The most-noted studies on the impact of microcredit on households are based on a survey fielded in Bangladesh in the 1990s. Contradictions among them have produced lasting controversy and confusion. Pitt and Khandker (PK, 1998) apply a quasi-experimental design to 1991–92 data; they conclude...

At the heart of many econometric models is a linear function and a normal error. Examples include the classical small-sample linear regression model and the probit, ordered probit, multinomial probit, Tobit, interval regression, and truncated distribution regression models. Because the normal...

Recent literature contains many stories of how foreign aid affects economic growth: aid raises growth in countries with good policies, or in countries with difficult economic environments, or mainly outside the tropics, or on average with diminishing returns. The diversity of these results...

The Difference and System generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators are growing in popularity, thanks in part to specialized software. But as implemented in these packages, the estimators easily generate results by default that are at once invalid yet appear valid in specification tests....

Researchers have written hundreds of papers on the causes and consequences of official foreign aid, while paying almost no attention to private overseas giving, by individuals, universities, foundations, and corporations. Yet private giving is significant - some $15.5 billion/year, compared to...

The recent literature contains many stories of how foreign aid affects economic growth. Aid raises growth in countries with good policies, or with difficult economic environments, or outside the tropics, or on average but with diminishing returns. The diversity of the results suggests that many...

CGD research fellow David Roodman and Uzma Qureshi analyze microfinance institutions (MFIs) as businesses, asking how some succeed in covering costs, earning returns, attracting capital, and scaling up. We draw on existing literature and interviews with industry players and academics. Key...

The Burnside and Dollar (2000, AER) finding that aid raises growth in a good policy environment has had an important influence on policy and academic debates. We conduct a data gathering exercise that updates their data from 1970 -93 to 1970 -97, as well as filling in missing data for the...

In “Long-Term Growth as a Sequence of Exponential Modes,” Robin Hanson presents a characteristically pathbreaking analysis, of economic growth over the history of the genus Homo. The paper shows that, across 2 million years, the data series for gross world product (GWP) can be modeled as a...

This paper critically reviews the research on the impact of immigration on employment and wages of natives in wealthy countries — where “natives” includes previous immigrants and their descendants. While written for a non-technical audience, the paper engages with technical issues and...