In developing countries in particular, services are often delivered through unorthodox organisational arrangements that cannot simply be dismissed as relics of 'traditional' institutions, or as incomplete modern organisations. Some have emerged recently, and represent institutional adaptations...

This paper reviews the literature on taxation of the informal economy, taking stock of key debates and drawing attention to recent innovations. Conventionally, the debate on whether to tax has frequently focused on the limited revenue potential, high cost of collection, and potentially adverse...

Several developing countries have recently introduced policies supporting universal basic free education (UFBE). Experience suggests such policies often fail to increase access and quality of education, and illegal fees are widely prevalent. The literature identifies several reasons including...

The problem of the proliferation of the number of aid donors and aid channels continues to worsen. It is widely and plausibly believed that this significantly reduces the value of aid by increasing direct and indirect transactions costs. We contribute to the existing literature by: (a)...

The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme stands out among rural public works programmes in developing countries for its size, longevity, the generosity of its funding arrangements, and the political sophistication of its design. Its mission is highly ambitious: to supply employment flexibly...

Africa's Management in the 1990s and Beyond: Reconciling Indigenous and Transplanted Institutions. By Mamadou Dia. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 1996. Pp.xii + 293. NP. ISBN 0 8213 3431 X A Land Without Gods: Process Theory, Maldevelopment and the Mexican Nahuas. By Jacques M. Chevalier and...

This survey critically examines the development studies literature dealing with the connections between social structure, politics and the emergence or development of 'indigenous' capitalism in developing countries. This literature has focused mainly on the apparent absence or weakness of...

John Humphrey and Hubert Schmitz have recently made an important contribution to the literature on trust and economic transactions between firms. Unfortunately, the evidence that high levels of societal trust contribute significantly to economic growth is far less reliable than they suggest. We...

Community Development around the World: Practice, Theory, Research and Training. Edited by Hubert Campferns. Toronto and London: University of Toronto Press, 1997. Pp.xvi + 481. NP. ISBN 0 8020 0903 4 and 7884 2 Cultural Perspectives on Development. Edited by Vincent Tucker. London and Portland,...

In India, 'customary village councils' are generally believed to be disappearing vestiges of a pre-democratic, hierarchical socio-political order. However, while remaining informal and maintaining a low public profile, in Karnataka state they are actively taking on new roles, adapting to the...