News

We consider a case of career incentives given to local civil servants hired by the Chinese Government to serve the broad needs of the population. In collaboration with the regional officials and a provincial research center focusing on local governance, we...

Significant evidence suggests that individuals are motivated by moral sentiments to join armed groups and express them using violence – to redress grievances and recover dignity lost as a result of victimization and abuse by other groups. These sentiments can...

Work requirements are increasingly common in major public assistance programs, initially implemented in cash support (TANF) and food assistance (SNAP) programs, and starting in 2018 in Medicaid. Proponents of work requirements contend that these policies...

Contact between members of different social groups might have the potential to reduce prejudice and promote intergroup harmony. However, little rigorous evidence exists on the conditions under which this might be the case. Researchers conducted a randomized...

This pilot randomized controlled trial, conducted in collaboration with Tufts Medical Center, aims to determine whether financial support can increase caregivers’ ability to breastfeed and provide skin-to-skin care to preterm infants. The study team's central...

Low quality care and leakages are known to plague the Indian public health system. Although the public sector is largely free (representing a large subsidy), poor households either forego care or pay high costs to go to the private sector, exposing themselves...

Compliance is a key challenge for low-capacity states seeking to expand their tax base. A first order question that remains largely unanswered in the developing world context is: What is the elasticity of tax compliance with respect to the marginal tax rate...

We partner with provincial legislators in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to test whether integrated voice response (IVR) technology can springboard communication between politicians and voters and thereby improve accountability, responsiveness, and development...