Higher levels of the state can catalyze the development effectiveness of local administrations and communities, forming alliances with them and improving development outcomes while also gaining legitimacy and popular support. With creative political thinking it is possible to effect rapid change...

What can other developing countries learn from Sri Lanka on achieving good health at low cost? While its well-organized medical and maternal-child health services have been documented elsewhere, this paper fills a gap in documenting how it organizes services to reduce the population's exposure...

If states would interact more synergistically with communities, they could tap local energies and resources for development-- and help create a development-oriented society and polity in the process. The authors analyze experience in several countries to identify the actions required for...

The paper uses nonparametric methodology to examine the role of institutions in understanding differential levels of development across countries. By using the Li-Racine (2004) generalized kernel estimation methodology, our paper allows a deeper look into the impact of institutions on...