Using a randomized survey experiment in urban Ghana, this paper demonstrates that the length of the reference period and the interview modality (in person or over the phone) affect how people respond in labor surveys, with impacts varying markedly by job type. Survey participants report...

Rapid economic growth over the past two decades lifted millions of people out of poverty in Central Asia. But the uneven spread of prosperity left many communities struggling to catch up. To support lagging regions within countries, each of the region's five national governments has made...

As one of the most pivotal ways that labor markets adjust to changing economic conditions, international migration is never far from the center of the national discussion in Uzbekistan. This paper summarizes the relationship between recent international migration trends and household well-being...

Kazakhstan's cities are hubs of economic opportunity and prosperity. But despite the government's ambitious targets, the pace of urbanization remains slow. This study focuses on two key constraints: (i) the very high cost of living in Kazakhstan's cities, and (ii) the near absence of a rental...

This paper studies gender discrimination in hiring through an experiment that randomly assigned fictitious resumes to job advertisements in Uzbekistan. The experiment focused on positions commonly advertised in the local context, such as accountants, office managers, information technology...

Can mass public health messages change behavior during a crisis? This paper assesses the impact of a COVID-19 focused text-messaging campaign launched in May 2020 with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan to encourage compliance with risk reduction measures. The initiative...