India pursued one of the largest programs of land reforms on record since the 1950s. These reforms were aimed at securing access to land for the vast majority of rural households dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. There is mixed evidence on the effect of these reforms on poverty. Moreover, the long run welfare consequences of these reforms have not been evaluated. Using across-stat...

This article reviews the current trends and impact of mass incarceration on communities of color, with a focus on criminal justice policy and practice contributors to racial disparity. The impact of these disproportionate incarceration rates on public safety, offenders, and communities are discussed. Recommendations for criminal justice and other policy reforms to reduce unwarranted racial disp...

This study focuses on recent developments in the industrialised countries, in particular in Europe, that may have relevancy for energy policy formulation in China. At the request of the study commission special attention is paid to: • Institutional aspects of energy policy design and implementation. • Liberalisation in the power subsector. • Experiences with restructuring the coal subsector. • ...

we typically think of acutely and chronically mentally ill patients as those who belong in psychiatric hospitals and the latter category of patients belonging in “regular” hospitals, but the intersection of physical and mental illness draws attention to important challenges for policy-makers and organizational leaders. this article illuminates some broad trends in the health status of people wi...

Since about 1990, many developing and transition countries have undertaken market-oriented reforms in their electric power sectors. Despite the widespread adoption of a standard policy model, reform processes and outcomes have often failed to meet expectations. Drawing on an extensive literature review and case studies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, this paper describes com...

I find John Taylor’s review of the mistakes of the past very inspiring, but I am not willing to write off time-consistency problems as easily as he does. In some European countries, strong labor movements seem to have imposed unrealistically high employment goals on fiscal and monetary policy. These movements seem to have done their best to block any reform and deregulation of labor markets and...

Managing food price risks and instability is a major challenge in the midst of ongoing food market reforms. This article summarizes the key findings from the papers in this special volume (the result of an international workshop of academics and practitioners). Questions addressed revolve around five broad areas: (i) the sources and magnitudes of food price instability in different country cont...

This paper provides new evidence on the impacts of trade reforms on wages. Instead of achieving identification by comparing industrial wages before and after one episode of trade liberalization, our strategy exploits the recent historical record of policy changes adopted by Argentina: from significant protection in the early 1970s, to the first episode of liberalization during the late 1970s, b...

India’s patent reforms represent a shift in India’s policy from one of enormous opposition to revising patent laws according to the WTO, to one of compliance with many aspects of TRIPs (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement. Industry and civil society had a strong interest in blocking reforms on IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights), and initially played an important role in preve...