Discussion Papers

IZA Discussion Paper No. 17887

How Organized Is the Informal Sector? The Role of Business Associations in Microenterprises in West Africa

Clement Joubert, Kathleen Beegle

IZA Discussion Paper No. 17555

Diffusion in Social Networks: Experimental Evidence on Information Sharing vs Persuasion

Marcel Fafchamps, Asadul Islam, Debayan Pakrashi, Denni Tommasi

IZA Discussion Paper No. 17150

Financial Inclusion and Threshold Effects in Carbon Emissions

Nidhaleddine Ben Cheikh, Christophe Rault

revised version published in: Energy Policy, 2024, 192,114265

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16451

Too Fast, Too Furious? Digital Credit Delivery Speed and Repayment Rates

Alfredo Burlando, Michael A. Kuhn, Silvia Prina

published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2024, 174, 103427

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16304

Can a Mobile-App-Based Behavioral Intervention Teach Financial Skills to Youth? Experimental Evidence from a Financial Diaries Study

Veronica Frisancho, Alejandro Herrera, Silvia Prina

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2023, 214, 595- 614

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16303

The Interplay among Savings Accounts and Network-Based Financial Arrangements: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Margherita Comola, Silvia Prina

published in: Economic Journal, 2023, 133 (649), 516 - 535

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16131

How Do Political Connections of Firms Matter during an Economic Crisis?

Yutong Chen, Gaurav Chiplunkar, Sheetal Sekhri, Anirban Sen, Aaditeshwar Seth

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16101

Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Catia Batista, Pedro C. Vicente

published in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2025, 107 (3), 835–844.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16056

Downward Revision of Investment Decisions after Corporate Tax Hikes

Sebastian Link, Manuel Menkhoff, Andreas Peichl, Paul Schüle

published in: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2024, 16 (4), 194 - 222

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15680

The Effect of Firm-Level Investment on Inequality and Poverty around the World

Mehmet S. Tosun, Ethan D. Watson, Serhat Yildiz

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15440

Finance, Informal Competition, and Expectations: A Firm-Level Analysis

Emanuele Brancati, Michele Di Maio, Aminur Rahman

published in: World Development, 2024, 173, 106408

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15207

Relationship between the Real Estate Sector and the Stock Market in Chinese Provinces

Zeyu Di, Almas Heshmati, Sijia Liu

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14781

Closing the Gender Profit Gap?

Catia Batista, Sandra Sequeira, Pedro C. Vicente

published in: Management Science, 2022, 68 (12), 8515 - 9218,

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14477

Liquidity or Capital? The Impacts of Easing Credit Constraints in Rural Mexico

Gabriela Aparicio, Vida Bobic, Fernando De Olloqui, María Carmen, María Carmen Fernández Diez, Maria Paula Gerardino, Oscar A. Mitnik, Sebastian Vargas Macedo

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14051

Temporary International Migration, Shocks and Informal Insurance: Analysis Using Panel Data

Tanika Chakraborty, Manish Pandey

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13891

The Gender of Debt and Credit: Insights from Rural Tamil Nadu

Isabelle Guérin, Christophe Jalil Nordman, Elena Reboul

published in: World Development, 2021, 146, 105363

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13410

The Effects of EU-Funded Enterprise Grants on Firms and Workers

Balázs Muraközy, Álmos Telegdy

published in: Journal of Comparative Economics, 2023, 51 (1), 216-234

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13081

Do Public Program Benefits Crowd Out Private Transfers in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence

Plamen Nikolov, Matthew Bonci

published in: World Development, 2020, 134, 104967

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12934

Adopting Mobile Money: Evidence from an Experiment in Rural Africa

Catia Batista, Pedro C. Vicente

published in: American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2020, 110, 594 - 598

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12626

Time Delay and Investment Decisions: Evidence from an Experiment in Tanzania

Plamen Nikolov

published in: Economics Bulletin, 2018, 38 (2), 1124-1137.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12532

Do Private Household Transfers to the Elderly Respond to Public Pension Benefits? Evidence from Rural China

Plamen Nikolov, Alan Adelman

published in: Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 2019, 14, 100204

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12514

The Effects of Access to Credit on Productivity: Separating Technological Changes from Changes in Technical Efficiency

Nusrat Abedin Jimi, Plamen Nikolov, Mohammad Abdul Malek, Subal C. Kumbhakar

published in: Journal of Productivity Analysis, 2019, 52 (1-3), 37-55

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12161

Did the Arab Spring Reduce MENA Countries' Growth?

