New Research on Policy Impacts in Developing Countries

Women hold out their voter registration cards as they wait to cast their votes in India. (Source: Browseyard.com)

As the US moves steadily towards its electoral process in November, I find myself pondering the purpose of democracy and how effective it is in the Developing World. Having immersed myself exclusively in Asia for the past two years (and much longer in parts before), this time living in Singapore and experiencing firsthand the merits (and demerits) of a "faux-democracy," as well as a range of governance mechanisms across Asia, I am struck by the significant differences between the US democracy and that of several Asian nations.

Recently, I was reading a "briefcase" of information provided by the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL), a respected economic think-tank based at MIT.

About a month ago, JPAL and the ADB had an "Impact and Policy" conference, that focused on research that highlighted how policy might impact three areas: governance, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship. Thankfully, many of the presentations are linked to the main conference page, which I would highly encourage you to take a look at.

Among them are a few that have already caught my eye:

• a keynote address given by India's former Election Commissioner, who gives a quick overview of the world's largest democracy; one that is larger than the entire electorate of North and South America put together!!

• Fascinating research from Brazil  and Pakistan that highlights the need and impact of transparency/outreach prior to elections (eg. independent audits performed on corrupt vs non-corrupt politicians, released to the public has an immediate impact on how likely they are to be elected or re-elected).

• The impact that a good NGO can have on limiting fake drugs in Uganda.

• Data shows that poverty positively corelates with conflict. It also shows that political representation of all groups in high conflict areas, helps lessen conflict and violence in these areas.

There's much more...check it out here.

Picture of the Day: Urban Transportation

Desperate needs call for desperate measures. This picture is both amusing and very disturbing. I don't know how authentic it is (i.e. whether that poor baby in the bucket has been photoshop'd in, for example). But I have seen scenes like this play out before me multiple times in the developing world.

Photo credit: Unknown. Someone emailed it to me w/o the credits. I can't find anything inspite of scouring the internet. Do email me if you have anymore information.

World's largest entrepreneurial competition

China is leading the way. India already has something similar but it has yet to mobilize the same number of people. Imagine if there was a Pan Asia competition. That would include over a third of the world's population. From PSFK:

Broadcast on China’s CCTV national television, “Win in China” (赢在中国) is the world’s largest and most lucrative business plan competition. With over $5 million in prize money, the TV show pits 120,000 entrepreneurs competing to win $1.5 million dollars to invest in the winner’s business plan.

The documentary, produced by Robert Compton, follows the TV show of the same name and features entrepreneur celebrities such as Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group and Chairman of China Yahoo, who served as Head Judge and Liu Chuanzhi, founder of computer giant Lenovo.

CCTV host sums up the role played by entrepreneurs in China: “Today, entrepreneurs are the biggest heroes in our society.”