While digital credit broadens market access and reduces frictions in developing countries, default rates are often high. In Mexico, reducing loan speed—by doubling delivery time—decreased the likelihood of default significantly. Such waiting periods ...
Long-term research on the One Laptop per Child programme reveals that providing laptops to students did not have a positive impact on educational outcomes, likely driven by lack of effects on cognitive skills and limited classroom adoption.
How can we estimate state presence in areas where direct measurements are lacking? New research offers a solution to measuring state presence using machine learning techniques.
A governmental employment-guarantee programme designed to provide economic security to rural households in India has unintentionally reduced women’s labour force participation—deepening gender disparities within households. By guaranteeing employment...
Can taking textbooks home improve student learning when resources are highly constrained? New research from fragile areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo suggests it can.
Benchmarking multi-dimensional in-kind programmes against cost-equivalent unconditional cash transfers reveals that cash can be more effective in improving consumption and asset accumulation.
As the global refugee crisis escalates, there is a growing need for evidence on refugee housing policy. Evidence from Jordan suggests that housing subsidies for Syrian refugees had limited benefits for refugee well-being while worsening social cohesi...
A phone-based intervention in Uruguay, which included access to an AI chatbot, demonstrates how behavioural insights can enhance parenting practices and improve early childhood development at scale.
