Brian Levy – författare

Few concepts have captured the imagination of the conflict and development community in recent years as powerfully as the idea of a 'political settlement'. At its most ambitious, 'political settlements analysis' (PSA) promises to explain why conflicts occur and states collapse, the conditions for their successful rehabilitation, different developmental pathways from peace, and how to better fit development policy to country context. Yet not all is well in the world of PSA. Rival definitions of the term abound, there are disagreements about its scope and the way it should be used, a growing schism between conflict specialists and economists, basic concepts are ambiguous and little progress has been made on measurement. Political Settlements and Development consequently has three main aims: to argue for a revised definition of a political settlement, capable of unifying its diverse strands, and opening new opportunities for the analysis of conflict and development; to put the concept on a more solid theoretical and scientific footing, providing a method for measuring and categorising political settlements, while using new data to analyse the relationship between political settlements and development; and finally, to examine the implications for policymakers.This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

In Chasin' the Sound: Learning Jazz Improvisation through Historical Models, authors Brian Levy and Keith Waters use solos by famous jazz musicians to outline a melodic and rhythmic vocabulary of jazz improvisation. In contrast to mainstream approaches based on rote memorization and generic chord/scale pedagogies, Chasin' the Sound encourages hands-on learning with activities that highlight the intangible yet key aesthetics of sound, groove, and feel. By studying jazz fundamentals alongside well-known examples of those fundamentals in practice, students and instructors will gain a broader and more meaningful understanding of the art of improvisation. In addition to exploring the mechanics of what to play, Levy and Waters offer ideas on how to play the essential roles of timekeeping, comping, and soloing, and how to develop routines within these roles. Supported by classroom-tested exercises and hundreds of original annotated music examples, students will learn the core rhythmic and melodic tenets of jazz while studying and playing along with the improvised solos and accompaniments of Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Sarah Vaughan, Bud Powell, Clifford Brown, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Red Garland, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins, among many others. Throughout, Levy and Waters show that great soloists and accompanists do not in fact have an unlimited vocabulary but rather use limited melodic and rhythmic resources as modules for infinite recombination.Written for all experience levels, Chasin' the Sound is a substantial workout for students and instructors to build chops and knowledge along the way.

In Chasin' the Sound: Learning Jazz Improvisation through Historical Models, authors Brian Levy and Keith Waters use solos by famous jazz musicians to outline a melodic and rhythmic vocabulary of jazz improvisation. In contrast to mainstream approaches based on rote memorization and generic chord/scale pedagogies, Chasin' the Sound encourages hands-on learning with activities that highlight the intangible yet key aesthetics of sound, groove, and feel. By studying jazz fundamentals alongside well-known examples of those fundamentals in practice, students and instructors will gain a broader and more meaningful understanding of the art of improvisation. In addition to exploring the mechanics of what to play, Levy and Waters offer ideas on how to play the essential roles of timekeeping, comping, and soloing, and how to develop routines within these roles. Supported by classroom-tested exercises and hundreds of original annotated music examples, students will learn the core rhythmic and melodic tenets of jazz while studying and playing along with the improvised solos and accompaniments of Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Sarah Vaughan, Bud Powell, Clifford Brown, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Red Garland, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins, among many others. Throughout, Levy and Waters show that great soloists and accompanists do not in fact have an unlimited vocabulary but rather use limited melodic and rhythmic resources as modules for infinite recombination.Written for all experience levels, Chasin' the Sound is a substantial workout for students and instructors to build chops and knowledge along the way.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. All over the world, economic inclusion has risen to the top of the development discourse. A well-performing education system is central to achieving inclusive development - but the challenge of improving educational outcomes has proven to be unexpectedly difficult. Access to education has increased, but quality remains low, with weaknesses in governance comprising an important part of the explanation. The Politics and Governance of Basic Education explores the balance between hierarchical and horizontal institutional arrangements for the public provision of basic education. Using the vivid example of South Africa, a country that had ambitious goals at the outset of its transition from apartheid to democracy, it explores how the interaction of politics and institutions affects educational outcomes. By examining lessons learned from how South Africa failed to achieve many of its goals, it constructs an innovative alternative strategy for making process, combining practical steps to achieve incremental gains to re-orient the system towards learning.

