The Politics, Institutions, and Conflict Initiative sees conflict and disorder as one of the greatest threats to development, and the development of good government as a means to economic prosperity as well as an important end in itself. But what is “good government” and how does it come about, both historically and in the modern day? What causes conflict, and what policies and interventions can move violent fighting into the realm of peaceful political competition?
The Politics, Institutions and Conflict Initiative is led by CDEP Affiliate Suresh Naidu.
Current Projects:
(jump to completed projects)
Lava Jato Beyond the Headlines: Expert Perspectives on a Vast Corruption Scandal
Investigator: CDEP Affiliate Paul Lagunes (edited with Jan Svejnar).
African Mining Booms and Local Welfare
Investigator: CDEP Affiliate Anja Tolonen.
The Watchful Eye and the Cracking Whip: A Field Experiment on Corruption Monitoring in Mexico
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Paul Lagunes.
Completed Projects:
Improving the Effectiveness of Public Procurement
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Andrea Prat (with Oriana Bandiera, Michael Best, and Adnan Khan).
Worker Mobility in a Global Labor Market: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Suresh Naidu, Yaw Nyarko from New York University and Shing-Yi Wang from University of Pennsylvania.
Historical Origins of Persistent Inequality
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Belinda Archibong.
Economic Shocks and Crime: Evidence from the Brazilian Trade Liberalization
Investigator: CDEP Affiliate Rodrigo Soares.
The Impacts of An Innovative Audit Strategy on the Amount and Incidence of Retail Tax Evasion: Mystery Shoppers and Electronic Billing Machines
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Francois Gerard with Nada Eissen and Andrew Zeitlin.
Election by Community Consensus: Effects on Political Selection and Governance
Investigator: CDEP Fellow Ashna Arora.
One-Two Punch Approach to Fighting Corruption in Public Infrastructure
Investigator: CDEP Affiliate Paul Lagunes.
Inequality and Corruption at the Crossroads: A Multi-Method Study of Bribery and Discrimination in Latin America
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Paul Lagunes with Brian Fried and Atheendar Venkataramani.
Dynamic Transparency: An Audit of Mexico's Freedom of Information Act
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Paul Lagunes with Oscar Poscasangre.
Democracy, Inequality, and Economic Development
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Suresh Naidu with Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson, and Pascual Restrepo.
Elite Family Networks and the Origins of Dictatorships: Theory and Evidence from Haiti
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Suresh Naidu with Lauren Young and James Robinson.
Social Engineering in the Tropics: Case Study Evidence from East Congo
Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Macartan Humphreys, CDEP Student Affiliate Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, and Peter van der Windt of New York Univeristy Abu Dhabi.
Bandits or States? Stationary Bandits and Taxation in Eastern Congo
Investigators: CDEP Fellow Raul Sanchez de la Sierra and Gauthier Marchais from the London School of Economics.
Predicting Local Violence
Investigators: Chris Blattman, Robert Blair, and Alexandra Hartman from Yale University.