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Publication - Policy Brief
Improving the cost-effectiveness of Rwanda’s tax incentives
Over the years, Rwanda has deployed a menu of tax incentives to attract investors. In 2015, total tax incentives amounted to about 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). A transparent and targeted strategy for giving out tax incentives is critical to ensure that they do not erode the domestic tax base. This study finds that Rwanda’s tax incentives are not a...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Priorities for mineral-led industrialisation in Rwanda
Rwandan officials need to actively engage with the new Mining Policy for its effective implementation. Economic growth may not necessarily conform to the African Mining Vision (AMV, 2009). Longer term plans for investments relating to mining sector services need to be pursued. A full diagnosis of the mining sector must precede interventions to influence its...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Realising land rights and social accountability through community-based organisations: The impacts of India’s Homestead Programme
This study uses a mixed-methods randomised impact evaluation to shed light on two broad policy questions: First, how and to what extent can development interventions improve the governance of social protection through attempts to induce community mobilisation? Second, how can the homestead land rights of marginalised populations be improved? The programme’s core is...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Improving coffee farmer welfare with innovative credit solutions in developing countries
Most poor people in developing countries work in agriculture. Many sell to cooperatives and agro-processing enterprises. Improving these firms’ access to credit has the potential to unlock demand and raise farmers’ incomes. Providing sustainable access to working capital loans in agricultural chains has proven difficult due to poor contract enforcement,...
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Publication - Policy Brief
The economic geography of Rwanda: Trends, challenges and opportunities
The economic geography of Rwanda is characterised by relatively low levels of urbanisation (estimated at about 18.5% in 2016 - 2017 according to Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV) 5 data), a high urbanisation growth rate, high population density, and the urban dominance of Kigali City, the capital. This study confirms that Rwanda is urbanising...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Measuring power outages in Ghana using satellite imagery
Ghana recently experienced an extreme power crisis, which peaked in 2015, leading to substantial economic, social, and political problems. Despite the widespread impacts of the crisis, there is no reliable data on the variation in power supply quality across Ghana over this period. Our project estimates geographic variation in power outages using the Power Supply...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Mapping urbanisation in India with satellite imagery
Satellite images provide a promising source of data for measuring urbanisation: It provides higher spatial and temporal resolution than administrative data. This project uses remotely sensed data to detect urban markets in India for 2013 (accessible via the Google Earth Engine). We find that landcover-based markets detected from daytime satellite imagery are...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Production responses and tax evasion with limited state capacity
In India, indirect taxes represent 85% of state tax revenue. Historically, its highly decentralised system of commodity taxation has led to production inefficiencies. Our research is on the effect of India switching from a sales tax to a value added tax (VAT) in the 2000s. We focus on two margins of response: Output and tax evasion near registration thresholds. We...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Conservation credits: Payments for voluntary groundwater conservation
Paying farmers to pump less groundwater could be a cost-effective and equitable way to reduce water and electricity consumption in irrigated agriculture. A pilot of conservation credits among 90 smallholder farmers in three villages in Gujarat proceeded smoothly and was received well by the communities. Results suggest that financial incentives may be able to...
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Publication -
Making the workplace work for women
The traditional economic rationale for increased female labour force participation is that it benefits women directly and society indirectly. A new argument looks at how increased female labour force participation can boost aggregate economic growth and hence, benefit everyone, on average. Yet, several factors hinder women’s productive employment. This Growth Brief...
Publication - Growth Brief
Saving microfinance through innovative lending
The traditional microfinance model has had limited impact on the income and productivity of borrowers. More innovative and flexible lending models can boost entrepreneurship and welfare.