At least four Republican senators signaled their opposition to President Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, after Politico reported that he had sent a series of racist text messages.

G.O.P. Senators Oppose Trump Watchdog Nominee After Report of Racist Texts

At least four Republican senators, including the Senate majority leader, signaled their opposition to Paul Ingrassia, the president’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel.

nyti.ms

The threat of public ratings prompted intermediaries to improve job quality for migrant workers. Just Accepted new paper by A. Nilesh Fernando @nileshfern.bsky.social Niharika Singh zurl.co/yQIG8

Regulation by Reputation? Intermediaries, Labor Abuses, and International Migration

Abstract. Migrant workers and employers rely on intermediaries to facilitate labor market placements. If information frictions obscure their reputation, however, intermediaries may under-invest in placement quality. Using data on over 1.5 million Sri Lankan migrants to the Gulf region, we examine the effects of a government-run intermediary rating program that publicly revealed ratings two years after it was announced. Prior to the ratings' public release, under-performing intermediaries invest in the rating criteria and place migrants in less abusive and more remunerative employment. Our results suggest the government's threat of quality revelation induced intermediaries to prospectively screen employers and improve placement quality.

zurl.co

Some news: I'll be joining @kingsbschool.bsky.social later this year as an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics. Excited to join the exciting development community across @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social! (1/n)

Such a travesty that the Demographic and Health Survey program was terminated this week. I realize the Gates Foundation can't pick up all the pieces, but this one seems like a natural one for them to pick up given that the DHS is the go-to data source for many of their focus areas.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · 2y ago

The Demographic and Health Surveys, a major effort supported by USAID and widely used across the world, are also not currently available.

Out in the December edition of AER: Insights, "Hiring Frictions and the Promise of Online Job Portals: Evidence from India," by our own Nilesh Fernando @nileshfern.bsky.social and Niha Singh (along with Gabe Tourek): www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

We are seeking a full-time pre-doc RA to work on development economics with faculty like Taryn Dinkelman, Lakshmi Iyer, Santosh Kumar, Joe Kaboski, @nileshfern.bsky.social, and Niha Singh. We can sponsor US work authorization. jobs.nd.edu/postings/32745 #RA #Econsky