GIGA Working Papers

Can consulting improve productivity and employment among small firms in developing countries? Our rigorous impact evaluation in Côte d’Ivoire shows that while a light-touch consulting programme had only muted impacts on business practices and firm performance, job quality improved herewith.

The Islamic faith as a key factor influencing the integration of Muslim immigrants in Western Europe has been the subject of numerous studies by now. This Working Paper examines instead research findings in a non-European context, namely that of the multi-religious societies of Guyana and Suriname.

This Working Paper examines the practice of “voto consigna,” or the making of collective electoral decisions. Shown is how this practice protects the Uru indigenous minority people in Bolivia from outside influence while also making them vulnerable to patronage offers from political candidates.

Evidence shows a growing trend of chief executives personalising power in autocracies and democracies. Yet, scholarly focus remains siloed according to regime type. This Working Paper presents an overarching framework on the “Personalisation of Executive Power,” identifying the involved mechanisms.

The local labour-market impacts of special economic zones in Vietnam are examined. SEZs have led to a rapid shift in employment from agriculture and services to manufacturing, accompanied by wage increases and more formal employment, as benefitting most women and less educated younger individuals.

Non-state armed actors come in a variety of shapes including warlord-led groups. In war or lower-level armed conflict, and violence-prone contexts, these groups pose severe problems to peacebuilding, democratic governance, and sustainable development. This trend analysis maps cross-regional developments.

This Working Paper analyses the nature and effects of sanctions pressure imposed on authoritarian regimes, reviews mechanisms of how economic and diplomatic restrictions work, and examines authoritarian targets’ attempts to engage in pressure proofing.

The impact of digitalisation on labour markets is felt worldwide. In the Global South, internet access expands, digital platforms proliferate, but access to and use of digital technologies remains far from universal. We review evidence on the labour markets effects of some of these digital trends.

This working paper examines the military’s contributions to COVID-19 pandemic responses and their implications for democracy in eight countries in in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.