This two-part paper provides a theoretical framework for appraising trade-offs between alternative methods of delegating authority over the delivery of public services, on the targeting and cost-effectiveness of public spending programs in developing countries. Authority over these programs has...

This paper provides an overview of mechanism design theory, and explains the roles played by Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson in the development of this field. Copyright © The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2008 .

Consider the problem of Bayesian implementation, i.e., of constructing mechanisms with the property that all Bayesian equilibrium outcomes agree with a given choice rule. The authors show that a general procedure is to start with an incentive-compatible revelation mechanism, and then augment...

Enforcement by monitoring cannot be conditioned on the severity of an offense while enforcement by investigation can be. If some degrees of the offenses are not adequately reported or if investigation is too costly, the regulator must monitor and treat offenses of different severity quite...

This paper estimates respective roles of private investments in irrigation and local government programs (land reforms, extension services, and infrastructure investments) in the growth of farm productivity in West Bengal, India between 1981-95. Using a farm panel from a stratified random sample...