Although many governments in developing countries profess redistributive aims, and although standard efficiency arguments suggests that cash transfers are the best way of accomplishing such aims, direct cash transfers to the poor are rare. In this paper we examine a counter example, the "social...

This paper examines the impact of political compet ition on b lock grants from federal to sub-federal levels of government. We model the extent and direction of income redistribution as determined proximately by the political agendas of central decisionmakers and, at a deeper level, by the...

In this paper we examine the relationship between educational inputs and school outcomes in South Africa immediately before the end of apartheid government and, in doing so, we add to what is known about the impact of exogenous changes in school quality on child outcomes. There are three...