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What does the evidence tell us about 'thinking and working politically' in development assistance?

Author

Listed:
  • Niheer Dasandi
  • Edward Laws
  • Heather Marquette
  • Mark Robinson

Abstract

This paper critically reviews evidence on 'thinking and working politically' in development. Scholars and practitioners have increasingly recognised that development is fundamentally political, and efforts are underway to develop more politically informed ways of thinking and working. The literature does not yet constitute a strong evidence base to link these efforts to more effective aid programming: much evidence is anecdotal, does not meet high standards of robustness, is not comparative, and draws on self-selected successes reported by programme insiders.

Suggested Citation

  • Niheer Dasandi & Edward Laws & Heather Marquette & Mark Robinson, 2019. "What does the evidence tell us about 'thinking and working politically' in development assistance?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-12, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2019-12
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-12.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Levy, Brian, 2014. "Working with the Grain: Integrating Governance and Growth in Development Strategies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199363810.
    2. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2009. "The Aid Effectiveness Literature: The Sad Results Of 40 Years Of Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 433-461, July.
    3. Batley, Richard & Mcloughlin, Claire, 2015. "The Politics of Public Services: A Service Characteristics Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 275-285.
    4. Verena Fritz & Brian Levy & Rachel Ort, 2014. "Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis : The World Bank's Experience," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 16389.
    5. Yanguas, Pablo & Hulme, David, 2015. "Barriers to Political Analysis in Aid Bureaucracies: From Principle to Practice in DFID and the World Bank," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 209-219.
    6. Sue Unsworth, 2009. "What's politics got to do with it?: Why donors find it so hard to come to terms with politics, and why this matters," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 883-894.
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    Cited by:

    1. Burns, Anthony Francis & Rajabifard, Abbas & Shojaei, Davood, 2023. "Undertaking land administration reform: Is there a better way?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

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