Development Data on your iPhone!

Wow- World Bank walking the ICT4D talk! The World Bank has developed an iphone app that contains much of its massive development data. (Sounds like an obscure app, I know, but it would have come in useful for example last night during my Berkeley lecture when I quickly needed to get a sense of how China's corruption index compared to India.)


If you've ever needed a quick fix of GDP (or any other such data) to go, World Bank's new DataFinder app should help... Once it is available (early April), you'll be able to access, graph, and share World Bank data whenever you need it, right on your iPhone.

The DataFinder app taps into a subset of the World Development Indicators that are currently available in the API.  Users can choose indicators, countries, and time spans, and have data charted right on their phone. The charts can be saved to the phone, emailed to friends, and used anywhere an image can be embedded, print and on the web. A few screenshots below: (via Sameer Vasta's post at the World Bank blog)






Get more details from Sameer Vasta's post at the World Bank blog.

Reminder to students: Class tomorrow on "Law and Governance- Doing Business in China"

My class will be on "Law and Governance- Doing Business in China", from 6pm-8pm at Haas Haas Cheit C250 tomorrow 3/31. Ps. Registered students, please visit the Haas school wiki using your CalNet ID for the reading materials and case study we will be using, if you have not already done so, and be prepared to share your experiences as well as your thoughts about the case. 

New research paper on corruption and governance

Wow, that dataset would sure be interesting. I wonder if there is any future attempt to put it into a searchable online format? Anyway, the paper is Who Bribes in Public Contracting and Why: Worldwide Evidence from Firms by Anna D'Souza  (Economic Research Service, USDA) and Daniel Kaufmann (The Brookings Institution)

Abstract:
We utilize survey data from over 11,000 firms operating in 125 countries and a profit-maximizing cost-benefit framework to study the determinants of procurement bribery. About one-third of firms bribe to secure public contracts, with an average bribe of 7.9% of the contract value. Econometric estimations suggest that the demand-side of good governance (voice and democratic accountability, press freedom, transparency) and the supply-side (rule of law, government effectiveness), along with competition, significantly reduce the incidence and magnitude of bribery by firms. Multinational firms appear sensitive to reputational risks in their home countries, but also partially adapt to their host country environment, with 20% bribing in middle- and low-income countries, but only 11% bribing in OECD countries; in contrast, 36% of domestic firms bribe. Larger and foreign-owned firms are less likely to bribe than smaller domestic ones, yet among bribers, foreign and domestic firms pay similar amounts. This suggests that reputational risks – affecting the decision to bribe, not the amount – are important. The results point to potential policy measures that raise the costs and lower the benefits of bribing, e.g., public disclosure of firms that bribe, and cast doubt on conventional initiatives that may not affect profits, e.g., voluntary codes of conduct.

Keywords: governance, corruption, bribery, public contracting, public procurement

Tomorrow: Nigerian Internet Business Opportunities- #ICT4D Skype Chat

I will be attending this 5th (?) #ICT4D Chat tomorrow, and will update this post with the chat summary when it's available. We used to do this on twitter but our Nigerian partners have requested a chat on skype instead.


Official announcement from ICTWorks:

Are you interested in Internet-based business opportunities in Nigeria? Wondering what the possibilities and challenges are? And if Ghana, Kenya, or another African country might have a better online business environment?

Then join us for the next ICT4D Skype Chat:

• Nigeria Internet Business Opportunities
  ICT4D Skype Public Chat
  6pm, Lagos Time, March 26th
  (find in your timezone)

Like our Twitter Chats, this will be a freewheeling conversation around our central topic - Nigerian Internet business opportunities - using the Skype Public Chat function. Be sure to get Skype to join us as we discuss:

1. What are the online business opportunities in Nigeria?
2. Are they greater than in Ghana or Kenya?
3. How can Nigeria regain or extend her lead in online business?

This Skype chat will also feature four noted Internet experts discussing Nigerian Business opportunities:ti

• Loy Okezie of StartupsNigeria
• Oladejo Fabolude of Digital Crossings
• Sheriff Shittu O. of WebTrends Nigeria
• Oluniyi David Ajao of Web4Africa

'Mobile Phones and Developing Countries'- presentation by Vodafone, hosted by Technology Salon

Technology Salon, a face-to-face forum for development and technology professionals which was started by a colleague and friend Wayan Vota in DC, was for the first time held in San Francisco this morning. I was happy to be part of the San Francisco Bay Area group of ICT4D folks who discussed about mobile phones in developing countries. It always thrills me to be able to talk honestly about technology in developing countries, as well as get to know more people who are interested in this niche, and often misunderstood, field.

Today's presentation was by Terry Kramer, now Regional President - Vodafone Americas, on the current mobile industry and its implications to the developing world. Official announcement is here.

Brief summary (many of the points also contain my own thoughts) follows:

• The Mobile Industry
• History of the mobile industry (Terry had a great intro slide that, if I can find, I will link to- it shows the 'old' brick like mobile phones of the early 90s, and brought me into a mood of nostalgia for the times when I still felt smarter than my phone).
  

'Law and Development' academic course syllabus

Recently, I was updating my own 'law and development' syllabus and called some colleagues and friends to try to find out what the state of that teaching is. I'm impressed at the diversity of courses that are focussed on 'law and development', and the different areas of emphasis. It goes to show that this is indeed a very broad field with many levels of entry.  So far, these are the professors, schools and courses I am able to compile- you can google most of these to find the syllabus online. I hope to make this a live working file in the near future so that collaborators can update it anytime.

