Browsing HKS Center for International Development by Author "Block, Steven A."
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Did Indonesia's Crises of 1997/98 Affect Child Nutrition? A Cohort Decomposition Analysis of National Nutrition Surveillance Data
Block, Steven A.; Keiss, Lynnda; Webb, Patrick; Kosen, S.; Moench-Pfanner, Regina; Bloem, Martin W.; Timmer, C. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2002-03)This study uses a new survey of households in rural Central Java to assess the nutritional impact of Indonesia's drought and financial crisis of 1997/98. Applying an econometric approach that distinguishes between time, ... -
Elections, Electoral Competitiveness, and Political Budget Cycles in Developing Countries
Block, Steven A. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2001-10)This paper presents the first cross-country evidence of electorally-motivated changes in the composition of public expenditures in developing countries. Results show that election-year public expenditures shift towards ... -
Multiparty Competition, Founding Elections and Political Business Cycles in Africa
Singh, Smita; Block, Steven A.; Ferree, Karen E. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2001-10)Political business cycle theory largely abstracts from institutional context, in particular assuming that elections are competitive. Yet, as empirical work on political business cycles turns increasingly to developing ... -
Nutrition Knowledge Versus Schooling in the Demand for Child Micronutrient Status
Block, Steven A. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2002-08)This study extends the literature on the demand for child height to consider the demand for child micronutrient status. Micronutrient malnutrition is a pervasive and debilitating problem in many developing countries. A ... -
Political Conditions and Currency Crises: Empirical Regularities in Emerging Markets
Block, Steven A. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2001-10)This paper demonstrates the impact of structural political conditions on the likelihood of currency crises in emerging markets. Controlling for a standard and parsimonious set of macroeconomic variables, I find that: ... -
The Price of Democracy: Sovereign Risk Ratings, Bond Spreads and Political Business Cycles in Developing Countries
Block, Steven A.; Vaaler, Paul M. (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2001-12)In developing countries, political business cycles may have implications not only for incumbent governments and their electorates but also for foreign actors involved in allocating credit and pricing it appropriately for ...