The effect of within-group heterogeneity on the survival of social groups is theoretically ambiguous. A greater diversity of ideas, experience, and networks can have a positive effect on members’ benefits from group membership, but diversity also creates a potential for conflict. This paper...

A family survey was conducted in Nepal to investigate whether female empowerment leads to more education, in particular for girls. The relative economic power of the male and female side of the extended family was used as an instrument for female empowerment. The findings indicate, however, that...

There is a move towards more use of engagement strategies in responsible investment. This change in strategies is motivated by a number of claims about the effectiveness of engagement versus exclusion of companies from the investment universe. This paper examines the basis for three central...

The effect of government decentralization on corruption is theoretically ambiguous. On the one hand, bringing government closer to the people could increase accountability and reduce corruption. On the other hand, decentralization could increase local capture and uncoordinated bribe taking...

Does diversification of an economy improve the chances of democracy? This paper estimates the effect of export diversification on democracy levels, using data from 143 countries. The endogeneity of diversification is addressed by using variability within countries in fertile soil as an...

We study the deep determinants of occupational choice, with a focus on what appears to be a particularly profitable pathway out of poverty, overseas labor migration. To what extent is this choice constrained by access to economic resources, in contrast to variation in preferences, or...

What are the key determinants of taxpayer compliance? And which features of citizen-state relations govern attitudes and behaviour regarding taxation? This paper examines the analytical foundation, methodological approaches and key findings of available empirical literature on taxpayer behaviour...

A unique family survey was conducted in Nepal to investigate the economic consequences of having a first-born girl. Women get more children, but we find no causal effect of number of children on economic outcomes. But independently of the number of children there is a positive effect on boys'...