Multi-country research on the effects of public works programs (PWPs) on economic welfare and subjective wellbeing of the poor

Public works programs (PWPs) provide temporary opportunities for the poor and unemployed individuals to work on labor-intensive projects, such as the development and maintenance of local infrastructure in exchange for low pay. Beyond the immediate goals of poverty relief and protection against income fluctuations, PWPs have also been hypothesized to have non-material effects such as reducing conflict/anti-social behaviors and promoting social cohesion and increasing subjective well-being, among other outcomes.

My work uses RCT methods across multiple countries to investigate these claims. Specifically, I’ve led 6 RCTs of PWPs in 4 countries (Comoros, DRC, Egypt, and Tunisia). Two key results stand out. First, overall PWPs have positive, short-term effects on economic welfare and labor market outcomes, but the evidence on whether such effects persist in the long run is scant. Second, the evidence on many non-material outcomes such as subjective wellbeing, migration and social cohesion pro-social behaviors or social cohesion is mixed at best.

Ongoing and further research focuses on 3 sets of issues. First, I’m investigating long-run impacts of PWPs, in addition to testing whether add-on interventions such as unconditional cash grant programs or incentivized savings can promote entrepreneurship and sustained livelihoods of beneficiaries. Second, I’m leveraging the rich and fine-grained data to measure more precisely the effects of PWPs on select non-material outcomes, migration, especially subjective well-being and child labor. I’m leveraging new and geo-coded data on crime, conflict and violence from third-party sources such as ACLED and/or SPEED to further ascertain the links (if any) between unemployment/employment and violence.

2. Access relevant publications, working papers and policy reports