Mahmoud Arayssi, Ali Fakih, Nathir Haimoun

published in: Applied Economics Letters, 2019, 26 (19), 1579-1585

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12095

Measuring the Spatial Misallocation of Labor: The Returns to India-Gulf Guest Work in a Natural Experiment

Michael A. Clemens

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11517

Are Rushed Privatizations Substandard? Analyzing Firm-Level Privatization under Fiscal Pressure

Jan Hagemeier, Jan Svejnar, Joanna Tyrowicz

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11149

Inequality, Good Governance and Endemic Corruption

Gil S. Epstein, Ira N. Gang

published in: International Tax and Public Finance, 2019, 26, 999 - 1017

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11061

Testing for Repugnance in Economic Transactions: Evidence from Guest Work in the Gulf

Michael A. Clemens

published in: Journal of Legal Studies, 2018, 47 (S1), S5 - S44

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10983

Does Reminding of Behavioural Biases Increase Returns from Financial Trading? A Field Experiment

Maria De Paola, Francesca Gioia, Fabio Piluso

published in:International Journal of Economics and Finance, 2020, 12 (2),1-22

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10965

Returns to Islamic Microfinance: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Pakistan

Maazullah, Arjun S. Bedi

published as 'Returns to Interest-free Microcredit: Evidence from a Randomised Experiment in Pakistan' in: Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2022, 14 (2), 93 - 107

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10520

Pledging, Praising and Shaming: Experimental Labour Markets in Ghana

Elwyn Davies, Marcel Fafchamps

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10099

'Even' After Access to Financial Services? Ricocheting Gender Equations

Shoba Arun, Samuel Annim, Thankom Gopinath Arun

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9992

How Successful Are Banking Sector Reforms in Emerging Market Economies? Evidence from Impact of Monetary Policy on Levels and Structures of Firm Debt in India

Sumon K. Bhaumik, Ali M. Kutan, Sudipa Majumdar

published in: European Journal of Finance, 2018, 24 (12), 1047 - 1062

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9340

Remittances and Credit Markets: Evidence from Senegal

Linguère Mously Mbaye

revised version published as 'Remittances and rural credit markets: Evidence from Senegal' in:Review of Development Economic, 2021, 25 (1), 183 - 199

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9259

Does Foreign Entry Spur Innovation?

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Jan Svejnar, Katherine Terrell

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9026

Do Natural Disasters Stimulate Individual Saving? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in a Highly Developed Country

Michael Berlemann, Max F. Steinhardt, Jascha Tutt

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8772

Institutions and Development in MENA Region: Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector

Mahmoud Arayssi, Ali Fakih

published in: International Journal of Social Economics, 2015, 42 (8), 717-732

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8657

Seasonal Credit Constraints and Agricultural Labor Supply: Evidence from Zambia

Günther Fink, Kelsey Jack, Felix Masiye

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8641

Do Interventions Change the Network? A Panel Peer-Effect Model Accounting for Endogenous Network Changes

Margherita Comola, Silvia Prina

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7824

When Does FDI Have Positive Spillovers? Evidence from 17 Transition Market Economies

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Jan Svejnar, Katherine Terrell

published in : Journal of Comparative Economics, 2014, 42(4), 954-969

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7687

Usage of Financial Services in South Africa: Perceptions Matter

Philip Kostov, Thankom Gopinath Arun, Samuel Annim

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7517

Braving the Waves: The Role of Time and Risk Preferences in Illegal Migration from Senegal

Jean-Louis Arcand, Linguère Mously Mbaye

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7333

Entrepreneurship Programs in Developing Countries: A Meta Regression Analysis

Yoon Y. Cho, Maddalena Honorati

published in: Labour Economics, 2014, 28, 110-130

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7223

China's High Saving Puzzle

Guonan Ma, Dennis T. Yang

published in: Shenggen Fan, Ravi Kanbur, Shnag-Yin Wei and Xiaobo Zhang (eds): Oxford Companion to the Economics of China, 2014, 190-193

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7042

Effect of Perceptions and Behaviour on Access to and Use of Financial Service: Evidence from South Africa

Samuel Annim, Thankom Gopinath Arun, Philip Kostov

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6979

Loan Regulation and Child Labor in Rural India

Basab Dasgupta, Christian Zimmermann

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6964

Aggregate Savings and External Imbalances in China

Dennis T. Yang

published in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2012, 26 (4), 125–146.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6653

Does It Pay to Be a Cadre? Estimating the Returns to Being a Local Official in Rural China

Jian Zhang, John T. Giles, Scott Rozelle

Journal of Comparative Economics, 2012, 40 (3), 337-356

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6594

Monitoring Costs, Credit Constraints and Entrepreneurship

Sanjay Banerji, Rajesh S.N. Raj, Kunal Sen

published in: Manchester School, 2016, 84 (5), 573 - 599

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6311

Under-Savers Anonymous: Evidence on Self-Help Groups and Peer Pressure as a Savings Commitment Device

Felipe Kast, Stephan Meier, Dina Pomeranz

revised version published as 'Saving More in Groups: Field Experimental Evidence from Chile' in: Journal of Development Economics, 2018, 133, 275-294.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 6024

Should Easier Access to International Credit Replace Foreign Aid?

