There are numerous empirical studies that exploit variation in policies over space and time in the U.S. federal system. If state policy making is purposeful action responsive to economic and political conditions within the state then it is necessary to identify and control for the forces that...

We examine resource allocation in step-households in the United States and South Africa to test whether child investments vary according to economic and genetic bonds between parent and child. In the United States, households spend less on food when a child is raised by a non-biological mother....

The authors examine the social pension in South Africa, where large cash sums--about twice the median per capita income of African bouseholds--are paid to people qualified by age but irrespective of previous contributions. They present the history of the scheme and use a 1993 nationally...