(In)tangible assets: The road to economically empowering poor women in Bangladesh and Nigeria

This report assesses drivers of the economic empowerment of chronically poor women and girls in rural Bangladesh and rural Nigeria. The focus is on drivers related to assets, both intangibly in terms of education, and tangibly in terms of ownership of consumption and productive assets including land.

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What works for the poorest, and especially for the poorest women and girls? An assessment of (selected) donor contributions

Thispaper provides the latest analysis of development policies and programmes that work best for the poorest people. It has a particular focus on the poorest women and girls and it also focuses on the work carried out by a number of leading donors, assessing the extent to which they attempt to reach the poorest, and among them the poorest women and girls.

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The potential for inclusive green agricultural transformation: creating sustainable livelihoods through an agroecological approach in Tanzania

This paper explores agroecology as an alternative approach to agricultural transformation, offering low-input but knowledge intensive agriculture as a more inclusive and sustainable way forwards.

Authors: Anna Mdee, Alex Wostry, Andrew Coulson & Janet Maro

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Can locally-developed indicators catalyse more responsive local government? Findings from the research

This briefing paper provides recommendations for stakeholders on how toimprove accountability and performance in local governance through a local governance performance index (LGPI) at the district level in Tanzania. 

Authors: Rachel Hayman, Anna Mdee and Patricia Tshomba

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Designing a Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI): a problem-solving approach in Tanzania

This working paper details the process of creating a Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI) in Mvomero and Kigoma-Ujiji Districts of Tanzania and of studying its applicability. 

Authors: Anna Mdee, Patricia Tshomba & Andrew Mushi 

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Poverty dynamics and disability in rural Bangladesh: learning from life-history interviews

This paper explores the relationship between disability and poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh drawing from 293 life-history interviews conducted by the author and a small team of researchers in 2007. The aim of the paper is to use existing life-history interviews to provide initial insights into the relationship between poverty and disability in Bangladesh.

Author: Peter Davis 

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Ensuring Escapes from Poverty are Sustained in rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh has experienced substantial reductions in both extreme poverty and poverty. The proportion of the population living below the national extreme poverty line has reduced from 50 percent in 1991 to 18 percent in 2010. However, some households escape poverty only to live at a level just above the poverty line. They therefore remain vulnerable to slipping into poverty in the event of a shock or stressor, such as an episode of ill-health or a flood. The specific focus of this report is on “transitory poverty escapes”: a term referring to households that successfully escape from poverty only to return to living in it once again i.e. they become re-impoverished.

Authors: Lucy Scott and Vidya Diwakar

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Exploring development and accountability: laying the basis for a local governance performance index in Tanzania

This briefing paper summarises findings around the key questions of what ‘development’ means at the local level, who is responsible for it, and how local government can be held to account in practice. Findings are illustrated with selected quotes from interviews, focus groups and workshops, which demonstrate the challenges that need to be overcome to design and implement a performance index.

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Exploring the Links Between Poverty and Disability in Rural Bangladesh

This paper explores the links between poverty and disability drawing from 60 qualitative life-history interviews conducted in rural Bangladesh, in 48 households, in three districts, in March 2016. The paper provides insights into the relationship between poverty and disability with the aim of informing policy and practice concerned with both reducing poverty and improving the life chances of people with disabilities.

Author: Peter Davis

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A tale of triple disadvantages: Disability and poverty dynamics amongst women in rural Bangladesh

The focus of the paper is on persistently poor women with disabilities in Bangladesh. It seeks to contribute to the disability and chronic poverty policy discourse and work towards developing effective poverty reduction measures by investigating daily activities and coping strategies of poor persons with disabilities.

Author: Vidya Diwakar

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Anti-discrimination measures in education: A comparative policy analysis

Efforts to tackle discrimination in access to basic services have shown mixed results in different country settings. This study examines the positive and negative outcomes attributed to anti-discrimination measures adopted in different country contexts and analyses the factors contributing to these outcomes, with a specific focus on anti-discrimination measures in education.

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Exploring lines of blame and accountability in local service delivery

The selection of indicators for the creation of an index is critical if it is to be used as a mechanism to hold local government to account. Clear lines of responsibility and accountability need to be incorporated into the selection of indicators so the index can be applied at the local level.

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Household economic diversification: Policies to support smallholder agriculture, the rural nonfarm economy and casual wage labour

The purpose of this Working Paper is to explore a menu of policy recommendations to support smallholder agriculture, the rural nonfarm economy and casual wage labour. Developing country governments could use these recommendations to think through their policy-making decisions and ensure the poorest people participate in economic growth on good terms, such that they can sustainably escape poverty.

Author: Andrew Shepherd

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Getting the long-term macro development perspective right: Diversification of the economy with strategic investment and increased protection from risks

The purpose of this Working Paper is to explore a menu of policy recommendations that developing country governments can use to think through their policy-making decisions and ensure the poorest people participate in economic growth on good terms, such that they can sustainably escape poverty.

Authors: Chiara Mariotti and Andrew Shepherd

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Do Anti-Discrimination Measures Reduce Poverty Among Marginalised Social Groups?

This report is a rigorous review of 470 pieces of evidence on the effectiveness of anti-discrimination measures in low and middle-income countries. The review focuses on women and girls, children, young people, disabled people, marginalised ethnic and racial groups and marginalised castes.

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