The black market exchange rate premium is widely used in the empirical literature as an indicator of trade and exchange rate distortions. This paper presents a simple test of the null hypothesis that the black market exchange rate is a reliable indicator of the equilibirum exchange rate. The...

Time series data for Sri Lanka span periods of pervasive trade and exchange restrictions along with periods of liberalized trade. This paper implements a structural econometric model of aggregate imports which incorporates the implications of the shifts in the policy regime. The results...

Using three alternative models that incorporate the behavior of both credit constrained and unconstrained firms in a theoretically consistent manner, this paper presents evidence on the effects of economic liberalization of 1991 in India. Two robust conclusions emerge from the estimation of the...

This paper examines the determinants of assets at marriage in rural Ethiopia. We identify and test three separate processes that determine assets brought to marriage: assortative matching; compensating parental transfers at marriage; and strategic behavior by parents. We find ample evidence for...

This paper surveys research on social capital. We explore the concepts that motivate the social capital literature, efforts to formally model social capital using economic theory, the econometrics of social capital, and empirical studies of the role of social capital in various socioeconomic...

This paper tests two alternative models of learning to export: productivity learning, whereby firms learn to reduce production costs, and market learning, whereby firms learn to design products that appeal to foreign consumers. Using panel and cross-section data on Moroccan manufacturers, we...

Using detailed trader surveys in Benin, Madagascar and Malawi this paper investigates the presence of increasing returns in agricultural trade. After analyzing margins, costs, and value added, we find little evidence of returns to scale. Motorized transport is found more cost effective for large...

This paper investigates the relationship between poverty and crime. Following a disputed presidential election, fuel supply to the highlands of Madagascar was severely curtailed in early 2002, resulring in a massive - if temporary - increase in poverty. Using original survey data collected in...

This paper investigates the role of ethnicity and networks in domestic agricultural trade in Africa. Using a theoretical model of self- disciplining markets, we begin by demonstrating that statistical discrimination and networks can generate similar patterns of ethnic concentration. We then test...

Using matched employer-employee data on 10 African countries, this paper examines the relationship beween wages, worker supervision, and labor productivity in manufacturing. Wages increase with firm size for both production workers and supervisors. We develop a two-tier model of supervision that...