The classic narrative of economic development -- poor countries are caught in poverty traps, out of which they need a Big Push involving increased aid and investment, leading to a takeoff in per capita income -- has been very influential in development economics since the 1950s. This was the...

Public Expenditures, Growth, and Poverty assesses the efficacy of poverty reduction programs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia by synthesizing studies conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute over the past ten years. Overall, the studies find that investments in...

The classic narrative of economic development—poor countries are caught in poverty traps, out of which they need a Big Push involving increased investment, leading to a takeoff in per capita income—has been very influential in foreign aid debates since the 1950s. This was the original...

In the new millennium, the Western aid effort towards Africa has surged due to writings by well-known economists, a celebrity mass advocacy campaign, and decisions by Western leaders to make Africa a major foreign policy priority. This survey contrasts the predominant "transformational" approach...

Although a large literature argues that European settlement outside of Europe shaped institutional, educational, technological, cultural, and economic outcomes, researchers have been unable to directly assess these predictions because of an absence of data on colonial European settlement. In...

We establish the following stylized facts: (1) Exports are characterized by Big Hits, (2) the Big Hits change from one period to the next, and (3) these changes are not explained by global factors like global commodity prices. These conclusions are robust to excluding extractable products (oil...

This paper uses panel data from Japan to decompose productivity growth measured by the growth of output per labour unit into three components of efficiency improvement, capital accumulation and technological progress. It then examines their determinants through a dynamic panel model. This paper...

Using individual-level data for China,South Korea, and Japan for2006, this research examines how life satisfaction for married males and femalesin East Asian countries isinfluenced bythe age of theirchildren. Our results show that the life satisfaction of males is barely affected by a child of...

Using individual-level data for China, Korea, and Japan for 2006, this research examines how life satisfaction for married males and females in East Asian countries is influenced by the age of their children. Our results show that the life satisfaction of males is barely affected by a child of...

Using individual-level data from China, Korea, and Japan for 2006, this research examines how the age of children of the relationship influences marital satisfaction for males and females in East Asian countries. Our results show that the marital satisfaction of males is barely affected by a...