Economics
- A fragile state is a political body that has lost the capacity to carry out its basic government functions. A fragile state is characterized by loss of legitimacy and control of its territory, inability to offer public services, and failure to develop constructive relationships with other states. Citizens in failed states are left vulnerable to internal and external shocks, such as natural disasters and economic crises.
We may be interested in improving service delivery in fragile states to protect the citizens and prevent a civil crisis. When citizens in fragile states can’t access the basic needs of their government, other issues like migration may arise, giving rise to the issue of refugees. It would therefore be crucial to improve public service delivery in these states to enhance government stability.
- Community-driven development refers to community-based organizations’ role in influencing the economic and social development of people’s lives. CDD entails developing a culture that views communities as central to their change and development rather than mere recipients of public expenditure. The goals of CDD are enabling rural communities to overcome poverty through equitable and efficient use of resources, creating an enabling environment for rural infrastructure development, and diversifying income sources for CBOs.
CDD has been successful in implementing these goals in various projects. One example is the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) in Bangladesh, which now finances over 155 NGOs and has lifted over 2 million people out of poverty. A second example is the South African Mvula trust, whose water and sanitation projects successfully served the homelands in the absence of Government intervention.
- Chaudhury et al. (2006), “Missing in action: teacher and health worker absence in developing countries,” has positively impacted future research on the effects and factors causing teacher and health personnel absence. The study highlighted that absenteeism is a major point of concern in developing countries. The study has facilitated further research on governance and teacher motives concerning absenteeism.
- Public service delivery can be improved in many ways. The two main channels are websites and contact centers. These channels allow people to air their grievances and be heard. One example is the Kenyan Huduma center, whose aim was to provide Kenyans with one station to access all the services they need. A second example is the Liverpool City Council website, which has enabled the government to complete their top tasks easily.
- Burgess et al. (2015), “The value of democracy…” measure ethnic favoritism in Kenya by referring to data on road-building in Kenyan districts from 1963 to 2011. They assess the benefits derived by an ethnic community when a member of their community is in charge of sharing the resources.
The issue of democracy, in this case, is brought out in the assessment of the prevalence of ethnic favoritism during the transition into and out of democracy when the same leader is in power. A distinction is made between autocracy and democracy relating to one leader in power. They show that ethnic favoritism is reduced when democracy prevails.