Food Security in the South Pacific Island Countries with Special Reference to the Fiji Islands

This paper analyses the status of food security in selected South Pacific Island countries

Urban Land and Housing Markets in the Punjab, Pakistan

Well-functioning urban land and housing markets are critical success factors for achieving robust economic growth. This paper provides an overview of urban land and housing market performance in Punjab Province of Pakistan. It describes the characteristics of well-functioning markets and argues that the Punjab's present markets are not performing. In fact, there exists a range of impediments to efficient urban land and housing market performance: excessive public land ownership, inadequate infrastructure services, weak property rights, counterproductive urban planning policies and regulations, costly subdivision and construction regulations, limited financing for property development and acquisition, rent controls, and distortive taxation mechanisms

Determining a cost effective intervention response to HIV/AIDS in Peru

BACKGROUND: The HIV epidemic in Peru is still regarded as concentrated -- sentinel surveillance data shows greatest rates of infection in men who have sex with men, while much lower rates are found in female sex workers and still lower in the general population. Without an appropriate set of preventive interventions, continuing infections could present a challenge to the sustainability of the present programme of universal access to treatment. Determining how specific prevention and care strategies would impact on the health of Peruvians should be key in reshaping the national response. METHODS: HIV/AIDS prevalence levels for risk groups with sufficient sentinel survey data were estimated. Unit costs were calculated for a series of interventions against HIV/AIDS which were subsequently inputted into a model to assess their ability to reduce infection transmission rates. Interventions included: mass media, voluntary counselling and testing; peer counselling for female sex workers; peer counselling for men who have sex with men; peer education of youth in-school; condom provision; STI treatment; prevention of mother to child transmission; and highly active antiretroviral therapy. Impact was assessed by the ability to reduce rates of transmission and quantified in terms of cost per DALY averted. RESULTS: Results of the analysis show that in Peru, the highest levels of HIV prevalence are found in men who have sex with men. Cost effectiveness varied greatly between interventions ranging from peer education of female commercial sex workers at $US 55 up to$US 5,928 (per DALY averted) for prevention of mother to child transmission. CONCLUSION: The results of this work add evidence-based clarity as to which interventions warrant greatest consideration when planning an intervention response to HIV in Peru. Cost effectiveness analysis provides a necessary element of transparency when facing choices about priority setting, particularly when the country plans to amplify its response through new interventions partly funded by the GFATM

It’s Not Only Rents: Explaining the Persistence and Change of Neopatrimonialism in Indonesia

Indonesia has long been associated with neopatrimonialism, corruption, collusion, and nepotism as the main modi operandi of politics, economics and public administration. Despite various measures and initiatives to fight these practises, little evidence for a significant decline can be found over the years. Rather, longitudinal analysis points to changes in the character of neopatrimonialism. Based on more than 60 in-depth interviews, focus-group discussions, and the analysis of both primary and secondary data, the aim of this article is, first, to describe the changes that have taken place, and, second, to investigate what accounts for these changes. Political economy concepts posit the amount and development of economic rents as the explanatory factor for the persistence and change of neopatrimonialism. This study's findings, however, indicate that rents alone cannot explain what has taken place in Indonesia. Democratisation and decentralisation exert a stronger impact

Lao PDR case study: Ministry of Public Works and Transport

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has achieved a great deal of institutional success in the road sector over the past 30 years. The ministry has led the construction and expansion of the road network and, in turn, dramatically improved transport times and access to economic opportunities for Lao households and enterprises. MPWT has generated legitimacy in the eyes of the Lao people for both itself and the Government of the Lao PDR writ large, in particular by improving access to markets and public services across the country and by helping to physically knit the country together. It has slowly expanded its mandate in the road sector and served as a crucial incubator of commercial enterprise in the Lao construction sector. Moreover, the ministry has continued operations through several changes in leadership and demonstrated resilience in the face of crises