Public Economics

Training effective altruism: Experimental evidence from Pakistan

An experiment in Pakistan finds that training decision makers in the benefits of empathy cultivates prosocial behaviour in the lab and the field

Public Economics

Sultan Mehmood Shaheen Naseer Daniel Li Chen

Published

14.06.21

How developing countries can boost their property tax revenues: Evidence from Mexico City

Increasing property taxes can boost revenues for developing countries, but enforcement may threaten the welfare of liquidity-constrained households

Public Economics

Anne Brockmeyer Alejandro Estefan Karina Ramírez Arras Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato

Published

07.05.21

Raising money for the state: Lessons on reducing tax evasion from Chile and Ecuador

Value-added tax (VAT) can facilitate tax enforcement by generating paper trails on transactions between firms

Public Economics

Dina Pomeranz

Published

14.04.21

Is improving tax administration more effective than raising tax rates? Evidence from Indonesia

Enhanced tax administration can increase government revenue collection from medium-sized firms in developing countries even more than raising tax rates

Public Economics

Muhamad Chatib Basri Mayara Felix Rema Hanna Benjamin Olken

Published

14.12.20

Can low-capacity governments work with local leaders to increase tax revenues? Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

City chiefs collecting taxes in Kananga, DRC, outperformed state agents thanks to their superior local information about potential taxpayers

Public Economics

Pablo Balán Augustin Bergeron Gabriel Tourek Jonathan Weigel

Published

19.10.20

Can taxation stimulate political participation? Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

A property tax campaign in the city of Kananga increased tax compliance and stimulated citizen demand for inclusive and accountable government

Public Economics

Jonathan Weigel

Published

04.09.20

Informality, consumption taxes and redistribution

Taxes on consumption help governments in developing countries redistribute thanks to the presence of large informal sectors

Public Economics

Pierre Bachas Lucie Gadenne Anders Jensen

Published

07.08.20

Public procurement in developing economies

Heavier regulation of procurement is associated with better outcomes in countries with lower quality public sectors, and with worse outcomes in countries with higher quality ones

Public Economics

Erica Bosio Simeon Djankov Edward Glaeser Andrei Shleifer

Published

27.07.20

Inclusive growth dividend: Reframing the role of income transfers in India

Could a universal supplemental income transfer, pegged at 1% of GDP, transform India’s anti-poverty strategy?

Public Economics

Karthik Muralidharan Maitreesh Ghatak

Published

15.07.20