All articles
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Empowering teachers to drive educational change in Brazil
Enabling teachers to introduce pedagogical innovations can deliver substantial gains in student achievement. An experimental programme in Brazil unveils the importance of supporting teachers and accommodating the multiple constraints students face.
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How social media fuels the spread of protests and strikes across China
Despite strict censorship, social media in China plays an important role in the spread of protests and strikes. Information spreads quickly between distant cities on Weibo, which increases the scope of collective action.
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The wide-ranging benefits of fostering financial inclusion in Mexico
A large-scale debit card rollout to cash transfer recipients in Mexico led small retailers to adopt point-of-sale terminals and had a broad range of impacts on financial technology adoption, shopping behaviour, and retailer sales and profits.
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Free trade agreements and women’s employment: Evidence from Chile
New export opportunities led to a rise in hiring of female white-collar workers through changes in the use of technology and a correction of discrimination amongst Chilean firms.
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Farmers hold false beliefs about the seeds they grow – and it matters for efficiency
With more inputs, improved crop varieties can yield more. But do Ethiopian maize farmers know enough about their seeds to optimise fertiliser use?
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Crime schools: How Colombian prisons foster criminal networks
Prisons are meant to deter crime and rehabilitate inmates. Evidence from Colombia suggests that in some circumstances prisons actually foster rather than prevent crime.
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Managing flood risk: Lessons from China’s Flood Detention Basin policy
Should we intentionally expose certain areas to higher risks to protect broader regions from disasters? Evidence from China suggests that although areas specifically designated to bear higher flood risk experience economic losses, the overall economic benefit-to-cost ratio can still be greater than one.
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Applying insights from psychology to help farmers plan and save for the future
A participant-centred planning intervention, that prompted farmers to think through all potential income and expenditures using categorisation and labelling, leads to smoother consumption across seasons, more savings and higher farm yields for Zambian farmers.
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Realising childcare’s full potential in low- and middle-income countries
Childcare can contribute to a ‘triple social and economic dividend,’ by improving early childhood development outcomes, increasing women’s participation in the labour market, and creating new jobs and businesses.