Evidence is presented to show that shared codes, religious beliefs, ethnicity - cultural proximity - between lenders and borrowers improves the efficiency of credit allocation. In-group preferential treatment is identified using dyadic data on the religion and caste of bank officers and...

The objective of this report is to share a market level overview of the early stage progress of (Mobile Financial Services) MFS in Bangladesh up through the first quarter of 2012. A series of short surveys and discussions with ten banks and four (Mobile Network Operator) MNOs, plus interviews...

India won 2 silver and 4 bronze medals at the 2012 London Olympics. [YAS]. URL:[http://www.yas.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/3037530130.pdf].

This paper examines the roles and challenges of small holding agriculture in India. It covers trends in agricultural growth, cultivation patterns, participation of small holding agriculture, productivity performance of small holders, linking small holders with markets including value chains,...

The frequency of intense floods and storms is increasing globally, particularly in Asia-Pacific, amid the specter of climate change. Associated with these natural disasters are more variable and extreme rainfall and temperatures as recorded in publicly available databases for the world,...

Bhutan Education Bill. [National Assembly of Bhutan]. URL:[http://www.nab.gov.bt/downloads/59Bill%20Eng.pdf].

The deficit in the supply of electricity relative to demand at peak hours in 2011-12 was 11 per cent. While generation capacity has increased, the fuel supply situation has deteriorated. Here, some factors affecting the power supply situation are presented. [PRS]....

A bill to promote autonomy of higher educational institutions and universities for free pursuit of knowledge and innovation and to provide for comprehensive and integrated growth of higher education and research keeping in view the global standards of educational and research practices and for...

The different role of intra- and inter-national university-industry collaboration in industrial innovation in emerging economies are investigated. Based on a national firm-level survey database from China, it finds that collaboration with domestic universities have played a significant role in...

The concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is relatively new to many Southeast Asians, who have traditionally relied on the state for security and therefore faced a sense of hopelessness when such protection was lacking. While the state represented the only institution ensuring human...