Subhayu Bandyopadhyay, Sajal Lahiri, Javed Younas

revised version published as 'Financing Growth Through Foreign Aid and Private Foreign Loans: Nonlinearities and Complementarities' in: Journal of International Money and Finance, 2015, 56, 75-96

IZA Discussion Paper No. 5767

Why Use ROSCAs When You Can Use Banks? Theory and Evidence from Ethiopia

Abbi M. Kedir, Richard Disney, Indraneel Dasgupta

IZA Discussion Paper No. 5427

Enrolment in Micro Life and Health Insurance: Evidences from Sri Lanka

Mirko Bendig, Thankom Gopinath Arun

IZA Discussion Paper No. 5174

Risk Management among the Poor: The Case of Microfinancial Services

Thankom Gopinath Arun, Mirko Bendig

IZA Discussion Paper No. 4834

Excess Leverage and Productivity Growth in Emerging Economies: Is There A Threshold Effect?

Fabrizio Coricelli, Nigel Driffield, Sarmistha Pal, Isabelle Roland

revised version published as 'When does leverage hurt productivity growth? A firm-level analysis' in: Journal of International Money and Finance, 2012, 31 (6), 1674-1694

IZA Discussion Paper No. 4786

Financial Constraints and Innovation: Why Poor Countries Don't Catch Up

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Monika Schnitzer

published in: Journal of the European Economic Association, 2013, 11(5), 1115-1152

IZA Discussion Paper No. 4609

Financial Dependence, Formal Credit, and Informal Jobs: New Evidence from Brazilian Household Data

Luis A. V. Catão, Carmen Pagés, Maria Fernanda Rosales

IZA Discussion Paper No. 4577

Do Institutions Have a Greater Effect on Female Entrepreneurs?

Saul Estrin, Tomasz Mickiewicz

published as 'Institutions and female entrepreneurship' in: Small Business Economics, 2011, 37 (4), 397-415

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3933

Small Business Economics of the Lakota Fund on the Native American Indian Reservation

David A. Benson, Aaron Lies, Albert A. Okunade, Phanindra V. Wunnava

published in: Small Business Economics, 2011, 36 (2), 157-168

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3796

Financial Development and the Distribution of Income in Latin America and the Caribbean

Gustavo J. Canavire Bacarreza, Felix Rioja

published in: Well-Being and Social Policy, 2009, 5 (1), 1-18

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3758

Does Gender Matter for Firm Performance? Evidence from Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Shwetlena Sabarwal, Katherine Terrell

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3743

Are Women More Credit Constrained? Experimental Evidence on Gender and Microenterprise Returns

Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff

published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2009, 1(3), 1-32

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3426

Evolution of Capital Structure in East Asia: Corporate Inertia or Endeavours?

Nigel Driffield, Sarmistha Pal

published in: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (Statistics in Society), 2010, 173 (1), 1- 29

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3393

Remittances and the Brain Drain: Skilled Migrants Do Remit Less

Yoko Niimi, Caglar Ozden, Maurice Schiff

published in: Annales d’Economie et de Statistique, 2010, 97/98, 123-42

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3332

Foreign Direct Investment and Structural Reforms: Evidence from Eastern Europe and Latin America

Nauro F. Campos, Yuko Kinoshita

revised version published in: IMF Staff Papers, 2010, 57 (2), 326-365

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3299

Globalization and Innovation in Emerging Markets

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Jan Svejnar, Katherine Terrell

published in: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2010, 2 (2), 194-226

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3296

The Linkages between FDI and Domestic Investment: Unravelling the Developmental Impact of Foreign Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa

Leonce Ndikumana, Sher Verick

published in: Development Policy Review, 2008, 26 (6), 713-726

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3218

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Flows to the Federal Region of Kurdistan

Almas Heshmati, Rhona Davis

published in: Heshmati, The Economy of Southern Kurdistan, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3191

Why Are Saving Rates of Urban Households in China Rising?

Marcos Chamon, Eswar Prasad

published in: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2010, 2 (1), 93-130

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3079

When Does FDI Have Positive Spillovers? Evidence from 17 Emerging Market Economies

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Jan Svejnar, Katherine Terrell

published in: Klaus Liebscher, Josef Christl, Peter Mooslechner (eds.), Foreign Direct Investment in Europe: A Changing Landscape, 2007

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3059

Where Are the Real Bottlenecks? Evidence from 20,000 Firms in 60 Countries about the Shadow Costs of Constraints to Firm Performance

Wendy Carlin, Mark E Schaffer, Paul Seabright

IZA Discussion Paper No. 2160

Remittances, Financial Development, and Growth

Paola Giuliano, Marta Ruiz-Arranz

published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2009, 90 (1), 144-152

IZA Discussion Paper No. 1914

CEO Turnover, Firm Performance and Enterprise Reform in China: Evidence from New Micro Data

Takao Kato, Cheryl Long

published in: Journal of Comparative Economics, 2006, 34 (4), 796 - 817

IZA Discussion Paper No. 1767

Executive Compensation, Firm Performance, and Corporate Governance in China: Evidence from Firms Listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges

Takao Kato, Cheryl Long

published in: Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2006, 54 (4), 945-983

IZA Discussion Paper No. 1343

What Makes Small Firms Grow? Finance, Human Capital, Technical Assistance, and the Business Environment in Romania

J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Dana Lup

published in: Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2005, 54 (1), 33-70

IZA Discussion Paper No. 411

The Response of Consumption in Russian Households to Economic Shocks

Steven Stillman