Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs teach disruptive students to improve their classroom behavior. Small-scale programs in high-income countries have been shown to improve treated students' behavior and academic outcomes. Using a randomized experiment, we show that a nationwide SEL...

We analyze students' cheating behavior during a national evaluation test. We model the mechanisms that trigger cheating interactions between students and show that, when monitoring is not sufficiently accurate, a social multiplier may magnify the effects on students' achievements. We exploit a...

Although recent international broadband penetration rankings have Congress concerned about U.S. broadband policy, these statistics should not play a large role in forming U.S. broadband policy, as they fail to take into account geographic factors, demographic factors and consumer preferences...

Programs to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution by restricting use of motor vehicles on working days have generally not met with success, given existing studies of such programs. We conduct the first study of Quito, Ecuador's four-year-old Pico y Placa program and find that it has...

Climate negotiations have largely failed, so a change of course is required. This requires that a sizable group of experts recommend a small, clear set of policy guideposts that lead to a more cooperative treaty. This papers proposes a set of three guideposts and derives them from an analysis of...

Previous studies indicate that Colombian farmers make production decisions based on informal sources of information, such as family and neighbors or tradition. In this paper we randomize recipients of price and climate information using text messages (SMS technology). Under this experimental...

This paper extends the canonical literature on public incentives for firm-level abatement by introducing fiscal policy constraints and public abatement technologies. To increase acceptance of the emission tax policy, tax revenues are earmarked for public abatement or public good provision and no...

A surge in house prices may merit changes in macroprudential policy. This work introduces land into a quantitative non-linear model of financial crises devised to study the design and effectiveness of optimal macroprudential policy. This framework is used to perform a comparative statics...

This paper estimates the rate of return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, an early intervention program targeted toward disadvantaged African-American youth. Estimates of the rate of return to the Perry program are widely cited to support the claim of substantial economic benefits from...