The 2025 Kuznets Mini-Conference

This year's mini-conference is co-organized by Erika Deserranno (Bocconi University) and Ameet Morjaria (Northwestern University).

Papers are linked as available.

7:30-8:00 Breakfast

8:00-8:15 Opening Remarks: Oriana Bandiera (London School of Economics), 34th Annual Kuznets Memorial speaker

8:15-9:55 Session 1: "Gender and Labor Markets" 

• 8:15-8:40 Erika Deserranno (Northwestern and Bocconi University): "Gender Disparities in the Welfare Effect of the Minimum Wage"
• 8:40-9:05 Ilse Lindenlaub (Yale University):  "Meritocracy across Countries"
• 9:05-9:30 Kieu-Trang Ngyuen (Northwestern University): "Managers and the Cultural Transmission of Gender Norms"
• 9:30-9:55 Discussant: Rocco Macchiavello (London School of Economics)

9:55-10:30 Coffee Break

10:30-12:10 Session 2: "Credit and Poverty Traps"

• 10:30-10:55 Selim Gulesci (Trinity College Dublin): "Credit Contracts, Business Development and Gender: Evidence from Uganda” 
• 10:55-11:20 Munshi Sulaiman (BRAC University): “Intergenerational Impact of BRAC's Ultra-Poor Graduation Program in Bangladesh”
• 11:20-11:45 Claire Balboni (London School of Economics):  "Weathering Poverty” 
• 11:45-12:10 Discussant: Kelsey Jack (University of California, Berkeley)

12:10-1:15 Lunch

1:15-2:55 Session 3 "State Capacity"

•  1:15-1:40 Yanhui Wu (The University of Hong Kong): "The Neighborhood Effect of Watchdogs on Government Accountability in China” 
• 1:40-2:05 Ameet Morjaria (Northwestern University): "Conflation and Deconflation: An Anatomy of a Marketplace Reform"
• 2:05-2:30 Guo Xu (University of California, Berkeley): "Beyond the Great War: The Intergenerational Effects of Female Public Service" 
• 2:30-2:55 Discussant: Robert Gibbons (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

2:55-3:30 Coffee Break

3:30-5:15 Session 4: "State Capacity"

• 3:30-3:55 Shan Aman-Rana (University of Virginia): "Spillovers in State Capacity Building: Evidence from the Digitization of Land Records in Pakistan" 
• 3:55-4:20 Anders Jensen (Harvard University): "Technology and Tax Capacity: Evidence from Local Governments in Ghana"
• 4:20-4:55 Discussant: Andrea Prat (Columbia University)

4:55-5:05 Concluding Remarks

6:00 Dinner