This book builds on cutting-edge scholarship and the author's quarter century of hands-on experience at the World Bank to lay out an innovative with-the-grain approach to integrating governance and growth---as a constructive, hopeful way of engaging the challenging governance ambiguities of our early 21st century world. A 'with the grain' perspective directs attention away from a 'good governance' pre-occupation with off-the-shelf blueprints and optimal policies, and towards the challenges of initiating and sustaining forward development momentum. This altered angle of vision has powerful implications for how we understand and address the challenges of governance reform and development policymaking---both across countries and over time.The book distinguishes among four broad groups of countries- according to whether their policies are dominant or competitive, and whether their institutions are personalized or impersonal. It also distinguishes among alternative options for governance reform---'top down' options which aim to strengthen formal institutions, and options which aim to support the emergence of 'islands of effectiveness'. And it explores the 'goodness of fit' between alternative reform options and divergent country contexts---including how narrowly-focused initiatives can achieve results even in a broader sea of institutional dysfunction.The book examines how, over time, virtuous circles can link inclusive growth, positive expectations and ongoing institutional improvement. Taking the decade-or-so time horizon of practitioners, the aim is to nudge things along---seeking gains that initially may seem quite modest but can, sometimes, give rise to a cascading sequence of change for the better. Sometimes the binding constraint to forward movement can be institutional, making governance reform the priority; at other times, the priority can better be on inclusive growth. Over the longer-run, stability depends also on a broad-based commitment among citizens to the institutional order, as one which offers the hope of a better life for all.

This book builds on cutting-edge scholarship and the author's quarter century of hands-on experience at the World Bank to lay out an innovative with-the-grain approach to integrating governance and growth---as a constructive, hopeful way of engaging the challenging governance ambiguities of our early 21st century world. A 'with the grain' perspective directs attention away from a 'good governance' pre-occupation with off-the-shelf blueprints and optimal policies, and towards the challenges of initiating and sustaining forward development momentum. This altered angle of vision has powerful implications for how we understand and address the challenges of governance reform and development policymaking---both across countries and over time.The book distinguishes among four broad groups of countries- according to whether their policies are dominant or competitive, and whether their institutions are personalized or impersonal. It also distinguishes among alternative options for governance reform---'top down' options which aim to strengthen formal institutions, and options which aim to support the emergence of 'islands of effectiveness'. And it explores the 'goodness of fit' between alternative reform options and divergent country contexts---including how narrowly-focused initiatives can achieve results even in a broader sea of institutional dysfunction.The book examines how, over time, virtuous circles can link inclusive growth, positive expectations and ongoing institutional improvement. Taking the decade-or-so time horizon of practitioners, the aim is to nudge things along---seeking gains that initially may seem quite modest but can, sometimes, give rise to a cascading sequence of change for the better. Sometimes the binding constraint to forward movement can be institutional, making governance reform the priority; at other times, the priority can better be on inclusive growth. Over the longer-run, stability depends also on a broad-based commitment among citizens to the institutional order, as one which offers the hope of a better life for all.

The book assesses the impact of core political and social institutions on regulatory structures and performance in the telecommunications industry in Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, and the Philippines. These core institutions are shown to influence strongly the credibility and effectiveness of regulation, and thus its ability to encourage private investment and support efficiency. Currently, privatization and regulatory reform are often viewed as the solution to the problem of poor performance by telecommunications and other public utilities. This volume argues that these high expectations may not always be met because of the way a country's political and social institutions - its executive, legislative and judicial systems, its informal norms of public behaviour - interact with regulatory processes and economic conditions. In some environments, regulatory solutions run counter to the prevailing wisdom: achieving credible commitment may require an inflexible regulatory regime, and sometimes public ownership of utilities may be the only feasible alternative.

