Articles and Papers by topic

Learning and education service delivery

• "Teacher Performance-Based Incentives and Learning Inequality" with James Habyarimana and Shwetlena Sabarwal. 2025. Journal of Human Resources. 60(3): 812-856. (WP version). 

• "How to Improve Education Outcomes Most Efficiently? A Review of the Evidence Using a Unified Metric" with Noam Angrist, David K. Evans, Rachel Glennerster, Halsey Rogers, and Shwetlena Sabarwal. 2025.  Journal of Development Economics. 172: 103382. (WP version).

• "Cognitive and Socioemotional Skills in Low-Income Countries : Measurement and Associations with Schooling and Earnings" with Alice Danon, Jishnu Das, and Andreas de Barros. 2024. Journal of Development Economics. 168: 103132. (WP version).

• "Long-Lived Consequences of Rapid Scale-Up? : The Case of Free Primary Education in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries." 2023. International Journal of Educational Development. 102: 102872.  (WP version).

• "Teacher Pay in Africa : Evidence from 15 Countries" with David K. Evans and Fei Yuan. 2022. World Development, 155: 105893. (WP version).

• "Heterogenous Teacher Effects of Two Incentive Schemes: Evidence from a Low-Income Country" with Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Jacobus Cilliers, and Marie-Helene Cloutier. 2022. Journal of Development Economics, 156: 102820. (WP version) (VoxDev)

• "Information, Knowledge and Behavior: Evaluating Alternative Methods of Delivering School Information to Parents" with Pedro Cerdan-Infantes and Santoso. 2022. Economic Development and Cultural Change. 70(2): 791-822. (WP version)

• "Preparation, Practice, and Beliefs: A Machine Learning Approach to Understanding Teacher Effectiveness" with Natsal Vahata and Shwetlena Sabarwal. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9847 and RISE Working Paper 21/084. November 2021.

• "Education and Health for Inclusiveness" with Roberta Gatti, Halsey Rogers, Nikola Spatafora, and Drilona Emrullahu. IMF Working Paper WP/21/60. March 2021. 

• "How to Improve Education Outcomes Most Efficiently? A Comparison of 150 Interventions Using the New Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling Metric" with Noam Angrist, David K. Evans, Rachel Glennerster, Halsey Rogers, and Shwetlena Sabarwal.  World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9450. October 2020.

• "Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS): Defining A New Macro Measure of Education" with Halsey Rogers, Noam Angrist, and Shwetlena Sabarwal. 2020. Economics of Education Review, 77: 101971. (WP version)

• "Identifying Effective Teachers : Lessons from Four Classroom Observation Tools" with Ezequiel Molina and Waly Wane. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9365 and RISE Working Paper 20/045. August 2020. Supplementary materials: Appendix 2 available here;  Additional regression results available here. RISE Insight Note.

• "The Lost Human Capital: Teacher Knowledge and Student Achievement in Africa" with Tessa Bold, Ezequiel Molina, Jakob Svensson. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 8849. May 2019.  (Previous version: Center for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper 12956. May 2018.)

• "Enrollment without Learning: Teacher Effort, Knowledge, and Skill in Primary Schools in Africa" with Tessa Bold, Gayle Martin, Ezequiel Molina, Brian Stacy, Christophe Rockmore, Jakob Svensson, and Waly Wane. 2017. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 31(4):185-204. 

• "What do Teachers Know and Do? Does it Matter?" with Tessa Bold, Gayle Martin, Ezequiel Molina, Brian Stacy, Christophe Rockmore, Jakob Svensson and Waly Wane. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7956. January 2017.

• "Autonomy, Participation and Learning: Findings from Argentine Schools, and Implications for Decentralization Education Economics" with Gunnar Eskeland. 2007. Education Economics 15(1): 103-127.  (WP version)

• "If You Build It, Will They Come? School Availability and School Enrolment in 21 Poor Countries" 2007. Journal of Development Studies 43(5): 901-928.  (WP version)

• “A Millennium Learning Goal: Measuring Real Progress in Education” with Amer Hasan and Lant Pritchett. Center for Global Development Working Paper 97. August 2006.

• "What Education Production Functions Really Show: A Positive Theory of Education Expenditures" with Lant Pritchett. 1999. Economics of Education Review 18(2): 223-39. (WP version)

• "Gender disparity in South Asia : Comparisons Between and Within Countries" with Elizabeth M. King and Lant Pritchett. Policy Research Working Paper 186. January 1998.

• “Schooling and Cognitive Outcomes in Morocco: Can the Government Improve Outcomes?” with Shahidur Khandker and Victor Lavy. World Bank Discussion Paper No. 264. 1994.

Cash transfers and human development outcomes

• "Long-Term Impacts of Primary School Scholarships: Evidence from Cambodia" with Felipe Barrera-Osorio and Andreas de Barros. 2024. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 43(1):10-38 (WP version)

• "Cash Transfers, Food Prices, and Nutrition Impacts on Ineligible Children" with Jed Friedman, Eeshani Kandpal, and Junko Onishi. 2023. Review of Economics and Statistics. 105(2):327-343.  (WP version) (Online Appendix) (VoxDev)

• “A Conditional Cash Transfer Program in the Philippines Reduces Severe Stunting” with Eeshani Kandpal, Harold Alderman, Jed Friedman, Junko Onishi, and Jorge Avalos. 2016. The Journal of Nutrition. 146(9):1793-1800 (ungated version).

