10 – Reduced inequalities
Trans-Saharan labour emigration from Niger: Local governance as mediator of its underlying causes and consequences
This report reviews the existing literature of trans-Saharan labour emigration from Niger both conducted by Nigeriens but also by other West Africans, given Niger’s importance as a country of transit. The literature on labour emigration from the Sahelian region, as in other parts of the world, is dominated by studies that emphasise particular causes (drought,…
Outmigration, Development, and Global Environmental Change. A Review and Discussion of Case Studies from the West African Sahel
This working paper gives an overview over literature on emigration from the West Sahel, with a selective focus on resource-dependent livelihoods and how they are connected to outmigration from the Sahel, especially regarding Senegal and Niger. To complete the picture, we also cover some studies on urban population groups and regions beyond the Sahel, although…
Theories of Migration in and from Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: Review and Critique of Current Literature
This working paper presents an overview of the global literature on migration with a focus on rural areas. It discusses the general structure of the field of migration studies and outlines a typology of approaches found within this literature. Different theories on migration are examined. An interesting finding is the large amount of evidence confirming…
Local Government and Migration: A Review of Literature and Media Narratives with focus on West African Sahel
Multiple questions are constantly asked about migration. What are the driving forces behind migration? What happens at the intersection of climate threats, social injustices and migration? Is migration a product of social structures or voluntary individual action? And in general, what is the role of local governments in relation to emigration? Many of these issues…
Access to Urban Services for Inclusive Development in Asia
Rapid urban growth has not benefited all residents equally, leading to an “urban divide”. The poor are left to bear most of the burdens and shortcomings particularly in terms of access to services. Despite its contribution to economic development, urbanization has led to an increasing incidence of urban poverty and inequity, deteriorating quality of the…
Co-production of Services in Informal Settlements
In many informal settlements, a large number of informal sector waste pickers collect and separate household waste, providing an important service. However, waste pickers represent one of the most excluded, impoverished and disempowered segments of society. This study explores the challenges and potential solutions for the co-production of participatory waste management services in informal settlements,…
Participatory Budgeting and Local Governance
Participatory budgeting has become a much used tool in the process of creating decentralized states, but what are the possibilities and risks of participatory budgeting from a democratic perspective? In this paper the challenge of creating well-functioning systems for participatory budgeting that combines both efficiency and civic participation is examined by studying local participatory budgeting…
Real Democratization in Cambodia? An Empirical Review of the Potential of a Decentralization Reform
How can a war-torn country rise and in the process create democratic institutions? This paper uses Cambodia as an example and tries to identify some of the key dimensions of the Cambodian decentralization reform. The question in focus, how the process of decentralization and local development is played out in a post-conflict country is thoroughly…
Citizen Engagement, Deliberative Spaces and the Consolidation of a Post-Authoritarian Democracy: The Case of Indonesia
Is there a correlation of strong civil society organizations taking part in a decentralization process and the possibilities that this process will result in a strong deliberative democracy and a well-functioning local government? By presenting different examples of how local CSO:s in post-authoritarian Indonesia engage with the government, the author argues that there has been…