vlog

Delivery worker wearing a medical mask and carrying packages.
Feature: The Impact of State Paid Sick Leave Laws on Service Workers

Daniel Schneider finds that state paid sick leave laws increased service workers’ access to paid sick leave and reduced the share of service workers who worked while sick.

A family with a father, mother, and two small children walking on a dirt path.
Feature: Connecting Absolute and Relative Intergenerational Mobility

Deirdre Bloome offers two frameworks for understanding the relationship between types of intergenerational mobility, or whether people are socioeconomically better off than their parents.

Two women in rural India dressed colorfully and carrying baskets on their heads.
Feature: Studying a Government Program to Support Women’s Self-Help Groups

Michael Walton explores the interactions between state and society in rural India within a major community-based development program, finding two major tensions.

A network of computer motherboards and other parts assembled to look like a miniature city.
Feature: The Data-Informed City

Jorrit de Jong presents a comprehensive framework for how cities can use data to address problems more effectively, efficiently, equitably, and with better accountability.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

Seeing like a State or Seeing the State? A Qualitative Study of a Government Program to Support Women’s Self-Help Groups in Madhya Pradesh, India

Bhanjdeo, Arundhita, Nivedita Narain, Surili Sheth, and Michael Walton. "Seeing like a State or Seeing the State? A Qualitative Study of a Government Program to Support Women’s Self-Help Groups in Madhya Pradesh, India." RWP25-002, June 2025.

Can Chile Escape an Inequality Trap? …And Why It Matters for Long-Term Development and Growth

Lecaros, Ignacia, Daniela Paz Cruzat, Ricardo Pommer Muñoz, Pablo Tillan, and Michael Walton. "Can Chile Escape an Inequality Trap? …And Why It Matters for Long-Term Development and Growth." RWP24-008, November 2024.

From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application

Banerjee, Abhijit, Rukmini Banerji, James Berry, Esther Duflo, Harini Kannan, Shobhini Mukerji, Marc Shotland, and Michael Walton. "From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application." vlog Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP16-057, September 2016.

Mainstreaming an Effective Intervention:
Evidence from Randomized Evaluations
of “Teaching at the Right Level” in India

Banerjee, Abhijit, Rukmini Banerji, James Berry, Esther Duflo, Harini Kannan, Shobhini Mukerji, Marc Shotland, and Michael Walton. "Mainstreaming an Effective Intervention: Evidence from Randomized Evaluations of “Teaching at the Right Level” in India." vlog Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP16-043, August 2016.

Civil Society, Public Action and Accountability in Africa

Devarajan, Shantayanan, Stuti Khemani, and Michael Walton. "Civil Society, Public Action and Accountability in Africa." vlog Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP11-036, September 2011.

Equity, Efficient and Inequality Traps: A Research Agenda.

Bourguignon, François, Francisco H.G. Ferreira, and Michael Walton. "Equity, Efficient and Inequality Traps: A Research Agenda." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP06-025, June 2006.