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Research Briefs·Mar 22, 2024

Fallow Lengths and the Structure of Property Rights

Etienne Le Rossignol, Sara Lowes, and Eduardo Montero
Places where land needs to be fallowed for longer periods are more likely to have communal property rights, both historically...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·Mar 6, 2024

Fiscal Rules, Austerity in Public Administration, and Political Accountability: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Colombia

Maria Carreri and Luis R. Martínez
Limitations to fiscal spending in Colombia reduced overspending on public administration without affecting public goods, better aligning spending with voters’...
Topics: Development Economics, Monetary Policy
Research Briefs·Nov 29, 2023

Nothing Gold Can Stay: Artisanal Mine Certifications and Conflict Dynamics in the Congo

Hans Christensen and Samuel Chang
Conflict-free certifications for artisanal mines are associated with a 9.4% (16.3%) reduction in armed group–initiated conflicts (fatalities) within a 10-km...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·Oct 27, 2023

Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility • Higher Education and Mortality: Legacies of an Authoritarian College Contraction • The Intergenerational Transmission of Higher Education: Evidence from the 1973 Coup in Chile

Maria Angélica Bautista, Felipe González, Luis Martínez, Pablo Muñoz, and Mounu Prem
Following the coup of 1973 that brought military dictatorship to Chile under Augusto Pinochet’s rule, enrollment in higher education fell...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·Oct 3, 2023

Private Actions in the Presence of Externalities: The Health Impacts of Reducing Air Pollution Peaks but not Ambient Exposure

Joshua Dean and Susanna B. Berkouwer
Improved cookstoves reduce exposure to peak cooking emissions by 42%, though impacts on overall pollution exposure are muted by high...
Topics: Development Economics, Energy & Environment, Health care
Research Briefs·Jul 5, 2023

On The Governance of Corrupt Exchange: How Citizens and Officials Build Social Ties to Reduce Corruption’s Transaction Costs

Aimable Amani Lameke, Albert Malukisa, Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, Vincent Tanutama, and Kristof Titeca
Bus drivers and police officers in the Congo form relationships to avoid long bribe negotiations during traffic police stops and...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·May 26, 2023

Gang Rule: Understanding and Countering Criminal Governance

Christopher Blattman, Gustavo Duncan, Benjamin Lessing, and Santiago Tobón
In Medellín, Colombia, gangs provide residents of low- and middle-income neighborhoods with key governing services to reduce the need for...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·Aug 16, 2022

The Real State: Inside the Congo’s Traffic Police Agency

Economists typically presuppose that the absence of state capacities to raise official revenue to finance public service is a key...
Topics: Development Economics
Research Briefs·Jun 7, 2022

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Reduces Crime and Violence Over 10 Years: Experimental Evidence

Christopher Blattman, Sebastian Chaskel, Julian C. Jamison, and Margaret Sheridan
Cognitive behavior therapy alone, and therapy with economic assistance, produce dramatic reductions in antisocial behaviors, with greatest impacts among high-risk...
Topics: Development Economics