Professor Name	School	Department	Course Name	Year/Semester
Professor David Kennedy	The School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London	Law	Law and Development	2009-2010 (Fall 2009)
Prof. Karol Boudreaux	GMU Law School	Law	Law and International Development
Melissa Thomas	Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University	Law	Law and Development	Spring, 2010
Associate Professor Maxine Burkett	U Colorado Boulder Law School	Law	International Development Law & Policy	Spring 2008
James Cooper, Visiting Professor Institute Professor, California Western School of Law	Earl Warren College, UCSD	Law	Law and Development in the Americas
Kevin Davis	NYU School of Law	Law	Law and Development	Fall, 2006
Prof. Frank K. Upham	NYU School of Law	Law	Law and Development	Fall 2008
David Trubek & John Ohnesorge	Wisconsin	Law	Law and Modernization in the Developing World
Alvaro Santos	University of Texas Law School	Law	Economic Development and Law	Fall 2005
Professor Tom Ginsburg Professor Thomas Ulen	University of Illinois, College of Law	Law	Law and Economic Development	Fall Semester, 2005
Professor Mark Sidel	University of Iowa	Law	Law and Development	Spring 2004
Professor John Norton Moore	University of Virginia	Law	International Development Law The Rule of Law: Controlling Government (Seminar in Contemporary Legal Thought)	Fall 2009
Ruth L. Okediji	Duke	Law	International Development Law	Fall 2008, Fall 2007

The Last Mile and Vermont- by Matt Dunne, candidate for Vermont Governor

Matt Dunne, current candidate for Vermont Governor, delivered a presentation today on 'Transforming the Last Mile State' at Berkman's Lawlab Series. What I was interested in is finding parallels, if any, between the 'last mile' in a US state and the 'last mile' in developing countries. I have below firstly, my reactions to his presentation, and then a summary of his presentation itself, with the official event announcement:

Reactions:

• While his interest in 'broadband' is passionate, his political message was more key. It does remind me of many government 'IT' champions in developing countries.
• I worry about too much technology determinism on his part= "Tech Will bring Good (and only good)", again very common among IT proponents in developing countries (and elsewhere)
• The technology is not the hard part, particularly for Vermont as a 'last state' (as he claimed) that can study lessons already learned in other States and countries
• I wonder about the causation between his claim of broadband with competitiveness (ie does broadband directly cause competitiveness and therefore 'development?')
• His claim that Vermont can go 'From Worst to First' because of Broadband, I question if it is too simplistic and reliant on leapfrogging technology (there was not much mention about the non-technology issues that often, if not always, overwhelm the technology).

Summary:

Here is my summary (liveblogged) about his presentation:

World Bank New Publication: Justice and Development Working Paper Series

As an offshoot of the World Bank's Justice of the Poor program (and supported by the Justice Reform Practice Group), the Bank has previously announced and recently published its inaugural volume of its new Justice and Development Working Paper Series. Official literature is adapted for your information as follows:

About 

The Justice and Development Working Paper Series serves as a platform for new and innovative thinking on justice and development, featuring work from World Bank staff and external authors. It is a knowledge product of the World Bank’s Justice Reform Practice Group, which generates knowledge and provides advice and assistance to Bank staff and Bank client countries on building and improving state and non-state justice system institutions and mechanisms. Justice and Development disseminates the findings of works in progress to facilitate a more rapid exchange of ideas about development issues and justice reform.

Call for Papers
Justice and Development seeks original research papers on law, justice and development. We welcome publications from both Bank colleagues and external contributors. Manuscripts must be in English, and no longer than 25-30 pages. They can be submitted to the Editorial Office at any time of the year. All submitted papers will be carefully reviewed by the Editorial Board. Criteria for selection include rigorous scholarship and innovative approaches related to law/justice and development. If you are interested in submitting a paper, please call +1 202 458 2950 or email: mayano@worldbank.org.

Online Access
http://go.worldbank.org/OP73V82SJ0

Inaugural Volume
2009 Volume 1- The inaugural volume of the Justice and Development Working Paper Series consists of three papers on local-level dynamics of justice and governance in Sierra Leone. These essays — one about the interaction between local councils and traditional authorities, another one about the power relations between youth and their elders, and a third one about false development promises - are the products of qualitative research conducted in 2006 and 2007 by the World Bank Sierra Leone Justice for the Poor team. The papers aim to enrich our empirical understanding of the workings of justice and governance in the country. The goal of Justice for the Poor, in Sierra Leone and elsewhere, is to employ such knowledge to improve development practice. Papers include:

• Background methodology paper: Justice for the Poor and Understanding Processes of Change in Local Governance by Ryann Elizabeth Manning 
• Issue 1: The Landscape of Local Authority in Sierra Leone: How "Traditional" and "Modern" Justice Systems Interact by Ryann Elizabeth Manning 
• Issue 2: Challenging Generations: Youths and Elders in Rural and Peri-Urban Sierra Leone by Ryann Elizabeth Manning 
• Issue 3: Exploitation of Poor Communities in Sierra Leone: False Promises in Reconstruction and Development by Ryann Elizabeth Manning 

You can access these papers (and others in future series) here on the World Bank website.