December 22, 2016 (links edition #4)

The hype for universal basic income grants is reaching new heights in the wake of pilots in Finland and India

Free Cash in Finland. Must be Jobless, Peter S. Goodman, 17th December 2016, nytimes.com

Basic income paid to the poor can transform lives, Guy Standing, 18th December 2014, theguardian.com

 

A forthcoming WD article by IMF colleagues on fossil fuel subsidies (estimated to account for 6.5% of global GDP in 2015)

How Large Are Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies?, David Coady, Ian ParryLouis Sears and Baoping Shang, March 2017, World Development Volume 91, pages 11-27

 

The experience with conditional cash transfers in the United States has been somewhat controversial: here is a reflection on what worked and what didn’t in NYC, and new evidence from their application in Memphis and the Bronx.

New York City’s First Conditional Cash Transfer Program: What Worked, What Didn’t, James Riccio and Cynthia Miller, MDRC

Effects of a Modified Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Two American Cities, Cynthia Miller, Rhiannon Miller, et al, MDRC

 

A wave of social protection papers on Africa, covering lessons from history, social contracts, redistribution, slums, and gender

Learning from the past to shape the future: Lessons from the history of humanitarian action in Africa, Christina Bennett, Matthew Foley and Hanna B. Krebs (Editors), Humanitarian Policy Group Working Paper, Overseas Development Institute

Strengthening Citizenship: Social Grants and the State–Citizen Relationship in South Africa, Hannah Hudson, December 2016, IDS Working Paper Volume 2016 No. 482

Mineral wealth and limited redistribution: social transfers and taxation in Botswana, Marianne S. Ulriksen, Journal of Contemporary African Studies

Promoting urban poverty reduction in Uganda: Lessons for Slum-Dweller Federations, December 2016, ESID Briefing No. 26

Social protection and the empowerment of rural women in Africa, Raquel Tebaldi, Mariana Hoffmann and Maja Gavrilovic, December 2016, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth

 

More facts on displacement and the Syrian crisis, and a new Brookings paper taking a hard look at aid effectiveness in fragile contexts

10 Things to know about Refugees and Displacement, 2016, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute

Aid effectiveness in fragile states: How bad is it and how can it improve?, Laurence Chandy, Brina Seidel and Christine Zang, December 2016, Brooke Shearer Series Number 5

 

A new discussion paper and blog on managing resilience and complexity

Navigating Complexity: Climate, Migration and Conflict in a Changing World, Schuyler Null and Lauren Herzer Risi, Discussion Paper, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

When disaster strikes, we’re more ready than ever before, Nick Guttmann, 9th December 2014, theguardian.com

 

Digital and phone-based cash transfer payments featuring in several outlets, i.e., CGD, Vox, and The Economist

Cellphones have lifted hundreds of thousands of Kenyans out of poverty, Zeeshan Aleem, 8th December 2016, vox.com

Mobile phones are transforming Africa, 10th December 2016, economist.com

Digital Payments as a Platform for Improving State Capacity, Dan Radcliffe, CGD Background Paper

 

Two ‘top-100’ lists: the best books on cities and urban areas, and Collier’s proposal for refugee economic zones propelling him among the top 100 FP thinkers for 2016

The 100 “Best” Books on City-Making Ever Written? Brent Toderian, 13th December 2013, planetizen.com

For zoning Syrian dignity, FP Global Thinkers 2016