Political Economy of Development

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This document is the study’s concluding chapter, which also connects my findings with the literature on ‘thinking and working politically’ (TWP) in international development cooperation.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This study chapter brings together my findings from across the four case study reforms: scaling back the voluntary patent tax regime, social insurance payments administration transfer, reforming VAT administration, and reforming indirect taxation.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is one of the study’s four case study chapters, which examine four sets of business taxation supported by the IFC/USAID. It looks at the issue of reconciling the overlap between the VAT and the sale tax.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is one of the study’s four case study chapters, which examine four sets of business taxation supported by the IFC/USAID. It looks at the issue of reforming VAT administration.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is one of four case study chapters, which examine four sets of business taxation reforms supported by the IFC/USAID. It looks at the issue of transferring social insurance payments administration from the State Social Fund to the State Tax Service.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is one of the study’s four case study chapters, which examine four sets of business taxation reforms supported by the IFC/USAID. It looks at the issue of scaling back the voluntary patent tax regime.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is the study’s research design & methods chapter, which also discusses my general finding on the character of Kyrgyzstan’s legislative politics in the realm of private sector governance.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on of foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is the study’s conceptual framework chapter, which critically reviews the ‘thinking and working politically’ (TWP) development aid policy current (and related political economy of institutional reform/governance aid literature).

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business/social and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

Here you can find the study's abstract, foreword, introduction, table of contents and bibliography.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan (completed in Jan ‘21).

In this document you can find the study’s conclusions, preceded by an introduction to the research topic & the chapter on methods/country setting.

Research abstract:

In dialogue with the ‘thinking and working politically (TWP)’ policy current in international development cooperation, the present study examines the leverage that foreign aid-funded technical expertise had as a resource in the legislative politics of business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan in 2010-2016. Specifically, it looks at how this leverage was informed by the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of the country’s political system during that period. Thereby it explores how different national actors engaged with foreign aid-funded attempts to mobilize technical expertise for the purpose of reform advancement. The study reports that while the legislative process in Kyrgyzstan was generally associated with the primacy of informal transactions and private interests, the partakers in the policy contests treated public pressure backed by technical evidence as a significant means of influence. In particular, the country’s business leaders positioned themselves as citizen representatives who kept the government in check on its obligations to improve national wellbeing. They used the media and inter-stakeholder policy meetings to portray undesired reforms as detrimental to society, and did the same with government inaction on the reforms they favored. Thereby they sought to capitalize on the political risk that state officials and members of parliament attributed to such public criticism. As part of these attempts, business leaders drew on pro-reform technical evidence supplied with contributions from foreign aid programs. They also worked to counteract its application by the government and its foreign aid partners. Many of the policy discussion platforms where either happened were initiated or facilitated by foreign aid actors, sometimes with a concrete aspiration to influence a reform contest through the articulation of technical evidence. With these findings the study aims to contribute to the discussion about the space for foreign aid agencies to help advance positive institutional change by mobilizing technical knowhow through social stakeholder engagement.

In Kyrgyzstan as elsewhere, foreign aid agencies fund the development and use of technical expertise in their support of institutional reforms.

However, do the government, business and foreign aid actors involved treat this expertise as a means of influencing the reforms’ legislative politics, how and to what effect? Also, how may the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of a country’s political system inform these dynamics?

I address these questions in my research on foreign aid to business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan in 2010-2016 (completed in Jan ‘21).

This is the full 155-page study (+bibliography). Please see next document for a 33-page partial version (the conclusion, preceded by the introduction & research design), and further down for the separate chapters. 

Research abstract:

In dialogue with the ‘thinking and working politically (TWP)’ policy current in international development cooperation, the present study examines the leverage that foreign aid-funded technical expertise had as a resource in the legislative politics of business taxation reforms in Kyrgyzstan in 2010-2016. Specifically, it looks at how this leverage was informed by the public, decentralized and participatory dimensions of the country’s political system during that period. Thereby it explores how different national actors engaged with foreign aid-funded attempts to mobilize technical expertise for the purpose of reform advancement. The study reports that while the legislative process in Kyrgyzstan was generally associated with the primacy of informal transactions and private interests, the partakers in the policy contests treated public pressure backed by technical evidence as a significant means of influence. In particular, the country’s business leaders positioned themselves as citizen representatives who kept the government in check on its obligations to improve national wellbeing. They used the media and inter-stakeholder policy meetings to portray undesired reforms as detrimental to society, and did the same with government inaction on the reforms they favored. Thereby they sought to capitalize on the political risk that state officials and members of parliament attributed to such public criticism. As part of these attempts, business leaders drew on pro-reform technical evidence supplied with contributions from foreign aid programs. They also worked to counteract its application by the government and its foreign aid partners. Many of the policy discussion platforms where either happened were initiated or facilitated by foreign aid actors, sometimes with a concrete aspiration to influence a reform contest through the articulation of technical evidence. With these findings the study aims to contribute to the discussion about the space for foreign aid agencies to help advance positive institutional change by mobilizing technical knowhow through social stakeholder engagement.

