The Value of Regulatory Discretion: Estimates from Environmental Inspections in India

Duflo, Esther; Greenstone, Michael; Pande, Rohini; Ryan, Nicholas

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2508049

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, decentralization may backfire if resources are captured by local entities or used inefficiently (Burgess et al, 2012;Banerjee et al, forthcoming). On the other hand, greater autonomy can improve service delivery by providing a non-monetary incentive for agents and add meaning to the job (Cassar and Meier, 2018) 2 and by leveraging their superior knowledge of local context (Duflo et al, 2018;Rogger and Somani, 2018). and find that more autonomy is correlated with quality and completion of public projects delivered even in contexts of low 1 The paper does not speak to the wide literature on school decentralization, which involves allowing local management of resources and/or curriculum (Hanushek et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Supporting Teacher Autonomy to Improve Education Outcomes : Experimental Evidence from Brazil

Piza¹,

Zwager²,

Ruzzante³

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Supporting Teacher Autonomy to Improve Education Outcomes : Experimental Evidence from Brazil

Piza¹,

Zwager²,

Ruzzante³

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such an intense, theory and data driven process would not have been feasible without having built the trust and mutual interest needed for a long-term relationship. Duflo et al (2014) provide another example. Their research builds on a longterm relationship between the researchers and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in the Indian state of Gujarat.…”

Section: New Public-sector Collaborations In Economic Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developments in Data for Economic Research

Barcellan¹,

Nielsen²,

Calsamiglia³

et al. 2017

Economics Without Borders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There has been a steep increase in empirical research in economics in the past 20-30 years. This chapter brings together several actors and stakeholders in these developments to discuss their drivers and implications. All types of data are considered: official data, data collected by researchers, lab experiments, randomized control trials, and proprietary data from private and public sources. When relevant, emphasis is placed on developments specific to Europe. The basic message of the chapter is that there is no single type of data that is superior to all others. We need to promote diversity of data sources for economic research and ensure that researchers are equipped to take advantage of them. All stakeholders -researchers, research institutions, funders, statistical agencies, central banks, journals, data firms, and policy-makers -have a role to play in this. IntroductionThe past 20-30 years have witnessed a steady rise in empirical research in economics. In fact, a majority of articles published by leading journals these days are empirical, in stark contrast with the situation 40 or 50 years ago (Hamermesh, 2013). This change in the distribution of methodologies used in economic research was made possible by improved computing power but, more importantly, thanks to an increase in the quantity, quality and variety of data used in economics. This chapter brings together several actors and stakeholders in these changes to discuss their drivers and implications.1 All types of data are considered. When relevant, emphasis is placed on developments specific to Europe. Sections 13.2 and 13.3 deal with official microdata. Section 13.2 focuses on the level of access to microdata in Europe and its determinants. Section 13.3 focuses on cross-country data harmonization. Section 13.4 then switches gears entirely and discusses the benefits and costs of large-scale data collection efforts led by researchers, instead of statistical offices. Section 13.5 discusses data produced by researchers, either in the context of lab experiments or in the context of randomized control trials. Both types of data have led to major advances; for the first one in our understanding of human behaviour and the robustness of economic institutions; for the second in our understanding of the impact of policies and the mechanisms underlying them. The chapter closes by discussing new forms of collaborations that researchers are developing with private-and public-sector organizations, with the benefit of access to data of very high quality, as well as the opportunity to contribute to product and policy designs, and what it implies for how research is organized, evaluated and funded.The basic message of the chapter is that there is no single type of data that is superior to all others. Each type of data is unique and has advantages over the others for a given research question. In many cases, they even complement one another. We need to promote this diversity and ensure researchers are equipped to take advantage of them. All stakeholders -res...

show abstract

“…Despite much theoretical progress incorporating the idea that agents hold valuable information, direct empirical evidence of this idea remains elusive. One exception is Duflo, Greenstone, Pande, and Ryan (2018) who find that increased random regulatory scrutiny did not significantly reduce pollution relative to less frequent but discretionary audits by inspectors in India. Our study complements theirs in various ways.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Technology and Government Decentralization: Experimental Evidence From Paraguay

Bó

Finan

Li³

et al. 2021

ECTA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Standard models of hierarchy assume that agents and middle managers are better informed than principals. We estimate the value of the informational advantage held by supervisors—middle managers—when ministerial leadership—the principal—introduced a new monitoring technology aimed at improving the performance of agricultural extension agents (AEAs) in rural Paraguay. Our approach employs a novel experimental design that elicited treatment‐priority rankings from supervisors before randomization of treatment. We find that supervisors have valuable information—they prioritize AEAs who would be more responsive to the monitoring treatment. We develop a model of monitoring under different scales of treatment roll‐out and different treatment allocation rules. We semiparametrically estimate marginal treatment effects (MTEs) to demonstrate that the value of information and the benefits to decentralizing treatment decisions depend crucially on the sophistication of the principal and on the scale of roll‐out.

show abstract

The Value of Regulatory Discretion: Estimates from Environmental Inspections in India

Cited by 8 publications

References 41 publications

Supporting Teacher Autonomy to Improve Education Outcomes : Experimental Evidence from Brazil

Supporting Teacher Autonomy to Improve Education Outcomes : Experimental Evidence from Brazil

Developments in Data for Economic Research

Information Technology and Government Decentralization: Experimental Evidence From Paraguay

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About