We study whether the effects on registered manufacturing output of dismantling the License Raj—a system of central controls regulating entry and production activity in this sector—vary across Indian states with different labor market regulations. The effects are found to be unequal across...

We develop a model where the allocation of human resources, intergenerational social mobility, and technological growth are jointly determined. High growth endogenously increases the equilibrium return to innate cognitive ability and makes the allocation of individuals depend more on innate...

We develop a theory of political transitions inspired in part by the experiences of Western Europe and Latin America. Nondemocratic societies are controlled by a rich elite. The initially disenfranchised poor can contest power by threatening social unrest or revolution, and this may force the...

During the nineteeth century, most Western societies extended the franchise, a decision which led to unprecedented redistributive programs. We argue that these political reforms can be viewed as strategic decisions by political elites to prevent widespread social unrest and revolution.

This paper examines the role of mother’s education in expanding children’s nutritional capabilities in Mozambique, a country where both educational and nutritional deprivations are dramatic. The econometric results, based on data from the 2003 DHS survey, suggest that mother’s schooling is...

Ethics, according to a dictionary definition represents the "study of practical and theoretical aspects of morality, all moral standards of conduct appropriate to an ideology of a certain class or society". Therefore, the taxation action may be assessed, as any product of human interaction and...

Indigenous groups account for over one tenth of Mexico’s population and many of them suffer from constant social disadvantages and extreme marginalization. One of their few paths out of poverty is through the accumulation of human capital, which is a central element of Oportunidades’...

We present a model in which individuals' preferences are defined over their consumption, transfers to offspring, and social status associated with income. We show that a separating equilibrium exists where individuals' expenditure on conspicuous consumption is a signal for their unobserved...

Evidence from recent randomized field experiments on community-based monitoring reveals substantial heterogeneous treatment effects. Using data from a randomized experiment in primary health in Uganda, we tested whether social heterogeneity can explain why some communities managed to push for...