Add to ORKGTHESIS 10144The core of this thesis explores three issues at the intersection of political and development economics. In Chapter 2, I demonstrate how ethnic divisions can undermine the provision of an important public good: teacher attendance. In the presence of weak formal institutions- such as those found in many less developed countries -teachers face a lower likelihood of punishment for absenteeism. In these settings, other forms of local collective action are often required to produce public goods and to prevent free-riding. However, a growing literature has shown that local collective action outcomes are often adversely affected by ethnic divisions. I identify the impact of a new measure of ethnic divisions on teacher absenteeism usin...