Public Resource Governance System – Why is it stuck?
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
7M ago
IBP is currently updating our organizational strategy. We are using an explicitly systems-oriented lens and approach. One of the key questions is why is the system (in our case the system for raising and spending public resources, including on service delivery, with a focus on historically marginalized groups) stuck in a ‘vicious cycle’ of ineffectiveness and exclusion? Here is the short draft version that I came up with when going back to some of the key evidence on this question (some key sources noted at the end). Fiscal governance systems around the world operate in ways that exclude impor ..read more
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Patching Development and Strengthening Ecosystems
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
1y ago
In “Patching Development”, author Rajesh Veeraraghavan, explores the the “last mile” of implementing social and development programs, noting that implementation generally receives less attention that the “first mile” of political will and program design.  By choosing a case in which the “first mile” issues were not the main constraint,  “Pathing Development” focuses on what it takes to implement a development program in the context challenging of local political realities.  Veeraraghavan explores the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in the In ..read more
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Understanding, Navigating and Strengthening the Accountability Ecosystem: Emerging Lessons from a Learning Exchange
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
2y ago
Thanks to the various individuals who participated in the learning exchange over the past year, but particularly to Susan Kemp and Lauren Keevil for their input on this blog. As the COVID crisis deepened in 2020, questions about the accountability for governments’ responses – both in terms of public health and in support of economic livelihoods – began to be raised.  In particular, how to keep a more systemic lens on accountability, even in the midst of a rapidly evolving crisis that demanded adaptation.  A diverse set of individuals from a number of global organizations (Internation ..read more
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Response, Responsiveness and Accountability: Understanding Citizen-State Engagements
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
2y ago
Civic actors face a perennial question about their engagement with government: are their actions leading only to a one-off response by government that resolves an immediate issue, or are they contributing to changing the nature of citizen-state relations, promoting consistent responsiveness on the part of government?  To further complicate matters, it is important to question whether government responses are discretionary or reflect robust accountability.  How do civic actors know the difference and what are the implications for their work towards responsiveness and accountability?&n ..read more
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Reflecting on the U.S. Minimum Wage Campaign from a Broader Perspective on Inequality 
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
2y ago
I recently wrote a think piece with Inayat Sabhikhi exploring current efforts to address inequality through a broader lens of history, political contestation, and ideology. The central example we discussed is the Fight for $15 and One Fair Wage campaigns in the United States to increase the minimum wage and eliminate subminimum wages. In taking a broad perspective, the note draws significantly from the work of Thomas Piketty and his seminal work on the history of inequality (including my own reflections on his main ideas and their implications for reform efforts). Piketty focuses on how politi ..read more
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The Limits of Learning as Usual
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
2y ago
This blog was coauthored with Samir Khan (formerly International Budget Partnership), and reflects the inputs of Jorge Florez (Global Integrity), Kamyar Jarahzadeh (formerly National Resource Governance Institute), Tasadduq Rasul (Oxfam), as well as those of participants in the learning workshop in Ghana in 2020. It was originally posted on the Transparency and Accountability Initiative blog here. The field of fiscal governance encompasses an array of efforts to improve how governments manage public resources on behalf of their citizens.  With the support of international donors, glo ..read more
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Emerging lessons on working with grassroots actors to democratize budgets and services
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
2y ago
The organization I work for, the International Budget Partnership, is undertaking a program called SPARK that involves deep collaboration with grassroots civic actors as well as more technically proficient NGOs. I’ve previously outlined some of the program thinking and approach here and some of the insights from experts in the field that have informed our thinking here. It’s hard to believe, but next year is the fifth and final year of the program, and we are busy thinking about the next steps and how the program should evolve going forward. Below are just a few of my reflections and sense-mak ..read more
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Reflections on Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology Part 2: Lessons for the Struggle against Inequality
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
3y ago
In a previous post, I outlined the main ideas of Thomas Piketty’s monumental book Capital and Ideology. In this blog, I seek to outline ideas based on Piketty and others for addressing inequality going forward. What should we take away from Capital and Ideology? Perhaps Piketty is setting up the sequel to Capital and Ideology, or perhaps his editor said that after 1000 plus pages, c’est fini.  While the book closes with some outlines of actions to address inequality (starting points for discussion, Piketty emphasizes, rather than off-the-shelf policies), there is a frustrating gap between ..read more
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Reflections on Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology Part 1: How Politics and Ideas shape Inequality
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
3y ago
This is a longer post, but the book is 1000+ pages. This post focuses on the main ideas from Piketty’s book, while the following blog focuses on the key insights for current efforts to address inequality. “Inequality is neither economic nor technological; it is ideological and political…These choices [about policy, markets, role of the state, etc., which all influence inequality] are shaped by each society’s conception of social justice and economic fairness and by the relative political and ideological power of contending groups and discourses…this relative power is not exclusively material ..read more
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Citizens, Civil Society and Auditors: COVID-19 requires an ‘ecosystem’ approach to accountability
Politics, Governance and Development| Musings on the politics of governance and development
by Brendan Halloran
3y ago
This post first appeared on the International Budget Partnership’s blog here Governments around the world are at a critical juncture. Democracy is continuing to erode in countries across the globe, with increasing threats to citizens’ freedoms and restrictions on civic organizations. At the same time inequality is high and rising.  Frustration with governments (democratic or not) failing to address peoples’ needs, alongside cases of corruption, has caused citizens to take to the streets in unprecedented numbers, forcing government action. Yet often the root causes of impunity remain untou ..read more
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