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David McKenzie

David McKenzie

@dmckenzie.bsky.social

5.3K followers 300 following 340 posts

Lead Economist at the World Bank’s Development Research Group
Development Impact blogger

https://sites.google.com/site/decrgdmckenzie/

David McKenzie is a lead economist at the World Bank's Development Research Group, Finance and Private Sector Development Unit in Washington, D.C. His research topics include migration, microenterprises, and methodology for use with developing country data. .. more

Economics 43%

Sociology 18%

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David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 15

I started a starter pack for World Bank researchers. Let me know if I am missing you go.bsky.app/BWMsQG6

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 6d

The last in our JMP blog series has Guilio Schinaia with a 2-stage clustered RCT to see how market advisory information affects decisions of cashew farmers in Guinea-Bissau. Information increases farmer revenue, as they make more transactions & get better prices
blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Should I wait or should I sell? The impact of market information and commercialization advice on farmers’ sales decisions. Guest post by Guilio Schinaia

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 7d

In our penultimate JMP blog, @ridwanhossain.bsky.social looks at how pecuniary & non-pecuniary rewards affect exam performance. All rewards boosted scores, with $ biggest. Results suggest low-stakes tests underestimate true learning. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Is the learning crisis partly a motivation crisis? Guest post by Ridwan Hossain.

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Dani Rodrik, Jonathan Portes, David McKenzie , and 7 more Dani Rodrik, Jonathan Portes, David McKenzie, Garry Peterson, Steve Peers, Philip N. Cohen, David K. Evans, Samuel Bentolila, Maria Abreu, Clark Gray

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 7d

The International Monetary Fund asked me to review the literature on migration economics to draw lessons for low-income countries.

In a new @iza.org paper, I argue that policy for the 21st century must discard four outdated ideas.

www.iza.org/publications...

🧵 thread—>

1. Less skilled labor is abundant.
2. Skilled emigration is a brain drain.
3. Development substitutes for migration.
4. Migration substitutes for failing development, but doesn't cause development.

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 8d

In today's JMP blog, how does social media affect political conflict? Alexander Fertig uses an event study in Myanmar to show when internet freedoms were eroded, the relationship between access & political protest disappeared. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Technology of liberation or control? The political impacts of social media. Guest post by Alexander Fertig

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by David McKenzie, Gema Zamarro

John Cawley @johncawley.bsky.social · 9d

One last (sobering) update on the #EconJobMarket before the winter holidays; data as of 2025-12-14.
In terms of # of job listings on Job Openings for Economists (JOE), this is the worst job mkt in recent yrs for PhD Economists. # jobs down 20% from last yr, even 18.9% lower than during COVID (2020).

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 9d

In today's JMP blog, Pallavi Prabhakar uses an RCT to look at the impact of India's aspirational district program. Learning that one’s district performs worse than its peers increased individual & collective citizen participation blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Transparency without reach? Lessons from India’s largest transparency initiative. Guest post by Pallavi Prabhakar

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by David K. Evans

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 10d

In today's JMP blog, Shreya Tandon documents that married women often work in the same garment firm in India as their husband. 3 field experiments explore why - evidence seems to be to protect women from risk of unsuitable workplaces blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Navigating risky jobs: Why married couples choose the same employer in urban India. Guest post by Shreya Tandon

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Berk Özler

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 13d

In today's JMP blog, Fatima Aqeel uses a reform in Pakistan that lifted a cap on the share of women in medical schools to show how more women in medicine changes medical research. Result was more work on female-focused health, from both women and men blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

With women in medicine, medical research starts asking different questions. Guest post by Fatima Aqeel

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 14d

In today's JMP blog, @jiaweilyu.bsky.social studies impact of affirmative action for men in China's civil service. Women outperform men in the entry exam, so quotas were introduced to balance gender. Fewer women were hired, quality declined, & tax collected fell. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

When gender quotas protect the powerful: Lessons from China’s civil service. Guest post by Jiawei Lyu

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Dietmar Fehr

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 15d

In today's JMP blog, Chiman Cheung looks at how local leader incentives & public vs leader only info affect collective action against environmental threats with an experiment around information on the risks of mercury from artisanal mining of gold in Ghana blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Consensus or polarization in environmental action? How local leader incentives shape the power of information. Guest post by Chiman Cheung

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 16d

In today's JMP blog, @krajah123.bsky.social conducts experiments in India to show how spousal jealousy affects female labor force participation: women are more likely to take up work in women-only office & greater impacts for those with more jealous husbands blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

When spousal jealousy keeps women out of work

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 17d

In today's JMP blog, @pmasae.bsky.social looks at what happens to Ugandan dairy farmers when they start getting digital receipts for milk deliveries. Receipts discipline transporters and milk quality improves, while acting as behavioral nudge for self-deliverers blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Building Trust and Transparency via Text Message: How Digital Receipts Change Smallholder Markets. Guest post by Pedro Magaña Sáenz

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 18d

I missed us posting a JMP blog last week by Sophie Nottmeyer which looks at how a GPS tracking app for tractors allows owners to monitor better, expanding the distance they rent at, helping farmers mechanize and increase productivity. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Following the tracks: How digital monitoring expands access to mechanization in agriculture. Guest post by Sophie Nottmeyer

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by David McKenzie

Econ That Matters @econthatmatters.bsky.social · 19d

To kick things off for our 2025 Job Market Paper series, Ferran Vega-Carol writes about his JMP about Solar Electrification in Rural Myanmar.

Check it out: www.econthatmatters.com/2025/12/how-...

#JMP #Econsky #ETRM

How Do Opportunities Shape Aspirational Responses?

