This research compares the performance of female and male entrepreneurs in a microenterprise credit program in Guatemala. Previous research and field practice has suggested that targeting credit at female borrowers allows for more substantial increases in household welfare, but that male...

We summarize lessons learned by a credit program for women in Burkina Faso. Three observations are made regarding program design: 1) high membership turnover means mutual guarantee groups should be smaller and more central to non-repayment penalties; 2) high turnover in economic activities...

Estimates of the impact of libraries on reading in eight villages in Burkina Faso and costs of running libraries enable us to suggest that the cost of getting an extra book read a year varies from $.74 to $1.30, according to the size of the school in the village, and the cost of an extra school...

This paper interprets case studies and theory on community involvement in beneficiary selection and benefit delivery for social safety nets. Several considerations should be carefully balanced in assessing the advantages of using community groups as targeting agents. First, gains from utilizing...

Rezoning commercial and residential parcels to permit mixed-use and higher density development in cities is a potentially important policy response to a variety of pressing urban planning issues, including housing affordability and transit congestion. Yet, comparatively little is known about the...