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SAI-Newsletter, no. 3 (July 2013)
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
Improving Early Childhood Development through Community Mobilization and Integrated Planning for Children: Results from the evaluation of Bachpan program, Ratlam District, Madhya Pradesh, India
No full textThis study reports the results of an impact evaluation of a pilot project implemented in 220 villages in Bajna block, Ratlam district, Madhya Pradesh (MP), India. The 30-month pilot was designed to improve early childhood development outcomes through: (a) creating awareness on child development issues among households and the community; (b) strengthening linkages between different service providers; (c) intensifying the connection between the community, panchayat (local governments), and service providers; (d) facilitating the formation of Village Resource Groups (VRGs) with representatives of the community, panchayat, and service providers to ensure better convergence and coordination of service delivery; (e) developing integrated village-level action plans around the needs of the child; and (f) advocating and lobbying with local, district, and state administration for flexible allocation of resources. The evaluation assessed the impact of the project on health, education, and nutrition milestones or outcomes or outputs identified for each stage of child development. This report is structured as follows: chapter one gives background; chapter two presents evaluation of the results of the pilot project; chapter three presents progress in processes and identified outcomes or milestones; and chapter four deals with Bachpan-lessons learned
Bangladesh: The Path to Middle-Income Status from an Urban Perspective
No full textBangladesh seeks to attain middle-income status by 2021, the 50th anniversary of its independence. To accelerate growth enough to do so, it will need to undergo a structural transformation that will change the geography of economic production and urbanization. Critical to its transformation will be the creation of a globally competitive urban space, defined here as a space that has the capacity to innovate, is well connected internally and to external markets, and is livable (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD 2006; World Bank 2010). This study identifies what is unique about Bangladesh s process of urbanization and examines the implications for economic growth. Through the lens of Bangladesh s most successful industry, the garment sector, it describes the drivers of and constraints to urban competitiveness. Based on the findings, it provides policy directions to strengthen the competitiveness of Bangladesh s urban space in ways that will allow Bangladesh to reach middle-income status by 2021
The Transition from Underpricing Residential Electricity in Bangladesh: Fiscal and Distributional Impacts
No full textThe electricity sector in Bangladesh has been facing unprecedented challenges, with severe capacity constraints and sector subsidies that quadrupled from 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2010 and 2012, driving the government's fiscal deficit deeper. This policy note examines the poverty and distribution impact of one such reform-residential electricity tariff increases-along with their fiscal implications. A challenge of such adjustments is how to minimize their impact on the poor and vulnerable. Using household survey data, this report studies the distributional and fiscal implications of the residential tariff adjustments between March 2010 and March 2012 on to inform policy dialogue on the provision and targeting of electricity subsidies. Electricity subsidies are defined as the difference between the cost of supplying a unit of electricity and the tariff the end-user is charged for a given unit. Between 2010 and 2012, real cost of supply increased almost 20 percent. This policy note focuses on just one part of a much broader and complex system of connected energy policies. The policy implications of this analysis should only be considered in light of this broader context. In particular, this note does not study in detail the complex issues of generation and operational efficiency (in transmission and distribution). Second, this note does not study the political economy of tariff and subsidy reform. Tariff increases have been a source of social unrest, and planned increases could generate additional unrest. It will be important for the government to consider the political economy of further reform carefully. Moving forward, both of the new slab systems being discussed could relieve the fiscal burden of subsidies
Die Parlamentswahlen in Pakistan 2013 im historischen Kontext
No full textAm 11. Mai 2013 fanden in Pakistan Parlamentswahlen statt, die eine bedeutende Zäsur in der Geschichte dieses krisengeplagten Landes darstellen: Zum ersten Mal seit der Unabhängigkeit Pakistans 1947 wurde eine demokratisch legitimierte, zivile Regierung nach Ablauf einer vollen Legislaturperiode durch weitgehend freie und gleiche Wahlen abgelöst. Dieser reguläre, friedliche Machtwechsel gemäß den Spielregeln einer parlamentarischen Demokratie ist eine für Pakistan völlig neue Erfahrung
Asian histories of globalization: long distance mobility and territorial power in the longue durée
No full textHistorical understandings of globalization in Asia should not begin as they typically do in social science and policy analysis with the global geography of national territories that came into being after 1945. Long distance mobility moving in many directions at various speeds shape local realities everywhere in Asia from ancient times, Until the sixteenth century, Europe remained an peninsular outlier in a vast Asian space of human mobility running from Mediterranean to Pacific, along the Silk Road and coastlines from East Africa to Japan. After 1500, a sea-going world economy included the Americas, propelled European hegemony, and encompassed the Asian circulatory system, attaching its Western, Southern, and Eastern regions to networks of power dominated by Europe and the US. Those attachments stand out in today's world of nations, where states manage the political economy and cultural politics of globalization, but Asian dynamics of mobility over the long term and down to the present demand more academic attention, particularly as they pertain to coastal regions, inland frontiers, and expansive cultural spaces of territorial power.
