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In order to design, enact, and protect poverty alleviation policies in developing countries, we must first understand the psychology of how the poor react to their plight, and not just the psychology of the privileged called upon for sacrifice. This book integrates social and psycho-dynamic psychology, economics, policy design, and policy-process theory to explore ways to follow through on successful poverty-alleviation initiatives, while averting destructive conflict. Using eight case studies across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, William Ascher examines successes and failures in helping the poor through affirmative action, cash transfers, social-spending targeting, subsidies, and regional development. In doing so, he demonstrates how social identities, attributions of deservingness, and perceptions of the policy process shape both the willingness to support pro-poor policies and the conflict that emerges over distributional issues.

The challenges of conflict sensitive poverty alleviation -- Political economy considerations -- Identity, attributions, deservingness judgments, and hostility -- Conditional cash transfers -- Social-sector spending targeting the poor -- Pro-poor subsidies and the problem of leakage -- Affirmative action -- Regional development targeting the poorest areas -- How the wealthy react to pro-poor-labeled initiatives -- Lessons and conclusions.

"Understanding the Policymaking Process in Developing Countries provides a uniquely comprehensive and practical framework for development practitioners, policymakers, activists, and students to diagnose and improve policy processes in developing countries across a wide range of issues. Based on the classic policy sciences approach, the book offers over 100 diagnostic indicators keyed to identify problems of policy processes, policy content, bureaucratic behavior, stakeholder behavior, and national-subnational interactions. This multi-disciplinary framework is applied to a host of policy problems that particularly plague countries experiencing the 'under-development syndrome', including aborted programs and projects, policy impasses, distorted implementation, unnecessary harm and conflict, and shortsighted initiatives. These points are illustrated through cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Based on the developing countries' distinctive challenges, the book also offers recommendations on improving policy content and institutions to address the typical limitations"--

Humans are plagued by shortsighted thinking, preferring to put off work on complex, deep-seated, or difficult problems in favor of quick-fix solutions to immediate needs. When short-term thinking is applied to economic development, especially in fragile nations, the results-corruption, waste, and faulty planning-are often disastrous. In Bringing in the Future, William Ascher draws on the latest research from psychology, economics, institutional design, and legal theory to suggest strategies to overcome powerful obstacles to long-term planning in developing countries. Drawing on cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Ascher applies strategies such as the creation and scheduling of tangible and intangible rewards, cognitive exercises to increase the understanding of longer-term consequences, self-restraint mechanisms to protect long-term commitments and enhance credibility, and restructuring policy-making processes to permit greater influence of long-term considerations. Featuring theoretically informed research findings and sound policy examples, this volume will assist policy makers, activists, and scholars seeking to understand how the vagaries of human behavior affect international development.

"The Economic Roots of Conflict and Cooperation in Africa" explores how the development strategies of African nations shape the nature and dynamics of inter-group violence. The overview chapter assesses development doctrines, patterns of development, and levels and nature of violence in both North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on eleven countries, the case-study contributions explore the immediate and long-term impacts of development initiatives on reducing or increasing inter-group conflict and violence. They demonstrate the importance of evolving identities as economic roles and conditions change. These insights can guide policymakers, development professionals, and activists committed to conflict-sensitive development

This book combines overviews of the nature and causes of inter-group violence in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa with a collection of country case studies. Both the overview chapter and the case studies trace how economic policy initiatives, and consequent changes in the roles and statuses of various groups, shape conflict or cooperation

This book addresses the key challenges of balancing economic growth, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection in the development of major physical infrastructure, ranging from transport to energy.

Chapter 1.Introduction -- Chapter 2. Understanding Internal Migration -- Part I Stakeholders: The State, Migrants, and Hosts. Chapter 3. The Primacy of the State -- Chapter 4. The Many Levels of the State -- Chapter 5. Sympathy for the State: Coping with Internal Migration -- Chapter 6. Migrants in Train: State-Initiated and Managed Migrations -- Chapter 7. Unsponsored Migrants: The Enterprising -- Chapter 8. Unsponsored Migrants: The Expelled -- Chapter 9. Room to Let? Host Community Perspectives.-Part II. What Can Go Wrong. Chapter 10. Migratory Deprivations -- Chapter 11.Migratory Conflicts: Sons of the Soil.-Chapter 12. State Failures -- Part III. What to Do About It. Chapter 13. State Accountability: Theory, Evasion, and Potential Remedies -- Chapter 14. State Responses and Best Practices -- Chapter 15. Societal Responses -- Chapter 16. The International Community -- Chapter 17. Lessons in Governing Internal Migration.

Internal migration : challenges in governance & integration / Shane Joshua Barter and William Ascher -- Preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence in and around South Sudan's protection of civilian (POC) sites / Alicia Elaine Luedke -- How IDPs navigate the resettlement process in Bogotá, Colombia / Juan Esteban Zea -- Unsettled states : displacement, governance, and integration in the South Caucasus / Lee J.M. Seymour and Marek Brzezinski -- Competing mobilization of tribal and class identity : politics of internal migration in North India / Rumela Sen -- The political economy of special economic zones and internal displacement in India / Vineeta Yadav -- "Adopting migrants as brothers and sisters" : fictive kinship as a mechanism of conflict resolution and conflict prevention in Lampung, Indonesia / Isabelle Côté -- Displacement and reintegration in Aceh, Indonesia / Shane Joshua Barter -- Vexed returns : Vietnamese returnee interactions with home and state / Ivan V. Small.

Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia explores the links between Asian governments' development strategies and the nature and dynamics of inter-group violence, analyzing variations in strategies and their impacts through broad comparative analyses, as well as case studies focused on eight countries. Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia explores the links between Asian governments' development strategies and the nature and dynamics of inter-group violence. The overview chapters comprehensively assess the development doctrines, patterns of development, and levels and nature of violence in all Asian subregions, while case-study contributions focusing on eight countries explore the often surprising impacts of development initiatives on reducing or increasing inter-group conflict and violence ranging from West Asia to Southeast Asia. The variations in strategies and their impacts on multiple risks of violence can guide policymakers, development professionals, and activists committed to conflict-sensitive development.