World Bank

Revealing tax evasion: Experimental evidence from a representative survey of Indonesian firms

Measuring tax evasion by firms is notoriously difficult: direct questions yield biased responses while administrative data captures only detected violations. This paper examines the prevalence of reported tax non-compliance in Indonesia through a randomized, double-list experimen...

Aim high or play safe? Commitment, prosocial incentives, and goal setting

Abstract We examine how behavioral incentives affect goal setting and performance when individuals choose their own goals. Using a model with reference-dependent preferences and effort cost uncertainty, we predict that commitment mechanisms improve performance by inducing more co...

Emergency obstetric and newborn care availability, utilization and referral capabilities in Zambia using a national facility census

Abstract Introduction Improving maternal and newborn health remains a global priority. Despite an increase in the number of health facilities providing childbirth services, not all can perform basic or comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) to avert maternal a...

Globalization, Capital Taxation, and Development: Evidence from a Macrohistorical Database

This paper builds and analyzes a new global macrohistorical database of effective tax rates on capital and labor in 154 countries. We establish a new stylized fact: While effective capital tax rates fell in developed countries between 1965 and 2018, they rose in developing countr...

Perceptions of inequality and group-specific public goods

We use data from a survey of 116,061 households in India to study beliefs about inequality. We uncover large differences between where individuals believe their household stands on the income distribution and their actual position. However, informing individuals that their househ...

Mobile education builds resilience during shocks in five countries

Abstract Education systems need to withstand frequent shocks, including disease and climate events, which close schools for more than 222 million children 1 . During these emergencies, alternative models are needed to deliver education. However, rigorous evaluation of effective e...

Phone-call tutorials improve learning cost-effectively during education emergencies

Across five randomized trials in India, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines and Uganda, weekly 20-minute mobile-phone-call tutorials produced large learning gains for primary-school children during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments can keep children learning...

Democratic governance, public service satisfaction, and health equity in Africa: a multivariate statistical analysis

Abstract This study examines the political determinants of health access in Africa by analyzing how democratic demand, democratic supply, and perceptions of government health performance shape reported difficulty in accessing health care. We conducted a cross-sectional, multi-cou...

Global research trends in ecosystem health assessment for nature-based solutions using scientometric analysis

Human survival depends on ecosystems, which are an essential component of the earth’s environment. Researchers and professionals are increasingly interested in ecosystem health issues and their nature-based solutions, but disparities persist. A total of 1273 research articles wer...

Green Is Less Greedy: Competition, Corruption, and Productivity in Green Public Procurement in Bulgaria

ABSTRACT Green Public Procurement (GPP) is promoted for environmental sustainability, but its economic effects are less studied. This paper examines GPP's impact on firm productivity, competition, and corruption risks in Bulgaria, a challenging context for governance. Using data...

Optimal Public Sector Premium, Talent Misallocation, and Aggregate Productivity: Evidence From Egypt

ABSTRACT We develop a tractable general equilibrium model to quantify the long‐run aggregate productivity gains from adjusting the public‐sector premium and the size of the public sector to their productivity‐maximizing levels. The model incorporates an endogenous choice between...

Emerging innovations in movement ecology to address planetary challenges

Abstract Movement ecology—the study of how and why animals move within their environments—stands to offer transformative insights into our rapidly changing world, with benefits for both nature and people. Here, we present the first global horizon scan for movement ecology, engagi...