Further, it will investigate the economic and political drivers of how such states emerge, especially in conflict-affected and fragile environments, and what interventions development partners can use to support these developments.
State capability is defined as the institutional capacity of the state to carry out various policies that can bring about inclusive economic growth, as well as deliver benefits and services to households and firms. The analysis of state capability has emerged as the cutting edge of research on the relationship between governance, institutions, and economic development.
This project aims to address the existing knowledge and policy gaps related to the conditions for effective states and political leadership to emerge, as well as to create the blueprint for a new way for development partners to approach economic growth and private sector development in countries experiencing conflict or fragility.
To achieve this, this project will commission and publish high-quality research and conduct a policy innovation lab with development partners.
All papers, events, briefs, blog posts, and opportunities to engage relating to the project will be available on this webpage.
The enhancement of state capability in developing countries matters in itself in the achievement of SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Core researcher: Eric Werker
Project support: Iina Kuuttila
Communications: Ruby Richardson
We examine how politicians and non-politicians in rural India respond to behavioural incentives. Using a modified dictator game, we vary treatments (and incentives) across the nature of interactions, the visibility of actions, and an upfront promise...
Using the lens of a life-cycle model, we argue that an administrative failure of a wage payment delay in a workfare programme could adversely affect the welfare of the poor through two channels. First, it imposes an implicit consumption tax on the...
This study assesses the impact of an information dissemination intervention on the local-level implementation of the rural public works program in India. One key feature of the intervention is to provide information to workers once their wages get...
A large body of literature exists on the role of institutions in combating corruption and its influence on economic development. However, there is a paucity of literature on the inter-relationships between economic and political crises, institutions...
The Doing Business reports have evoked an intense policy debate about whether countries should simplify regulatory rules or make them more stringent. We argue that doing business in developing countries is based on deals struck between firms and the...
Weak legal systems, complex regulations, dishonoured agreements, corruption, general disorder - these are just some of the challenges that development...
While the short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods are well understood, we know little about the effect of the pandemic for longer-term outcomes such as corruption. We look at the historical data on political and economic...
Corruption is widely believed to have an adverse effect on the economic performance of a country. However, many East and Southeast Asian countries either achieved or currently are achieving impressively rapid economic growth despite widespread...
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spate of studies showing a close connection between inequitable access to health care, welfare services and adverse outcomes from the pandemic. Others have argued that democratic governments have generally failed...
Theme: 2019-23, Transforming states
Join the network
