VoxDevLit Reflections

The majority of women in Pakistan do not access paid, formal work. They are trapped in low-productivity agriculture and the informal sector by social norms that impose heavy domestic burdens and stigmatise working outside the home. Effective policy m...

Egypt’s persistently low female labour force participation reflects not a lack of education, but structural barriers – segmented labour demand, heavy unpaid care burdens, restrictive social norms, and weak policy enforcement – that prevent women’s ed...

Argentina’s volatile macroeconomic and political environment – marked by inflation, debt crises, and policy instability – makes it difficult to commit to the long-term investments needed for climate adaptation, despite the country’s high vulnerabilit...

Pakistan’s tax system shows that even with extensive withholding and VAT-based reporting, weak documentation and limited enforcement capacity – exacerbated by political resistance – undermine revenue collection, highlighting the need to strengthen bo...

Despite recent gains due to rural self-employment, India’s female labour force participation remains constrained by entrenched social norms and a limited availability of quality jobs – keeping the gender gap in work persistently wide.

Public confidence in Pakistan's bureaucratic effectiveness is at an all-time low. What does research tell us about the incentives, selection, and training needed to improve the current state of civil service?

While the female labour force participation rate in China is currently above the global average, it has declined in recent decades, and women still face numerous structural challenges in the labour market. What are these barriers, and how can policy ...

How will climate change impact Bangladesh? How should policymakers respond to the growing threats of climate change? What are key priorities for climate change adaptation in Bangladesh?

How are Zambians utilising mobile money? What effect does mobile money have on rural poverty? Could tax changes slow mobile money growth?