All articles

VAT distortions in India

When thinking about VAT incidence in countries with high registration thresholds it is important to consider the impact on VAT-unregistered firms. Their interaction with the VAT system matters for progressivity and introduces distortionary effects on...

Public Economics

Giacomo Brusco Tejaswi Velayudhan

Published

22.03.24

Improving land security enabled structural transformation in China

Insecure land property rights are an important constraint on migration, structural transformation, and productivity growth, as much as all other labour mobility barriers in China

Migration & Urbanisation

Tasso Adamopoulos Loren Brandt Chaoran Chen Diego Restuccia Xiaoyun Wei

Published

21.03.24

Unemployment benefits are very effective in highly informal labour markets

Evidence from Mauritius shows the consequences of losing a formal job in a labour market characterised by high rates of informal employment are significant. Unemployment benefits help mitigate these effects, while generating only small disincentive e...

Social Protection

Hannah Liepmann Clemente Pignatti

Published

20.03.24

How are manufacturing firms organised in Uganda?

Even large manufacturing firms in Uganda resemble groups of self-employed workers, which limits the gains to scaling these firms

Firms

Vittorio Bassi Jung Hyuk Lee Alessandra Peter Tommaso Porzio Ritwika Sen Esau Tugume

Published

19.03.24

How do rural households in China adapt to extreme heat?

Cash savings and buffer stocks play a critical role in aiding rural households to cope with production losses caused by extreme heat

Energy & Environment

Xiaomeng Cui Qu Tang

Published

18.03.24

High-speed rail: A catalyst for China’s export growth

Improved transportation networks can enable export expansion by promoting interaction between exporting firms, facilitating knowledge spillovers. Better integrated exporters also export more and export products of higher quality at a lower price.

Infrastructure

Lin Tian Yue Yu

Published

15.03.24

Affirmative action in Brazil’s higher education system

Evidence from Brazil shows how affirmative action students in the higher education system adjust their behaviour to catch up with initially higher-performing privileged students

Education

Rodrigo Oliveira Alei Santos Edson Severnini

Published

14.03.24

How should political parties choose candidates?

An experiment in Sierra Leone varied how much say voters, compared to party officials, had in selecting candidates for Parliamentary elections, and sheds light on which systems of leadership selection are most effective

Institutions & Political Economy

Katherine Casey Abou Bakarr Kamara Niccolò F. Meriggi

Published

13.03.24

How new monitoring systems shaped China’s war on air pollution

The advanced air quality monitoring system in China has led to improvements in local air quality, but also prompted local governments to strategically prioritise areas near the monitors in order to meet pollution control targets. This localised respo...

Energy & Environment

Lin Yang Yatang Lin Fangyuan Peng Jin Wang

Published

12.03.24