Kaboski and Townsend use a structural model to understand, predict, and evaluate the impact of an exogenous microcredit intervention program, the Thai Million Baht Village Fund. They model household decisions in the face of borrowing constraints, income uncertainty, and high-yield indivisible investment...

Townsend and Pawasutipaisit use detailed income, balance sheet, and cash flow statements constructed for households in a long monthly panel in an emerging market economy, as well as contributions in economic theory, to document and better understand the factors underlying success in achieving upward...

This investigation proposes a conceptual framework for measurement necessary for an analysis of household finance and economic development. Samphantharak and Townsend build on and, where appropriate, modify corporate financial accounts to create balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash...

Small and informal firms account for a large share of employment in developing countries. The rapid expansion of microfinance services is based on the belief that these firms have productive investment opportunities and can enjoy high returns to capital if given the opportunity. However, measuring the...

Is the vast army of the self-employed in low income countries a source of employment generation? This paper uses data from surveys in Sri Lanka to compare the characteristics of own account workers (non-employers) with wage workers and with owners of larger firms. The authors use a rich set of measures...

In this paper, Duflo, Kremer and Robinson examine returns from fertilizer in Kenya. Agricultural economists have stressed the importance of fertilizer, yet the increases in productivity have not been measured. The authors conduct a series of demonstration plot experiments in which treatment and control...