Decentralization and Efficiency of Subsidy Targeting: Evidence from Chiefs in Rural Malawi Pia Basurto, Pascaline Dupas, Jonathan Robinson Abstract Developing countries spend vast sums on subsidies. Beneficiaries are typically se- lected via either a proxy-means test (PMT) or through a decentralized identification process led by local leaders. A decentralized allocation may offer informational ad- vantages, […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 531, May 2018
The Political Boundaries of Ethnic Divisions Samuel Bazzi, Matthew Gudgeon Abstract This paper argues that redrawing subnational political boundaries can transform ethnic divisions. We use a natural policy experiment in Indonesia to show how the effects of ethnic diversity on conflict depend on the political units within which groups are organized. Redistricting along group lines […]
BREAD Working Paper No. 570, January 2020
Decentralized Targeting of Agricultural Credit Programs: Private versus Political Intermediaries Pushkar Maitra, Sandip Mitra, Dilip Mookherjee, Sujata Visaria Abstract We compare two different methods of appointing a local commission agent as an intermediary for a credit program. In the Trader-Agent Intermediated Lending Scheme (TRAIL), the agent was a randomly selected established private trader, while in […]