This week we featured research on special economic zones, mass vaccination, outsourcing, and more...
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We had two posts on the blog this week: I (Oliver) outlined the latest AI-related thinking and research relevant to low- and middle-income countries; and Shahrukh Wani highlighted five things we should know about critical minerals.
And we have two events coming up next week, so if you haven't already, make sure to sign up for these webinars on impact investment in global education (Monday June 23) and critical minerals and economic development in Africa (Thursday June 26).
Does living near Special Economic Zones make African households better off? Matthew Amalitinga Abagna, Cecília Hornok, and Alina Mulyukova present evidence suggesting it can, revealing substantial gains in wealth, utilities, and education.
Richard Daramola, Md Shahadath Hossain, Harounan Kazianga, and Karim Nchare evaluate the long-term impact of a mass vaccination programme in Burkina Faso, finding meaningful gains in survival, schooling, and livelihoods decades on.
In Mexico, Alejandro Estefan, Roberto Gerhard, Joseph P. Kaboski, Illenin O. Kondo, and Wei Qian show that carefully designed outsourcing regulation can significantly improve wages without reducing employment in developing countries.
In Uganda and Ethiopia, Julie Bousquet, Anna Gasten, Mark Marvin Kadigo, Jean-François Maystadt, and Colette Salemi find that host prejudice against refugees increases when refugees are perceived as direct job competitors, but not necessarily when actual competition exists.
Despite decades of investment, innovation, and policy reform, yields on African small farms remain significantly below those in high-income countries—even when similar technologies are used. In this week’s episode of VoxDevTalks, Gérardine Mukeshimana, Christopher Udry, and Mark Rosenzweig examine the limitations of smallholder models, opportunities for structural transformation, and the imperative of inclusive rural development.
Xianling Long and Zhiqiang Wang discuss how climate change in China is driving firms to innovate–not just where heat strikes, but through shifting demand across the economy.
In Brazil, Thaline do Prado, Marcelo Santos, and Bernardus Van Doornik demonstrate that labour inspections reduce informality but harm workers and firms when rigid labour regulations leave them with little room to adjust.
While the female labour force participation rate in China is currently above the global average, it has declined in recent decades, and women still face numerous structural challenges in the labour market. Xianghong Wang discusses these barriers and how policy can alleviate them to boost gender equality.