Learning about the Enforcement of Conditional Welfare Programs: Evidence from Brazil Fernanda Brollo, Katja Kaufmann, Eliana La Ferrara Abstract We study the implementation of Bolsa Familia, a program that conditions cash transfers to poor families on children’s school attendance. Using unique administrative data, we analyze how beneficiaries respond to the enforcement of conditionality. Making use […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 513, March 2017
The Political Economy of Program Enforcement: Evidence from Brazil Fernanda Brollo, Katja Kaufmann, Eliana La Ferrara Abstract Do politicians manipulate the enforcement of conditional welfare programs to influence electoral outcomes? We study the Bolsa Familia Program (BFP) in Brazil, which provides a monthly stipend to poor families conditional on school attendance. Repeated failure to comply […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 528, December 2017
Goals and Gaps: Educational Careers of Immigrant Children Michela Carlana, Eliana La Ferrara, Paolo Pinotti Abstract We study the educational choices of children of immigrants in a tracked school system. We first show that immigrant boys in Italy enroll disproportionately into vocational high schools, as opposed to technical and academically-oriented high schools, compared to natives […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 545, October 2018
Understanding Human Trafficking Using Victim-Level Data Martina Björkman Nyqvist, Maria Kuecken, Eliana La Ferrara, Elsa Artadi Abstract Quantitative research on human trafficking is scant due to lack of data. This study makes use of a unique survey we collected on former victims of trafficking and vulnerable women and girls in the Philippines. We start by […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 549, November 2018
Interaction, Stereotypes and Performance. Evidence from South Africa Lucia Corno, Eliana La Ferrara, Justine Burns Abstract We exploit a policy designed to randomly allocate roommates in a large South African university to investigate whether inter-racial interaction affects stereotypes, attitudes and performance. Using Implicit Association Tests, we Önd that living with a roommate of a different […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 562, July 2019
Leader Identity and Coordination Abhijit Banerjee, Eliana La Ferrara, Victor Orozco Abstract We test the effectiveness of an entertainment education TV series, MTV Shuga, aimed at providing information and changing attitudes and behaviors related to HIV/AIDS. Using a simple model we show that “edutainment” can work through an ‘individual’ or a ‘social’ channel. We conducted […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 586, February 2021
Apart but Connected: Online Tutoring and Student Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic Michela Carlana, Eliana La Ferrara Abstract In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the governments of most countries or- dered the closure of schools, potentially exacerbating existing learning gaps. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention implemented in Italian middle schools that provides […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 582, December 2020
Female Genital Cutting and the Slave Trade Lucia Corno, Eliana La Ferrara, Alessandra Voena Abstract We investigate the historical origins of female genital cutting (FGC), a harmful practice widespread across Africa. We test the hypothesis –substantiated by historical sources– that FGC was connected to the Red Sea slave trade route, where women were sold as […]