YouTube video by VoxDev

Thousands die each year waiting for an organ transplant. In Tunisia, one expert-led classroom session tripled student donor registrations.

Thousands die each year waiting for an organ transplant. In Tunisia, one expert-led classroom session tripled student donor registrations.

In Pakistan, frontline bureaucrats fund public services – from food banks to flood relief – out of their own pockets, spending up to 15% of their income on an informal system financed in part by the bribes citizens are forced to pay. Managers admit the provincial government under-funds these services precisely because it expects bribe-taking to fill the gap.

In Pakistan, frontline bureaucrats fund public services – from food banks to flood relief – out of their own pockets, spending up to 15% of their income on an informal system financed in part by the bribes citizens are forced to pay. Managers admit the provincial government under-funds these services precisely because it expects bribe-taking to fill the gap.

This week we featured research on AI, startups, industrial policy and more!

Local officials in China work harder on air quality when the target is doomed to fail, but relax their efforts when it is secured early, revealing how minimum standards shape bureaucratic effort when they are also judged on economic growth.

Local officials in China work harder on air quality when the target is doomed to fail, but relax their efforts when it is secured early, revealing how minimum standards shape bureaucratic effort when they are also judged on economic growth.

Evidence from China suggests that big tech investment helps AI startups innovate by easing access to data, with implications for competition.

Evidence from China suggests that big tech investment helps AI startups innovate by easing access to data, with implications for competition.

Governments increasingly turn to protection and targeted subsidies to help domestic firms compete with foreign rivals. Using India's 4G rollout as a case study, we show why industrial policy needs to account for complementarities between linked markets. Restricting low-priced Chinese phones slows network expansion, and leaves Indian firms no better off. A subsidy open to all 4G phones, by contrast, accelerates coverage far more than one restricted to domestic firms alone.

Governments increasingly turn to protection and targeted subsidies to help domestic firms compete with foreign rivals. Using India's 4G rollout as a case study, we show why industrial policy needs to account for complementarities between linked markets. Restricting low-priced Chinese phones slows network expansion, and leaves Indian firms no better off. A subsidy open to all 4G phones, by contrast, accelerates coverage far more than one restricted to domestic firms alone.

How can development organisations and researchers position themselves for the third wave of US philanthropy?

How can development organisations and researchers position themselves for the third wave of US philanthropy?

There is growing evidence that place-based industrial policies lead to positive economic effects. This column analyses the “Million-Rouble Plants” programme of the 1950s when the Soviet Union helped China build state-of-the-art industrial facilities. By tracking the locations that benefitted, it finds positive economic spillovers in the short and medium run. Although the Million-Rouble Plants themselves continued to thrive, the performance of other local establishments eventually declined, as increasing specialisation weakened knowledge spillovers and constrained local entrepreneurship....

There is growing evidence that place-based industrial policies lead to positive economic effects. This column analyses the “Million-Rouble Plants” programme of the 1950s when the Soviet Union helped China build state-of-the-art industrial facilities. By tracking the locations that benefitted, it finds positive economic spillovers in the short and medium run. Although the Million-Rouble Plants themselves continued to thrive, the performance of other local establishments eventually declined, as increasing specialisation weakened knowledge spillovers and constrained local entrepreneurship....

In Ethiopia, community leaders tasked with selection of beneficiaries for social assistance prioritised coverage over transfer size when budgets were cut, while discretion allowed them to reach poor and conflict-affected households.

This week we featured research on AI, e-courts, rural migration, targeting and more!

In Ethiopia, community leaders tasked with selection of beneficiaries for social assistance prioritised coverage over transfer size when budgets were cut, while discretion allowed them to reach poor and conflict-affected households.

YouTube video by VoxDev

Because rural migrants are deterred far more by distance than they are drawn by higher pay, nearby towns – despite offering lower earnings than cities – end up absorbing far more migrants and doing more to reduce poverty, making them a decisive channel for inclusive urban growth.

Because rural migrants are deterred far more by distance than they are drawn by higher pay, nearby towns – despite offering lower earnings than cities – end up absorbing far more migrants and doing more to reduce poverty, making them a decisive channel for inclusive urban growth.

Generative AT tools can help students complete assignments faster and achieve better scores. But completing these tasks is not the goal; learning from them is. This column uses data on over 25,000 7th to 12th grade students in China to examine how self-directed use of generative AI affects their learning. Time spent on homework for students who used AI went down and homework scores went up, but their exam scores fell. While the initial effect is small, it grows as students become more proficient with AI tools and as more course material is learned after adoption, suggesting that existing...

Generative AT tools can help students complete assignments faster and achieve better scores. But completing these tasks is not the goal; learning from them is. This column uses data on over 25,000 7th to 12th grade students in China to examine how self-directed use of generative AI affects their learning. Time spent on homework for students who used AI went down and homework scores went up, but their exam scores fell. While the initial effect is small, it grows as students become more proficient with AI tools and as more course material is learned after adoption, suggesting that existing...

Indonesia's E-Court reform reduced case duration by around 15% without evidence of deterioration in observable decision quality. The effects extended to untreated appellate courts, showing how technology can reshape the production of justice by altering the use of judicial time and congestion across the court hierarchy.