We use high-frequency data on fine particulate matter air pollution (PM 2.5) at the locality level to study the effects of high pollution on labor supply decisions and hospitalizations for respiratory disease in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. We document a negative, non-linear...

This paper studies the potential of personalized "smart" information interventions to improve teacher assignment results in the context of a centralized choice and assignment system (CCAS) in Ecuador. Specifically, we focus on the impact that a personalized non-assignment risk warning, coupled...

This paper evaluates how new information influences families' applications and assignment outcomes in elementary school choice settings. Specifically, using a multi-country RCT based in Tacna, Peru and Manta, Ecuador, we examine the effect of providing personalized information on schooling...

We explore how government fragmentation affects public education provision by examining the case of Chile, which created 11 municipalities between 1994 and 2004. Using territories that sought, but failed to, achieve independence as controls, we find that schools in newly created municipalities,...

The aim of this article is to provide rigorous at scale experimental evidence on the effectiveness of an ethnomathematics education program. This article describes and evaluates the impact of JADENKA (pronounced Ha-den-go), an intercultural bilingual mathematics program designed to increase the...

Crime levels are a perennial development problem in Latin America and a renewed concern in the United States. At the same time, trust in the police has been falling, and questions abound about citizens' willingness to support government efforts to fight crime. We conduct a survey experiment to...

To study the causal impact of oil royalties on human capital, we exploit quasi-experimental variation arising from a law in Ecuador that transfers resources to municipalities regardless of their oil-producing status. We find that royalties increase the likelihood of students completing primary...

Teachers are the most fundamental input of students' learning. For this reason, developing teaching skills is a policy priority for most governments around the world. We experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of "Let's All Learn to Read," a one-year professional development program that...

Using a large panel of official bilateral loan data for 111 borrowing countries and 78 lending countries between 1980 and 2020, this paper shows that international government borrowing from bilateral sources is acyclical with respect to the economic cycle of the borrower, but procyclical with...

Decarbonizing road transport through electrification, public transport, and walking and biking can increase productivity and reduce expenses thanks to reduced traffic and energy efficiency gains. However, governments face losing fuel and vehicle tax revenue. We develop a method to assess options...