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Blog post
She wins: Electing women in ethnically divided societies
The Indian Constitution reserves at least 33% of seats in rural local governments for women, and Bihar is among the nine states that have opted for 50% reservation. However, women remain heavily underrepresented at the state and central levels. This note investigates how gender interacts with caste, political campaigns, and experiences of discrimination, to shape...
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Blog post
Where are African women in climate change policy?
Climate change is not experienced equally – Africa is more vulnerable to its effects than other continents, and African women are more vulnerable than men. A key underlying factor is women’s reliance on the natural environment. This article explores how African women can be prioritised in climate change policy through gender mainstreaming, focusing particularly on the...
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Blog post
Targeting teenagers to bridge the gender gap in education
Achieving gender equality in education remains a distant goal in many developing countries, with the COVID-19 pandemic stalling progress on many fronts. Emerging research, however, is highlighting promising, cost-effective programmes and interventions that deserve policymaker attention. Despite significant progress in the last 25 years on increasing girls’ literacy...
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Blog post
Barriers for women in economics: A review of recent findings
The field of economics is one of the most gender imbalanced fields in academia, skewing heavily towards men. In this blog, we focus on three inhibiting mechanisms driving these gender imbalances in the discipline, namely lack of recognition, poor work environments, and self-selection. With only two Nobel economic prizes awarded to women (out of 89 awards) and...
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How cleaner cookstoves and fuels could benefit women’s health and the environment
With lesser access to financial resources and greater domestic responsibilities, women face the brunt of the climate change crisis. In particular, women are more affected by indoor air pollution caused by unclean cookstoves or fuel. In this post, Sharma and McDonough discuss the evidence around research efforts in India to promote the uptake of cleaner alternatives for...
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Closing the gender profit gap through savings and training: Evidence from Mozambique
Access to mobile savings accounts and financial management skills can lead to improved profits and financial security of female-led micro-enterprises The ILO estimates that 78% of the world’s poor living in low-income countries are self-employed (ILO 2017). Yet female-led microenterprises often struggle with low levels of growth and rates of survival. Indeed, a...
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Blog post
Easing contracting frictions with machines: Evidence from India
Mechanisation standardises output and lowers supervision needs for hired labour, freeing owners’ families to engage in profitable off-farm activities A long-standing tradition in economics argues that an essential condition for economic development is the adoption of technologies that increase agricultural productivity, thereby making workers available for other...
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Blog post
Preparing for urban floods in Mozambique: Can risk communication help?
Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and small- and medium-sized low-income cities are particularly vulnerable. In a recent project, I study if communicating risk can help prepare urban households for inevitable shocks affecting their livelihoods. Early results show that an easily scalable video intervention increased flood...
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Strategic or confused? Firm behaviour and missing millions in Uganda’s VAT
A quarter of Ugandan firms appear to consistently make costly mistakes, with potentially far-reaching consequences for theory and policy design Economists usually assume that firms behave rationally – they maximise after-tax profits given some constraints. But do they really? There is growing evidence that firms don’t always behave as standard models predict. For...
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Blog post
Do subways improve urban air quality?
Data from around the world show that a new subway system can improve air quality in highly polluted cities Air pollution is a major threat to human health and the climate. According to the World Health Organization, 90% of the world’s population is exposed to harmful pollution levels and about seven million people die prematurely each year as a result (WHO 2020)....
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Industrialising Africa: The transformative potential of infrastructure
Infrastructure is key for economic growth, impacting productivity and integration in global markets. These are both crucial to industrial advancement and connectivity in Africa. Good infrastructure contributes to economic growth by reducing costs and facilitating more efficient use of productive inputs. As such,rarely embark on economic development without first...