David Ludden is Professor of Political Economy and Globalization and Chair of the Department of History at New York University
Transforming Primary Education in Sri Lanka: From a 'Subject' of Education to a 'Stage' of Education
No full textSri Lanka is a lower-middle income country with a per capita income of approximately US$ 2,400, and a population of around 20 million people. Sri Lanka's high rate of literacy is due to its sustained growth through the twentieth century. Primary education spans the first five grades of schooling, grades 1-5. Student's progress automatically to lower secondary education for four years of education in grades 6-9 and then on to upper secondary education in grades 10-11 for a two year course that culminates in the General Certificate of Education Ordinary level examination (GCE O-L). The curriculum for primary education is designed separately from those for subsequent stages of education. The primary education curriculum stage is encapsulated in a primary curriculum framework that derives from extensive debate during the 1990s in connection with the recommendations in 1997 of the national education commission, the work of the technical committee on primary education appointed by the presidential task force and detailed implementation work by the primary education unit of the national institute of education. Since 2003 the National Educational Research Centre (NEREC) based at the University of Colombo has administered tests in first Language, Mathematics and English to grade 4 children in a sample of schools country-wide. In the 2009 assessments a cut-off percentage of 80 percent rather than 50 percent were 48 percent in First Language, 53 percent in Mathematics and just 19 percent in English. The budget of the national Ministry of education includes a separate budget line for primary education but this money is allocated only to the primary sections of national schools. Province, zone, division and school budget do not separate allocations and expenditure for primary and secondary. There is no reason in principle why separate budget lines could not be created for most types of expenditure
Bhutan Gender Policy Note
No full textBhutan has undergone a major socio-economic transformation over the past few decades. Today, as a middle-income country guided by the unique development philosophy of Gross National Happiness, it continues to develop rapidly and become more integrated into the global economy. Coinciding with its development, Bhutan has also made considerable strides in closing gaps in gender equality. The analysis of the Gender Policy Note (GPN) focuses on specific issues related to economic empowerment. It analyzes patterns related to specific aspects of the economic empowerment of both men and women by applying the analytical framework of the 2012 World Development Report on Gender and Development to the Bhutan context. For the areas of focus, the report examines overall indicators on gender and identifies areas where gender gaps persist: agricultural land holding and inheritance practices, and gender gaps in labor markets and job quality. In Bhutan, most women acquire land ownership through inheritance, particularly in matrilineal communities. Unlike in other countries, the matrilineal inheritance practice offers economic opportunities for Bhutanese women and contributes to their relatively equal status with men. In addition, land holding through inheritance can also affect economic choices, particularly the decision to remain in one's village. Bhutan has made tremendous progress in female labor force participation, but the quality of jobs for women is still an issue. Although women's participation in the labor force has increased, it has not translated into improvements in employment quality. The Labor Force Survey shows that Bhutanese women work in lower quality jobs than men-women who earn income from work outside the home; their earnings are only 75 percent of men's earnings. The report recommends policy interventions in five main areas: first, it promotes equal ownership and agency over land. The policy appears to be working well in most areas of the country, and families are moving toward equal inheritance. Second, women's economic endowment could be augmented to increase labor productivity and earnings. Third, child care, along with vocational and life-skills training tailored for girls could women's access to good jobs. Fourth, social norms that lead to gender inequality could be addressed by promoting a greater role for men as fathers and caregivers and men's participation in housework. Finally, the report recognizes the need to conduct further research to better understand the gender gap in happiness
Agriculture Trade and Price Policy in Pakistan
No full textThis policy paper focuses on the incentive framework for Pakistani agriculture, with emphasis on trade and price policies. It first presents a synthesis of major trends in the performance of the sector and analyzes Pakistan's extraordinarily complex, opaque and discretionary, and continually-changing trade regime. It presents a disaggregated analysis of the border measures for the selected products (trade and price interventions vary by product), and estimates the joint effect of trade and procurement policies on farm prices, captured by direct price comparison. It concludes by providing policy recommendations emphasizing on the revision of trade regime to eliminate quantitative restrictions and to modify tariffs in the direction of greater equality, a positive, moderate and uniform tariff on imports across the board as the only border measure for import competing products
Tackling Noncommunicable Diseases in Bangladesh: Now is the Time
No full textThis report is organized in such a way that the key policy options and strategic priorities are based on the country context, including the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and associated risk factors and the existing capacity of the health system. Chapter one describes the country and regional contexts and the evidence of the demographic and epidemiological transitions in Bangladesh; chapter two outlines the disease burden of major NCDs, including the equity and economic impact and the common risk factors; chapter three provides an assessment of the health system and its capacity to prevent and control major NCDs; chapter four summarizes ongoing NCD interventions and activities in Bangladesh and highlights the remaining gaps and challenges; and chapter five presents key policy options and strategic priorities to prevent and control NCDs