Experimental Evidence from Solar Electrification in Rural Myanmar We are excited to launch our Job Market Paper Series blog for 2025-2026, beginning with our very first blog post by Ferran Vega-Car…

www.econthatmatters.com

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 21d

In today's JMP, Molly Doruska looks at how to protect firms in Dakar from flooding. Individual subsidies had negative spillovers on other firms as water diverted, but combining subsidies with community meeting reduced flood losses without negative spillovers blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Do uncoordinated flood loss mitigation investments produce spillovers? Guest post by Molly Doruska

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 22d

In today's JMP, @sanjanagh1.bsky.social looks at how changes in who is in power shapes regulatory discretion over pollution enforcement in the sugar industry. The same regulatory capacity leads to very different outcomes depending on who is in power.
blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Discretion and Capture: How Politics Shapes Pollution Enforcement in India. Guest post by Sanjana Ghosh

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 23d

Air pollution from crops burning is a huge problem in India. Today's JMP blog by Piyush Gandhi shows how subsidizing & training farmers to take-up a new early maturity seed has big benefits in reducing crop burning and pollution. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Can Better Seeds Clear the Air? How India Can Fight Pollution Through Smarter Farming

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 24d

Mexico City is sinking. Today's JMP blog by Lucy Hackett looks at how the housing market is responding. Sinking lowers prices. Information frictions lead to an oversupply of houses in risky places, and prices don't predict the likelihood of future sinking. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Beyond sinking sand: How housing markets respond to an environmental hazard in Mexico City

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · 25d

Should policy actors deliberately expose people to diverse viewpoints or might backlash worsen divisions? This JMP blog by Nilmini Herath provides theory on how to do social network interventions depending on how people aggregate opinions & on network structure blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

A framework for social network interventions in contentious and conflictual settings. Guest post by Nilmini Herath

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Cátia Batista

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 25

In today's JMP blog, @hardiahmed.bsky.social uses DiD to show how sharia law reform in Northern Nigeria affected child health and fertility, and how this varies with enforcement intensity. Weak enforcement of child protection laws particularly harmed non-muslims blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Enforcement Matters: How Nigeria’s Sharia Reform Created Winners and Losers: Guest Post by Hardi Ahmed

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Brian A. Nosek, David McKenzie , and 8 more Michael Barnett, Brian A. Nosek, David McKenzie, Stefano DellaVigna, Caroline Krafft, Samuel Bentolila, Jonathan Birch, Simon Wiederhold, Georg Weizsäcker, Tom Louwerse, Tom Chevalier

Eva Vivalt @evavivalt.bsky.social · Nov 24

🚨 New working paper!

How well do people predict the results of studies?

@sdellavi.bsky.social and I leverage data from the first 100 studies to have been posted on the SSPP, containing 1,482 key questions, on which over 50,000 forecasts were placed. Some surprising results below.... 🧵👇

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 24

In today's JMP blog, @adautheville.bsky.social finds that many Tanzanian microentrepreneurs are actively searching for jobs while running their businesses, which is correlated with lower profits and less investment. An information intervention has limited effect
blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Planning for Which Future? Searching for Jobs While Running a Business: Guest post by Adrien Dautheville

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by David K. Evans

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 21

In today's JMP blog, @economiyaki.bsky.social shows how even 3 hours/day of kindergarten in Indonesia is enough to increase women's employment (by 13 p.p.) & does not crowd out care offered by relatives blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Scaling short days: Even limited childcare can transform family labor. Guest post by Dyah Pritadrajati

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 20

How do men's expectations about how a job will affect their wife's share of consumption affect female labor force participation? Today's JMP blog by @andreasmurra.bsky.social conducts an experiment in India to show women's work take-up depends on husbands beliefs blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Expecting the worst: Household bargaining and the suppression of women’s work in India. Guest blog by Andrea Smurra

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 19

In Nigeria, 30% of workers experience delays receiving their wages. In today's JMP, Daniel Sonnenstuhl runs an RCT and find workers work harder when faced by delayed pay - but making pay reliable increases willingness to accept job offers blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Why would employees work harder when firms don’t pay their wages? Guest blog by Daniel Sonnenstuhl

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Valerie Mueller, Climent Quintana‐Domeque, Todd Pugatch

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 18

Reminder, last couple of weeks to get your papers in for a special issue of the WBER on migration and development.

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 18

In today's JMP, @shreyasarkar.bsky.social asks whether it is worthwhile for firms to subsidize worker-owned capital. An experiment subsidizing down payments on scooters to allow mobile salon gig workers to travel faster/further says yes: gains for worker & firm blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Should firms subsidize worker-owned capital? Experimental evidence from India's platform Economy. Guest post by Shreya Sarkar

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 17

Today's JMP features @akhila-kovvuri.bsky.social's work which shows how the extension of the metro system in Delhi generated new jobs around transit stations. Using staggered DiD, she shows consumer-focused firms move in, with new jobs. Large gain for women. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

What if the train brought the job to you? How public transit moves opportunity closer—and changes who gets hired: Guest post by Akhila Kovvuri

blogs.worldbank.org

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 14

In today's JMP, @christinasarah.bsky.social tests an information intervention to boost organ donation in Tunisia. The work shows the role of building trust in medical institutions, and the importance of considering family and peer dynamics in this decision. blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Fostering Trust to Save Lives: Evidence from Organ Donation in Tunisia: Guest post by Christina Sarah Hauser

blogs.worldbank.org

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 13

In today's JMP, @rebeccawurx.bsky.social shows how misbeliefs about whether offering a low wage is a signal of low quality leads new freelancers to not try to enter with low wage offers - as well as how misbeliefs about own performance affect this choice blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Lower Prices, Lower Chances? How Misbeliefs Keep Freelancers Out of Online Jobs: Guest Post by Ruoxuan (Rebecca) Wu

blogs.worldbank.org