VoxDev

@voxdev.bsky.social

Where research meets practice; a platform for development enthusiasts to discuss key policy issues. Powered by CEPR, IGC & PEDL. Board: Martina Björkman-Nyqvist, Michael Callen, Cesi Cruz, David Lagakos, Joana Naritomi, Oliver Hanney & Emaan Siddique

In rural India, children in private preschools learn far more than those in public ones. Unequal access to private preschools explains most of the learning gap between richer and poorer children at school entry. Read today's article to learn more:

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 6d ago

🆕 Does private preschool really give children a head start? Today on VoxDev, Petter Berg (Watson School at Brown), Mauricio Romero (ITAM) & Abhijeet Singh (Stockholm School of Economics) discuss private preschool advantage in rural India: https://ow.ly/7tHz50ZuE2v

A randomised trial in rural Ethiopia found that a single one-hour screening of documentaries featuring relatable role models produced lasting increases in farm investment, schooling, and household wealth five years on.

Treatment effects on economic outcomes observed six months and five years after the screening
VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 6d ago

🆕 Can a one-hour documentary change long-term economic behaviour? Today on VoxDev w/ Tanguy Bernard (University of Bordeaux), @gamblingondev.bsky.social (University of Oxford), Kate Orkin, Giulio Schinaia (University of Chicago) & Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse (IFPRI): voxdev.org/topic/educat...

How did the Bengali language movement of 1952 shape Bangladesh's path to independence? In this episode of Economics Unpacked, @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social explains how Bangladesh's independence movement began twenty years before the country became independence.

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · last wk.

🆕 The birth of Bangladesh: How the Bhola cyclone fostered revolution 📢 Today on Economics Unpacked, @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social (@yalesom.bsky.social @yaleeconomics.bsky.social) explores the role of the 1970 Bhola cyclone in shaping Bangladesh's independence: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r03M...

A new theoretical framework provides guidance about when adjusting for multiple hypothesis testing is likely to lead to better decisions – and when it might go too far and lead to policy mistakes instead. Read today's article to learn more:

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · last wk.

🆕 Rethinking multiple hypothesis testing: A welfare-based approach Today on VoxDev w/ @vivianodavide.bsky.social (@harvard.edu), Kaspar Wuthrich (@umich.edu) & Paul Niehaus (@gpsucsd.bsky.social): voxdev.org/topic/method...

India's 1980s rural bank branch expansion only had modest effects on average agricultural output, but it substantially reduced farmers' vulnerability to adverse rainfall shocks, largely by helping them sustain irrigation.

Response to a negative rainfall shock under two bank growth scenarios
VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · last wk.

🆕 Can bank access help farmers weather climate shocks? Today on VoxDev, Liang Bai (King's College London), Camille Boudot-Reddy (Birkbeck, University of London) & André Butler (ICF) outline research on climate adaptation and financial access in India: https://ow.ly/72qR50ZtJRT

Ethiopia’s Tigray War not only caused immense human suffering and economic disruption but also eroded trust within local communities. Read today's article to learn more:

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · last wk.

🆕 How violent conflict erodes community trust Today on VoxDev, Richard Freund (MIDE Development) & Marta Favara (Young Lives) outline research on violent conflicts in Ethiopia: https://voxdev.org/topic/institutions-political-economy/how-violent-conflict-erodes-community-trust

What happens when the informal sector isn't taken into account in policymaking? In our most recent episode of Economics Unpacked, @gulyssea.bsky.social illustrates this using minimum wage as an example. Link below ⤵️

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 2w ago

🆕 The informal sector: Why some economies are almost entirely hidden 📢 Today on VoxDevTalks, @gulyssea.bsky.social (@ucl.ac.uk) explains why informality is so widespread in developing countries, and how it affects economic growth: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XkM...

🆕 How financial aid could transform student welfare in sub-Saharan Africa Today on VoxDev, Natalie Bau (UCLA), Corinne Low (Wharton School), Simona Simona (University of Zambia) & Bryce Steinberg (Watson School at Brown) outline research on Zambia: https://ow.ly/8E5z50ZsbV3

How financial aid could transform student welfare in sub-Saharan Africa

College students in sub-Saharan Africa can be as food insecure as the ultra-poor, but modest financial support may yield large returns for wellbeing.

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🆕 How financial aid could transform student welfare in sub-Saharan Africa Today on VoxDev, Natalie Bau (UCLA), Corinne Low (Wharton School), Simona Simona (University of Zambia) & Bryce Steinberg (Watson School at Brown) outline research on Zambia: https://ow.ly/8E5z50ZsbV3

How financial aid could transform student welfare in sub-Saharan Africa

College students in sub-Saharan Africa can be as food insecure as the ultra-poor, but modest financial support may yield large returns for wellbeing.

ow.ly

A 2015 documentary exposing China's air pollution led to measurable declines in land transaction value and area in more-exposed Chinese cities, as residents reconsidered where to live. The effect was strongest in cities reliant on land-based finance and for lower-quality, peripheral land parcels.

The dynamic effects on land transaction (IV results)
VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 2w ago

🆕 How an environmental documentary reshaped China’s land markets Today on VoxDev, Wei Zou (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law) & Pinghan Liang (Sun Yat-Sen University) discuss the impact of China's viral 2015 air pollution documentary on land transactions: https://ow.ly/rNe350ZrTAp

When tax enforcement depends on geography, firms may choose to locate where taxes are easier to evade rather than where they are most productive. A Chinese reform that standardised VAT enforcement across rugged and flatter counties reduced this misallocation.

Impact of GTP on effective VAT rate (rugged vs. flatter counties)
VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 2w ago

🆕 Can better tax enforcement boost productivity? Today on VoxDev, Yu Liu (Fudan University) & Xiaoxue Zhao (Wesleyan University) discuss VAT enforcement reforms in China: https://voxdev.org/topic/public-economics/can-better-tax-enforcement-boost-productivity