We study how variation in the allocation mechanism of public demand shapes firm performance and aggregate productivity. Exploiting the quasi-random implementation of an efficient or lottery-like auction format in the Italian construction sector, we find that when the same amount of public...

This chapter takes stock of what has been learned from the recent micro-development literature about wedges - mechanisms generating dispersion in marginal revenue products of factors across firms, which are commonly interpreted as indicators of misallocation. We present a general theoretical...

Developing low-carbon and efficient power systems is critical for energy security in the global warming context. We address this issue by focusing on the productivity impact of a decarbonization policy in China's thermal power sector-namely, the "Constructing Large Units and Restricting Small...

We consider a package assignment problem with money, in which a set M of objects is allocated to agents. Each agent has preferences that are not necessarily quasi-linear. The admissible set of object allocations is chosen by the planner to pursue specific objectives in conjunction with the rule....

We study the causal effect of reducing distance-related frictions with headquarters on branch outcomes in multi-unit firms in Brazil. Exploiting the introduction of new airline routes, we compare branches that gain a direct flight to their headquarters with otherwise similar branches in the same...

We study the problem of assigning indivisible objects to agents where each is to receive at most one. To ensure fairness in the absence of monetary transfers, we consider random assignments. Random Priority, also known as Random Serial Dictatorship, is characterized by equal-treatment-of-equals,...

This paper provides the first systematic and comprehensive empirical study of management and strategy consulting. We unveil the workings of this opaque industry by drawing on universal administrative business-to-business transaction data based on value-added tax links from Belgium (2002-2023)....

We develop a methodology to estimate the cost of capital using credit registry microdata, and apply it to study capital allocation efficiency in the United States. Our measure incorporates the contractual interest rate, expected default probability, recovery rate, and expectations of future...

How large are the productivity differences arising from micro-level distortions, and how much of that is due to tax policy? Using over a century of field-level data (1900-2023), this paper examines the role of field-level revenue taxes in explaining misallocation in the oil and gas industry, a...

This study investigates efficient and strategy‐proof mechanisms for allocating indivisible goods under constraints. First, we examine a setting without endowments. In this setting, we introduce a class of constraints-ordered accessibility-for which the serial dictatorship (SD) mechanism is...

We argue that capital misallocation arises endogenously due to incomplete consumption insurance. We model risk-averse entrepreneurs with heterogeneous productivity who face idiosyncratic output shocks and choose how much capital to rent before uncertainty unfolds. We show that incomplete markets...

We examine the effects of international trade in the presence of a set of domestic distortions giving rise to informality, a prevalent phenomenon in developing countries. In our quantitative model, the informal sector arises from burdensome taxes and regulations that are imperfectly enforced by...

This report, developed by the World Bank's Global Indicators Group, provides a comprehensive analysis of building energy codes (BECs) across 88 countries, highlighting their critical role in driving energy efficiency and sustainable development. With buildings accounting for 37 percent of global...

This study examines the impact of China's special economic zones (SEZs) on land misallocation, primarily using city-level data for China from 2003 to 2018. The findings indicate that establishing SEZs exacerbates land misallocation by over-allocating land to cities, resulting in an average...

We study a large market model of dynamic matching with no monetary transfers and a continuum of agents who have to be assigned items at each date. When the social planner can only elicit ordinal agents' preferences, we prove that under a mild regularity assumption, incentive compatible and...