Decentralisation in Uganda : exploring the constraints for poverty reduction

It is often claimed that decentralisation is effective for the reduction of poverty due to inherent opportunities for higher popular participation and increased efficiency in public service delivery. This paper is a qualitative assessment of the potential of the Ugandan decentralisation reform for poverty alleviation. The Ugandan government initiated an ambitious decentralisation reform in 1992, which represents an example of full-fledged devolution with the transfer of far-reaching responsibilities to local governments. However, several shortcomings, such as low levels of accountability, insufficient human and financial resources, corruption, patronage, and central resistance to decentralisation, constrain the proper implementation of the reform, putting improvements in participation and efficiency at risk and ultimately jeopardising the intended impact on poverty.Es wird oft behauptet, dass Dezentralisierung durch die ihr inhärenten Möglichkeiten zur Steigerung der Partizipation der Bevölkerung an öffentlichen Entscheidungsprozessen sowie zur Erhöhung der Effizienz in der Bereitstellung öffentlicher Dienstleistungen effektiv zur Reduktion von Armut beitragen kann. Dieser Frage geht die vorliegende qualitative Studie am Fall der Dezentralisierung in Uganda nach. Die ugandische Regierung leitete im Jahr 1992 eine ehrgeizige Dezentralisierungsreform ein, die ein Beispiel für konsequente Devolution mit der Übertragung weitgehender Rechte, Aufgaben und Finanzen an lokale Regierungen darstellt. Die Umsetzung dieser Reform leidet jedoch unter verschiedenen Restriktionen, so etwa niedriger Accountability, ungenügender Human- und finanzieller Ressourcen, Korruption, Patronage sowie anhaltender zentraler Einflussnahme auf die lokale Politik. Diese Defizite gefährden ernsthaft die Erhöhung von Partizipation und Effizienz und damit letztendlich auch eine Reduktion der Armut

Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Framework for the Economic Impact

This paper contributes to providing insights into the impact of decentralisation on poverty. It starts out with an overview of which role decentralisation plays in strategies and policies for poverty eradication and derives economic and political impact channels. It concentrates on the economic channel, the reasoning of which is rooted in fiscal federalism theory. It shows that decentralisation cannot only influence poverty by assigning expenditure responsibility to lower levels of government but also by assigning tax-raising power, which has so far been neglected by the literature. The paper concludes by pointing out a number of possible risks for realising the poverty-reducing potential of decentralisation.Local public goods, local revenue, poverty

Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Framework for the Economic Impact

This paper contributes to providing insights into the impact of decentralisation on poverty. It starts out with an overview of which role decentralisation plays in strategies and policies for poverty eradication and derives economic and political impact channels. It concentrates on the economic channel, the reasoning of which is rooted in fiscal federalism theory. It shows that decentralisation cannot only influence poverty by assigning expenditure responsibility to lower levels of government but also by assigning tax-raising power, which has so far been neglected by the literature. The paper concludes by pointing out a number of possible risks for realising the poverty-reducing potential of decentralisation.Local public goods, local revenue, poverty

Microinsurance: A Large Untapped Market

In tandem with the growth of microloans and microsavings, insurance policies geared towards low-income households have also become increasingly widespread over the past decade in developing and emerging countries. There is hope that microinsurance will allow large segments of the population who lack access to government social security to insure themselves against adverse life events, thus helping to safeguard their economic well-being. Yet much work is to be done if this goal is to be attained. On the one hand, the availability of microinsurance is still extremely limited. On the other hand, potential and current microinsurance customers do not place much trust in insurance providers. They also lack knowledge about specific insurance products, as shown by our investigation of a microinsurance policy in Ghana. Yet another factor is that many commercial insurers still have not managed to adapt to the particularities of the microinsurance market.Microinsurance, Low-income households, Risk, Ghana

Uganda: No more pro-poor growth?

This article illustrates changing growth regimes in Uganda from pro-poor growth in the 1990s to growth without poverty reduction, actually even a slight increase in poverty, after 2000. Not surprisingly, we find that good agricultural performance is the key determinant of direct pro-poor growth in the 1990s as well as lower agricultural growth is the root cause of the recent increase in poverty. Yet after 2000, low agricultural growth appears to have induced important employment shifts out of agriculture, which have dampened the increase in poverty. We also assess the indirect way of pro-poor growth by analysing the incidence of public spending and the tax system and find that indirect pro-poor growth has only been achieved to a limited extend. --

Uganda: No more pro-poor growth?.

This article illustrates changing growth regimes in Uganda from pro-poor growth in the 1990s to growth without poverty reduction, actually even a slight increase in poverty, after 2000. Not surprisingly, we find that good agricultural performance is the key determinant of direct pro-poor growth in the 1990s as well as lower agricultural growth is the root cause of the recent increase in poverty. Yet after 2000, low agricultural growth appears to have induced important employment shifts out of agriculture, which have dampened the increase in poverty. We also assess the indirect way of pro-poor growth by analysing the incidence of public spending and the tax system and find that indirect pro-poor growth has only been achieved to a limited extend.

Mikroversicherungen: ein großer unerschlossener Markt

Im Zug der Verbreitung von Mikrokrediten und Mikrosparprodukten werden seit ungefähr einem Jahrzehnt auch Versicherungen an einkommensschwache Haushalte in Entwicklungs- und Schwellenländern verkauft. Es besteht die Hoffnung, weite Teile der Bevölkerung, denen ein Zugang zu staatlichem Sozialversicherungsschutz fehlt, gegen schwere Notlagen abzusichern und damit ihre wirtschaftliche Existenz zu erhalten. Allerdings ist es bis dahin noch ein weiter Weg. Zum einen ist die Verbreitung von Mikroversicherungen bislang noch sehr begrenzt. Zum anderen sind, wie hier am Beispiel einer Lebensversicherung in Ghana gezeigt wird, das Vertrauen in die Versicherer und der Informationsstand über spezifische Versicherungsprodukte in der Zielgruppe eher gering. Außerdem gelingt es vielen, insbesondere kommerziellen Versicherern (noch) nicht, sich auf die Besonderheiten des Marktes einzustellen.Microinsurance, Low-income households, Risk, Ghana

How marriages based on bride capture differ : Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of women in the Kyrgyz Republic marry viaala kachuu,generally translated as bride capture or kidnapping. Many regard this practice asharmless elopement or a tradition; others perceive it as a form of forced marriage. OBJECTIVE: This paper contributes to the understanding ofala kachuu by exploring the extent towhich couples in these marriages differ from those in arranged or love marriages. METHODS: We use the 2013 wave of the Life in Kyrgyzstan survey to compute profile similarityindices for the personality of couples. We then regress marriage type on the profilesimilarity index, controlling for sociodemographic variables.RESULTSCouples in marriages resulting from bride capture are far less assortatively matched onpersonality traits than other couples, especially those who have only recently married. CONCLUSIONS: This greater dissimilarity is consistent withala kachuu being forced marriage ratherthan merely staged or ritualized elopement. CONTRIBUTION: This paper provides a novel source of evidence on the possible nonconsensual nature ofbride capture in Kyrgyzstan, adding further weight to those arguing that it is forced