All articles

Can digital humanitarian aid reach vulnerable populations in fragile states?

Evidence from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan shows that digital aid is a cost-effective, credible, and efficient way to reach vulnerable populations, in this case poor, tech-illiterate, female-headed households, in fragile states.

Finance

Michael Callen Michael Findley Miguel Fajardo-Steinhauser Tarek Ghani

Published

19.09.24

Power, politics, and welfare: The cost of corruption in Indian electricity

Political manipulation in India's electricity sector, involving illicit subsidies to constituents of the ruling party, results in staggering efficiency losses.

Energy & Environment

Meera Mahadevan

Published

18.09.24

School feeding programmes improved attendance in northern Burkina Faso

A school feeding programme in northern Burkina Faso increased school attendance and girls’ enrolment.

Education

Pouirkèta Rita Nikiema

Published

17.09.24

Lessons from Sesame Street on media representation, racial biases, and voting

Representation in child media matters. Sesame Street’s positive representations of minorities and working women in 1969 had long run impacts on prejudices, influencing people’s propensity to vote for diverse candidates decades later.

Institutions & Political Economy

Claire Duquennois Jiangnan Zeng

Published

16.09.24

What do we know about literacy learning in adulthood?

To be more effective, adult literacy programmes need to incorporate the neuroscience of how adults learn and how this differs from children.

Education

Jenny Aker James Berry Melita Sawyer

Published

13.09.24

Pricing health insurance in India

Households are willing to pay for public health insurance, but those who pay to enrol have higher average costs than those who enrol when insurance is free. How then should governments set premiums for health insurance given the high costs of raising...

Public Economics

Anup Malani Cynthia Kinnan Gabriella Conti Alessandra Voena Kosuke Imai

Published

12.09.24

How does international migration affect economic development back home?

Income increases for international migrants from the Philippines fostered economic development and investments in education in migrant-origin communities.

Migration & Urbanisation

Gaurav Khanna Emir Murathanoglu Caroline Theoharides Dean Yang

Published

09.09.24

E-invoicing, tax audits and VAT compliance: Insights from Rwanda’s digital transformation

Administrative tax and audit data from Rwanda shows that e-invoicing can help increase tax compliance if designed and implemented efficiently and alongside an effective tax audit strategy.

Public Economics

Christos Kotsogiannis Luca Salvadori John Karangwa Innocente Murasi

Published

09.09.24

Empowering teachers to drive educational change in Brazil

Enabling teachers to introduce pedagogical innovations can deliver substantial gains in student achievement. An experimental programme in Brazil unveils the importance of supporting teachers and accommodating the multiple constraints students face.

Education

Caio Piza Astrid Zwager Matteo Ruzzante Rafael Dantas Andre Loureiro

Published

06.09.24