Tax and Gender in Developing Countries: What are the Issues?

This ICTD Summary Brief is the sixth in our six special research synthesis pieces, produced at the end of the ICTD's first five-year funding period in Spring 2016. This brief explains what we have learned about gender and taxation and looks at: why taxation is relevant for gender; where gender is relevant in taxation; bias in tax structures; amongst other themes.Cette ICTD Synthèse est la sixième de notre série des synthèses, produites en printemps 2016 à la fin de la première période de financement de cinq ans pour ICTD. Cette synthèse explique ce que nous avons appris sur la question de parité dans le système fiscal. Elle examine : Pourquoi la fiscalité est elle pertinente dans la problématique de parité; dans quels aspects du domaine fiscal l’inégalité des sexes est-il pertinent; les biais dans les structures fiscales; et d'autres thèmes

Introduction: Accountability Amidst Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Learning from Recent Cases

Conflict, violence, and fragility exacerbate the difficulties faced by poor and marginalised people, particularly in influencing the policy decisions that affect their lives. Comparing five cases in conflict-affected contexts, this introduction highlights a number of approaches. It emphasises the importance of distinguishing processes of accountability from those of empowerment, and recognising the complexities of the relationships between them. It highlights how the dynamic nature of contexts of fragility, violence, and conflict constrain citizen action but simultaneously offer opportunities for civic actors to form coalitions with new actors and movements. It underscores the value in viewing accountability gains within the longer historical trajectory of particular conflicts. Finally, it illustrates the core importance of narratives and framing in driving collective action and embedding the legitimacy of claims. The cases highlight that progress towards accountability is often transitory and partial, but together also foreground key issues that are relevant for understanding empowerment and accountability processes.Department for International Development (DFID

Reading the Local Context: A Causal Chain Approach to Social Accountability

There is a general consensus that ‘context’ matters for development outcomes, yet we have little understanding of how exactly ‘context’ affects outcomes. This article focuses on the question of ‘context’ in social accountability (SA) initiatives by separating macro? and micro?contextual factors. On the macro side (country level), accountability processes need to take into account broad factors such as national histories of citizen–state engagement. On the micro side, local factors can drive the extent to which SA initiatives are successful, even within otherwise broadly similar national contexts. The article outlines the basic components of accountability and proposes a ‘causal chain'strategy to better understand the micro?context. This would allow existing evidence to be reorganised to assess the promise of existing and new initiatives by deconstructing the various mini?causal pathways (i.e. in the micro?context) and understanding the contextual conditions that make them work

Localising National Accountability Claims in Fragile Settings: The Right to Food Campaign in India

How does a national movement go local in places with multiple armed actors, simultaneously retaining credibility at the grass roots, while making claims and negotiating with the state? This article explores how a rights-based movement, the Right to Food (RTF) in India, with a strong national core and some state-level support expanded into areas that were experiencing militant insurgency. We find that the RTF movement was able to coexist with the militant groups because the movement: (a) brought new framings and issues to existing groups that were already working with vulnerable populations; and (b) distinguished itself from the militant groups in terms of substantive issues and approach (avoiding issues of displacement and land rights), as it was willing to work with the state to tackle issues of hunger and food entitlements.Department for International Development (DFID

Specific Use of Internet Amongst Health Care Professionals in a Rural Tertiary Medical College of India

INTRODUCTION : The study was conducted at Pramukhswami Medical College in Karamsad (Gujarat, India) from November-August 2007 to assess the Computer and Internet usage amongst health care professionals. OBJECTIVE: To identify the knowledge of Computer and Internet of health care professionals of Pramukhswami Medical College and to understand the information-seeking behavior. We have observed the search habits of Internet users at PSMC. Efforts are on to find the search requirements related to the use of the Internet information. METHODS: They were given a questionnaire to collect the data. RESULTS: Results show that all the respondents are using the Internet frequently because. They use the Internet in different ways, such as accessing to online journals, downloading text, chatting, discussion, E-mail services and for finding related references. It is revealed that the professionals of PSMC are getting quality information through the Internet. It is observed that the Google and Yahoo search engines are more widely use compared to other search engines. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that high computer usage among health care professionals in an institution with good computer facilities. The majority expressed their willingness to undergo further trainin

Pipe Dreams? The Governance of Urban Water Supply in Informal Settlements, New Delhi

This article explores two trends which exemplify recent research and thinking in service delivery: first, understanding the role of small?scale informal providers and second, understanding the politics and governance of service provision. Drawing on field research on urban water in New Delhi, we show that while informal providers fill a gap left by the public utility, residents are captive consumers with limited ability to influence service quality or price. However, this low service level trap can be shifted; and the very seeds of change seem to lie in the evolving relationships between informal providers, residents of informal settlements, politicians and the water utility. The case highlights two factors that enabled the transition: (1) the nature of the service , particularly piped water systems, are more conducive to triggering collective action; and (2) rising political awareness and competition can enable community groups to break out of clientelistic relationships with local politicians