A textbook provision program in Sierra Leone demonstrates how volatility in the flow of government-provided learning inputs to schools can induce storage of these inputs by school administrators to smooth future consumption. This process in turn leads to low current utilization of inputs for...

Many low- and middle-income countries lag far behind high-income countries in educational access and student learning. Limited resources mean that policymakers must make tough choices about which investments to make to improve education. Although hundreds of education interventions have been...

Do women weather economic shocks differently than men? The evidence shows this to be the case, especially in low-income countries. The first-round impacts of economic crises on women's employment should be particularly salient in the current downturn, since women have increased their...

How do conditional cash transfers impact health-related outcomes? This paper examines the 2010 randomized introduction of a program in Tanzania and finds nuanced impacts. An initial surge in clinic visits after 1.5 years-due to more visits by those already complying with program health...

Cash transfers have been demonstrated to improve education and health outcomes and alleviate poverty in various contexts. However, policy makers and others often express concern that poor households will use transfers to buy alcohol, tobacco, or other "temptation goods." The income effect of...

During the 2000s, Bangladesh observed rapid growth in female labor force participation (LFP), potentially reflecting increased employability of females as female education attainment catches up with their male counterparts. However, only a small share of the labor force comprises of skilled...

During the 2000s, Bangladesh observed rapid growth in female labor force participation (LFP), potentially reflecting increased employability of females as female education attainment catches up with their male counterparts. However, only a small share of the labor force comprises of skilled...

Adequate investment in human capital development is critical for enabling Bangladesh to reach its goal of becoming an upper middle-income country. Bangladesh, currently a lower-middle country with an annual per capita gross national income (GNI) of USD 1,470 (WDI 2019), aims to attain...