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140 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...
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Workshop
Subnational governance in Ghana – does decentralization improve democratic outcomes?UNU-WIDER researchers in The state and statebuilding in the Global South — international and local interactions project attend an authors’ workshop at the London School of Economics. Rachel Gisselquist, Daniel Chachu, and Michael Danquah...
Blog
Virtuous circles and downward spirals: The power of ideas & the limits of technocracy
What will it take to shake loose the distemper of our times, and initiate a virtuous spiral of renewal?...
Sustainable development Institutional quality Democracy
Blog
Staffan Lindberg’s keynote address is a wake-up call
In introducing Staffan Lindberg’s keynote at the WIDER Development Conference, UNU-WIDER Senior Research Fellow and political scientist Rachel Gisselquist says that the COVID-19 pandemic is linked to new restrictions on rights and freedoms at a...
Democracy Democracy and human rights AutocracyWorking Paper
Clientelism and governanceUnlike much of the growing literature on political clientelism, this short paper contains mainly the author’s general reflections on the broad issues of governance (or mis-governance including corruption), democracy, and state capacity that cli...
vote-buying Clientelism PoliticsJournal Article
The corruption–growth relationship: Does the political regime matter?Corruption is widely believed to have an adverse effect on the economic performance of a country...
Corruption Democracy Economic growthWorking Paper
Good institutions and tax revenue outcomes in resource-rich countries: When ‘good’ is not enoughDeveloping countries that experience commodity booms struggle to mobilize sustainable tax revenues...
resource rent Tax revenue InstitutionsBackground Note
Review of sub-national institutional performance in GhanaIntroduction The literature on the concept, measurement, causes, and correlates of sub-national institutional governance is not new. From the seminal work of Putnam et al. (1993) to recent attempts by Iddawela et al...
Decentralized governance Decentralization GovernancePresentation
Rachel M. Gisselquist and Miguel Niño-Zarazúa on Effectiveness of International & Swedish Democracy Aid for USAIDMiguel Niño-Zarazúa , Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER, and Rachel M. Gisselquist , Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER will be presenting and discussing the findings of the report Effects of Swedish and international...
In the media
EBA/UNU-WIDER study on democracy aid featured in Kehityslehti
Democracy aid Democracy Aid effectiveness Journal Article
Health-system equity, egalitarian democracy and COVID-19 outcomes: An empirical analysisThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a spate of studies showing a close connection between inequitable access to health care, welfare services and adverse outcomes from the pandemic...
COVID-19 Healthcare Healthcare accessBlog
Clientelism – another reason to worry about US democracy
The last several months have given us many reasons to worry about US democracy – not least the riot at the US Capitol and the president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election, with Republican support. Rachel Gisselquist ...
Clientelism United States CorruptionWorking Paper
Does aid support democracy?: A systematic review of the literatureThis study draws on a rigorous systematic review—to our knowledge the first in this area—to take stock of the literature on aid and democracy. It asks: Does aid—especially democracy aid—have positive impact on democracy? How?...
Foreign aid Democracy Systematic reviewNews
Press release: New study shows democracy aid worksDoes development cooperation aimed at strengthening democracy work? A new study from the Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) addresses critical knowledge gaps on aid assistance. The report, published today, is the most comprehensive study on...
Aid effectiveness Democracy aid DemocracyReport
Effects of Swedish and international democracy aidDemocracy aid is a significant component of development cooperation. As a share of total aid, it has increased steadily since the mid-1990s...
Democracy aid Aid effectiveness DemocracyWorking Paper
Economic development and institutions in Mozambique: Factors affecting public financial managementMozambique has achieved incipient but still fragile socio-economic development since 1975. The public financial management system has been reformed and improved, but its performance has weakened since 2013...
Democracy Growth strategy Institutional economics