My research focuses on public goods. I ask how public goods shape human development and societies and how communities and organizations can best provide public goods. My research projects also create public goods for researchers and the public. 

Working Papers

Bridges Revise and resubmit at the Review of Economic Studies

Time is not money: an experiment with community contribution requirements in cash and labour with Serena Cocciolo, Selene Ghisolfi, and Md. Ahasan Habib Revise and resubmit at AEJ Applied 

Market access and agricultural development: Evidence from remotely-sensed land use patterns at river crossings in Mozambique (with Tillmann von Carnap, Paul Christian, and Astrid Zwager)

When does community participation in decision-making improve outcomes? Evidence from a field experiment in Bangladesh with Md. Ahasan Habib and Malgosia Madajewicz

Group size and collective action: Evidence from Bangladesh with Serena Cocciolo and Md. Ahasan Habib

Changes to household income in a Kenyan informal settlement during COVID-19 with Aaron Baum,Vera Bukachi, Pascal Kipkemboi, Allan Ouko K'oyoo, Ana Varela Varela, and Joseph Mulligan

Publications

Pathways from research to sustainable development: Insights from ten research projects in sustainability and resilience (2024) with Anna Scaini, Joe Mulligan, Stefano Manzoni et al. Ambio (Open Access)

Transparency, governance, and water and sanitation: experimental evidence from schools in rural Bangladesh (2023) with Umrbek Allakulov, Serena Cocciolo, Binayak Das, Md. Ahasan Habib, and Lovisa Rambjer. Journal of Development Economics 163 (Open Access, Special Issue on Sanitation and Development)
Supplementary Appendix. Replication Files. 

How to clean a tubewell: the effectiveness of three approaches in reducing coliform bacteria (2023) with Md. Ahasan Habib,  Serena Cocciolo, Md. Abdul Haque, Md. Mir Abu Raihan, and Prosun Bhattacharya. Science of the Total Environment 872 (Open Access)
Supplementary Appendix. Replication Files. 

Do community water sources provide safe drinking water? Evidence from a randomized experiment in rural Bangladesh  (2021) with Serena Cocciolo, Selene Ghisolfi, Md. Ahasan Habib, and S.M.A. Rashid. World Bank Economic Review 35 (4) (Open Access)
Supplementary Appendix. Replication Files. 

How does delegating decisions to communities affect the provision and use of a public service? Evidence from a field experiment in Bangladesh (2021) with Malgosia Madajewicz and Md. Ahasan Habib. Journal of Development Economics 150 (Open Access)
Supplementary Appendix.  Replication Files.  

The Lazarus Drug: the impact of antiretroviral therapy on economic growth (2020) Journal of Development Economics 143 (Open Access)
Supplementary Appendix.  Replication Files.  Video summary.  Featured in National Affairs, the IPA's weekly links, and La Liberté.

Reconciling participation with external expertise: An ‘engineer–client’ framework for participation in community-scale infrastructure projects with Joe Mulligan and Peter Guthrie (2011) Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability 164 (1)
Winner of the Institution of Civil Engineers Trevithick Prize 

Selected Work in Progress

60 years of global environmental change 1939-1999: digitization of 1.6 million historical aerial photographs with Hannah Druckenmiller, Solomon Hsiang, and Andreas Madestam, in partnership with the Bodleian Library, Oxford University and the National Centre for Aerial Photography, Edinburgh. In progress, funded by the Riksbanken Jubileumsfond, Handelsbanken förskningstiftelse and National Geographic.  Featured in The Telegraph Magazine and E&E News. 

Understanding Institutional Persistence: Exposure to Community-Driven Development and the Value of Autonomy and Democracy with Serena Cocciolo and Md. Ahasan Habib. Funded by JPAL Governance Initiative.  Accepted at the Journal of Development Economics (pre-results review). 

Trade and pollution: Evidence from India with Malin Niemi and Nicklas Nordfors

The value of disaster prevention: the desert locust with Joséphine Gantois, Anouch Missirian, Evelina Linnros, Amir Jina, Gordon McCord, and Eyal Frank

Flood resilience in slums: community-responsive adaptation in Kibera, Nairobi with Juma Benard, Vera Bukachi, Joe Mulligan, Luke Olang, and Ana Varela Varela.  Fieldwork complete, funded by the Swedish Research Council, SIDA, and Formas.  

Flood in the desert: health impacts of flood variability in the inner Niger delta, Mali with Ana Varela Varela

Participation and Sustainability with Prosun Bhattacharya, Serena Cocciolo and Md. Ahasan Habib. Data collection ongoing, funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas Future Research Leaders.

Infrastructure, path dependence, and persistence: Evidence from bridges over the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers