VoxDev Development Economics

A structural transformation means workers moving to cities for good jobs, or better living conditions for their families, maybe also having smaller families. But these decisions are not made independently: new research examines the trade-off that we make between migration and fertility, and suggests that China's migration and one-child policies may not have been the boost to economic growth that p...

Entrepreneurs in developing countries need access to finance, education, and better institutions. But do they need more marketing? Stephen J Anderson of the University of Texas tells Tim Phillips about an experiment in Uganda that suggests that the answer is yes for both the entrepreneurs, and for economic growth.

There are 420 million young people in Africa today, but 140 million are unemployed, and another 130 million are underemployed or in working poverty. What type of interventions will help them in their search for a good job? Anna Vitali and Imran Rasul tell Tim Phillips about a multi-year experiment in Uganda that reaches some surprising conclusions.

In many conflict situations, should winning hearts and minds be the priority? Information operations are an essential part of military strategy, but so far there have been few systematic evaluations of how well they actually work. Using a new source of data Austin Wright tells Tim Phillips about the success of one such operation in Afghanistan.

Policy to increase tax compliance in developing countries often focuses on enforcement, and that's difficult, unpopular, and costly. Are there other ways to encourage small businesses to pay tax that may be easier and cheaper? Isabelle Cohen worked with the Uganda Revenue Authority to implement a method that raised six times what it cost.

India's caste system traditionally determined which occupation families chose. In modern India, does caste still influence someone's choice of job? Daniel Keniston tells Tim Phillips about the surprisingly complex relationship between caste, work, and India's economic development.

Satellite data from Indonesia shows the damage that out-of-control illegal forest fires, set by farmers to clear their land, do to other people's property and to the environment. Ben Olken tells Tim Phillips how we could reduce this damage by up to 80%.

Politicians can bribe their way to an election win, but in a democracy we throw them out if they perform badly afterwards. Or maybe not: Jessica Leight tells Tim Phillips that vote-buying emboldens corrupt politicians to steal more, and that voters who take the handouts are also less likely to hold them to account.

Low-income countries struggle to collect tax, hurting economic stability, raising debt levels, cutting growth, and gutting basic services. Abebe Shimeles of African Economic Research Consortium tells Tim Phillips about a successful experiment in Ethiopia that also demonstrates the problem of creating sustainable policies to increase tax revenues.

Big infrastructure projects are often dismissed as expensive and problematic. But Yogita Shamdasani tells Tim Phillips how a national roadbuilding program in India has transformed the lives of villagers by making agriculture more productive.

Will a government target spending in places where it thinks it can pick up support in the next election, or target funding to regions that supported it? A new paper analyses election results and local government spending in Ghana. Samuel Obeng tells Tim Phillips whether a political system created in part to defeat cronyism has worked as intended.

When economists talk about the "household", they usually mean a family. But Natalie Bau and Raquel Fernandez tell Tim Phillips that there are many types of family, with many cultural traditions and habits, and these differences can have a big impact on whether well-meaning attempts to improve their lives will succeed or fail.

For half a century Mexico's rural middle-schoolers have attended "telesecundaria" schools, in which they watch their lessons on TV. It saves money and makes sure that kids have qualified teachers. But, Raissa Fabregas tells Tim Phillips, we don't really know if they provide a good education. Until now.

Cities in developing economies can still learn a lot from our urban past, Ed Glaeser tells Tim Phillips. For thousands of years ancient cities have been coping with migration, transport, disease, new technology and land rights -- precisely the challenges that face fast-expanding new cities today.

In rural areas, about half of people who are available for work are not in full-time employment. Most are self-employed. Are they really entrepreneurs, or would they prefer a job and are they just trying to survive? Supreet Kaur tells Tim Phillips about an experiment that suggests unemployment may be higher than we assume.

We often try to improve incomes and financial decision-making of working people by teaching financial literacy. But in Uganda an intervention tested whether learning by saving in a bank account might also be an effective route to knowledge. If this works, Dean Karlan tells Tim Phillips, it might be a low-cost route to financial inclusion.

When the government in Chile attempts to limit which fish can be caught and sold to protect stocks, market traders always find a way around the restrictions. Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak tells Tim Phillips the story of an experiment in how to enforce regulation -- with a surprise finding that could change how compliance works in other industries too.

How can Somalia's schools inspire kids to finish their education and learn about gender equality? A low-cost intervention uses role models with surprising success, says Munshi Sulaiman of BRAC.

When drug-related violence exploded in Mexico, its effects were felt by everyone. Andrea Velásquez tells Tim Phillips how rising violence in Mexico City affected the willingness of people - especially women - to go to work.

Children decide what's normal for girls and boys early in their development. Seema Jayachandran tells Tim Phillips how a program of discussions about gender equality at school can successfully change damaging attitudes to women's rights.

If you want to succeed as a boss, business books tell you, you have to delegate. But we know less than you think about the impact of delegation on productivity and profitability. Namrata Kala of MIT tells Tim Phillips how some Indian SOEs decided to  let managers manage, giving us a new insight into the impact of managerial autonomy.

Often we hear exciting news of crop yields from experimental trials, but then the gains don't show up in the real world. Rachid Laajaj tells Tim Phillips how a group of researchers solved this puzzle, and what this means for how we conduct trials in future.

Councilors who thought performance reports would be published before an election invested more in infrastructure, with positive impacts on re-election Read “Public Information is an Incentive for Politicians: Experimental Evidence from Delhi Elections” by Abhijit Banerjee, Nils Enevoldsen, Rohini Pande, and Michael Walton here .

The introduction of financial institutions in communities may generate long-lasting externalities, including losses in informal social linkages Read “Changes in social network structure in response to exposure to formal credit markets” by Abhijit Banerjee, Emily Breza, Arun G. Chandrasekhar, Esther Duflo, Matthew O. Jackson, and Cynthia Kinnan here .

How automatic payments can help individuals save more and better protect themselves against consumer risks Read “Learning to navigate a new financial technology: Evidence from payroll accounts” by Emily Breza, Martin Kanz, and Leora F. Klapper here.