Resource Windfall and Corruption: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Peru *

Abstract The relationship between economic conditions and corruption has been subject of an intense discussion in the empirical literature due to the lack of good quality data on objective measures of corruption and the presence of omitted variables, measurement error and reverse causality problems. Using a rich and novel dataset that includes a complete set of bribery-related questions for the period 2002-2006, I exploit an exogenous variation in the economic conditions of a set of mineral-rich local governments in Peru which is due to an interaction between a fiscal rule that forces the central government to allocate 50% of the income taxes paid by mining companies to these governments and the extraordinary rise of the international prices of mineral resources observed since 2003. Using different empirical strategies, I find that, after the increase of prices of mineral resources, the predicted probability of being asked to pay a bribe by a local public official reduces by 1.5-1.8 percentage points in districts with access to this type of transfers, being the effect larger in mineral producer districts (2.7 percentage points). This represents a 52-62% reduction on the average probability. However, when focusing in areas most benefited from the positive shock of mineral prices, I find a positive effect on corruption with an increase in the former predicted probability of 4.3 percentage points. Taken together, these results suggest that the increase of transfers due to positive shocks in mineral prices have differential effects on corruption depending on the magnitude of the shock in local government revenues. JEL: Q3, H3, C

Why do Mothers Breastfeed Girls Less Than Boys? Evidence and Implications for Child Health in India.” Quarterly

Abstract Breastfeeding is negatively correlated with future fertility because nursing temporarily reduces fecundity and because mothers usually wean upon becoming pregnant again. We model breastfeeding under son-biased fertility preferences and show that breastfeeding duration increases with birth order, especially near target family size; is lowest for daughters and children without older brothers because their parents try again for a son; and exhibits the largest gender gap near target family size, when gender is most predictive of subsequent fertility. Data from India confirm each prediction. Moreover, child survival exhibits similar patterns, especially in settings where the alternatives to breastmilk are unsanitary

Exposing Corrupt Politicians: The Effects of Brazil's Publicly Released Audits on Electoral Outcomes

This paper examines whether access to information enhances political accountability. Based upon the results of Brazil’s recent anti-corruption program that randomly audits municipal expenditures of federally-transferred funds, it estimates the effects of the disclosure of local government corruption practices upon the re-election success of incumbent mayors. Comparing municipalities audited before and after the elections, we show that the audit policy reduced the incumbent’s likelihood of re-election by approximately 20 percent, and was more pronounced in municipalities with radio stations. These findings highlight the value of information and the role of the media in reducing informational asymmetries in the political process

Exposing Corrupt Politicians: The Effects of Brazil's Publicly Released Audits on Electoral Outcomes

This paper examines whether access to information enhances political accountability. Based upon the results of Brazil’s recent anti-corruption program that randomly audits municipal expenditures of federally-transferred funds, it estimates the effects of the disclosure of local government corruption practices upon the re-election success of incumbent mayors. Comparing municipalities audited before and after the elections, we show that the audit policy reduced the incumbent’s likelihood of re-election by approximately 20 percent, and was more pronounced in municipalities with radio stations. These findings highlight the value of information and the role of the media in reducing informational asymmetries in the political process

Savings Constraints and Microenterprise Development: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya

To what extent does the lack of access to formal …nancial services impede business growth in low-income countries? While most research on this issue has so far focused on credit market failures, this paper focuses on the role of access to formal saving services. We conducted a …eld experiment in which a randomly selected sample of self-employed individuals in rural Kenya got access to an interest-free bank account. As the bank charged substantial withdrawal fees, the de facto interest rate on the account was negative. Despite this, take-up and usage of the account was high among our sample of market vendors, primarily composed of women. Access to an account had a substantial, positive impact on levels of productive investments among market women, and, within 6 months, led to higher income levels, as proxied by expenditures. These results imply that a substantial fraction of women entrepreneurs have di ¢ culty saving and investing as much as they would like, and have a demand for formal saving devices –even those that o¤er negative interest rates. Our results also imply a relatively high upper bound on the rate of return to capital for the women in our sample, estimated at 5.5 % per month at the median. Note that these results do not necessarily imply gender di¤erences: our sample of male entrepreneurs is too small to generate results for that group

Rescue screens with secreted proteins reveal compensatory potential of receptor tyrosine kinases in driving cancer growth

Oncogenic alterations of kinases are a frequent cause of cancer growth. Accordingly, inhibition of such “driver” kinases is a clinically proven anti-cancer therapeutic approach. While initial responses to kinase inhibitors can be significant, the emergence of resistance often limits therapeutic benefit. Resistance mechanisms that have been discovered in relapse samples include mutations in the drug target or activation of alternative pathways to bypass dependence on the original target. In the case of kinases, bypass can occur through activation of an alternative growth-promoting kinase that compensates for inhibition of the original driver kinase. Several known oncogenic kinases belong to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK). Besides genetic alterations like mutation, gene amplification, or translocation, RTK activation also occurs by stimulation with its cognate ligands. Such RTK activation can be autocrine or paracrine, depending on whether the ligands are produced by the tumors themselves or originate from surrounding cells in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we systematically assessed the potential of secreted proteins to induce resistance to kinase inhibitors in cellular screens. To this end a cDNA library encoding 3482 secreted proteins was transfected into a producer cell line. Supernatants were then transferred to several RTK-dependent cancer cell lines that were concomitantly treated with a corresponding kinase inhibitor in order to determine which supernatants could prevent growth inhibition. Using cancer cells originally dependent on either MET, FGFR2, or FGFR3, we observed a bypass of dependence through ligand-mediated activation of alternative RTKs. Our findings indicate a broad and versatile potential for RTKs from the HER and FGFR families as well as MET to compensate for loss of each other. We further provide evidence that combined inhibition of simultaneously active RTKs can lead to added anti-cancer effect