The phenomenon of gender-based violence is pervasive around the world, experienced by some one in three women in their lifetimes. The elimination of such violence has been increasingly recognized as a priority for the international community. This paper investigates the potential and...

Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This book addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the...

What role do institutional constraints and social norms play in determining persistent gender gapsin economic and political participation and have institutional reforms been successful in reducing these gaps? This paper argues that, at the roots of current gender inequalities, there are...

This paper examines the clientelistic equilibrium that remains prevalent in much of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the post-independence period, undermining service delivery and creating inequality in access. Political institutions and social practices that shape...

Governance quality plays a key role in private sector development: competent bureaucrats not only create good policies and regulations but also effectively implement them to shape the business environment. The authors exploit Vietnam’s decentralization of administrative tasks since the early...

The issue of groundwater management challenges the paradigm along which the concept of good governance has developed since the 1990s. We show that in contexts involving multiple power structures, the exploitation of natural resources requires hybrid modes of governance that combine the...