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Cooperative Behavior and Common Pool Resources: Experimental Evidence from Community Forest User Groups in Nepal
No full textThis paper examines whether cooperative behavior by respondents measured as contributions in a one-shot public goods game correlates with reported pro-forest collective action behaviors. All the outcomes analyzed are costly in terms of time, land, or money. The study finds significant evidence that more cooperative individuals (or those who believe their group members will cooperate) engage in collective action behaviors that support common forests, once the analysis is adjusted for demographic factors, wealth, and location. Those who contribute more in the public goods experiment are found to be more likely to have planted trees in community forests during the previous month and to have invested in biogas. They also have planted more trees on their own farms and spent more time monitoring community forests. As cooperation appears to be highly conditional on beliefs about others’ cooperation, these results suggest that policies to support cooperation and strengthen local governance could be important for collective action and economic outcomes associated with forest resources. As forest management and quality in developing countries is particularly important for climate change policy, these results suggest that international efforts such as the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation should pay particular attention to supporting governance and cooperation at the local level
Understanding Poverty Reduction in Sri Lanka: Evidence from 2002 to 2012/13
No full textThis paper quantifies the contributions to poverty reduction observed in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2012/13. The methods adopted for the analysis generate entire counterfactual distributions to account for the contributions of demographics, labor, and non-labor incomes in explaining poverty reduction. The findings show that the most important contributor to poverty reduction was growth in labor income, stemming from an increase in the returns to salaried nonfarm workers and higher returns to self-employed farm workers. Although some of this increase in earnings may point to improvements in productivity, defined as higher units of output per worker, some of it may simply reflect increases in food and commodity prices, which have increased the marginal revenue product of labor. To the extent that there have been no increases in the volumes being produced, the observed changes in poverty are vulnerable to reversals if commodity prices were to decline significantly. Finally, although private transfers (domestic and foreign) helped to reduce poverty over the period, public transfers were not as effective. In particular, the reduction in the real value of transfers of the Samurdhi program during 2002 to 2012/13 slowed down poverty reduction
Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India
No full textThis volume brings together the papers presented at the third and final conference of the AHRC-funded project “North Indian Literary Culture and History from a Multilingual Perspective: 1450-1650” at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) between 2006-2009
Democracy Stalemate in Bangladesh: What role for the international community?
No full textThis Policy Brief argues that the international community – and in particular the European Union – must assist democratic forces in Bangladesh. The rise of extremist violence in Bangladesh has spared no one but was symbolized by the appalling murder of three prominent bloggers secular voices of Bangladesh's civil society. The rights of women and minorities are also under severe threat. This Policy Brief focuses on the political deadlock between the “Awami League” (AL) and the “Bangladesh Nationalist Party” (BNP) and urges the BNP to sever ties with the "Jamaat-e-Islami". In addition its goal is to highlight the negative impact of increasing religious extremism and political violence on civil society, democracy, secularism and the economy. Furthermore this Policy Brief will provide information on the importance of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in bringing justice and peace to Bangladesh and reinforces the necessity to bring an end to impunity in order to create a level playing field in which peace can become a reality
Combatting Jihadism in Afghanistan
No full textThis policy brief argues that Afghanistan is far from stability and that misconceptions leading to other conclusions further erode the potential of progress and peace in the country and region. While the presence and support of the international community is vital, there must be a shift in its approach in Afghanistan; foremost with regards to its willingness to negotiate with the Taliban. Furthermore, although maintaining and improving security is essential, it does not tackle jihadist indoctrination, the root cause of the Taliban’s success. In addition it is essential to view the situation in Afghanistan through a regional prism, thus acknowledging the impactful role of Pakistan, Iran, Central Asian States and India. Since women and minorities are especially under attack in countries impacted by religious extremism, this paper also highlights their plight
Public Good Provision in Indian Rural Areas: The Returns to Collective Action by Microfinance Groups
