Revisiting the Eswaran-Kotwal Model of Tenancy Maitreesh Ghatak and Dilip Mookherjee Abstract Persistence of sharecropping tenancy and increases in farm productivity following regulations protecting tenant rights have been observed in many developing countries. This paper examines if these can be explained by alternative models of sharecropping with two sided efforts/investments, namely, complete contract models […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 624, November 2023
Public Service Delivery, Exclusion and Externalities: Theory and Experimental Evidence from India Alex Armand, Britta Augsburg, Antonella Bancalari and Maitreesh Ghatak Abstract This study explores the interaction between the quality of public services, the implementation of user fees, and the resulting potential for exclusion, that can lead to negative externalities. Our theoretical framework takes […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 623, September 2023
Zero-Sum Thinking, the Evolution of Effort-Suppressing Beliefs and Economic Development Jean-Paul Carvalho Augustin Bergeron Joseph Henrich Nathan Nunn Jonathan L. Weigel Abstract We study the evolution of belief systems that suppress productive effort. These include concerns about the envy of others, beliefs in the importance of luck for success, disdain for competitive effort, and […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 622, July 2023
Globalization and Inequality in Latin America Rafael Dix-Carneiro and Brian K. Kovak Abstract: We survey the recent literature studying the effects of globalization on inequality in Latin America. Our focus is on research emerging from the late 2000s onward, with an emphasis on empirical work considering new mechanisms, studying new dimensions of inequality, and […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 621, June 2023
On the Importance of African Traditional Religion for Economic Behavior Lewis Dunia Butinda, Aimable Amani Lameke, Nathan Nunn, Max Posch and Raul Sanchez de la Sierra Abstract Within the field of economics, despite being widespread, African traditional religions tend to be perceived as unimportant and ignored when studying economic decision-making. This study tests whether […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 620, June 2023
Chat Over Coffee? Diffusion of Agronomic Practices and Market Spillovers in Rwanda Esther Duflo, Daniel Keniston, Tavneet Suri and Celine Zipfel Abstract Agricultural extension programs often train a few farmers and count on diffusion through social networks for the innovation to spread. However, if markets are imperfectly integrated, this may also inflict negative externalities. In […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 619, June 2023
Does Combating Corruption Reduce Clientelism? Gustavo J. Bobonis, Paul J. Gertler, Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, and Simeon Nichter Abstract Does combating corruption reduce clientelism? We examine the impact of a prominent anti-corruption program on clientelism using a novel representative survey of rural Brazilians. Randomized audits reduce politicians’ provision of campaign handouts, decrease citizens’ demands for private […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 618, June 2023
Strengthening Fragile States: Evidence from Mobile Salary Payments in Afghanistan Joshua E. Blumenstock, Michael Callen, Anastasiia Faikina, Stefano Fiorin, and Tarek Ghani Abstract Building state capacity is uniquely challenging in fragile states. We report results from a randomized evaluation of a major Afghan government initiative to increase capacity by modernizing its payroll. The reform, […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 617, January 2023
Child Poverty Among Refugees Theresa P. Beltramo, Rossella Calvi, Giacomo De Giorgi and Ibrahima Sarr Abstract There are now more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past three decades, resulting in the largest forced displacement crisis ever recorded. Understanding at a granular level the well-being of refugees is essential to inform […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 616, January 2023
Bayesian Impact Evaluation with Informative Priors: An Application to a Colombian Management and Export Improvement Program Leonardo Iacovone, David McKenzie and Rachael Meager Abstract Policymakers often test expensive new programs on relatively small samples. Formally incorporating informative Bayesian priors into impact evaluation offers the promise to learn more from these experiments. We evaluate a […]