The incentives of politicians to provide broad public goods and reduce poverty vary across
countries. Even in democracies, politicians often have incentives to divert resources to …

Every country, every subnational government, and every district has a designated
population, and this has a bearing on politics in ways most citizens and policymakers are …

India exhibits a large reliance on targeted transfer payments and subsidies, and significant
underprovision of social services such as education. These are puzzling outcomes because …

How does the vertical power structure of government shape innovation adoption? This study
explores the relationship between administrative centralization and the adoption of local …

The number of global polio cases has fallen dramatically and eradication is within sight, but
despite extraordinary efforts, polio retains its grip in a few areas. Anthropologist Svea …

Decentralization is argued to create incentives for local and regional politicians to be more
responsive and accountable to their constituents, but few studies have directly tested this …

By bringing decision making closer to people, decentralization is expected to improve
governance and service delivery outcomes. Yet, the empirical evidence on the impact of …

Countries vary systematically with respect to the incentives of politicians to provide broad
public goods and to reduce poverty. Even in developing countries that are democracies …

This book provides a comprehensive reassessment of the development of the economy of
Pakistan since independence to the present. It employs a rigorous statistical methodology …

Legitimacy is essential to state-building after conflict. Yet, the prescribed path to gaining
legitimacy is often a narrow one that borrows heavily from the experiences of Western states …