A unifying theme in the literature on organizations such as public bureaucracies and private non-profits is the importance of missions, as opposed to profit, as an organizational goal. Such mission-oriented organizations are frequently staffed by motivated agents who subscribe to the mission....

Unifying theory and research to contribute to poverty reduction This paper argues that with the development and increasing use of randomized experiments in development research, we now have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between these two strands of research, the need to use existing...

An interesting puzzle is that trade liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s has been associated with a sharp increase in the skill premium in both developed and developing countries. This is in contrast with neoclassical theory, according to which trade should increase the relative return of the...

Most countries experienced high and volatile inflation during the 1970s and part of the 1980s, and low and stable inflation thereafter. Professor Besley argues that the main contrast between these two periods is a significant change in central bank responses to inflation. Periods of high and...

This paper exploits data on the pattern of violence across regions and over time to estimate the impact of the peace process in Northern Ireland on house prices. We begin with a linear model that estimates the average treatment effect of a conflictrelated killing on house prices - showing a...

Recent events in several countries have underscored the importance of good governance in private occupational pension plans. The present paper uses contract theory to analyze the interplay of residual claims and control rights in private pensions. The residual claimant is the plan sponsor in a...

In this speech,(1) Professor Tim Besley,(2) member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), discusses the United Kingdom’s long-term structural shift from manufacturing towards services; whether this shift is consistent with increasing prosperity and growth for the UK economy; and the...

This paper examines the relationship between community participation and theefficacy of interventions designed to reduce poverty. We develop some simple analyticsthat are used to structure a review of the extant literature and motivate the analysis of theimpact of participation on the efficacy...

The Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) aims to increasecompetition and to foster client protection in the European financialmarket. Among other provisions, it abolishes the concentration rule andchallenges the market ower of existing trading venues. The directiveintroduces venue...