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作者:Jayachandran, Seema
作者单位:Northwestern University
摘要:The desire for smaller families is conjectured as one reason the male-to-female sex ratio has increased with economic development in several countries. Families that strongly want at least one son are less likely to obtain him by chance at low fertility, which could increase their use of sex-selective abortion. This paper quantifies the relationship between desired fertility and the sex ratio in India by eliciting sex composition preferences at specified fertility levels. I find that the desir...
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作者:Gadenne, Lucie
作者单位:University of Warwick
摘要:Existing evidence suggests that extra grant revenues lead to little improvements in public services in developing countries but would governments spend tax revenues differently? This paper considers a program that invests in the tax capacity of Brazilian municipalities. Using variations in the timing of program uptake, I find that it raises local tax revenues and that the increase in taxes is used to improve both the quantity and quality of municipal education infrastructure. In contrast; incr...
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作者:Behaghel, Luc; de Chaisemartin, Clement; Gurgand, Marc
作者单位:Paris School of Economics; INRAE; University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Paris School of Economics; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
摘要:Boarding schools substitute school to home, but little is known on effects this substitution produces on students. We present results of an experiment in which seats in a boarding school for disadvantaged students were randomly allocated. Boarders enjoy better studying conditions than control students. However, they start outperforming control students in mathematics only two years after admission, and this effect mostly comes from strong students. Boarders initially experience lower levels of...
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作者:Doleac, Jennifer L.
作者单位:University of Virginia
摘要:Every US state has a database of criminal offenders' DNA profiles. These databases receive widespread attention in the media and popular culture, but there has been no rigorous analysis of their impact on crime. This paper intends to fill that gap. I exploit the details and timing of state DNA database expansions in two ways, first to address the effects of DNA profiling on individuals' subsequent criminal behavior and then to address the aggregate effects on crime rates. I show that DNA datab...
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作者:Asher, Sam; Novosad, Paul
作者单位:The World Bank; Dartmouth College
摘要:Political favoritism affects the allocation of government resources, but is it consequential for growth? Using a close election regression discontinuity design and data from India, we measure the local economic impact of being represented by a politician in the ruling party. Favoritism leads to higher private sector employment, higher share prices (Onus, and increased output as measured by night lights; the three effects are similar and economically substantive. Finally, we present evidence th...
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作者:Nyqvist, Martina Bjorkman; de Walque, Damien; Svensson, Jakob
作者单位:Stockholm School of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; The World Bank; Stockholm University
摘要:We evaluate the longer run impact of a local accountability intervention in primary health care provision in Uganda. Short-run improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes remained in the longer run despite minimal follow-up. We find no impact on the quality of care or health. outcomes of a lower cost intervention that focused on encouraging participation but did not provide information on staff performance. We provide suggestive evidence that informed beneficiaries are more likely...
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作者:Haggag, Kareem; McManus, Brian; Paci, Giovanni
作者单位:University of Chicago; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; New York University
摘要:We study learning by doing by New York City taxi drivers, who have substantial discretion over their driving strategies and receive compensation closely tied to their success in finding customers. In addition to documenting learning overall by these entrepreneurial agents, we exploit our data's breadth. to investigate the factors that contribute to driver improvement across a variety of situations. New drivers lag further behind experienced drivers when in difficult situations. Drivers benefit...
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作者:Leon, Gianmarco; Miguel, Edward
作者单位:Pompeu Fabra University; University of California System; University of California Berkeley
摘要:This paper exploits an unusual transportation setting to generate some of the first revealed preference value of a statistical life (VSL) estimates from a low-income setting. We estimate the trade-offs individuals are willing to make between mortality risk and cost as they travel to and from the international airport in Sierra Leone. The setting and original dataset allow us to address some typical omitted variable concerns, and also to compare VSL estimates for travelers from different countr...
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作者:Barnhardt, Sharon; Field, Erica; Pande, Rohini
作者单位:Duke University; Harvard University
摘要:A housing lottery in an Indian City provided winning slun dwellers the opportunity to move into improved housing on the city's periphery. Fourteen years later, winners report improved housing but no change in tenure security, family income, or human capital. Winners also report increased isolation from family and caste networks and reduced informal insurance. We observe significant program exit: 34 percent of winners never took up subsidized housing and 32 percent eventually exited. Our result...
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作者:Coffman, Lucas C.; Featherstone, Clayton R.; Kessler, Judd B.
摘要:We show that the provision of social information influences a high-stakes decision and this influence persists over time. In a field experiment involving thousands of admits to Mach For America, those told about the previous year's matriculation rate are more likely to accept a teaching job, complete training, start, and return a second year. To show robustness, we develop a simple theory that identifies subgroups where we expect larger treatment effects and find our effect is larger in those ...