Institutions & Political Economy

Evidence from Mexico City shows training enhances officer interactions with citizens and reduces harmful conduct, providing valuable insights for improving frontline services.

New research uses mobile phone transaction data to shed light on the nature of religious adherence in Afghanistan, revealing that religiously motivated insurgent violence reduces religiosity while climate-induced income shocks increase religiosity.

Political connections helped firms secure scarce credit, delay payments, boost investments, and grow faster following the major economic crisis in India due to demonetisation.

Digitalisation reforms have become a popular policy tool in developing countries. Evidence from Pakistan, however, suggests that digitising land records can have unintended consequences on bureaucratic behaviour and, in turn, tax collection.

An unprecedented gender gap in political preferences has emerged in many countries. Evidence from the 2018 Brazilian presidential election shows that labour market shocks which disproportionately affect men can increase support for right-wing populis...

Unregulated markets for second-hand goods fuel crime worldwide. In Brazil, strengthening oversight of the second-hand market for automotive parts helped reduce car theft, simultaneously lowering insurance prices.

Does US military aid strengthen weak states and deter adversaries, or foster resentment and increase terrorist attacks?

How should governments communicate reforms to fight corruption without reinforcing citizens’ negative perceptions? A carefully designed information intervention in Honduras provides a promising approach to update citizen beliefs about corruption in t...

How has the destruction of digital infrastructure exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Sudan?