No full textSelf-help groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. The authors provide evidence that SHGs, composed of women only, undertake collective actions for the provision of public goods within village communities. Using a theoretical model, this paper shows that an elected official, whose aim is to maximize re-election chances, exerts higher effort in providing public goods when private citizens undertake collective action and coordinate their voluntary contributions towards the same goods. This effect occurs although government and private contributions are assumed to be substitutes in the technology of providing public goods. Using first-hand data on SHGs in India, the paper tests the prediction of the model and shows that, in response to collective action by SHGs, local authorities tackle a larger variety of public issues, and are more likely to tackle issues of interest to SHGs. The findings highlight how the social behavior of SHGs can influence the governance of rural Indian communities
Pakistan: Between Coup and Constitutional Engineering
No full textThe essay examines the 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill and Pakistan Army Act 1952 (Amendment) Bill 2015. These laws will provide constitutional cover for extending the jurisdiction to military courts for the trial of terrorism suspects. More concrete, it provides for the creation of speed trial military courts for offenses relating to terrorism, waging war against Pakistan and prevention of acts threatening the security of the country. The 21st Amendment Act shall remain in force for two years starting from January 7, 2015 when the President signed the Act
2015 Earthquake in Nepal: Mapping the Political Aftermath
No full textIn 1934, Nepal experienced one of its worst earthquakes in its modern history leaving behind large-scale damages in urban and rural areas and killing more than 4500 people in the Kathmandu valley. Since this event, the Nepalese people are aware of the tremendous risks of natural catastrophes. Today, Nepal is ranked as one of the most disaster-prone countries worldwide. Nevertheless, 81 years later it seems that the Himalayan nation was once again caught by absolute surprise. On Saturday, 25 April 2015, being obviously insufficiently prepared, the country suffered from an earthquake of enormous magnitude, leaving behind in destroyed infrastructures in several parts of the country, homes and historic buildings and many thousands of dead people. To make things worse, a series of heavy aftershocks have continued to shake Nepal, causing even more damage and havoc to the remote and increasingly isolated mountainous country. This is raises some serious questions
Pakistan’s political stiffness: The ‘social agreement’ for FATA’s North Waziristan
No full textIn witnessing the 2013 general election and the installation of a new government entrusted with a remarkable majority in vote, the people of Pakistan and many international observers thought that the time for major change had finally come. Especially the country’s neglected and repressed areas, like North Waziristan, which is part of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA),were hoping for significant improvement of their socio-political and economic conditions. However, after two years in power, it seems more and more obvious that the current administration of Nawaz Sharif did not intend to change the patterns of Islamabad’s decision-making in any significant policy area. Today, the country’s political arena is still determined by the unchallenged supreme role of the army, the lack of political will and capacities of civilians to implement any noteworthy reform measures, endemic corruption, and the ongoing dominance of the Punjab province and its establishment leading to the consequent sidelining of the smaller territorial entities. This entrenched negative reality is closely linked with a repressive approach of the centre towards the regional periphery, which is deeply entrenched within the mindset of the national elite. The latest example for the continuation of the elite’s offensive policies is the so called ‘social agreement’ for the people of FATA`s North Waziristan, which were forced out by a major counter-terrorist military operation. In order to have the permission to turn back home, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) had to pledge loyalty and allegiance to the national government and ensure the area’s future security. The discriminating character of this agreement shows that Islamabad does not have the political determination to change its pattern of decision-making, which ensures their economic and political prerogatives at the expense of the smaller provinces and their people. Therefore, the establishment avoids any form of a balanced mechanism of sharing power and national wealth in order to protect its partisan interests
SAI-Newsletter, no. 6 (January 2015)
No full textThe SAI-Newsletter presents what the South Asia Institute offers: A fascinating unity in a variety of academic topics on South Asia, a unique group of highly qualified academics, numerous best practice examples for research and teaching and last but not least a sound degree of public attention. Apart from looking back at what has happened at the institute the newsletter will also point at upcoming activities and events. By doing so the SAI-Newsletter combines the important task of documentation while at the same time looking ahead to what the future will bring