Grants

2022-2024: European Commission Grant to evaluate "The Impact of Large Public Grants on Industrial R&D" (Co-PI)

The general aim of the overarching project is to improve the effectiveness of smart specialisation investments in the EU. with this specific grant, we aim at designing and implementing an RCT to study the impact of large public grants for R&D provided by the Extremadura Government in Spain, on different margins of firm performance. This project is carried out in collaboration with The European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG-REGIO) and the World Bank Group's Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice (FCI).

2022-2026:  NWO Open Competition Grant SSH 2021 "Humanitarian Aid and Refugee Self-Reliance" (Co-I)

One of the main goals of humanitarian aid is to help refugees regain control of their own lives as quickly as possible. This is challenging because trauma, poverty, and stress lower ambitions as well as the ability to implement intended plans. Through an RCT in Ugandan refugee camps, this grant investigates how to best increase the effectiveness of financial support in promoting long-term self-reliance.  This project is joint work with Daan van Soest (PI - Tilburg) and Till Wicker (PhD student - Tilburg).  Our partner institution is DRC. 

2020-2021: IGC-LSE and DFID Grant on "The Role of Incentives in Bureaucracies" (Co-PI)

This grant was commissioned by the Indian Government. The aim was to study innovative ways to improve the efficiency of the delivery of public goods by bureaucracies, with emphasis in India. The project was joint work with Anandi Mani (Oxford) and Sayantan Ghosal (Glasgow) as Co-PIs and Anustubh Agnihotri (Berkeley) and Girija Bahety (Tufs) as Research Associates.

2018-2021: ESRC-DFID Grant on “SDMC Empowerment and School Accountability in India” (Co-I)

This grant funded the development of a theoretical model and the implementation of an RCT in India to evaluate innovative ways to empower School Development Management Committees (SDMCs) to make public schools more accountable, specially towards marginalised groups. Our partner institution in India is IFMR-LEAD. The project is joint work with Sayantan Ghosal (Glasgow), Sanchari Roy (Kings College), Michele Schweisfurth (Glasgow), Seemanti Ghosh (IGL) and Theo Koutmeridis (Glasgow). 

2013-2018: DFID Grant on “Barriers to SME Growth in Low Income Countries” (Co-PI)

This grant funded coordinated studies in 10 countries in Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana) and Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh) to identify barriers to SME growth and to measure the impact of financial access on SMEs and macroeconomic performance. In this research, we utilize structural models, enterprise surveys and field experiments (in the form of RCTs). The project was joint work with Thorsten Beck (EUI), Burak Uras (Tilburg), Haki Pamuk (Wageningen), Daan van Soest (Tilburg) and Julius Ruschenpohler (Oxford). Our partner institutions were FSDs Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the World Bank Research Group, J-PAL SEA, IPA Ghana and NBSSI, Ghana, among others.

2012-2013: CAGE-Warwick Grant on “Socio-economic Status and Giving”  (PI)

This grant funded a series of laboratory experiments in Bogota to uncover the relationship between generosity and wealth. This project was joint work with Mariana Blanco (U. Rosario). 

2008-2010: ESRC-DFID Grant on “Chronic Poverty and Aspiration Failures” (Co-I)

This grant funded the development of a theoretical model to study the relationship between poverty and aspirations. This was joint work with Sayantan Ghosal (PI - Glasgow) and Anandi Mani (Co-I - Oxford).