Thomas Bossuroy

• World Bank

Poverty is multidimensional, associated not only with a lack of financial resources, but also often social-psychological constraints, such as diminished agency and aspirations. Through a series of field experiments, this paper assesses the causal impacts of culturally wise interventions designed to build women’s agency on poverty reduction efforts...

We examine the impact of biometric monitoring devices placed in tuberculosis treatment centers in Indian slums. The devices record health worker attendance and patient visits. Combining survey data, random center visits, and hospital registers, we find that patients at biometric-equipped centers are 25 percent less likely to interrupt treatment, re...

Many policies attempt to help extremely poor households build sustainable sources of income. Although economic interventions have predominated historically1,2, psychosocial support has attracted substantial interest3–5, particularly for its potential cost-effectiveness. Recent evidence has shown that multi-faceted ‘graduation’ programmes can succee...

Background Improving patients’ tuberculosis (TB) knowledge is a salient component of TB control strategies. Patient knowledge of TB may encourage infection prevention behaviors and improve treatment adherence. The purpose of this study is to examine how TB knowledge and infection prevention behaviors change over the course of treatment. Methods A...

Patient questionnaire. Full questionnaire administered to patients. (PDF)

In ‘Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance,’ Glenn Harrison develops a criticism of randomized field experiments and denounces ‘intolerance’ for lab experiments and a ‘disconnect from theory.’ We argue that (i) lab experiments and RCTs are based on different methodological approaches and therefore fulfill different scientific objectives;...

This paper conceptualizes intergenerational occupational mobility between the farm and non-farm sectors in five African countries, measures it using nationally representative household survey data, and analyzes its determinants through a comparative method based on pooled logit regressions. We first analyze intergenerational gross mobility. Until t...

Has affirmative action policy in India reduced inter-caste discrimination? Using an experiment in which we measure actual discrimination, we answer this question using a sample of 350 participants from Tamil Nadu, India. We find that social mobility stemming from affirmative action has led to reduced discrimination of members of the Scheduled Caste...

This paper examines the individual determinants of ethnic identification using large sample surveys (about 30,000 respondents) representative of seven capitals of West-African countries. A small model that relates ethnic identification to an investment in ethnic capital suggests that individuals initially deprived of social or human capital resort...

Is ethnicity the critical determinant of election results in Africa? We investigate this question empirically on the 2004 presidential poll in Ghana. We use variables from several data sources matched at the district level, and perform econometric analysis on the turnout rate and party vote shares, and on their evolution between two similar polls....

Quel est le degré de fluidité des sociétés africaines ? Cet article mobilise des enquêtes nationalement représentatives à larges échantillons pour établir une première mesure comparative du niveau et des caractéristiques de la mobilité sociale des hommes dans cinq pays d'Afrique Sub-Saharienne. Les mobilités intergénérationnelle ainsi qu'intra-géné...

Ethnic heterogeneity is a much commented feature of social structures in African countries. It is commonly viewed as a hindrance to development. But the impact it may have on socioeconomic or political levels depends on how far individuals consider ethnicity as a predominant component of their identity. We perform an empirical investigation on the...

Ethnic diversity is a key parameter of social structures in African countries. However, its economic, political and social consequences are significant only when Africans claim ethnicity as a key dimension of their identity. Our empirical study reviews factors underlying the importance of ethnicity in the identity structure of individuals in Sub-Sa...

This paper sets down the first comparative measurement of the extent and features of the intergenerational mobility of men in five countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Two former British colonies, Ghana and Uganda, stand out with the highest level of intergenerational fluidity. Two former French Western colonies, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, come next, an...

Une exploitation nouvelle d’enquêtes à large échantillon concernant cinq pays d’Afrique subsaharienne permet pour la première fois de mesurer l’inégalité des chances en Afrique, à côté des inégalités de ressources et de conditions de vie. Nous confirmons l’existence d’inégalités prononcées au sein des pays de cette région, mais nous révélons aussi...

A new analysis of large-sample surveys in five comparable Sub-Saharan African countries allows measuring for the first time inequality of opportunity in Africa, aside inequality of resources and of living standards. We confirm the prevalence of high levels of inequality among the region’s countries. Yet we also find considerable differences in the...

When do individuals in ethnically divided societies discriminate? We find evidence of caste-based discrimination in interpersonal financial transfers using a variant of the dictator game conducted in India in the summer of 201'3 We further find that shared identity on other social cleavages (religion, neighborhood and level of education), what we r...

Why do people of a common ethnic group discriminate differently against out-groups? Inter-ethnic engagement offers one explanation. Varshney differentiates between two classes of inter-ethnic relationships, associational and quotidian (everyday) and finds that only the former decreases risks of violence. These forms of interaction differ both in th...

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