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Less debt, more schooling? Evidence from cross-country micro data (2022)
Journal Article
Ferry, M., de Talancé, M., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2022). Less debt, more schooling? Evidence from cross-country micro data. Journal of Comparative Economics, 50(1), 153-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2021.07.002

Soaring levels of public debt in low-income countries are fuelling concerns about their ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals such as free access to primary education. In the late 1990s and 2000s, international financial institutions i... Read More about Less debt, more schooling? Evidence from cross-country micro data.

Aid's impact on democracy (2022)
Preprint / Working Paper
Niño-Zarazú, M., Horigoshi, A., & Gisselquist, R. M. Aid's impact on democracy. Helsinki

This paper investigates the impact of foreign aid on democratic outcomes using a panel of countries for the period between 1995 and 2018. In so doing, it speaks to a major critique of foreign aid, which is that it negatively impacts democratic govern... Read More about Aid's impact on democracy.

Voter coercion and pro-poor redistribution in rural Mexico (2021)
Preprint / Working Paper
Filipovich, D., Niño-Zarazú, M., & Santillan Hernandez, A. Voter coercion and pro-poor redistribution in rural Mexico. Helsinki

Voter coercion is a recurrent threat to pro-poor redistribution in young democracies. In this study we focus on Mexico’s paradigmatic Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) programme. We investigate whether local mayors exploited POP to coerce voters,... Read More about Voter coercion and pro-poor redistribution in rural Mexico.

The political economy of social protection adoption (2021)
Book Chapter
Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Santillán Hernández, A. (2021). The political economy of social protection adoption. In E. Schüring, & M. Loewe (Eds.), Handbook on Social Protection Systems (520-535). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109119.00067

Since the turn of the Century, social protection has expanded rapidly across the Global South. The pace by which these programmes have expanded, and the type of programmes that have been adopted, vary substantially across countries. This article has... Read More about The political economy of social protection adoption.

The intergenerational impact of house prices on education: evidence from China (2021)
Journal Article
You, J., Ding, X., Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Wang, S. (2021). The intergenerational impact of house prices on education: evidence from China. Journal of Housing Economics, 54, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhe.2021.101788

We investigate heterogeneous and nonlinear intergenerational transmission of education and the impact on this of house prices. Using the China Household Finance Survey, we construct household history of property purchases and educational investment o... Read More about The intergenerational impact of house prices on education: evidence from China.

The distributional impacts of development cooperation projects (2021)
Preprint / Working Paper
Morabito, C., Negre, M., & Niño-Zarazú, M. The distributional impacts of development cooperation projects. Paris

In 2015, world leaders committed, through the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to reduce inequalities. Accordingly, a specific Sustainable Development Goals Goal (SDG 10) has been expressly devoted to address this challenge. T... Read More about The distributional impacts of development cooperation projects.

Does aid support democracy? A systematic review of the literature (2021)
Preprint / Working Paper
Gisselquist, R. M., Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Samarin, M. Does aid support democracy? A systematic review of the literature. Helsinki

This study draws on a rigorous systematic review—to our knowledge the first in this area—to take stock of the literature on aid and democracy. It asks: Does aid—especially democracy aid—have positive impact on democracy? How? What factors most influe... Read More about Does aid support democracy? A systematic review of the literature.

Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme and the Rise of Social Assistance in Latin America (2020)
Book Chapter
Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2020). Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme and the Rise of Social Assistance in Latin America. In P. Anand, S. Fennell, & F. Comim (Eds.), Handbook of BRICS and Emerging Economies (547-572). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198827535.003.0020

This chapter provides an analysis of the political and economic conditions under which Mexico’s Progresa (later renamed as Oportunidades, and more recently as Prospera) was introduced to prelude the rise of social assistance in Latin America. The cha... Read More about Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme and the Rise of Social Assistance in Latin America.

Improving Financial Inclusion through the Delivery of Cash Transfer Programmes: The Case of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera Programme (2020)
Journal Article
Masino, S., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2020). Improving Financial Inclusion through the Delivery of Cash Transfer Programmes: The Case of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera Programme. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(1), 151-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2018.1546845

This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) programme. The switch from cash payments to electronic payments delivered via savings acco... Read More about Improving Financial Inclusion through the Delivery of Cash Transfer Programmes: The Case of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera Programme.

Welfare and redistributive effects of social assistance in the Global South (2019)
Journal Article
Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2019). Welfare and redistributive effects of social assistance in the Global South. Population and Development Review, 45(S1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.35188/unu-wider/2019/716-3

This paper presents an analysis of the recent evolution of social assistance in the developing world, looking at its complex typological configuration, which has interlinked with, and partly reflects the complex demographic and epidemiological transi... Read More about Welfare and redistributive effects of social assistance in the Global South.

The Negotiated Politics of Social Protection in East and Southern Africa (2019)
Book Chapter
Hickey, S., Lavers, T., Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Seekings, J. (2019). The Negotiated Politics of Social Protection in East and Southern Africa. In S. Hickey, T. Lavers, M. Niño-Zarazúa, & J. Seekings (Eds.), The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa (1-41). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198850342.003.0001

Social assistance programmes proliferated and expanded across much of the global South from the mid-1990s. Within Africa there has been enormous variation in this trend: some governments expanded coverage dramatically while others resisted this. The... Read More about The Negotiated Politics of Social Protection in East and Southern Africa.

The Long(er)-Term Impacts of Chile Solidario on Human Capital and Labor Income (2019)
Journal Article
Neidhöfer, G., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2019). The Long(er)-Term Impacts of Chile Solidario on Human Capital and Labor Income. Population and Development Review, 45(S1), 209-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12274

This paper examines Chile Solidario, a social protection programme that provides poor households in Chile with preferential access to a conditional cash transfer programme designed to facilitate investments in children’s health and education. We asse... Read More about The Long(er)-Term Impacts of Chile Solidario on Human Capital and Labor Income.

Global inequality: How large is the effect of top incomes? (2019)
Journal Article
Jordá, V., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2019). Global inequality: How large is the effect of top incomes?. World Development, 123, Article 104593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.06.017

Despite the growing interest in global inequality, assessing inequality trends is a major challenge because individual data on income or consumption is not often available. Nevertheless, the periodic release of certain summary statistics of the incom... Read More about Global inequality: How large is the effect of top incomes?.

The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa (2019)
Book
Hickey, S., Lavers, T., Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Seekings, J. (Eds.). (2019). The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198850342.001.0001

The notion that social protection should be a key strategy for reducing poverty in developing countries has now been mainstreamed within international development policy and practice. Promoted as an integral dimension of the post-Washington Consensus... Read More about The Politics of Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Poverty dynamics and graduation from conditional cash transfers: a transition model for Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera program (2018)
Journal Article
Villa, J. M., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2018). Poverty dynamics and graduation from conditional cash transfers: a transition model for Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera program. Journal of Economic Inequality, 17(2), 219-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-018-9399-5

The effects of conditional cash transfers (CCTs) on poverty and well-being have been widely studied. However, there is limited knowledge on how a CCT should respond to the dynamics of poverty. How should program administrators treat beneficiaries tha... Read More about Poverty dynamics and graduation from conditional cash transfers: a transition model for Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera program.

How polarized is the global income distribution? (2018)
Journal Article
Roope, L., Niño-Zarazúa, M., & Tarp, F. (2018). How polarized is the global income distribution?. Economics Letters, 167, 86-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.03.013

The interest in the level of global inequality has surged in recent years. This paper complements existing estimates of global inequality by providing the first estimates of the level of bipolarization of the global income distribution. During 1975–2... Read More about How polarized is the global income distribution?.