Exploiting new data from a survey and behavioral experiment conducted in Peru we analyze individuals’ preferences for securing income in old age. We identify a group that is unrationed by the mandate to save in Peru’s pension system, and draw insights from their affiliation and contribution...

A large literature describes how local risk sharing networks can help individuals smooth consumption in the face of idiosyncratic economic shocks. However, when an entire community faces a large covariate shock, and when the transaction costs of transfers are high, these risk sharing networks...

This paper surveys research on social capital. We explore the concepts that motivate the social capital literature, efforts to formally model social capital using economic theory, the econometrics of social capital, and empirical studies of the role of social capital in various socioeconomic...

Financial development indicators are often applied to countries/regions without taking into account specific financial development realities. Financial depth in the perspective of monetary base is not equal to liquid liabilities in every development context. This paper introduces complementary...

Crimes and conflicts are seriously undermining African development. This article assesses the best governance tools in the fight against the scourges. The following findings are established. (1) Democracy, autocracy and voice & accountability have no significant negative correlations with crime....

This paper investigates how financial, trade, institutional and political liberalization policies have affected financial sector competition in Africa using updated data to appraise second generation reforms. The ‘freedom to trade’ and ‘economic freedom’ indices are employed. Hitherto,...

Using data from a randomized control trial in Sri Lanka, this paper explores whether cash and in-kind grants helped microenterprises approach the productivity level of SMEs. The paper first estimates production functions and subsequently treatment effects on TFP levels. Most significantly, more...

This paper investigates the role of risk-aversion in the allocation of workers between formal and informal jobs in Ghana. In the model I propose risk-averse workers can opt between the free-entry informal sector and queuing for formal occupations. Conditional on identifying the riskier option,...

The Kodila-Tedika & Bolito-Losembe (2014, ADR) finding on no evidence of causality flowing from State fragility to classical corruption or extreme corruption could have an important influence on academic and policy debates. Using updated data (1996-2010) from 53 African countries, we provide...

This paper provides evidence from one of the poorest countries of the world that the institutions of property rights, in particular related to land, are of crucial importance for investment and growth. In Ethiopia , with all land state-owned, the threat of land redistribution never appears far...