The book assesses the impact of core political and social institutions on regulatory structures and performance in the telecommunications industry in Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, and the Philippines. These core institutions are shown to influence strongly the credibility and effectiveness of regulation, and thus its ability to encourage private investment and support efficiency. Currently, privatization and regulatory reform are often viewed as the solution to the problem of poor performance by telecommunications and other public utilities. This volume argues that these high expectations may not always be met because of the way a country's political and social institutions - its executive, legislative and judicial systems, its informal norms of public behaviour - interact with regulatory processes and economic conditions. In some environments, regulatory solutions run counter to the prevailing wisdom: achieving credible commitment may require an inflexible regulatory regime, and sometimes public ownership of utilities may be the only feasible alternative.

The main purpose of this book is to address the question, "How can economic policy contribute to a strong export performance by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries?" In today's increasingly integrated world economy, such a performance can make a significant difference to the growth, employment creation and income distribution of many developing countries. The study uses information from specifically designed surveys of SME exporters in Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Colombia, together with a range of evidence from other sources, to ascertain what types of support within the areas of technology, marketing and finance are most useful to SME exporters and how such support can best be provided to them. The quality of the support systems is found to vary widely among the four countries. Finally, a number of policy conclusions are put forward.

The World Bank and other donors are fully committed to modalities of development support that put countries in the driver's seat, with the poverty reduction strategy process-prepared by national governments, on the basis of close consultation with civil society-providing the framework for that support. An effective poverty reduction strategy process and a productive partnership can be built only on a platform of strong public capacity: capacity to formulate policies; capacity to build consensus; capacity to implement reform; and capacity to monitor results, learn lessons, and adapt accordingly. Building the requisite capacities turns out to be a formidable challenge. For these reasons, enhancing the capacity of African states has risen to the top of the continent's development agenda. In recent years, a number of African governments have moved forward with new-style programs to build public sector capacity. Building State Capacity in Africa aims to share some of the lessons for the design and implementation of public sector capacity building that are emerging from this new generation of operational practice. It also exemplifies an increasingly collaborative way of working within the World Bank Group. This book draws on in-depth Bank research and research projects were done in collaboration with African development partners and scholars. The editors contend that this model of working together constitutes the most effective way for the World Bank Group to contribute, in its role as a knowledge Bank, to the challenge of building state capacity in Africa.

Fulfilling the Export Potential of Small and Medium Firms addresses the question, `How can economic policy contribute to a strong export performance by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries?' In today's increasingly integrated world economy, such a performance can make a significant difference to the growth, employment creation and income distribution of many developing countries. The study uses information from specifically designed surveys of SME exporters in Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Colombia, together with a range of evidence from other sources, to ascertain what types of support within the areas of technology, marketing and finance are most useful to SME exporters and how such support can best be provided to them. The quality of the support systems is found to vary widely among the four countries. Finally, a number of policy conclusions are put forward.

Problem-driven political economy analysis holds considerable promise to help development practitioners identify what policies and strategies are most likely to succeed in addressing difficult and persistent development challenges. This volume is the result of a systematic effort to take stock of what the World Bank has learned from efforts to mainstream this approach. The eight cases presented here are good practise examples that illustrate and reflect on what the Bank has been able to achieve in this area so far.Each chapter begins with a discussion of the specific development challenge that prompted and drove the analysis. These challenges include a mining resource boom in Mongolia, a subsidy reform in Morocco, an electricity sector reform in the Dominican Republic, an electricity and telecommunications reform in Zambia, the development of inclusive commercial agriculture in Ghana, an infrastructure provision at subnational levels in Sierra Leone, a local infrastructure provision in Papua New Guinea and a local roads and health provision in the Philippines. Summarising the key findings and feasible policy recommendations proposed by the analysis, each chapter provides examples of how donors can adapt to existing political economy conditions or expand the space for reform in the countries and sectors where they work. Recommendations range from designing politically responsive policy to enhancing the information available to local actors to fostering multistakeholder engagement.Finally, each chapter reflects on the uptake and impact of the problem-driven analysis on Bank operations and policy dialogue. Given these examples, it is possible to conclude that a stronger focus on how politics and economics intersect to shape particular development issues can change the way donors design and implement projects.