Hiring do-gooders or go-getters: Attracting talent to improve public service delivery in Zambia In an experiment conducted with the Ministry of Health, workers recruited via career incentive ads proved more effective at delivering health services Public Economics Oriana Bandiera Julia Tobias Nava Ashraf Published 13.10.17
A better way to train small business owners: Using psychology to teach personal initiative A new personal initiative training programme outperformed traditional business training in increasing profits for informal firms in Togo Firms Markus Goldstein David McKenzie Published 12.10.17
Rules versus discretion in tax policy Compared to existing income taxes, a value-added tax limits the tax base to information that can easily be monitored, reducing the role of discretion Finance Roger Gordon Published 10.10.17
Trade and inequality: From theory to estimation Starting from a closed economy, trade liberalisation increases wage inequality; as costs fall further, wage inequality peaks and also starts to fall Trade Elhanan Helpman Oleg Itskhoki Marc Muendler Stephen Redding Published 09.10.17
The implication of firm competition on industrial policies Small firms that receive subsidies in India grow more quickly than their competitors. But is it a zero-sum game? Firms Martin Rotemberg Published 06.10.17
The effect of pollution on worker productivity: Evidence from call-centre workers in China High levels of pollution reduce the productivity even of indoor workers; cutting pollution can improve the health of both the economy and of society Energy & Environment Tom Chang Tal Gross Joshua Graff Zivin Matthew Neidell Published 05.10.17
Women’s empowerment and development: The family connection Female empowerment is associated with economic development, but cash transfers targeted at women may have unintended consequences Social Protection Matthias Doepke Michèle Tertilt Published 03.10.17
Measuring living standards in African cities and rural areas It’s no wonder that people are moving to cities. Urban areas offer better amenities and, on average, pay higher wages than rural areas. Migration & Urbanisation Douglas Gollin Martina Kirchberger David Lagakos Published 02.10.17
To cut waste and graft, collect taxes When local governments in Brazil improve tax collection rather than rely on grants to raise revenues, local officials help citizens, not themselves Public Economics Lucie Gadenne Published 29.09.17
