Economic Affairs
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We conduct a field experiment in which we offer credit and saving contracts to the same pool of Pakistani microfinance clients. Additional treatments test ex-ante demand for soft commitment (in the form of reminders, either to respondents or to their families), hard commitment (in the form of a penalty for missing an installment), and flexibility (an option to postpone an installment) to save or pay loan installments on time. We find substantial demand for fixed repayment contracts in both the credit and savings domains in ways that imply that respondents value the commitment required. While we find little or no average demand for additional contractual features, we nonetheless observe that different combinations of contractual add-ons are preferred depending on the respondent’s level of financial discipline. Respondents with high financial discipline prefer flexibility in credit contracts when combined with reminders to self, while those with low discipline value penalties in savings contracts only when paired with reminders. Our results imply that, for the average microfinance client, demand for commitment is met through the regular payment schedule built into standard microcredit or commitment savings contracts. However, combining penalties or flexibility with reminders may appeal to certain subsets of clients.

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The Economic Journal
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Marcel Fafchamps
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Issue 664
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Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB
Faculty Director, Stanford King Center on Global Development
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Katherine Casey is Professor of Political Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Faculty Director of the King Center on Global Development. Her research explores the interactions between economic and political forces in developing countries, with particular interest in the role of information in enhancing political accountability and the influence of foreign aid on economic development. Her work has appeared in the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, and Quarterly Journal of Economics, among others. 

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The event will be webcast live from this page.

In this online event, set for November 19, 6:30-7:30 am US PT, the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) and the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics are releasing a new Big Data China feature that reviews recent literature evaluating the successes and failures of industrial policy in China and the conditions that shaped policy outcomes.

Trustee Chair Deputy Director Ilaria Mazzocco will moderate a discussion among experts on industrial policy in China today and its implications for the Chinese economy, global trade, and how policymakers in other countries should respond. Panelists will include Lee Branstetter (Carnegie Mellon University), Panle Jia Barwick (UW-Madison), Chloé Papazian (OECD), and Gerard DiPippo (Bloomberg Economics).  

FEATURING

Panle Jia Barwick
Todd E. and Elizabeth H. Warnock Distinguished Chair and Professor, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ilaria Mazzocco
Senior Fellow, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics
Lee Branstetter
James Walton Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University
Gerard DiPippo
Senior Geo-Economics Analyst, Bloomberg Economics
Chloé Papazian
Trade Policy Analyst, Trade and Agriculture Directorate, OECD
 

EVENT PARTNERS
 

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Virtual Livestream 

Panle Jia Barwick
Lee Branstetter
Gerard DiPippo
Ilaria Mazzocco
Chloé Papazian
Panel Discussions
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Despite the great progress made in Arab-Israeli rapprochement over the past several decades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears as intractable today as it has ever been. Why has this conflict proved so difficult to resolve? Why have all attempts at a final peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians failed since the launch of the Oslo Peace Process in the early 1990's? And what can be learned from this history of failure about the prospects of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Join Amichai Magen in conversation with Azar Gat.

Read the essay here.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Professor Azar Gat is the Ezer Weitzman Chair of National Security and Head of the International and Executive MA Programs in Security and Diplomacy in the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University. He is also Academic Advisor to the Executive Director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel-Aviv. Professor Gat is the author of 12 books - on democracy, nationalism, ideology, war and military history - which have been translated into numerous languages.

Virtual Event Only.

Amichai Magen
Amichai Magen

Virtual Only Event.

Azar Gat
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Bill Browder event

In an era of rising autocracy, Bill Browder, the bestselling author of Red Notice and Freezing Order, brings his unparalleled expertise to the forefront. Join the Program on Capitalism and Democracy for a discussion on how business leaders can safeguard democratic principles while navigating increasingly challenging political landscapes. 

Browder's firsthand experiences combating corruption in Russia and beyond offer valuable lessons for today's global business environment. His story exemplifies how business leaders can leverage their influence to shape policy, champion justice, and uphold democratic ideals—even when confronted with grave personal and professional risks.

This event is co-sponsored by the Corporations and Society Initiative (CASI) at the Graduate School of Business and the Program on Capitalism and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Sir William (Bill) Browder KCMG was once the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia until being declared “a threat to national security” in 2005 for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies.

In 2008, Bill’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered a massive fraud committed by Russian government officials stealing US $230 million of state taxes and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned without trial, and systematically tortured.

Sergei Magnitsky died in prison on November 16, 2009. Ever since, Sir William has led the Global Magnitsky Campaign for governments around the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials, introducing the passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Accountability Act in 2012, & the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 2016. Which has since been adopted by 11 countries, including the U.S., UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

For his exceptional service to the UK abroad and internationally, in recognition of his significant and sustained contribution to human rights and anti-corruption, he was appointed by King Charles in the 2024 Birthday Honours List a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).

Rachel Hersh, MBA '25

In-person: GSB Knight Management Center, C102 (657 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford)
Online: Via Zoom

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Valentin Bolotnyy
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Bolotnyy, an economist, affiliated scholar with CDDRL's Deliberative Democracy Lab, and Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution, has joined California governor Gavin Newsom’s Council of Economic Advisors. His appointment became effective on August 22, 2024.

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2024-2026
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Matthew Dolbow joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar from 2024 to 2026 from the U.S. Department of State.  Before coming to APARC, Mr. Dolbow strengthened U.S. military deterrence capabilities in Asia as the U.S. Consul General in Okinawa, Japan.  As Chief of Staff in the U.S. National Security Council’s international economics office during the first Trump administration, Mr. Dolbow helped compile the 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy, which declared for the first time that "economic security is national security," and thus helped to establish a new bipartisan U.S. consensus on innovative trade, investment screening, and energy policies that increased U.S. competitiveness and secured the U.S. defense industrial base. As head of economic strategy at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2013 to 2016, Mr. Dolbow created a Department of State-wide training program that taught colleagues to track and assess China's Belt and Road Initiative projects.  While at APARC, he will be conducting research on competition with China related to technology, innovation, human capital, and national security.

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2024-2025
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You Jung Lee joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar for the 2024-2025 academic year. She is a journalist for the Korea Economic Daily, having spent over 10 years covering areas including international affairs and, most recently, construction and the real estate market. While at APARC, she conducted research examining Korea's housing and real estate market, its policies and financial structure, and comparing Korea's system to that of the U.S.

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Visiting Scholar at The Europe Center, 2024
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Piotr Jabkowski is associate professor of sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland) and member of the European Social Survey Sampling and Weighting Expert Panel. At the Adam Mickiewicz University, he teaches statistics, advanced quantitative methods and survey methodology to undergraduate and postgraduate students. His research and publications focus on sample quality in cross-country comparative surveys, the total error paradigm and sampling theory.

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Visiting Scholar at The Europe Center, 2024
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Mariusz Baranowski, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland), Faculty of Sociology, Department of Sociology of Social Stratification, and chairman of Sociological Committee within the Poznan Society of Friends of Arts and Sciences. Doctor of Economic Sociology and MA in Sociology (Adam Mickiewicz University), Philosophy (Adam Mickiewicz University) and postgraduate diploma in Human Resource Management (Economic Development Agency).

Baranowski's research work is focused on economic sociology, social inequality, welfare state and environmental issues.

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