In recent years, there has been increasing interest in whether and how bureaucratic
effectiveness contributes to development. Just what makes for an effective bureaucracy and …

We use newly digitized records from the post office to study the effects of strengthened state
capacity between 1875 and 1901. Exploiting the implementation of the Pendleton Act—a …

The assignment of workers to tasks and teams is a key margin of firm productivity and a
potential source of state effectiveness. This paper investigates whether a low-capacity state …

Are politicians in power treated more leniently in court? We show that Brazilian mayoral
candidates charged with misconduct are 65 percent less likely to be convicted if they …

We use newly digitized data to study the impacts of a historical reform that mandated exams
for some employees in the largest US customs-collection districts. Although the reform …

We study whether, and how, managers can increase government productivity in the context
of public health provision. Using novel data from public hospitals in Chile, we document that …

We use newly digitized records from the US Post Office to study how strengthening state
capacity affects public service delivery and innovation in over 2,700 cities between 1875 …

Competitive exams are a standard method for selecting civil servants. Yet, evidence on the
effectiveness of such approach is mixed, and lack of personnel data limits our understanding …

Most states lack the ability to maintain a uniform presence at the local level. While in some
places, citizens experience an attentive and present state that is quick to address their …

This paper examines the Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS), a bureaucracy in a high-
corruption, low-transparency environment, to assess whether discretion in promotion …