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Project
Optimising labour sourcing for technology workers in small businesses
This project aims to find evidence on what will help firms source and retain high-quality workers. In partnership with Shortlist, an innovative hiring platform for firms, mainly in high-growth, technology-related sectors, the project will use existing and new data on the market to identify constraints to sourcing high-quality and well-matched workers. The project will...
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Project
The impact of psychotherapy on business performance of female-led firms
The research measures the impact of psychotherapy on the performance of female-led Nigerian firms by exposing subjects to a virtual reality cognitive behaviour therapy using a randomised controlled trial in partnership with Impact Hub Lagos. The results will help them address concerns regarding the effectiveness of non-cognitive skills training within their venture...
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Project
Digital market linkages: Going global with home-based work
Kaarvan Crafts has pioneered a skills training and women economic empowerment programme in Pakistan. This project explores how female entrepreneurs can overcome weak local demand in the presence of mobility constraints by using randomised controlled trials to measure the impact of skills training and market linkage programmes and inform how to integrate at-scale effective...
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Project
Climate finance opportunities and challenges in Pakistan
To date, Pakistan’s access to international climate finance flows has been very limited. This project provides insights into the thinking of senior policymakers at the Ministry of Finance as they consider climate finance opportunities for Pakistan, and seeks to contribute to building technical expertise within the Ministry in order to identify and mobilise financing from...
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Project
Kamyab Pakistan Programme: Making it green and gender-inclusive
The Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) was launched by the Prime Minister on October 4 2021 to address low-income households’ vulnerability to income shocks. Under KPP, the government will provide subsidised, interest-free microloans to 3.7 million families over a period of five years to support growth of small firms and farms. The KPP aims to reduce poverty and transition...
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Project
Gender discrimination in access to capital: Experimental evidence from Ethiopian SBGs
Gender discrimination against entrepreneurs may drive gender gaps in access to capital and subsequently reduce the performance of female-owned businesses. This raises concerns about gender equity, but also growth: by misallocating capital, discrimination can reduce the returns to capital and thereby reduce productivity and economic growth. Using a randomized experiment, the...
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Project
Hiring frictions and growth among small firms: Evidence from an internet platform-based experiment
This project uses randomisation of access to an online job portal for firms seeking entry-level workers in Bangalore, India to test whether frictions in the labour recruitment process constrain the growth and productivity of small and growing firms. Specifically, the experiment will test whether online portals can do screening and background verifications to improve...
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Project
Accelerating investment into women-led start-ups
This research will examine whether two interventions affect investor behaviour regarding women-led firms: the use of revenue sharing investment models and mindset training around gender bias. The initial stage will establish a basis for understanding the potential mechanisms through which investment structures and mindset training could affect investor activity, with an...
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Project
Targeting consulting services to high-growth entrepreneurs
This pilot project will examine entrepreneur selection and matching for training programs as well as the ultimate impact of matching strategies on entrepreneur outcomes. Specifically, the researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of various marketing strategies in selecting entrepreneurs that have high potential for growth and improving the effectiveness of the training...
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Project
What do high-growth entrepreneurs in Africa want?
This project will take advantage of a large dataset from VC4Africa containing information on start-ups, investors, and entrepreneur support organisations in Africa. The researchers will build this dataset out further with new survey data on the decision-making processes of entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to serve as the basis for planned field experiments to...
Project
Female politicians and economic growth: Evidence from state elections in India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7YtrR2yjU&feature=emb_logo The project studies close elections between men and women for election to India's state legislative assemblies. It finds significantly higher growth in economic activity in constituencies that elect women. Given average GDP growth in India of about 7% per year (during the study period), the researchers...