Abstract

Abstract

Preamble 

Formalization in small-scale gold mining communities in Colombia offers valuable insights into the complexities surrounding this process. Analyzing elements such as the formation of local mining associations, financial contributions to authorities, unpaid work for site restoration, and the influence of gold prices, evidences the diverse preferences and challenges faced by miners. 

Merely providing a collection service that ensures waste segregated at source is not mixed during transportation is not enough to induce households to segregate. Information campaigns are a must. 

This research brief is based on the EfD Discussion Paper titled Disentangling the chicken or egg problem of household waste sorting and segregated waste collection: A randomized control trial in India by authors Shivani Wadehra, Zihan Nie, and Francisco Alpizar 

About the study 

This study analyzes high frequency productivity data from Indian garment manufacturing, exploring how caste-based social networks affect individual and group productivity. With nearly 35,000 worker-days, a 1 percentage point increase in the same-caste workers boosts daily individual productivity by at least 0.09 points. Notably, the least efficient worker's productivity rises by almost 0.17 points with a 1 point increase in caste homogeneity. These findings, robust to unobservable factors, suggest production externalities driven by within-network peer effects as potential explanations.