A Latin American president faces a steep economic downturn. She introduces fiscal austerity measures, perhaps a tax hike, to try to contain the damage. Mass protests erupt, police clash with demonstrators, and the political mood grows darker by the day. Can the president and her party survive? The short answer is usually no. In a recent study, Martín Ardanaz, Mark Hallerberg … [Read more...] about When Tax Hikes Doom Governments at the Polls
When Worsening Credit Conditions Trigger Recessions
Economists have long known that aggregate measures of economic activity vary during recessions. Unemployment rates increase, for example, while both GDP growth and investment rates decrease. But when we look at actual firms, the individual units of production in an economy, during a recession do they all behave in the same way? And if not, can we use that information to learn … [Read more...] about When Worsening Credit Conditions Trigger Recessions
The Benefits and Drawbacks of DNA Technologies to Fight Crime
It lasts for thousands of years and can help police identify missing persons from a pile of bones or pinpoint criminals with astounding accuracy. But as police forces increasingly turn to DNA to help them solve crimes, concerned citizens in the United States have been raising alarms about issues of privacy, consent and unwarranted government intrusion into their lives. For … [Read more...] about The Benefits and Drawbacks of DNA Technologies to Fight Crime
Behavioral Science and the Struggle for Social Cohesion
Renos Vakis is a Lead Economist with the World Bank's Poverty and Equity Global Practice and co-head of its Mind, Behavior and Development Unit. An expert on poverty who has written extensively about both Latin America and South Asia, he helps direct the unit's efforts to apply behavioral science to anti-poverty policies in areas ranging from financial inclusion to early … [Read more...] about Behavioral Science and the Struggle for Social Cohesion
Can Games Boost Math Learning For Poor Kids?
Aaron Pinto, age 11, always loved math. He just wasn't very good at it. He stumbled with multiplication, fractions and decimals, refused to use pencil and paper, and made mistake after mistake as he tried to work things out on his fingers or in his head. Frustrated, at times even depressed, he couldn't seem to find a way forward. But Aaron's problems, if overwhelming, … [Read more...] about Can Games Boost Math Learning For Poor Kids?