• “Incentivizing Schooling for Learning: Evidence on the Impact of Alternative Targeting Approaches” with Felipe Barrera-Osorio. 2016. Journal of Human Resources. 51(2):461-499. (ungated version)

• “The Medium-Term Effects of Scholarships in a Low-Income Country” with Norbert Schady. 2014. Journal of Human Resources.  49(3):663-694 (ungated version). 

• “Does More Cash in Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Always Lead to Larger Impacts on School Attendance?”, with Norbert Schady. 2011. Journal of Development Economics, 96(1): 150-157. (WP version)

• "School enrollment, selection and test scores : School enrollment, selection and test scores" with Norbert Schady. Research Working Paper 4998. July 2009.

• "Getting Girls into School: Evidence from a Scholarship Program in Cambodia" with Norbert Schady. 2008. Economic Development and Cultural Change. 56(3):581-617. (WP version)

Early child development 

• "Improving Preschool Provision and Encouraging-Demand: Evidence from a Large Construction Program"  with Jan Berkes, Adrien Bouguen, and Tsuyoshi Fukao. 2024. Journal of Public Economics. 230: 105050. (WP version). 

• “Joint Effects of Parenting and Nutrition Status on Child Development: Evidence from Rural Cambodia” with Jan Berkes, Abbie Raikes, and Adrien Bouguen. 2019. Developmental Science. 22(5). (WP version)

• “Preschool and Parental Response in a Second Best World: Evidence from a School Construction Experiment” with Adrien Bouguen, Karen Macours and Sophie Naudeau. 2018. Journal of Human Resources. 53(2):474-512. (ungated version)

• "Impact evaluation of three types of early childhood development interventions in Cambodia" with Sophie Naudeau, Karen Macours, and Adrien Bouguen. Policy Research Working Paper 6540. July 2013.

Asset indices

• “Assessing Asset Indices” with Kinnon Scott. 2011. Demography. 49(1):359-392. (WP version)

• "Estimating Wealth Effects without Expenditure Data-or Tears: An Application to Educational Enrollments in States of India" with Lant Pritchett. 2001. Demography 38(1): 115-132.  (WP version)

Inequalities in schooling

• “Orphanhood and the Living Arrangements of Children in Sub-Saharan Africa” with Kathleen Beegle, A. Stokes and L. Tiererova. 2010. World Development, 38(12): 1727-1746.  (WP version)

• "Disability, poverty and schooling in developing countries: Results from 14 household surveys." 2008. World Bank Economic Review. 22(1):141-163.  (WP version)

• “Gender and wealth disparities in schooling: Evidence from 44 countries.” 2006. International Journal of Educational Research 43(6): 351-369.  (WP version)

• "Inequalities in Children's Schooling: AIDS, Orphanhood, Poverty, and Gender" with Martha Ainsworth. 2006. World Development 34(6): 1099-1128. (WP version)

• "The Effect of Household Wealth on Educational Attainment: Evidence from 35 Countries" with Lant Pritchett. 1999. Population and Development Review 25(1): 85-120. (WP version)

Health and population

• “Trends and Socioeconomic Gradients in Adult Mortality around the Developing World” with Damien de Walque. 2013. Population and Development Review. 39(1):1-29. (WP version)

• “The Socioeconomic Distribution of Adult Mortality during Conflicts in Africa” with Damien de Walque. 2012. Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy. 18(3):1-9.

• “Development, Modernization, and Childbearing: The Role of Family Sex Composition” with Jed Friedman and Norbert Schady.  2009. World Bank Economic Review, 23(3):371-398. (WP version)

• "Fever and its Treatment among the More and Less Poor in Sub-Saharan Africa" 2005. Health Policy and Planning 20(6, November): 337-46. (WP version)

• "Weak Links in the Chain II: A Prescription for Health Policy in Poor Countries" with Jeffrey Hammer and Land Pritchett. 2002. World Bank Research Observer 17(1,February): 47-66.  (WP version)

• "Environmental Degradation and the Demand for Children: Searching for the Vicious Circle" with Lant Pritchett. 2002. Environment and Development Economics 7(February): 123-146. (WP version)

• " Weak Links in the Chain: A Diagnosis of Health Policy in Poor Countries ," with Jeffrey Hammer and Lant Pritchett. 2000. World Bank Research Observer 15(2): 199-224. (WP version)

• "The Impact of Public Spending on Health: Does Money Matter?" with Lant Pritchett. 1999. Social Science and Medicine 49(10): 1309-23. 

Labor market analysis/Other

• "Toward Successful Development Policies : Insights from Research in Development Economics" with others. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9133. January 2020.

• "Testing for pay and promotion bias in an international organization," with Elizabeth King, Dominique Van De Walle. 2005. International Journal of Manpower 26: 404-420.  (WP version)

• "Does Indonesia Have a 'Low Pay' Civil Service?" with David Lindauer. 2000. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 37(2): 189-205.  (WP version)

• "Estimating the world at work." Policy Research Working Paper 1488. July 1995.