At a time of increasing unease about the checks and balances for the use of AI, some African countries are spending more on harmful surveillance of their citizens.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Institute of Development Studies
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) delivers world-class research, learning and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally.
Through equitable and sustainable partnerships, we work with governments, philanthropic foundations, non-governmental organisations, academics and civil society to transform approaches to progressive social, political and economic change in ways that ultimately make a difference to people’s lives.
We have helped foster innovative new partnerships that have generated millions of dollars in additional tax revenues in Africa that can be reinvested in countries’ national development. We have worked to provide solutions to environmental problems that build on local people’s knowledge and practices. We have highlighted the role of local communities in bringing an end to deadly epidemics like the Ebola virus. We have nurtured hundreds of exceptional development leaders and champions including political leaders, country Ambassadors and government officials, civil society leaders and entrepreneurs.
Our reputation for research and international outlook is second to none and reflected in our performance in the latest QS World University Rankings where we are ranked first in the world for development studies, together with the University of Sussex. We are also ranked as the number one international development policy think-tank by the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 31 articles
Digital tax filing can improve accuracy and timeliness but it doesn’t always translate into higher tax revenue.
A world without pastoralists would not only be a poorer place, but we would lose an important lifeline to our collective future.
Children working on family farms is often mistaken for harmful child labour.
Domestic resource mobilisation cannot be achieved by over-taxing the livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers in the informal sector.
Instead of the deluge of external interventions, ways must be found to build resilience from below, drawing on local practices and networks.
Tinkering around the margins of English farms won’t benefit biodiversity, research suggests.
Pastoral communities should be included in conservation initiatives – but the ecology of pastoral lands has long been misunderstood.
Facing human threats, Mumbai’s Koli community are taking risk reduction into their own hands – other vulnerable coastal settlements should take note.
The tax on electronic transactions has not generated as much revenue as the government of Ghana expected.
For expensive oil and gas to be politically acceptable, two things must happen.
The focus on building democracy should be on more intermediary outcomes, which can serve as building blocks for longer term democratic renewal.
New evidence from Somalia points to effective ways to deliver public services in conflict-affected and fragile contexts.
Un discours simpliste tenu par des activistes, des célébrités, des philanthropes, des décideurs politiques voudrait que « tous les animaux d'élevage soient mauvais ». Ce qui est loin de la réalité.
At COP26 in Glasgow everyone was committed to saving the planet, but there were highly divergent views about how to do it.
Influential international actors like the World Bank and the IMF should focus on expanding social protection rather than focusing on eliminating the informal economy.
A simplistic ‘all livestock are bad’ narrative is promoted by campaigners, celebrities, philanthropists and policymakers alike. A much more sophisticated debate is needed.
Governments are purposefully using laws that lack clarity, or ignore laws completely, to carry out illegal surveillance of their citizens.
There is no substance to the view that poor people are lazy and prefer to live on handouts from the state rather than seek work.
Public statements against payroll fraud seem to materialise at strategic moments.
Authors
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Researcher, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Advisor, Institute of Development Studies
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Postdoctoral Fellow, International Centre for Tax and Development, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Emeritus Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Professor, Institute of Development Studies
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Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Associate Fellow of Political Economy, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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PhD candidate, Institute of Development Studies
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Digital Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
