We use a sample of subsistence farmers in Sierra Leone as respondents to compare behavior in a context-free experiment (a standard public goods game) and behavior in the field (a real development intervention). There is no meaningful correlation in behavior across contexts. This casts doubt on...

We use a sample of subsistence farmers in Sierra Leone as respondents to compare behavior in a context-free experiment (a standard public goods game) and behavior in the field (a real development intervention). There is no meaningful correlation in behavior across contexts. This casts doubt on...

This paper explores generosity among anonymous villagers and sharing within families using a dictator game field experiment that was carried out in rural villages in Ethiopia. We find that generosity among anonymous villagers is very low compared with the findings in the dictator game...

This paper examines the impact of envy or related social preferences on agricultural innovation in Ethiopia by combining experimental and household survey data. In the first stage of a money burning game, income inequality is induced by providing differential endowments and enabling subjects to...

Zimbabwean villagers of distinct background have resettled in government organized land reforms for more than three decades. Against this backdrop, I assess the level of social cohesion in some of the newly established communities by estimating average preferences for fairness in a structural...

The effectiveness of educational aid in Africa is a pressing issue, with little consensus on whether the management quality of aid has significant contribution toward achieving inclusive, equitable, and quality education on the continent by 2030. Despite substantial inflows of educational aid...

What are the socioeconomic effects of foreign aid in developing countries? How effective is aid in promoting social capital? The paper focuses on these questions from an empirical perspective and assesses the casual effect of foreign aid on trust in Uganda. Individuals living in counties that...

Do aid projects affect citizens' motivation to pay taxes? We address this question by combining fine-grained data on aid projects from AidData and survey data from the Afrobarometer for 34 African countries. We first employ a subnational analysis, where the treatment varies by administrative...

This paper explores the role of social protection in helping Africa adapt to climate change. The increase in covariate (environmental and health) risks due to ongoing and future climate changes, and the demonstrated adverse impacts of such risks, make it important to scale up interventions to...