While the primary aim of most Conditional Cash Transfer (or CCT) programs is to increase the level of human capital of children in poor households, there are also potentially large spillover effects associated with such programs. We illustrate this using data from the Familias en Accion (FA)...

This paper examines the effectiveness of using asymmetric liability to combat harassment bribes. Asymmetric liability is a mechanism where bribe-takers are culpable but bribe-givers have legal immunity. Results from our experiment indicate that while this policy has the potential to...

This study introduces, for the first time, the concept of item specific purchasing power parity (PPP) between countries that marks a significant departure from exercises such as the International Comparison Program (ICP). The paper proposes a methodology for the estimation of the item specific...

We study an optimal contracting problem when the manager has self-esteem concerns and access to a hedging market. We show that the manager's equilibrium hedging position increases when he is more risk-averse, more uncertain about his own ability, or has stronger self-esteem concerns. Each...

One of the policy puzzles faced in India during the last two and half decades has been the weak association between output and employment growth, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In this paper, we investigate the long-run relationship among output (measured in value added), wages...

This study analyzes the relationship between patenting activity and financial performance at the Malaysian firm level for firms that have been granted patents in Malaysia and the United States of America. We adopt the patent renewal and profit maximization model as our theoretical underpinning...

This paper investigates the effectiveness of offering rewards for self reports as a means of combating collusive bribery. Rewarding self reporting theoretically sows distrust between parties tempted to exchange bribes and may reduce bribery even where authorities are otherwise ineffective in...

It is now well accepted that trust is crucial for economic and social development. There is also evidence that religion strongly affects how individuals act when interacting with others. The same is true of status. Using a field experiment conducted in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, two...

Since 1958 the hukou (household registration) system has assigned Chinese citizens either a rural or urban status. Some studies argue that the rural-to-urban migrants in China who do not have urban hukou are not entitled to urban social insurance schemes, due to institutional discrimination,...

We report results from a multi-period game designed to stimulate feelings of envy. There are a number of important features of our game that distinguish it from previous games used to examine envy. A unique and important feature of our design is that it addresses the two negative effects of...