Quantitative and Econometric Methodologies in the Study of Civil War

This chapter provides an overview of the quantitative study of civil war, focusing on the development of quantitative conflict studies, the basics of the quantitative method, the prominent sources of civil conflict data, and the strengths and weaknesses of using quantitative methods to analyse civil war

Access to Elementary Education in India

This analytical review aims to explore trends in educational access and to delineate different groups which are vulnerable to exclusion from educational opportunities at the elementary stage. This review has drawn references from a series of analytical papers developed on different themes, including regional disparity in education, social equity and gender equity in education, the problem of drop out, education of the children of migrants, inequity in educational opportunities, health and nutrition, and governance of education, among others. The first and second sections of the paper present a brief review of the state of elementary education in India with particular focus on regional disparities and social inequities in provision. The third section delineates different zones of exclusion, highlighting the nature and magnitude of the problems of access, transition and equity. The fourth section captures the profiles of the varying groups of children and addresses the questions: ‘who is excluded from schooling?’ and ‘why are they excluded?’. In the final section, the paper makes an effort to identify gaps in our understanding which point to the need for further research and also identifies strategies that have had some success in addressing issues of access to elementary education in India

The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend… The Dynamics of Self Defense Forces in Irregular War: The Case of the Sons of Iraq

This paper assesses the effect that leveraging civilian defense force militias has on the dynamics of violence in civil war. We argue that the delegation of security and combat roles to local civilians shifts the primary targets of insurgent violence towards civilians, in an attempt to deter future defections, and re-establish control over the local population. This argument is assessed through an analysis of the Sunni Awakening and ancillary Sons of Iraq paramilitary program. The results suggest that at least in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq, the utilisation of the civilian population in counterinsurgent roles had significant implications for the targets of insurgent violence

Amaresh Bagchi: Public Finance Economist Par Excellence.

A tribute to Amaresh Bagchi, a discussion of his academic career, his many interests in public finance and federalism, and an outline of his important contributions in policy formulation by a friend and colleague of many years.

Changing Framework of Local Governance and Community Participation in Elementary Education in India

In recent years, strengthening and better functioning of local governance have become prime concerns of educational reform agenda. Establishment of effective local governance has been part of overall changes in educational governance for several years in many countries including India. It is now widely recognized that effective local governance considerably impacts on access to education as well as the enrolment, retention and learning experiences of children in school. It is in this context, that this paper provides an overview of the changing framework of governance of elementary education and community participation in India with a special focus on its role in improving the participation of children. An attempt has also been made to examine the extent to which grassroots level functionaries and local bodies like panchayat and VEC are able to get involved in decision making processes and different approaches that have been taken by different states in regards to local governance of education. Drawing references from recent efforts made by different states, the paper has tried to establish a link between effectiveness of local governance and issues regarding access, equity and quality of school education. While discussing the changing framework of local governance, the paper critically examines the guiding principles of governance reform from two perspectives. ‘Top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches are discussed, in terms of ensuring the effectiveness of the system and empowering people for active participation in decentralized decision making process

Intergovernmental finance in South Africa: Some observations

This paper examines the evolution and functioning of fiscal decentralisation process and intergovernmental finance in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). It analyses the system of dividing revenues among the three spheres of government. The paper highlights the challenges of designing and implementing intergovernmental fiscal policies and institutions in the post-apartheid era. The paper argues that the costed norms approach developed by the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) has tremendous potential in evolving a simple, objective, and fair system of transfers. However, significant additional work in terms of research, its meaningful dissemination to various governmental units, and building the information system undertake the task is necessary to make it operational. The absence of revenue equalisation in the transfer system is an important weakness of the transfer design. However, provinces do not have much revenue powers. Revenue equalisation in the transfer formula is meaningful only when some broad-based tax handles are assigned to provinces. It is also an important moral and a policy question as to whether there should be incentive to raise revenues from sources such as, gambling taxes and hospital services.Intergovernmental fiscal relations ; South Africa