Routine quick-and-dirty methods of project appraisal can be so dirty in guiding project selection as to wipe out the net social gains from public investment. Routine quick-and-dirty methods of project appraisal can be so dirty in guiding project selection as to wipe out the net social gains from...

Could the simplifying assumptions made in project appraisal be so far from the truth that the expected benefits of public investments are not realized? Using data for Vietnam, commonly used estimates of the benefits from irrigation investments based on means are compared with impacts assessed...

Viet Nam's ethnic minorities tend to be concentrated in remote areas and have lower living standards than the ethnic majority. How much is this due to poor economic characteristics? Is there a self-reinforcing culture of poverty in the minority group? The authors find that differences in returns...

Vietnam's ethnic minorities tend to be concentrated in remote areas and have lower living standards than the ethnic majority. How much is this due to poor economic characteristics versus low returns to characteristics? Is there a self-reinforcing culture of poverty in the minority group? We find...

Vietnam's ethnic minorities, who tend to live mostly in remote rural areas, typically have lower living standards than the ethnic majority. How much is this because of differences in economic characteristics (such as education levels and land) rather than low returns to characteristics? Is there...