Word: zero
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...dead weight stymieing the economies of many developing nations. However, a new economic program in India, sponsored by the good-governance group, 5th Pillar, offers an innovative new way of fighting this scourge—through individual acts of resistance. 5th Pillar is creating and distributing “zero-rupee notes” to citizens across India; when asked for a bribe, individuals hand over a zero-rupee note instead. This efficient and cheap initiative has already met considerable success in fighting bribery. Further anti-corruption efforts in the developing world should emulate the zero-rupee note?...
...zero-rupee note attacks this social problem through social, rather than political, means. Various news sources have reported that officials are often shocked and shamed when given the note and quickly perform the necessary service without a bribe. One man who was overcharged for a car-parking fine, Ashok Jain of Chennai, immediately shamed the attending policemen into charging him the correct fee by handing them a zero rupee note, and an old lady who had been fighting for a land title for years gave the note to a local official and finally received the document after over a year...
...zero-rupee note program works because corruption is often a product of social norms. As development efforts go forward, such efforts to change social norms should be emphasized above ineffective structural reforms that paper over persisting problems. India has had legal structures meant to fight corruption since the country’s inception, but in the words of Kennedy School professor Lant Pritchett, “the de jure process no longer has any real claim on the behavior of the agents of the state, who are following a different de facto set of procedures” that have basically...
...perhaps in part by a handful of high-profile abuse cases involving adoptees in the U.S. From 2004 to 2009, the number of Russian children adopted by American parents dropped by two-thirds. Families trying to adopt Russian children are bracing now, hoping the number will not drop to zero as a result of Hansen's reckless...
...real deal,” said Evans. “You know, this guy’s seen battle; he’s got bullets in his leg and he’d trained actors before so he knew how to help people who have absolutely zero experience… it was like summer camp for the military...