Working Papers

The pandemic has progressed differently across the world. Using monthly data on COVID-19 cases and fatalities, we evaluate whether income inequality is an important factor in explaining cross-country differences in the spread and mortality of the virus. The results show that income inequality is positively correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases. Higher income inequality is associated with a more rapid spread of the virus and an increase in the number of cases, indirectly increasing mortality rates as well. Also, higher levels of inequality are associated with reduced effectiveness of social distancing measures in containing new infections. Thus, elevated inequalities place…

Does digitalization reduce corruption? What are the benefits of data-driven digital government innovations to strengthen public integrity and advance the Sustainable Development Goals? While the correlation between digitalization and corruption is well established, there is less actionable evidence on the effects of specific digitalization reforms on different types of corruption and the policy channels through which they operate. This paper unbundles the integrity dividends of digital reforms that the pandemic has accelerated. It analyses the rise of integrity-tech and integrity analytics in the anticorruption space, deployed by data-savvy integrity institutions. It also assesses the…

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third Conference on Financing for Development underscores sustainable and resilient infrastructure as a pre-requisite to sustainable development. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are expected to deliver infrastructure in furtherance of this Agenda. In view of this expectation, twelve prominent PPP guidelines were reviewed for alignment with the Addis Agenda and key public governance factors. The research found that the PPP guidelines are not sufficiently aligned with the Addis Agenda, have insufficient sustainability content, and do not acknowledge the role of the public in PPPs. It recommends that the next generation of the guidelines address these…