Program Directors
![Jayachandran headshot](jpg/jayachandran_180x250_editedebde.jpg)
Seema Jayachandran is a professor in the department of economics at Princeton University. Her research interests include health, education, labor markets, the environment, and political economy in developing nations. She has been an NBER affiliate since 2007.
![Olken headshot](jpg/olken_180x250_edited16bb.jpg)
Benjamin A. Olken is a professor in the department of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. His research focuses on the political economy of developing nations, with particular emphasis on corruption. He has been an NBER affiliate since 2005.
Featured Program Content
![This figure consists of two maps of Jakarta titled, Current TransJakarta Bus Network Versus an Optimal Network. The map on the left is labeled, Current Network. The map on the right is labeled, Example of Optimal Network. Both graphs are dense in the center but the example of optimal network is more extensive towards the borders of the area. The note line reads, shaded blue area represents the central urban Jakarta area. The source line reads, Source: Researchers’ calculations using administrative ridersh](/sites/default/files/styles/promo/public/2023-08/w31369.jpg?itok=r2twvwfJ)
TransJakarta, the bus system serving greater Jakarta, Indonesia, undertook a major expansion in the last decade. It tripled its routes and doubled the...
![Donor Contracting Conditions and Public Procurement: Causal Evidence from Kenyan Electrification figure](/sites/default/files/styles/promo/public/2023-04/w30948.jpg?itok=p7gJ0WQ9)
Governments and multilateral institutions often implement policies through procurement contracts: agreements with private companies for building a piece of...
![The figure is a two-panel bar chart titled, "Cash Transfers and Crop Residue Burning among Punjabi Farmers." Both panels plot bars associated with farmers receiving upfront, unconditional payments, and farmers receiving payment after verified compliance. The left hand panel plots the contract compliance rate and ranges from zero to 20 percent. The rate for the upfront-payment group is 18.3 percent, and 8.5 percent for the other. The right hand panel plots the effect on the nonburning rate, relative to](/sites/default/files/styles/promo/public/2023-01/w30690.jpg?itok=Vhk71TKE)
In 2015, in an attempt to combat its poor air quality, India banned the burning of agricultural residues. But bans have not worked, and pollution...