Essays in development economics

Abstract

This thesis is motivated by research questions faced by policy makers in developing country governments and donor agencies. In particular, it deals with the appropriate measurement of foreign aid and its possibly pernicious effects in a large cross-section of countries, and explores the microeconomic effects of a distinct macroeconomic policy innovation in Vietnam. While the nature of economic research means the contributions collected here engage with specific questions, those questions interact with a wider body of literature that is relevant to the practice and theory of development policy.