ISPP PolicyCast

ISPP PolicyCast

The most basic element of public policy is the public. Yet, most public policy podcasts seem to ignore this. This podcast fills that void by democratising public policy discussions through conversations with policy experts and intellectuals on specific issues. It will break these issues down into their most basic elements and engage in a comprehensive analysis of the same. It will do all this by using simple language free of jargon. read less

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Episode 2 part 2: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Episode 2 part 2: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Providing services is a crucial function that states often fail to deliver. There exist many reasons for this. However, a key reason is that there exist intermediaries who serve as gatekeepers for accessing services. Different middlemen exist for accessing various services, but they all share a common objective. In return for ensuring access to the service, they expect payment. This payment could be in the form of money or other favours the other party must carry out. So why do these middlemen exist? Is it because governments aren't effective in publicising how to access services? But now that we know that they exist, how can policy intervene to reduce their impact and possibly even get rid of them? In this two-episode series, we discuss precisely these questions. You can check out the previous episode to understand why they exist and their different expectations. In this episode, we will discuss Prof. Rizzo's intervention of hiring facilitators to assist citizens with accessing services. How does that impact the relationship between the citizen and the middlemen? This episode is the first part of a two-part-episode series based on Dr Tesalia Rizzo Reyes's paper: When Clients Exit: Breaking the Clientelist Feedback Loop. You can access the paper here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mg56bfukhqm15fr/Rizzo-WhenClientsExit_Draft_MostRecent.pdf Prof. Reyes is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Merced. She is also a Research Affiliate at MIT Governance Lab and the Standard Governance Project. She received her PhD in Political Science in 2020 from MIT. Her research interests lie in studying comparative political behaviour and political economy topics using various techniques such as field experiments, surveys, interviews, and observational data. In addition, she is currently working on a book project titled "Intermediaries of the State: The Bureaucratic Transaction Costs of Claiming Welfare in Mexico," The book explores how bureaucratic transaction costs prevent individuals from directly claiming welfare benefits. You can learn more about her research here: https://www.tesaliarizzo.com/ Credits: This episode was hosted and edited by Dhruva Mathur. The Marketing Supervisor is Priyanka Tiwari. The Sound Supervisor is Navraj Choudhary.

Episodes

Episode 2 part 2: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Episode 2 part 2: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Providing services is a crucial function that states often fail to deliver. There exist many reasons for this. However, a key reason is that there exist intermediaries who serve as gatekeepers for accessing services. Different middlemen exist for accessing various services, but they all share a common objective. In return for ensuring access to the service, they expect payment. This payment could be in the form of money or other favours the other party must carry out. So why do these middlemen exist? Is it because governments aren't effective in publicising how to access services? But now that we know that they exist, how can policy intervene to reduce their impact and possibly even get rid of them? In this two-episode series, we discuss precisely these questions. You can check out the previous episode to understand why they exist and their different expectations. In this episode, we will discuss Prof. Rizzo's intervention of hiring facilitators to assist citizens with accessing services. How does that impact the relationship between the citizen and the middlemen? This episode is the first part of a two-part-episode series based on Dr Tesalia Rizzo Reyes's paper: When Clients Exit: Breaking the Clientelist Feedback Loop. You can access the paper here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mg56bfukhqm15fr/Rizzo-WhenClientsExit_Draft_MostRecent.pdf Prof. Reyes is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Merced. She is also a Research Affiliate at MIT Governance Lab and the Standard Governance Project. She received her PhD in Political Science in 2020 from MIT. Her research interests lie in studying comparative political behaviour and political economy topics using various techniques such as field experiments, surveys, interviews, and observational data. In addition, she is currently working on a book project titled "Intermediaries of the State: The Bureaucratic Transaction Costs of Claiming Welfare in Mexico," The book explores how bureaucratic transaction costs prevent individuals from directly claiming welfare benefits. You can learn more about her research here: https://www.tesaliarizzo.com/ Credits: This episode was hosted and edited by Dhruva Mathur. The Marketing Supervisor is Priyanka Tiwari. The Sound Supervisor is Navraj Choudhary.

Episode 2 part 1: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Episode 2 part 1: Getting Rid of the Middlemen

Providing services effectively is a key function that states often fail to deliver. There exist many reasons for this. However, a key reason is that there exist intermediaries who serve as gatekeepers for accessing services. Different middlemen exist for accessing various services, but they all share a common objective. In return for ensuring access to the service, they expect payment. This payment could be in the form of money or other favours the other party must carry out. So why do these middlemen exist? Is it because governments aren't effective in publicising how to access services? In this episode, we discuss precisely these questions. This episode is the first part of a two-part-episode series on Getting Rid of the Middlemen based on Dr Tesalia Rizzo Reyes's paper: When Clients Exit: Breaking the Clientelist Feedback Loop. You can access the paper here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mg56bfukhqm15fr/Rizzo-WhenClientsExit_Draft_MostRecent.pdf Prof. Reyes is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Merced. She is also a Research Affiliate at MIT Governance Lab and the Standard Governance Project. She received her PhD in Political Science in 2020 from MIT. Her research interests lie in studying comparative political behaviour and political economy topics using various techniques such as field experiments, surveys, interviews, and observational data. In addition, she is currently working on a book project titled “Intermediaries of the State: The Bureaucratic Transaction Costs of Claiming Welfare in Mexico,” The book explores how bureaucratic transaction costs prevent individuals from directly claiming welfare benefits. You can learn more about her research here: https://www.tesaliarizzo.com/ Credits: This episode was hosted and edited by Dhruva Mathur. The Marketing Supervisor is Priyanka Tiwari. The Sound Supervisor is Navraj Choudhary.

Episode 1: India's Power Elite

Episode 1: India's Power Elite

How have elite relations and structures evolved since independence? What has been the biggest consequence due to the changes in the composition of the elite? How have elite power struggles helped some and alienated others to such an extended that they have seceded from India? In this episode, we address these questions through a conversation with Dr. Sanjaya Baru. He is a Professor at the Indian School of Public Policy, New Delhi, where he teaches the course Politics of Public Policy. Previously, he has served as the media advisor and chief spokesperson to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He has written extensively on the Indian elite with his book India's Power Elite holding some of the answers to the above questions. Join us as we seek to unravel the mystery of how Indian elite power dynamics have shaped-up.

Episode 0: An introduction to ISPP PolicyCast

Episode 0: An introduction to ISPP PolicyCast

This podcast is part of ISPP’s mission to democratise public policy by bridging the gap between academic analysis and daily life. Often academic analysis remains confined to intellectual discussions in ivory towers, however, public policy necessitates that ideas be conveyed in simple and clear language. This podcast aspires to do that by making public policy analysis accessible to all.