All articles

Air quality improvements alone justify phasing out coal-fired power

Phasing out coal power is key to fighting climate change. This article shows that air quality benefits alone are sufficient to justify a move away from coal-fired power

Energy & Environment

Tim Besley Azhar Hussain

Published

03.11.23

Improving foundational learning in Tanzania through teacher rewards

A programme rewarding teachers for increasing their students’ foundational skills improved learning in public primary schools in Tanzania. A cheap and easy to communicate version of the programme was most (cost-)effective, and is currently being scal...

Education

Isaac Mbiti Mauricio Romero Youdi Schipper

Published

02.11.23

The deadly toll of marketing infant formula in low- and middle-income countries

A careful examination of Nestlé’s marketing behaviour shows that Nestlé’s entry into low- and middle-income formula markets caused about 212,000 infant deaths per year among mothers without clean water access at the peak of the Nestlé controversy in ...

Health

Jesse Anttila-Hughes Lia Fernald Paul Gertler Patrick Krause Eleanor Tsai Bruce Wydick

Published

31.10.23

Reforming India’s public works scheme raised incomes

Improving the payment infrastructure for India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme raised incomes — mostly through increases in non-programme earnings

Social Protection

Karthik Muralidharan Paul Niehaus Sandip Sukhtankar

Published

30.10.23

Do women leaders improve environmental outcomes? Evidence from crop fires in India

Female legislators decrease crop fire incidence and lower particulate emissions relative to male leaders - a survey suggests that female leaders are more likely to consider crop fires a serious issue, weigh their impacts on child health, and implemen...

Energy & Environment

Maulik Jagnani Meera Mahadevan

Published

27.10.23

Building trust in the quality of fertilisers in Tanzania

A low-touch information campaign in Tanzania improved farmers’ confidence in the quality of fertiliser, leading to an increase in purchases

Agriculture

Annemie Maertens Christopher Magomba Hope Michelson

Published

26.10.23

Policymaking, trust, and the demand for public services

After the public disclosure of alleged forced sterilisations during a family planning campaign, municipalities in Peru with more victims exhibited a steep decline in public health services and lower levels of trust in public institutions

Institutions & Political Economy

Gianmarco León-Ciliotta Dijana Zejcirovic Fernando Fernandez

Published

24.10.23

The benefits of working for a victorious political campaign

In democracies around the world, elections mobilise thousands of campaign workers who play an integral role in shaping candidates’ electoral performance. Yet, little is known about these workers and how working in a campaign shapes their professional...

Institutions & Political Economy

Samuel Bazzi Claudio Labanca

Published

23.10.23

Leveraging social networks in the fight against infectious diseases

Encouraging tuberculosis patients in India to refer others showing symptoms for testing led to a significant uptick in testing and the identification of new cases

Health

Pradeep K. Chintagunta Jessica Goldberg Mario Macis

Published

19.10.23