Institutionalized conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs may affect important aspects of pre-existing, informal safety nets such as inter-household transfers and trust among community members. We use a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of CCTs on various measures of trust and informal...

Low tax compliance in low- and middle-income countries around the world limits the ability of governments to offer effective public services. This paper reports the results of a randomly rolled out text message campaign aimed at promoting tax compliance among landowners in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. L...

Education is one of the most important public goods provided by modern governments. Yet governments worldwide seldom perform well in the sector. This raises the question: Why do governments preside over poor education quality? This paper answers this question with evidence from Tanzania.

Refugee girls are one of the most marginalized groups in the world when it comes to school participation, with girls half as likely to enroll in secondary school as their male peers. Gender disparities can be made worse by conflict and displacement and increase as children get older. As many low- an...

Although research has established the importance of state capacity in economic development, less is known about how state capacity comes about and the role of external partners in the process. This paper estimates the impact of an external project designed to build state capacity in a low-income cou...

Equal rights and proactive protection of the right for women and girls to inherit and own land in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is important to the expansion of the capabilities of women and girls to lead the kind of lives they value, and have reason to value. This study provides an in-depth analysis of ...

This study characterizes rates of physical and sexual violence against adolescent girls and compares rates of violence against girls who are enrolled versus unenrolled in school, to contribute to an understanding of the relative risks associated with school attendance. We look at rates of violence a...