and curb climate change by 2030, serious action on taxation will be crucial.

How to help more citizens participate in the global tax agenda

Andrew Wainer — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:37:00 +0000

Photo: Mohammad Al-Arief/The World Bank.

Editor’s note: The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the World Bank Group, its Board of Directors or the governments they represent.

Even as domestic tax reform is in the political limelight, there is growing attention to taxation in the developing world and the role of citizens in shaping tax policy.

Making taxes work for the SDGs

Jan Walliser — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 12:30:00 +0000

Also available in: Français

Graphic: World Bank Group

Taxation plays a fundamental role in effectively raising and allocating domestic resources for governments to deliver essential public services and achieve broader development goals.

Game-changers and whistle-blowers: taxing wealth

Jim Brumby — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 20:56:00 +0000

Also available in: Français

High and rising income inequality is a serious concern in many countries, as highlighted in the IMF’s recent Fiscal Monitor. Wealth, however, is distributed even more unequally than income, as in the picture below.

How can we bridge the gap between citizens and state? Previewing the Open Budget Survey 2017

Vivek Ramkumar — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:23:00 +0000

Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank

On 30 January 2018 the International Budget Partnership (IBP) will release the Open Budget Survey 2017 – the latest round of the world’s only independent and comparable assessment of budget transparency, citizen participation, and independent oversight institutions in the budgeting process.

The OBS 2017 findings on the systems and practices that countries have in place to inform and engage citizens — or not — in decisions about how to raise and spend public resources, and on the institutions that are responsible for holding government to account, come at a critical juncture. Around the world, there has been a decline in public trust in government, in part due to instances of corruption but also because of dramatic increases in inequality. In a number of countries, leaders who have disguised their intolerant and reactionary agendas with populist rhetoric have been swept into power by those who’ve been left behind. These political shifts have driven out many government champions of transparency and accountability — especially those from countries in the global south. More broadly across countries, there has been shrinking of civic space, rollbacks of media freedoms, and a crackdown on those who seek to hold government to account, including individual activists, civil society organizations, and journalists.

How does anthropology help us understand bureaucracy?

Daniel Rogger — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:20:00 +0000

Editor's note: This blog post is part of a series for the 'Bureaucracy Lab', a World Bank initiative to better understand the world's public officials.

Photo: © Gennadiy Ratushenko / World Bank

Bureaucratic structures are complex. A given country’s norms and values can be difficult to comprehend for outsiders trying to engage in governance reform there. How can anthropologists help us understand the dynamics of a bureaucracy or government organization?

In rural Tanzania, more than seven million citizens lack reliable access to clean water. At any given time, 46 percent of rural water points need repair. An all too easy way to rationalize government shortcomings would be to label officials as lazy or corrupt. However, this statement oversimplifies the issue at hand and fails to dive deeper into the underlying bureaucratic structures that hinder successful service delivery.