Ben Olken discusses the effectiveness and trade-offs of different methods of targeting development assistance.

An experiment in Colombia shows that delaying disbursement of conditional cash transfers can have substantial long-term effects on educational...

In an experiment conducted with the Ministry of Health, workers recruited via career incentive ads proved more effective at delivering health services

When local governments in Brazil improve tax collection rather than rely on grants to raise revenues, local officials help citizens, not themselves

Bureaucratic output is negatively associated with monitoring and incentive schemes but positively associated with the autonomy of mid-level...

Tax evasion leads to large losses in government revenue. A recent study explores the limitations of a potential solution, third-party reporting

Insights into the lives and experiences of civil servants in developing countries

Kaushik Basu discusses India-specific issues including the use of economic knowledge in policymaking and the role of values in public service delivery

Data on the British Empire show patronage in civil service appointments was a good system for those who got jobs but bad news for almost everyone else