Democratic Republic of Congo

eCooking for Sustainable Development: Experimental Evidence from Eastern Congo

Can energy-efficient Electric Pressure Cookers (EPCs) accelerate the transition to clean cooking in developing countries, and – by doing so – address important development and environmental challenges?

Research Note
10 Mar 2025

Monopoly of Taxation Without a Monopoly of Violence: The Weak State’s Trade-Offs From Taxation

This study presents a new economic perspective on state-building based on a case study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s hinterland. We explore the implications for the state of considering rebels as stationary bandits.

Journal Article
15 Jan 2025

Social Origins of Militias: The Extraordinary Rise of “Outraged Citizens"

We use a sharp withdrawal of the state that precipitated a rise in insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to analyze the role of community in the rise of militias.

Working Paper
15 Jan 2025

eCooking for Sustainable Development: Experimental Evidence from Eastern Congo

The researchers study the uptake and livelihood impact of Electric Pressure Cookers (EPCs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Research Project
1 Apr 2022

On the Origins of the State: Stationary Bandits and Taxation in Eastern Congo

A positive demand shock for coltan, a mineral whose bulky output cannot be concealed, leads armed actors to create illicit customs and provide protection at coltan mines, where they settle as “stationary bandits.” A similar shock for gold, easy to conceal,

Journal Article
1 Jan 2020

Human Resource Management in Armed Organizations

This project exploits a relationship built by the researcher with a large scale armed organization to examine the causes of voluntary recruitment and the trajectories in the organization of individuals who joined as a response to different shocks.

Research Project
20 Nov 2018

Jackboots and Bootstraps: The Effect of Bribery on Entrepreneurship

This project tries to understand bribery’s effect on entrepreneurship, which could help policymakers design interventions to aid the development of new enterprises, thus fostering growth and alleviating poverty.

Research Project
20 Nov 2017

Ethnic Contract Enforceability

Many states struggle to enforce contracts. The origin of the state's "legal capacity" to enforce contracts is often explained as a result of past choices by rulers.

Working Paper
11 Oct 2016

Bandits or States? Armed Group Expropriation Strategies and the Economy: Evidence from Eastern Congo

Building on previous exploratory work, this study utilizes data from conflict-affected Eastern Congo to examine the formation of ‘states’ by armed groups, their taxation activities, and policies aimed at reducing their state capacity. 

Research Project
29 Jun 2015

The industrial organisation of taxation: Evidence from within the police administration in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This project seeks to collect a novel, in-depth dataset on corruption amongst police officers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Research Project
1 May 2015

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