Ghana's Fertilizer Subsidy Programme (GFSP) was initiated in 2008 in response to the global food and fuel price crisis. Although initially intended to be a temporary measure that became increasingly expensive as Ghana's macroeconomy deteriorated, farmers, civil society organizations, and...

The current emphasis in the development community on demonstrating policy impact requires a better understanding of national policy-making processes to recognize opportunities for, and limits to, generating policy change. Consequently, this paper introduces an applied framework, named the...

Despite significant poverty reduction over the past decade, undernutrition in Myanmar remains widespread. Food prices play an important role in influencing diets and nutrition outcomes, especially for poorer households. In this study, we use national household food expenditure data to assess...

What are the political and institutional prerequisites for pursuing policies that contribute to structural transformation? This paper addresses this question by focusing on Ghana, which has achieved sustained economic growth in recent decades and is broadly lauded for its environment of...

How do cities build a social contract with their diverse constituencies and foster political trust among the urban poor? This study focuses on informal traders, who constitute a major source of food security and employment in urban Africa. Centered on Ghana's three main cities, we analyze...

Since the early 2000s, decentralization has been espoused as a major policy goal of successive Zambian governments. With the passing of the 2019 Local Government Act, a greater understanding is needed of how decentralization has progressed thus far in Zambia and how political economy dynamics...

In this paper we explore the implications of Nepal's new federal Constitution — passed in September 2015 — for governance of the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the backbone of the Nepali economy, providing a livelihood for approximately two-thirds of the population, contributing...

During the last decade, the resurgence in economic growth in Africa south of the Sahara has generated an interest in the drivers and consequences of structural change and transformation. Using the case of Zambia, this paper examines whether structural change translates into reduced poverty and...

What drives tax compliance among informal workers and does it affect demands for political representation? While these questions have been posed previously in political economy scholarship, there are few studies that examine these dynamics among informal workers, who constitute the majority of...