Ismail Serageldin

Bio: Ismail Serageldin is an academic researcher from World Bank. The author has contributed to research in topics: Water resources & Poverty. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 37 publications receiving 2102 citations. Previous affiliations of Ismail Serageldin include Johns Hopkins University & Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

La protection des forets tropicales ombrophiles de l'Afrique

Abstract: The disappearance of tropical rainforests is a critical environmental problem in Africa as well as the in the rest of the world Since this problem affects all of us everyone ought to participate in its solution The speed with which tropical rainforests in West and Central Africa are disappearing is alarming - almost 2 million hectares of tropical forests are lost each year If we do not begin to halt the destruction of these forests in the near future, it may become too late to preserve them The cost of this loss will be enormous for mankind and for the environment While the underlying causes of deforestation are usually attributed to factors external to forests-such as policies and institutions, this report takes an integrated approach, examining the subject matter within the context of the larger context of development The report looks at the beneficial role of forests, the affect of deforestation on climate change in Africa, the role of women, deforestation and sustainable agriculture, forest use and exploitation, the participation of local communes and nongovernmental organizations, the role of public coordination among interested stakeholders, coordination between Africa and the rest of the world, research and statistics, and the role of the World Bank in supporting policies of sustainable forest development

Science in muslim countries

Abstract: With more than a trillion dollars in cash and a population of over a billion people, the Muslim world should be poised for a remarkable scientific explosion. Yet despite some very high-profile projects in the Gulf, including the building of massive state-of-the-art facilities for research across all disciplines (and serious efforts elsewhere), the reality is that Muslim countries tend to spend less on scientific research itself, as distinct from buildings and equipment, as compared to other countries at the same income scale. Furthermore, even where funding for science has been available, the results in terms of output--research papers, citations, and patents--are disappointingly low. Why?

Perspectives water as weapon: gender and wash

Abstract: in number of interconnected areas, including environmental and natural resources law, the built environment, and infrastructure; conflict resolution; public health law; trade and transnational/global business issues; gender and the law; and development issues. She often approaches these topics from an an-thropo-legal/socio-legal perspective, exploring the motivations and conditions that animate societal responses to, and society’s influence on, the development of the law and adopting the intersectionality necessary to interrogate human/ecological interactions and interdependencies.

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide

Abstract: Part I. Understanding Secularization: 1. The secularization debate 2. Measuring secularization 3. Comparing secularization worldwide Part II. Case Studies of Religion and Politics: 4. The puzzle of secularization in the United States and Western Europe 5. A religious revival in post-communist Europe? 6. Religion and politics in the Muslim world Part III. The Consequences of Secularization: 7. Religion, the Protestant ethic, and moral values 8. Religious organizations and social capital 9. Religious parties and electoral behavior Part IV. Conclusions: 10. Secularization and its consequences 11. Re-examining the theory of existential security 12. Re-examining evidence for the security thesis.

Institutions and the path to the modern economy

Abstract: It is widely believed that current disparities in economic, political, and social outcomes reflect distinct institutions. Institutions are invoked to explain why some countries are rich and others poor, some democratic and others dictatorial. But arguments of this sort gloss over the question of what institutions are, how they come about, and why they persist. They also fail to explain why institutions are influenced by the past, why it is that they can sometimes change, why they differ so much from society to society, and why it is hard to study them empirically and devise a policy aimed at altering them. This 2006 book seeks to overcome these problems, which have exercised economists, sociologists, political scientists, and a host of other researchers who use the social sciences to study history, law, and business administration. It presents a multi-disciplinary perspective to study endogenous institutions and their dynamics.

Riverine flood plains: present state and future trends

Abstract: Natural flood plains are among the most biologically productive and diverse ecosystems on earth. Globally, riverine flood plains cover > 2 × 106 km2, however, they are among the most threatened ecosystems. Floodplain degradation is closely linked to the rapid decline in freshwater biodiversity; the main reasons for the latter being habitat alteration, flow and flood control, species invasion and pollution. In Europe and North America, up to 90% of flood plains are already ‘cultivated’ and therefore functionally extinct. In the developing world, the remaining natural flood plains are disappearing at an accelerating rate, primarily as a result of changing hydrology. Up to the 2025 time horizon, the future increase of human population will lead to further degradation of riparian areas, intensification of the hydrological cycle, increase in the discharge of pollutants, and further proliferation of species invasions. In the near future, the most threatened flood plains will be those in south-east Asia, Sahelian Africa and North America. There is an urgent need to preserve existing, intact flood plain rivers as strategic global resources and to begin to restore hydrologic dynamics, sediment transport and riparian vegetation to those rivers that retain some level of ecological integrity. Otherwise, dramatic extinctions of aquatic and riparian species and of ecosystem services are faced within the next few decades.

Job Information Networks, Neighborhood Effects, and Inequality

Abstract: This paper explores the theoretical and empirical literature to examine the use by different social groups of informal sources of information provided by friends, relatives, and acquaintances during job search and its consequences for the job market. It also addresses the role of network structure and size, the resource endowments of contacts, and nature of the links between contacts to explain differences in the effects of job information networks. In doing so, the paper also turns to the sociology literature on job information networks and provides an economic perspective on such sociological concepts as strong versus weak ties, inbreeding, distance from structural holes, etc. The paper distinguishes between models of exogenous job information networks, that is where individuals obtain job-related information through a given social structure, and endogenous job information networks, which are social networks that result from individuals' uncoordinated actions. The paper pays special attention to such issues as physical and social proximity and sharing of information and discusses them in the context of the recent social interactions and neighborhood effects literature. Finally, the paper outlines a model that integrates job information networks, where interactions occur in business cycle frequencies, with the dynamics of human capital formation, which include the joint effects of parental, community and neighborhood human capital, and are set in life cycle frequencies, for the purpose of organizing suggestions for future research and examining earned income inequality.

Can We Trust Social Capital

Abstract: This essay looks at the literature on social capital from the perspective of game theory. It reviews Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam and Social Capital: A Multifaceted Approach edited by Partha Dasgupta and Ismail Serageldin.