Careful consideration of the appropriate level and composition of aggregate public spending is vital in low income countries, especially in the presence of large volumes of foreign aid. Not only can expansion of the public sector weaken economic growth, but also provision of public services may...

Changes in relative prices of commodities consumed in different shares across income groups can be expected to alter real income differentials between these groups. Using Mozambican household budget survey and price data from 2002/03 and 2008/09, we show that once relative price increases are...

The notion that foreign aid harms the institutions of recipient governments remains prevalent. We combine new disaggregated aid data and various metrics of political institutions to re-examine this relationship. Long-run cross-section and alternative dynamic panel estimators show a small...

Recent years have seen a considerable shift in economic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. Economic growth has been robust, international reserves are on the rise and levels of external debt are falling. Combined with the global boom in commodity prices, as well as expansion of Chinese interests...

The micro-macro paradox has been revived. Despite broadly positive evaluations at the micro and meso-levels, recent literature has turned decidedly pessimistic with respect to the ability of foreign aid to foster economic growth. Policy implications, such as the complete cessation of aid to...

The impact of large commercial farms on neighbouring smallholders in low-income sub-Saharan Africa remains controversial. Bringing evidence to a largely anecdotal debate, we deploy a dataset covering all commercial farms in Mozambique, linking them to a nationally representative survey of...

This paper studies the dynamics of the agricultural sector in Mozambique, focusing on the role of commercial farms. Using agricultural survey data from 2002 to 2012, we analyse the spatial distribution of large farms and identify factors influencing their location decisions. We find that the...

Inequalities in the opportunity to obtain a good education in low-income countries are widely understood to be related to household resources and schooling quality. Yet, to date, most researchers have investigated the contributions of these two factors separately. This paper considers them...

Inequalities in the opportunity to obtain a good education in low-income countries are widely understood to be related to household resources and schooling quality. Yet, to date, most researchers have investigated the contributions of these two factors separately. This paper considers them...

Prior to 2009, there was no direct road connection between the southern regions of Mozambique - where the capital city is located - and the more agriculturally-productive central and northern regions. In this paper, we leverage the opening of a major road bridge to identify the impact of...