We examine the causes and consequences of corruption in the provision of education service in Bangladesh. Our empirical analysis is based on the 2007 household survey data collected by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), which measure actual corruption. Our main findings are (i) both...

This study compares living standards in China, India and Vietnam using the recent multidimensional approach. A distinguishing feature of this study is the use of unit record data sets containing household level information on a wide range of variables including access to several dimensions of...

We study non-collusive corruption in the education sector. For this purpose, we construct a simple theoretical model that captures non-collusive corruption between service providers (teachers) and service demanders (students). The model shows that the bribe paid by the service demander increases...

This paper evaluates and compares multidimensional deprivation in India and China during the 1990s and beyond. The exercise is conducted on two micro data sets that have been tailor made for this study. It departs from the recent comparisons between India and China that are based on macro...

While the primary aim of most Conditional Cash Transfer (or CCT) programs is to increase the level of human capital of children in poor households, there are also potentially large spillover effects associated with such programs. We illustrate this using data from the Familias en Accion (FA)...

Using a millennium of data for 12 countries in the East and in the West this paper tests the extent to which the three most influential hypotheses on growth and development can shed light on why some economies developed earlier than others and which factors were fundamental for the Great...

We experimentally evaluate two micro-lending schemes to finance high-value smallholder agriculture. Loans featured durations that matched crop cycles, low interest rates, dynamic repayment incentives and index insurance. In the TRAIL design, the lender incentivized a local trader to recommend...

Motivated by theoretical arguments that assert a positive impact of R&D on institutions, this paper aims to provide some empirical analysis on the relationship between these two variables. In particular this paper has found a significant direct effect of institutions on R&D intensity. Countries...

While economic growth has been cited as one of the main factors behind the reduction in absolute poverty, the persisting problem of poverty in developing countries has raised doubts about the efficacy of economic growth in its reduction. Recent evidence revealed that growth in Asia has been...

We find that taller people enjoy a higher quality of life at older ages in China. Implications are drawn for investment in health human capital in infancy and adolescence.