This chapter develops a unified analytical framework, drawing on and extending the existing literatureon the subject, for studying the role of property rights in economic development. Itaddresses two fundamental and related questions concerning the relationship between propertyrights and...

When economists study incentives in organizations,the main focus has been on using monetary paymentsin exchange for performance on specific measurabledimensions. But organizations use a wide varietyof means to motivate their workers. One suchmethod which has not been studied much to date, isthe...

This paper reviews some issues relevant to the delivery of public services. Itreviews some of the debates and flags some issues that are significantworldwide, especially in Africa. It emphasises how the debate has movedalong in terms of defining the relative responsibilities of the public...

In this paper we review as well as contribute to the empirical literature on the impact of landreform on agricultural productivity in India. We find that, overall for all states, land-reform legislation had anegative and significant effect on agricultural productivity. However, this hides...

This paper explores the feasibility and desirability of CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR). We identify CSR with creation of publicgoods or curtailment of public bads. Using a model with pro…t-maximizing …firms, the paper shows that there is a direct parallel be-tween CSR and traditional...

We analyze the effect of inequality in the distribution of endowment of a private input (briefly,wealth) that is complementary in production with a collective input on effciency. The collective inputis the outcome of a collective action problem (e.g., contribution to pure or impure public goods...

We study market inefficiencies and policy remedies when agents choose their occupations, and entrepreneurialtalent is subject to private information. Untalented entrepreneurs depress the returns to entrepreneurshipbecause of adverse selection. The severity of this problem depends on the outside...

If we are to learn the right lessons from the tragedy ofNandigram, then we must ensure that the government is involvedin the land acquisition process and that we correctly deal withthree sets of issues: the size and form of compensation, theeligibility for compensation and the credibility of the...

Buyer-Seller networks are pervasive in developing economies yet remain relatively under-studied. Using primary data on contracts between the largest tractor assembler in Pakistanand its suppliers we …find large variations in prices and quantities across suppliers of the sameproduct....

In this paper we analyze the effect of inequality in the distribution of endowments of privateinputs (like land, capital) on production efficiency through its effect on the voluntary provisionof collective inputs (like irrigation, public research) that are complementary in production withthose...