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Project
Fuel subsidy: Evasion under changes in point of provision
The increasing burden of subsidies is a leading concern for policymakers across the world. Growing subsidy burden holds significant fiscal implications. Nonetheless, any attempt to reform subsidy policies invites univocal opposition from all the quarters. Particularly in developing countries, debates on fuel subsidies invoke strong passions since a significant proportion...
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Project
Brighter communities, safer cities
Security provision is a fundamental service of the state. Personal and property security are necessary conditions for attracting local and foreign investment to drive economic growth. In Sierra Leone - where police lack the resources, capacity, and political legitimacy to provide community-level security - state and civil society actors combine to provide community...
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Project
Worker well-being and productivity in the Bangladesh garment sector
Recent research suggests stress may affect worker productivity and thereby the accumulation of other forms of human capital. The garment sector is the largest employer of female workers in Bangladesh, the majority of whom have migrated from outside the area where the factories are located. These urban and peri-urban areas are characterised by inadequate basic services and...
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Project
The role of mobile-based trade credit on business development
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of most economies. They are flexible in responding to new opportunities and possess potential for rapid growth. As a result, SMEs are believed to serve as engines for innovation, employment, and social mobility. In developing countries, SMEs represent a particularly large part of the economy. However, data...
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Project
The effects of state violence on social networks, collective action and pro-social behaviour during conflict: Evidence from Kachin State, Myanmar
How do social relations form during and after conflict? More specifically, how do experiences of violence explain attitudes towards: Peace and punishment? The formation of new networks and intra-ethnic cooperation among host communities and displaced people? And displaced people from different villages and communities? Although the study of political violence...
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Project
Infrastructure development in Myanmar
Infrastructure is critical for economic growth. It facilitates trade, connects markets, enhances mobility, and boosts productivity. Yet, the current state of infrastructure development in Myanmar remains weak, acting as a key constraint on growth. While there has been significant growth in the country’s paved road network, the vast majority of the network – around 60% -...
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Trade shocks and production networks in Uganda
The structure of firm networks matters. Given a certain network structure, it influences the amount of value created in an economy and determines an economy’s resilience to shocks. However, the structure is also likely to be endogenous to economic policy decisions. As such, it is difficult to disentangle the causal effect of a given network and the formation of that...
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Project
Developing Kampala’s citizen charter: Citizen deliberation and bureaucratic responsiveness in service provision
In the past two or three decades, deliberative processes have found widespread use across both developed (Fung & Wright, 2003) and developing countries (Wong, 2012). Beyond an end in themselves, they represent both a strategy to ensure that the resource allocation process takes a wide array of needs and preferences into account. Despite their ubiquity, there is scant...
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Project
Quality upgrading and contract enforcement in Uganda's coffee sector
There has long been interest in the process of structural transformation, moving from subsistence agriculture to the production of manufactured goods (Lewis, 1954). Improving the value of agricultural exports is often considered an important first step in this process. More broadly, there has been growing interest in quality upgrading in developing country markets and firms...
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Project
Dealing with single-use plastics: Examining the economic effect of a ban in Ghana
Many cities in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly experiencing widespread usage of single-use plastic products and the associated littering. This is having a devastating impact on economies, ecosystems, infrastructure and human lives. Single-use plastics are used only once before they are disposed of or recycled. These items include plastic bags, sachets, straws and...
Project
Female politicians and economic growth: Evidence from state elections in India
The project studies close elections between men and women for election to India's state legislative assemblies. It finds significantly higher growth in economic activity in constituencies that elect women. Given average GDP growth in India of about 7% per year (during the study period), the researchers estimate the growth premium for constituencies from having a...