We present a theoretical framework and empirical strategy to measure the causal effect ofinterim feedback on individuals’ performance. Our identification strategy exploits a naturalexperiment in a leading UK university where different departments have historically differentrules on the...

Over the last decade, many countries have experienced dramatic increases in university enrolment, which, when not matched by compensating increases in other inputs, have resulted in larger class sizes. Using administrative records from a leading UK university, we present evidence on the effects...

We present evidence on social incentives in the workplace, namely on whether workers’ behavioris affected by the presence of those they are socially tied to, even in settings where thereare no externalities among workers due to either the production technology or the compensationscheme in...

We present evidence on the effect of social connections between workers and managerson productivity in the workplace. To evaluate whether the existence of social connections isbeneficial to the firm’s overall performance, we explore how the effects of social connectionsvary with the strength...

This paper presents evidence on how farmers’ decisions to adopt a new crop, sunflower,relate to the adoption choices of farmers in their social network of family and friends. Weshow that the relationship is shaped as an inverse-U, suggesting social effects are positivewhen there are few...

We present evidence on whether workers have social preferences by comparing workers’ productivityunder relative incentives, where individual effort imposes a negative externality on others,to their productivity under piece rates, where it does not. We find that the productivity of theaverage...

The ability to cooperate in collective action problems — such as those relating to the useof common property resources or the provision of local public goods — is a key determinant ofeconomic performance. In this paper we discuss two aspects of collective action problemsin developing...

Both the quantity and quality of education and training in Britain are being comparedunfavourably with arrangements in other countries at a time when public expenditure isfacing the most stringent constraints. This paper starts from the presumption thatimprovements in the quality and quantity of...

The government’s pensions Green Paper – A new contract for welfare:partnership in pensions – proposes fundamental changes to the UK’sretirement income system. Members of CASE and of the Department ofSocial Policy at LSE have looked at the likely implications of the reformsfor pensioner...

This paper examines the profile of poverty in Tajikistan, the most remoteand poorest of the independent states of the Former Soviet Union. Datais used from the first nationally representative household surveyconducted in Tajikistan since independence and the cessation of the civilwar. The...