This article evaluates a body of recent work that uses field and natural experiments to
answer the question of whether informed voters can enforce better governance. A common …

Institutions are a key determinant of economic growth, but the critical junctures in which
institutions can change are not precisely defined. For example, such junctures are often …

In the run-up to elections in a large Indian city, residents in a random sample of slums
received newspapers containing report cards on politicians. The report card for a jurisdiction …

This is a comprehensive introduction to research design for university students at all levels
across the whole range of political science, including international relations and public …

We formalize the optimal design of experiments when there is interference between units,
that is, an individual's outcome depends on the outcomes of others in her group. We focus …

This paper studies the electoral effects of town hall meetings based on programmatic,
nonclientelist platforms. The experiment involves the cooperation of leading candidates in a …

Elections are now common in low‐income societies. However, they are frequently flawed.
We investigate a Nigerian election marred by violence. We designed and conducted a …

I argue that if citizens systematically underestimate what their government can and should
do for them, then they will hold politicians to a lower standard and sanction poor performers …

African elections often reveal low levels of political accountability. We assess different forms
of voter education during an election in Mozambique. Three interventions providing …

In India, there persists a striking gender gap in political participation. Women's political
participation is important both on normative grounds of inclusion and because when women …