Three Essays In Development Economics

Abstract

Although the world has witnessed a remarkable reduction in global poverty, vexing challenges persist. Whereas globally poor individuals of the previous generation overwhelmingly lived in poor countries, today the global poor are largely split between two groups: (i) poor, fragile, and conflict-riddled countries or (ii) fast-growing but increasingly economically unequal countries. Answers to questions about what can be done to promote inclusive economic development and reduce poverty will differ critically across these contexts. My research aims to make valuable contributions toward answering important contextualized questions by evaluating policies, testing new theories, and credibly using quantitative data.