The Asia Foundation

Occasional Paper No. 2, July 2010

The processes of development are fundamentally shaped by powerful political, economic, and security actors in aid-recipient countries. These actors use their influence to shape formal governance...

Occasional Paper No. 2, July 2010

The processes of development are fundamentally shaped by powerful political, economic, and security actors in aid-recipient countries. These actors use their influence to shape formal governance institutions, policies, and the distribution of development assistance to advance their interests. The political settlements framework is an important new approach that may help international development organizations to better understand and respond to this reality and the challenges to developmental progress that is often affected by political dynamics in developing countries. This paper seeks to translate the concepts underlying political settlements into principles, strategies, and guidelines for practical action by donors and other development assistance organizations.

Thomas Parks, Regional Director for Governance and Conflict, The Asia Foundation
William Cole, Senior Director, Governance, Law, and Civil Society Programs & Program Strategy and Development, The Asia Foundation

A Measure of Economic Governance at the District Level (June 2010)

The Asia Foundation releases a pioneering survey ranking the business-friendliness in 19 districts in Bangladesh. 3,800 firms – many of them micro, small, and...

A Measure of Economic Governance at the District Level (June 2010)

The Asia Foundation releases a pioneering survey ranking the business-friendliness in 19 districts in Bangladesh. 3,800 firms – many of them micro, small, and medium-sized businesses – were polled on their perceptions of the local business environment, such as entry costs, transparency, informal charges, tax administration, and land security.

Worldwide, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 19 and 44 – more than war, cancer, or car accidents. Apart from the individual suffering, it carries high a cost for society and is a major...

Worldwide, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 19 and 44 – more than war, cancer, or car accidents. Apart from the individual suffering, it carries high a cost for society and is a major obstacle to development. This mapping is expected to inform the Gender Based Violence Complaints Handling and Monitoring Unit set up under the Office of the Prime Minister, government ministries, organizations working in the field of GBV, and various other stakeholders on the activities being carried out on GBV around the country and the key actors involved. Thus, this preliminary mapping is expected to set the groundwork for more extensive research to ensure that overlapping and duplication is considerably avoided and to contribute towards the designing of a holistic plan and support for effectively addressing GBV in Nepal.

The Survey on Good Local Governance is a 38-item survey that aims to obtain a broader data to help set the agenda for local government reforms. It covers the following: citizen perception on the quality of local government services, trust...

The Survey on Good Local Governance is a 38-item survey that aims to obtain a broader data to help set the agenda for local government reforms. It covers the following: citizen perception on the quality of local government services, trust rating of local officials and institutions, citizen satisfaction on local government services, public-private partnership and citizen participation, and citizen perception of corruption in local governments.

The Rapid Field Appraisal (RFA) was developed as a monitoring tool by the USAID-funded Local Development Assistance Program (LDAP), and produced a wealth of information that was intended "to give decision-makers in the Philippines a ground...

The Rapid Field Appraisal (RFA) was developed as a monitoring tool by the USAID-funded Local Development Assistance Program (LDAP), and produced a wealth of information that was intended "to give decision-makers in the Philippines a ground level feel of what was happening throughout the country in the process of Code implementation." This RFA focuses on the progress of decentralization on the ground, i.e., what the local governments have done in exercising the powers that were devolved to them as provided by the 1991 Local Government Code (LGC), as well as the benefits to the people that followed from them.

A Report by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (July 2010)

The Report is an output of CCHR's Human Trafficking Trial Monitoring Sub-Project, supported by The Asia Foundation, and part of the wider CCHR Trial Monitoring Project. The...

A Report by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (July 2010)

The Report is an output of CCHR's Human Trafficking Trial Monitoring Sub-Project, supported by The Asia Foundation, and part of the wider CCHR Trial Monitoring Project. The purpose of the sub-project is to monitor human trafficking trials in Cambodia in order to assess their fairness, for both the victims and the accused, against fair trial standards; and to assess the impact of recent legal developments aimed at combating human trafficking, including the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation 2008 (the "LHTSE"). CCHR aims to use the findings of the Report as a basis for dialogue with the judiciary and other relevant stakeholders, and hopes that the Report will serve as a useful tool for research and study related to human trafficking and fair trial rights in Cambodia.

Since it reopened its office in Afghanistan in 2002, The Asia Foundation has established strong links with the formal education system, and also supports civil society organizations to provide remedial, vocational, and other non-formal...

Since it reopened its office in Afghanistan in 2002, The Asia Foundation has established strong links with the formal education system, and also supports civil society organizations to provide remedial, vocational, and other non-formal education and training for women and girls. The Foundation works both to increase girls' access to education as well as to improve the quality of education offered. During the years of conflict, the Foundation supported education for Afghan girls and women living in refugee camps in Pakistan. During the Taliban years, when girls were banned from school, the Foundation supported PARSA, a local Kabul-based organization that ran home schools for girls.

Occasional Paper No. 3, September 2010

This paper sketches out the operational features of emerging political economy-based approaches to sectoral economic policy reform. Section 1 traces some of the literature on the political...

Occasional Paper No. 3, September 2010

This paper sketches out the operational features of emerging political economy-based approaches to sectoral economic policy reform. Section 1 traces some of the literature on the political economy analysis of reforms. Section 2 outlines the international development community’s increasing recognition of the political economy aspects of economic governance, and their efforts to undertake sharper political economy analysis of reform challenges. Finally, in Section 3 the paper identifies elements of operational reform approaches that move beyond disengaged political economy analysis towards on-the-ground implementation of political strategies in policy reform processes.

V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Director, Economic Reform and Development, The Asia Foundation

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010,...

Presentation at the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy’s “U.S.-ROK Workshop on Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Nonproliferation” held in collaboration with The Stimson Center and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, July 21-22, 2010, Daejeon, Korea.

The ninth semi-annual Corruption Benchmarking Survey (CBS) was conducted, in collaboration with the Sant Maral Foundation. The purpose of this survey is to better understand the scope and incidence of corruption at the household level in...

The ninth semi-annual Corruption Benchmarking Survey (CBS) was conducted, in collaboration with the Sant Maral Foundation. The purpose of this survey is to better understand the scope and incidence of corruption at the household level in Mongolia.