Covid-19 has highlighted the destructiveness of modern agro-industry upon biosphere and humanity. Its contribution to environmental degradation intertwines with socioeconomic inequality and labour exploitation. There are increasing calls for a green new deal (GND) to counter these dangers. This article argues that a GND for agriculture must combat environmental degradation, social inequality and labour exploitation, rather than aim to re-boot capitalist economies. This article identifies a number of areas for discussion and political action-reorientation of state subsidies, workers' rights, agrarian reform, the decommodification of food, agroecology, possibilities for urban agriculture, the application of new technologies, and rewilding.

OVERLAPING DAN KERANCUAN DALAM PENGELOLAAN POTENSI EKONOMI ANTARA BADAN WAKAF INDONESIA VS BADAN AMAL ZAKAT SEDEKAH PENDAHULUAN Sumber daya ekonomi berasal dari alam (tanah), modal (uang) dan ketrampilan (sumber daya manusia) yang dimiliki oleh umat muslim sangat besar berdasarkan data jumlah penduduk Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI) adalah beragama Islam mencapai 85% dari total populasi 260 juta jiwa. Pengelolaan uang umat islam yang berasal dari zakat, infaq dan sedekah (ZIS) yang pada awalnya dilakukan oleh Badan Amil Zakat Nasional (BAZNAS) yang merupakan badan resmi dan satu-satunya yang dibentuk oleh pemerintah berdasarkan Keputusan Presiden RI No. 8 Tahun 2001 yang memiliki tugas dan fungsi menghimpun dan menyalurkan zakat, infaq, dan sedekah (ZIS) pada tingkat nasional.

In: International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement [En ligne], 1 | 2010, mis en ligne le 11 mars 2010 - URL : http://journals.openedition.org/poldev/140 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.140
During the 19th century the Swiss Confederation abstained from participating in colonial expansion. However, the Swiss did take part in this expansion in the wake of European powers. As from the start of the 1960s a new dimension characterised the relationship between Switzerland and Africa: the Confederation organised ODA, in collaboration with private organisations. These activities, favoured by the non-colonial image of Switzerland and managed while dealing tactfully with the great powers, demonstrated Swiss characteristics and evolved according to how events developed on the international stage, with regard to the Cold War in particular. The beginnings of cooperation were steeped in Swiss-centrism and the hope that targeted actions would resolve the difficulties. Convinced of the exemplary value of their economic and political model, the Swiss claimed that their actions were motivated by neutrality and solidarity. However, other neutral countries, such as Sweden, dedicated a much greater proportion of their GNP to cooperation with the Third World. Solidarity seems to play a more important role in Swiss speeches and policies than in the various aspects of external relations. Africa occupies a vital position in Swiss development cooperation, which gives priority to the poorest countries and evolves depending on developments in Switzerland and the rest of the world.

How do authoritarian states organize their coercive institutions over space? We argue that autocrats maximize the utility of their limited coercive resources by clustering them with perceived threats in society, i.e., segments of the population that are ideologically distant and have mobilizational potential. We test this proposition using a dataset that covers the universe of police stations (N=147,428) and religious sites (N=115,394) in China. We find that police stations are more likely to be located within walking distance of foreign religious sites (churches) than other sites (temples), even after controlling for the estimated population within 1km of each site and a set of key site attributes. This finding is robust to using alternative model specifications, different variable measurements, and multiple data sources. Moving beyond the clustering pattern, we also address the temporal order issue and show that the Chinese state has allocated more new coercive resources around existing foreign religious sites than native sites, i.e., after these sites are already in place. This study enriches our understanding of how autocrats rule and further opens up an emerging new methodological avenue for research on authoritarian politics.

This paper argues, first, that despite the transnational impact of the Haitian Revolution, it remains mostly unknown in the Western hemisphere. This is primarily the result of an international racist project to repress the idea of Black Revolution and undermine Haiti's progress. Second, I argue that, since the second half of the 19th century, intellectuals and social scientists have contributed to this racial project, and thus that scientific racism was born primarily as a response to the Haitian Revolution. The proliferation of racially oriented pseudosciences was part of significant efforts on the part of European and American intellectuals to undermine the notion of Black Revolution and Black power, and to demonstrate that Blacks were not capable of self-governance.

El artículo constata un vacio en cuanto a los estudios sobre el rol del Estado en la propuesta de desarrollo cepalina y revaloriza las especificidades de los procesos de configuración e implicación estatal para comprender la incapacidad del Estado para direccionar el patrón acumulativo hacia una transformación estructural que incorpore a la industria como motor de desarrollo. En ese sentido, analiza cómo las prácticas estatales desplegadas durante el período de la industrialización por sustitución de importaciones terminaron actuando, por un lado, de manera funcional a la recreación de los obstáculos que daban especificidad al patrón de acumulación periférico, y, por otro lado, configurando la propia debilidad del Estado para afrontar las consecuentes transformaciones del capitalismo luego de 1970.