This paper uses variation in the timing of the Mexican antipoverty program's introduction across municipalities to identify its impact on the share of votes for the local incumbent party. Evidence is found that voters reward the mayor's party for the central benefit to their constituencies,...

While decreasing inequality is generally considered desirable, and there is a growing understanding of which policies do and do not promote equality, much less is known regarding why these policies are adopted to varying degrees of intensity in different times and places. To explain this...

The push for adopting digital modes of payment rests on three promises: increased efficiency of transactions, increased financial inclusion, and improvements in the financial well-being of low-income individuals. We experimentally test the extent to which these promises are fulfilled. We exploit...

Avaliamos os programas de transferência de renda não contributivas em 17 países da América Latina e do Caribe para identificar os fatores que os impedem de reduzir a pobreza e a desigualdade. Para realizar essa avaliação, analisamos três dimensões relacionadas a tamanho (número de...

We assess the non-contributory cash transfer systems in 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries to identify factors that keep them from reducing poverty and inequality. To perform this assessment, we analyze three dimensions of size (number of beneficiaries, size of transfer per beneficiary,...

Evaluamos los sistemas de transferencias monetarias no contributivas en 17 países de América Latina y el Caribe para identificar factores que les impiden reducir la pobreza y la desigualdad. Para realizar esta evaluación, analizamos tres dimensiones de tamaño (número de beneficiarios,...

Access to identification cards (IDs) is often required to claim government benefits. However, it is unclear which policies to increase ID ownership are more effective. We experimentally analyze the effect of two policy interventions to induce the timely renewal of identification cards on access...

The Bolivian government fostered an electricity cost supporting scheme to attenuate the effect of the nationwide full lockdown on domestic consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper evaluates its effect on the levels of energy consumption during lockdown, and the monetary savings it...

We study the effects of increasing cash grants on the education attainment of low-income middle and high school students in Mexico. Starting in 2009, the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer (CCT) program increased the average grant in middle and high school by 27 percent for females and 30...

We study the effects of increasing cash grants on the education attainment of low-income middle and high school students in Mexico. Starting in 2009, the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer (CCT) program increased the average grant in middle and high school by 27 percent for females and 30...