Now Available: Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook (2nd Edition)The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is now available. The handbook is a comprehensive introduction to impact evaluation for policymakers and development practitioners. The updated version covers the latest techniques for evaluating programs, with expanded case studies. Complementary online instructional material and course are available here.
New PublicationsHeat Exposure and Global Air Conditioning (Nature Sustainability) Air conditioning adoption is increasing dramatically worldwide as incomes rise and average temperatures go up. Using daily temperature data from 14,500 weather stations, we rank 219 countries and 1,692 cities using a widely-used measure of cooling demand called total cooling degree day exposure. India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, and the Philippines all have more total cooling degree day exposure than the United States, a country which uses 400 terawatt-hours of electricity annually for air conditioning.
Long-Run Effects of Temporary Incentives on Medical Care Productivity (American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2019) - This papers uses a randomized field experiment conducted in Argentina to show that costs of adjustment as opposed to low perceived value may explain why improved quality care practices diffuse slowly in the medical industry. Digital Financial Services Go a Long Way: Transaction Costs and Financial Inclusion (American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings 2019). Debit cards reduce the travel distance to access bank accounts and can increase financial inclusion. We show that in Mexico, cash transfer beneficiaries who already received their transfers in bank accounts and subsequently received debit cards reduce their median distance to access the account from 4.8 to 1.3 kilometers. Using account level data, we find a strong correlation between the reduction in travel distance and both their number of withdrawals and their savings balances. Who benefits most in disease management programs: Improving target efficiency (Health Economics 2018). This study examines the impact of a diabetes disease management program for high risk patients on preventive tests, health outcomes, and cost of care. The highest impact of this program concentrates in the group of people who had not received recommended tests in the preintervention period. |
New Working PapersEffect of Inquiry and Problem Based Pedagogy on Learning: Evidence from 10 Field Experiments in Four Countries. This paper estimates the effect of inquiry-and problem-based pedagogy (IPP) on students’ mathematics and science test scores. IPP creates active problem-solving opportunities in settings that provide meaning to the child. Students learn by collaboratively solving real-life problems, developing explanations, and communicating ideas. We finds that after seven months IPP increased mathematics and science scores by 0.18 and 0.14 standard deviations, and that boys benefit more than girls.
Vulnerability and Clientelism. This study argues that economic vulnerability causes citizens to participate in clientelism, a phenomenon with various pernicious consequences. We employ a RCT that reduced household vulnerability through constructing residential water cisterns in drought-prone areas of Brazil. This intervention significantly decreased requests for private goods from politicians, especially among citizens likely to be in clientelist relationships. We also show the intervention decreased votes for incumbent mayors. Government transparency and political clientelism: Evidence from randomized anti-corruption audits in Brazil We study whether anti-corruption audits reduce the incidence of vote buying and political clientelism in the context of Brazil’s municipal government anti-corruption program. We observe a substantial 3.2 percentage point (52 percent) reduction in the probability that candidates engage in vote buying during electoral periods; these effects persist across electoral terms. How Debit Cards Enable the Poor to Save More Debit Cards Enable the Poor to Save More We study an at-scale natural experiment in which debit cards are given to cash transfer recipients who already have a bank account. We find that beneficiaries accumulate a savings stock equal to 2 percent of annual income after two years with the card. The increase in formal savings represents an increase in overall savings, financed by a reduction in current consumption. Mortality from Nestlé’s Marketing of Infant Formula in Low and Middle-Income Countries - We estimate the impact of the availability of infant formula on infant mortality in low and middle-income countries. |