Government spending efficiency in providing education and health is evaluated across countries of the world, with a special emphasis on Latin American countries. Using stochastic frontier and data envelopment analysis, it ...

This paper documents a rare phenomenon: the consequence of the dominance of a single criminal gang in the city of São Paulo, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). Using unique data to identify entry in geographically ...

Recent empirical evidence at the cross-country and subnational levels suggests that internal conflicts harm state capacity and tax performance. On the face of it this is odd: internal conflict should create strong incentives ...

I study how the relative bargaining position of spouses affects the incidence of marital dissolution and the labor supply decision of intact couples. I identify exogenous variation in bargaining position within the household ...

We examine how commodity price shocks experienced by rural producers affect the drug trade in Mexico. Our analysis exploits exogenous movements in the Mexican maize price stemming from weather conditions in U.S. maize-growing ...

Our goal in this paper is twofold: First, evaluate the impact on crime of the restriction of latenight alcohol sales in Bogotá; and second, quantify the causal effect of problematic alcohol consumption on different crime ...

We randomly assign 1250 unemployed men and women to be invited once or twice to a specific-skills training program offered by a large multinational firm as part of its social responsibility efforts. Individuals with the ...

This paper examines the effects of armed conflicts between drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro's favelas on student achievement. To identify the causal effect of violence on education, we explore variation in violence that occurs ...

Los países de América Latina han experimentado fuertes transformaciones en sus mercados laborales, las cuales han tenido consecuencias en términos sociales y productivos. Analizar al mercado laboral, y en particular a las ...

We provide the first experimental attempt at measuring reciprocity in tax collection in developing countries, where enforcement institutions are weak, and where tax rates and in general tax observance is lower. In a household ...