Publications

Distributed Ledgers: Design and Regulation of Financial Infrastructure and Payment Systems. Robert M. Townsend. MIT Press (2020).

"The Economics of Platforms in a Walrasian Framework."  Anil Jain and Robert M. Townsend. Economic Theory, 2020; see also International Finance Discussion Papers 1280. Abstract Prepublication PDF Link to Journal

"Family Firms, Bank Relationships and Financial Constraints: A Comprehensive Score Card." Alexander Karaivanov, Jesus Saurina and Robert M. Townsend, International Economic Review, 60 (2): 547-593, 2018. Abstract Prepublication PDF,Link to Journal

"Integrated Household Surveys: An Assessment of U.S. Methods and an Innovation" Krislert Samphantharak, Scott Schuh and Robert M. Townsend. Economic Inquiry, 56 (1), 2018: 50–80.  Abstract Prepublication PDF Data Appendix on Dataverse

"Risk and Return in Village Economies."  Krislert Samphantharak and Robert M. Townsend, American Economic
Journal: Microeconomics, 10 (1): 1–40, 2018; also NBER Working Paper No. 19738, 2013. ABSTRACT Prepublication PDF

"Economic Development, Flow of Funds and the Equilibrium Interaction of Financial Frictions." Benjamin Moll, Robert M. Townsend, Victor Zhorin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (24): 6176-6184, 2017 (Formerly as NBER Working Paper No. 19618, 2014.) ABSTRACT PDF Prepublication version PNAS Q&A article

"Human Capital Acquisition and Occupational Choice: Implications for Economic Development". Marti Mestieri, Johanna Schauer and Robert M. Townsend, Review of Economic Dynamics, 25, 2017: 151–186; also CEPR Discussion Paper No. 11825, 2017. Abstract Prepublication PDF Online Appendix

"Village and Larger Economies: The Theory and Measurement of the Townsend Thai Project." Robert M. Townsend. Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 3, No. 30. Fall 2016. P199-220. ABSTRACT PDF

"An Evaluation of Financial Institutions: Impact on Consumption and Investment Using Panel Data and the Theory of Risk-Bearing." Mauro Alem and Robert M. Townsend. Journal of Econometrics, 183(1) 2014: 91-103. ABSTRACT PDF. For 2004 working version: PDF

"Dynamic Financial Constraints: Distinguishing Mechanism Design from Exogenously Incomplete Regimes." Alexander Karaivanov and Robert M. Townsend. Econometrica, 82 (3) 2014: 887–959. ABSTRACT PDF

"Heterogeneity and Risk-Sharing in Village Economies." Pierre Andre Chiappori, Krislert Samphantharak, Sam Schulhofer-Wohl, and Robert M. Townsend. Quantitative Economics 5(1) 2014: 1-27. ABSTRACT PDF. For 2013 working paper version: PDF

"The Great Equalizer: Health Care Access and Infant Mortality in Thailand." Jonathan Gruber, Nathaniel Hendren, and Robert M. Townsend. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 6(1), January 2014: 91-107. ABSTRACT PDF

"Accounting for the Poor." Robert M. Townsend. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 95(5), October 2013: 1196-1208. PDF

"Chronicles from the Field: The Townsend Thai Project." Robert M. Townsend, Sombat Sakunthasathien, and Rob Jordan. Boston, MA: MIT Press, April 2013. LINK

"Barriers to Household Risk Management: Evidence from India." Shawn Cole, Xavier Gine, Jeremy Tobacman, Robert M. Townsend, and James Vickery. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5(1), January 2013: 104-35. ABSTRACT PDF

"Insurance and Credit: Micro Financial Underpinnings for Entire Economies." Robert M. Townsend. Presented at the Nobel Symposium on Growth and Development, Institute for International Economics in Stockholm, Sweden, September 3, 2012. PDF

"Kinship and Financial Networks, Formal Financial Access and Risk Reduction." Cynthia Kinnan and Robert M. Townsend. American Economic Review 102(3), May 2012: 289-93. PDF

"Measuring the Return on Household Enterprise:  What Matters Most for Whom?" Krislert Samphantharak and Robert M. Townsend. Journal of Development Economics 98(1), 2012: 58-70.  ABSTRACT PDF

"Microinsurance: A Case Study of the Indian Rainfall Index Insurance Market."  Xavier Gine, Lev Menand, Robert M. Townsend, and James Vickery.  In Ghate, Chetan (ed.) Handbook of the Indian Economy , 2012: Oxford University Press, pp. 167-194.  For World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5459, 2010 see ABSTRACT PDF

"The Impact of Credit on Village Economies." Joseph P. Kaboski and Robert M. Townsend. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 4(2), April 2012: 98-133. ABSTRACT PDF

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