Institutions & Political Economy

Decentralised governance in developing countries

What do we know about the impacts of decentralised governance in developing countries?

Dilip Mookherjee

Published

13.09.23

Persuading voters in India to punish vote-buying candidates

A radio campaign highlighting the costs of vote buying drew close to 3 million votes away from vote-buying parties

Institutions & Political Economy

Laura Schechter Srinivasan Vasudevan

Published

12.09.23

Can local ownership solve the resource curse in weak states? Evidence from Nigerian oil

Oil multinationals in Nigeria divesting their onshore assets to local firms resulted in substantial improvements in output and declines in oil theft and violence, driven by politically connected firms

Institutions & Political Economy

Jonah Rexer

Published

14.09.23

Community networks and trade: Evidence from India

Production networks matter for firm growth. However, little is known about what shapes firms’ production networks in developing countries. This column explores the role of community networks in West Bengal in firm-to-firm trade between 2010 and 2016...

Institutions & Political Economy

Johannes Boken Lucie Gadenne Tushar Nandi Marta Santamaria

Published

13.10.23

School reform in Liberia improved test scores but lost votes by antagonising teachers

Public service reforms can provoke political backlash from service providers, but when quality increases sufficiently, the electoral rewards can outweigh the costs

Institutions & Political Economy

Wayne Aaron Sandholtz

Published

18.10.23

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

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

Who leads unions and how do they lead? Evidence from Myanmar

Union leaders exhibit better leadership qualities than average workers and cultivate collective action in labour movements through a coordinating role

Institutions & Political Economy

Laura Boudreau Rocco Macchiavello Virginia Minni Mari Tanaka

Published

15.08.23

Political incentives shape responses to increasingly dry conditions in India

Falling groundwater levels in India have enabled politicians to manipulate aid for electoral gain

Institutions & Political Economy

Meera Mahadevan Ajay Shenoy

Published

14.08.23