14 October 2020 Sam Hickey and Tim Kelsall  What kinds of politics can help to secure inclusive development, and how can these be promoted? These were our guiding questions throughout almost a decade of DFID-funded research, spanning 26 countries, involving over 80 international resea

13 October 2020 We’re excited to announce a new ESID webinar series synthesising more than 9 years of research. The series begins with Research Director Professor Sam Hickey on Thursday 29th October from 3.00 – 4.00 – How Politics Shapes Development: The Importance o

30 September 2020 Sam Hickey and Tim Kelsall set out the ESID framework for inclusive development. When ESID started its work in 2011, it had become widely accepted within international development that politics mattered. What was less clear was the specific ways in which it mattered

Working paper 155 Download pdf Alesha Porisky This paper examines the politics of distributing social transfers across four diverse counties in Kenya – Homa Bay, Marsabit, Nakuru and Nyeri – with a focus on three of the nationwide social transfer programmes: the Cash Transfer for Orph

Working paper 147 Download pdf Tom Lavers This paper examines the politics of implementing the PSNP in Ethiopia. The PSNP is a targeted food and cash-for-work programme that places a strong emphasis on its ‘productive’ contribution through public works, a livelihoods component and the

Working paper 144 Download pdf Rasmus Pedersen, Thabit Jacob and Peter Bofin A great deal of attention has been paid to the distributional aspects of resource nationalism in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but less is known about its effects on the state’s capacity. By unpacking the

13 January 2020 Congratulations to ESID researchers, Vasudha Chhottray, Anindita Adhikari and Vidushi Bahuguna, whose pioneering ESID research has been published in the prestigious journal, World Development. The research compares India’s national food subsidy programme in two n

9 August 2019 Lant Pritchett   This post was first published on Harvard’s State Capacity Blog.   In the book Building State Capability one of the explanations of the very slow progress shown in acquiring effective and capability administration in developing countries w

Working paper 120 Download pdf Benjamin Chemouni The Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) is recognised as the most effective organisation in the Rwandan state. The objective of the paper is to understand the organisational and political factors influencing MI

Working paper 123 Download pdf Sabyasachi Kar,  Lant Pritchett,  Spandan Roy  and Kunal Sen The World Bank’s Doing Business reports have evoked an intense policy debate about whether countries should simplify regulatory rules, in order to stimulate investment and growth, or make them