Research

Publications

Documenting Decentralization: Empirical Evidence on Administrative Unit Proliferation from Uganda

Abstract: Decentralization is an important and commonplace type of reform, yet our understanding of its effects remains limited. This paper documents the effects of the 2009-10 wave of district creation in Uganda, which increased the country's districts by 42%, using rich data on sub-district units to assess the effects of district creation on a broad range of post-decentralization outcome in a difference-in-differences framework. The effects of decentralization are concentrated in newly split off -- rather than split from -- districts, and are heterogeneous across outcome types. Newly split-off districts have more per capita frontline workers, but appear to have worse quality infrastructure and lower economic development. The study also presents suggestive evidence that administrative capacity decreases for newly formed districts post-split. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering a broad range of outcomes when thinking about decentralization.

World Bank Economic Review, 2024.

Available: https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhae008

When Who Matters: Interviewer Effects and Survey Modality

(with Rebecca Walcott and Denise Ferris)

Evaluation Review, 2023.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X231221303

Abstract: When and how to survey potential respondents is often determined by budgetary and external constraints, but choice of survey modality may have enormous implications for data quality. Different survey modalities may be differentially susceptible to measurement error attributable to interviewer assignment, known as interviewer effects. In this paper, we leverage highly similar surveys, one conducted face-to-face (FTF) and the other via phone, to examine variation in interviewer effects across survey modality and question type. We find that while there are no cross-modality differences for simple questions, interviewer effects are markedly higher for sensitive questions asked over the phone. These findings are likely explained by the enhanced ability of in-person interviewers to foster rapport and engagement with respondents. We conclude with a thought experiment that illustrates the potential implications for power calculations, namely, that using FTF data to inform phone surveys may substantially underestimate the necessary sample size for sensitive questions.

Crowd In or Crowd Out? The Subnational Fiscal Response to Aid

World Development, vol. 164, 2023.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106180

Abstract: The fiscal response of aid recipients is crucially important to understanding the effects of aid. The dynamics of governments’ fiscal response to receiving aid can help reconcile the micro-macro aid puzzle, as well as having important implications for studying the micro effects of aid. I explore, in the context of Uganda from 2010 to 2017, whether IDA aid crowds out or crowds in government spending at the district level. To do so, I use an instrumental variables approach combining subnational variation with temporal variation and rich and detailed data on project aid and government budgets in Uganda. I find evidence that IDA funding leads to increases in government spending, and further evidence that these dynamics are more complex than simple follow-on in the same sector as IDA projects. These results suggest critical and underexplored dynamics in subnational fiscal responses to foreign aid, which may have important implications for the study of aid effectiveness.

How Do Disadvantaged Groups Seek Information about Free Services? A Randomized Control Trial of Alternative Communication Technologies

(with Katerina Linos, Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli, Nadia Dalma, Afroditi Veloudaki, and Stavros-Nikiforos Spyrellis) 

Public Administration Review, vol. 82 (4), 2021.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13437

Abstract: Governments and NGOs are switching to phone- and Internet-based communication technologies to reduce costs and broaden access to public services. However, these technological shifts can backfire if they exacerbate administrative burden in high-need communities. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Greece evaluating which communication mode best allows disadvantaged groups to solicit information about free services. Subjects were 18 times more likely to use a prepaid postcard and eight times more likely to use a postcard requiring postage than a hotline or email to seek information about free dental care. Focus groups indicate that low self-efficacy greatly limits disadvantaged groups’ willingness to use newer technologies for bureaucratic inquiries. We demonstrate that the administrative burden associated with technological shifts is larger than previously believed and that widespread psychological barriers include not only the stigma of welfare receipt, but also the stigma of mishandling a conversation with a bureaucrat.

Iron Deficiency and Schooling Attainment in Peru

(with Alberto Chong, Erica Field, Eduardo Nakasone, and Maximo Torero)

American Economic Journal - Applied Economics, vol. 8 (4), 2016.

Available at: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20140494

Abstract: Do nutritional deficiencies contribute to the intergenerational persistence of poverty by reducing the earnings potential of future generations? To address this question, we made available supplemental iron pills at a health center in rural Peru and encouraged adolescents to take them via media messages. School administrative data provide novel evidence that reducing iron deficiency results in a large and significant improvement in school performance and aspirations for anemic students. Our findings demonstrate that combining low-cost outreach efforts and local supplementation programs can be an affordable and effective method of reducing rates of adolescent iron deficiency anemia.

Working Papers

Technology and the State: Building Capacity to Tax via Text

Abstract: The ability of the state to collect tax revenue is a crucial indicator in the process of economic development, yet how tax compliance develops in low-capacity countries remains poorly understood. I find a 6x the cost marginal rate of return to a simple text-based tax encouragement scheme implemented with the Uganda Revenue Authority. This average effect masks substantial heterogeneity along existing state capacity, measured via a granular, nationwide dataset on governmental services and economic activity. Evidence that the treatment was most effective where state capacity was lowest suggests that digital technology can complement brick-and-mortar capacity, extending the reach of the state.

SSRN Working Paper: See here.

Media: VoxDev Podcast, IGC Blog Post, The Conversation, included in J-PAL Policy Insight Brief, LUMS Live Session

Pathways to Choice: A Bundled Intervention Against Child Marriage

(with Maryam Abubakar and Daniel Perlman)

Abstract: We undertake a randomized evaluation of "Pathways to Choice", which provides mentored girls' clubs, life skills, and vocational training to empower adolescent girls to delay marriage and pursue education in Northern Nigeria. Two years post-intervention, adolescent girls in treated communities are 65 percentage points less likely to be married, and 69 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in school, an estimate orders of magnitude larger than most comparable programs. The results of the program seem to be chiefly driven by three inextricably intermingled components, tailored locally: i) the introduction of a feasible and desirable alternatives to early marriage, specifically attending school coupled with vocational training; ii) the whole community focus of the program, which allows norms to shift and reduces the likelihood of social backlash; and iii) increased empowerment-related attitudes and behaviors, including higher levels of self-advocacy. The results show that this big-push style intervention radically decreases child marriage rates in a context in which this behavior is commonplace.

Previously titled "Pathways to Choice: Delaying Marriage and Increasing Education via Safe Spaces." 

CEGA Working Paper Series: See here.

Media: VoxDev Blog Post

On-Going Research

Electronic point-of-sale devices and tax compliance: Evidence from Pakistan

(with Sher Afghan Asad)

Safe Spaces for Married Adolescents: An Experiment in Northern Nigeria

(with Aisha Bello, Bilkisu Abba, Aminu Bello Gurin, and Daniel Perlman)

Pre-trial registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/9170

Take Up and Impact of Digital Repayment in Microfinance

(with Denise Ferris)

Pre-trial registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4012

Teacher Rotation and Student Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from Uganda

(with Ernesto Dal Bó, Frederico Finan, Kizito Omala and David Schönholzer)

Pre-trial registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2998

The demand for digital identification amongst small enterprise owners in Uganda

(with Emma Riley)

Accepted at the Journal of Development Economics based on pre-results review: https://afosterri.org/jdepreresults/sample-page/