In many developing countries (and beyond), public sector workers are not just simply implementers of policies designed by the politicians in charge of supervising them-so called agents and principals, respectively. Public sector workers can have the power to influence whether politicians are...

What is the efficiency cost of rent-seeking activities in Argentina? This paper quantitatively shows that rent-seeking activities in the form of bribes have aggregate effects through two channels. First, they generate misallocation of resources across firms because they prevent resources from...

This paper investigates the local effects of mining on the quality of public services and on people's optimism about their future living conditions. It also assesses the mediating role of local institutions and local governments 'taxing rights in shaping the proximity-to-mine effects. The...