Technology

More from the Series

Blog Post
More than the Sum of their Parts: How an ID, a Phone, and a Bank Account Can Help Achieve the SDGs
Kyle Navis et al.
September 23, 2019
As the United Nations General Assembly meets this week, global leaders will be taking stock of their countries’ progress towards the SDGs and mapping out where they still have to go. Our research has shown that, together, financial accounts, ID, and mobile phones can facilitate a wide variety ...
CGD NOTES
Building on Digital ID for Inclusive Services: Lessons from India
Alan Gelb
and
Anit Mukherjee
September 13, 2019
India has emerged as a leader in building on its biometric digital ID to reform service and program delivery. It moved quickly to consolidate the rollout of Aadhaar, and then to embed the unique Aadhaar number into program databases. A range of applications, including digital signature and payments,...
Blog Post
Benno Ndulu on Sounds Robotic: A CGD Podcast
Charles Kenny
August 20, 2019
In this episode of Sounds Robotic, host Charles Kenny talks with Benno Ndulu, an academic director of the Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development, about opportunities presented by new technologies to speed equitable growth.
Blog Post
Here’s What Ethiopia Needs to Become Africa’s Next Tech Hub
Kyle Navis
and
W. Gyude Moore
August 12, 2019
Ethiopia has its sights set on becoming Africa’s next tech hub, rivalling Nairobi, Lagos, and Cape Town. But in its quest for digital supremacy, Ethiopia will need to take steps to create an enabling environment for the digital startup sector, which across Africa is driven in large part b...
POLICY PAPERS
Digital Technology and State Capacity in Kenya
Njuguna Ndung’u
August 06, 2019
Following the launch of M-Pesa in 2007, Kenya has emerged as a global leader in the development of mobile money and in increasing rates of financial inclusion. This paper shows how M-Pesa’s success has led to a series of endogenous innovations that have shaped Kenya’s digital space, plac...
Blog Post
Fuel Subsidy Reform and Green Taxes: Using Digital Technology to Do It the Right Way
Alan Gelb
and
Anit Mukherjee
July 11, 2019
Reforming inefficient and inequitable energy subsidies continues to be an important priority for policymakers, as does instituting “green taxes” to reduce carbon emissions.
POLICY PAPERS
Fuel Subsidy Reform and Green Taxes: Can Digital Technologies Improve State Capacity and Effectiveness?
Alan Gelb
and
Anit Mukherjee
July 11, 2019
Reforming inefficient and inequitable energy subsidies continues to be an important priority for policymakers as does instituting “green taxes” to reduce carbon emissions. The paper outlines how the use of digital technology can help accomplishing those reforms, drawing on four country c...