Community-based paralegalism has been
active in the Philippines for the past 30 years, and yet its
contribution to access to justice and the advancement of the
rights and entitlements of the poor has been largely an
undocumented. This paper attempts to provide a framework
study on the history, nature, and scope of paralegal work in
the Philippines, based on the experience of 12 organizations
that are active in the training and development of

Women in post-conflict economies face a
number of challenges. Often their businesses stay at
embryonic stages only, due to three key limitations relating
to: knowledge of business vision and management; access to
finance and markets; and access to role models and networks.
Added to the complexity is the risk of having to start all
over again due to their countriesapos; political instability
and the limited infrastructure to make their businesses

Community-based paralegalism has been
active in the Philippines for the past 30 years, and yet its
contribution to access to justice and the advancement of the
rights and entitlements of the poor has been largely
undocumented. This paper attempts to provide a framework
study on the history, nature, and scope of paralegal work in
the Philippines, based on the experience of 12 organizations
that are active in the training and development of

This study uses a newly compiled database of women's property rights and legal capacity covering 100 countries over 50 years to test for the impact of legal reforms on employment, health, and education outcomes for women and girls. The database demonstrates gender gaps in the ability to access and own property, sign legal documents in one's own name, and have equality or non-discrimination as a guiding principle of the country's constitution. In the initial period, 75 countries had gender gaps in at least one of these areas and often multiple ones.

Using a newly compiled database of
women's property rights and legal capacity covering 100
countries over 50 years, this paper analyzes the triggers
and barriers to reform. The database documents gender gaps
in the ability to access and own assets, to sign legal
documents in one's own name, and to have equality or
non-discrimination as a guiding principle of the
country's constitution. Progress in reducing these

In the past 50 years women's legal
status has improved all over the world. But many laws still
make it difficult for women to fully participate in economic
life whether by getting jobs or starting businesses.
Discriminatory rules bar women from certain jobs, restrict
access to capital for women-owned firms and limit
women's capacity to make legal decisions. Gender
differences in laws affect both developing and developed

Theft of public assets from developing
countries is an immense problem with a staggering
development impact. These thefts diverts valuable public
resources from addressing the abject poverty and fragile
infrastructure often present in such countries. Although the
exact magnitude of the proceeds of corruption circulating in
the global economy is impossible to ascertain, estimates
demonstrate the severity and scale of the problem at $20 to

Island courts have been in operation in
Vanuatu since 1984. Official documents have hitherto
provided little information on their practical operations or
utility, and our preliminary research in 2010 found that not
much was known at the state governance level about their
real circumstances. In 2011, we conducted fieldwork research
on five islands, Efate, Santo, Malekula, Epi, and Tanna, to
provide better information on the practical operations of

This overview paper positions the
question of benefit sharing in the context of REDD plus. It
shares findings from a cursory review of a sample of
Readiness Preparation Proposals (RPP) for REDD plus
submitted to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
It deconstructs the concept of benefit sharing. It also
provides a summary of the main findings from three recent
studies on benefit sharing that were financed by the Program

Gender-poverty-environment links: a
focus on the links between gender disparity, poverty and
environmental degradation is increasingly recognized as a
key strategy for improving the lives of poor women and men.
Acknowledging the ways in which relationships between the
environment, society and the economy are gendered opens
space for new approaches to poverty reduction, environmental
conservation and gender equality. The Social Development

Expert statements indicate that annually
approximately 20 billion dollars will be needed to prevent
90 percent deforestation in tropical countries. Development
practitioners are eager to see the benefits from REDD plus
initiatives shared with local partners. Equally important to
understanding how local partners might benefit are questions
such as, who should derive benefits from REDD plus
initiatives, and how to ensure these initiatives reach the

This paper examines whether the son
preference and fertility behavior of Muslim couples respond
to the risk of inheritance expropriation by their extended
family. According to traditional Islamic inheritance
principles, only the son of a deceased man can exclude his
male agnates from inheritance and preserve his estate within
the nuclear household. The paper exploits cross-sectional
and time variation in the application of the Islamic