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Publication - Project Report
Do chiefs' endorsements affect voter behaviour?
We study whether and why traditional leaders can influence voter behaviour using real endorsement messages made by chiefs in support of the incumbent presidential candidate during Ghana’s 2020 presidential elections. Using an experimental design, we document a positive impact of endorsement messages on vote choice, but not on turnout. We find that the effect of chiefs’...
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Publication - Project Report
She wins: Electing women in ethnically divided societies
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Publication - Policy Brief
Informal transport reform in Kampala city
Public transport services in Kampala city are largely made up of minibus and motorbike taxis. While the current transport sector provides a critical means of livelihood to many individuals in the city, the jobs offered are relatively low-paid and the job market is increasingly saturated. Given the limited potential for the current transportation industry to...
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Publication - Working Paper
Services and economic development in Africa
This paper presents data and analyses the structure of employment in thirteen African economies at the administrative unit level, with a focus on the role of services. We provide two novel pieces of evidence. First, we present a descriptive snapshot of changes in the composition of employment over time and across geographies. This reveals evidence of structural...
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Publication - Miscellaneous
Empirical research on taxation in Uganda
This note summarises discussions and presentations from an afternoon seminar held by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the IGC on the 15th April 2021. The aim of the event was to share and discuss findings from ongoing research projects conducted jointly by personnel from the URA and the IGC.
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Publication - Policy Brief
Gender, social change, and urbanisation in North India
In the coming years, India will seek to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend that will maximise the growth potential of its economy. However, this potential dividend will likely be squandered if half of the country’s population—namely women—face continued steep barriers to social and economic empowerment. This study examines how gender, urbanisation, and...
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Publication - Project Report
Gender, social change, and urbanisation in North India
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Publication - Policy Brief
Unleashing the power of urbanisation for Uganda’s new cities
Kampala dominates Uganda’s urban system across a number of metrics, including population, production of GDP, and formal employment opportunities. However, research has shown that such urban primacy can be detrimental to economic growth for countries at lower-income levels. People are settling in these cities faster than infrastructure investments can be made,...
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Publication - Policy paper
From car-free days to pollution-free cities: Reflections on clean urban transport in Rwanda
East Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest growing cities and levels of traffic congestion, air pollution, and vehicle accidents are rising. Rwanda, with its rapidly growing urbanisation rate, faces a major challenge: to decouple the growth of cities and urban mobility from air pollution. Using high-quality data, this policy paper adds to existing research...
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Publication - Policy Brief
City of dreams no more, a year on: Worklessness and active labour market policies in urban India
Ten months on from the lockdown months of April to June 2020 in India, we conducted a new field survey in lower-income states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh during February and March 2021. The new survey expanded coverage of the target group through a boost sample of individuals who have lost work due to the pandemic. Forty percent of recontacted workers...
Publication - Policy paper
Scaling energy investments in fragile states
Expanding energy access in fragile contexts is critical for these settings to recover from COVID-19 and escape fragility. This policy paper accompanies the call to action issued by the Council on State Fragility and g7+ on ‘Powering up energy investments in fragile states’, which calls for a new approach for scaling energy access in fragile contexts.