We use high-frequency Google search data, combined with data on the announcement dates of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. states, to isolate the direct impact of state-level NPIs on own-state unemployment in an event study framework. Exploiting the...

Drug copayment coupons to reduce patient cost-sharing have become nearly ubiquitous for high-priced brand-name prescription drugs. Medicare bans such coupons on the grounds that they are kickbacks that induce utilization, but they are commonly used by commercially-insured enrollees. We estimate...

Using administrative data on incomes and healthcare spending, we develop new evidence on the distribution of healthcare spending in Hungary. We document substantial geographic heterogeneity and a positive association between income and public healthcare spending.

Using mortality registers and administrative data on incomes and population, we develop new evidence on the magnitudes and sources of life expectancy inequality in Hungary. We document considerable inequality across geographies and income groups, and show that inequality has increased between...

In most disability insurance programs beneficiaries lose some or all of their benefits if they earn above an earnings threshold. While intended to screen out applicants with high remaining working capacity, earnings limits can also distort the labor supply of beneficiaries. We develop a simple...

Exploiting a change in reporting defaults and the implied audit threat in Hungary, we demonstrate that a substantial portion of employees and the self-employed reporting to earn the minimum wage have much higher earnings in reality. This can be seen from their sharp but temporary jump to the new...

We study the taxation of the minimum wage in an environment with imperfect enforcement and informality. We leverage an increase in the audit threat for earnings below a reporting threshold at twice the minimum wage in Hungary and estimate reporting and employment responses with administrative...

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit sub-Saharan African economies hard, exacerbating debt and debt servicing cost issues that a range of countries in the region - including Ghana and Nigeria - already faced. This report examines the fiscal context in sub-Saharan Africa and the issues and options for...

Over the last 20 years, sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have experienced significant economic growth and consequently growing levels of motorisation. Though overall levels of motorisation in SSA are still relatively low, with a high number of poor-quality vehicles concentrated in large...