Suchergebnisse

The current fiscal climate is focusing attention on the need for more efficient government. However, we have remarkably little rigorous information on which are the most cost-effective strategies for achieving common goals like delivering high quality education in deprived neighbourhoods or reducing carbon emissions. This paper argues that randomised impact evaluations can provide an effective way to generate the information needed to make government more effective. Advances in the theory and practice of running randomised evaluations mean that a wider range of questions can be answered than ever before. Elsewhere in the world, fundamental questions are being answered about how humans behave, which in turn are being used to design new policies which themselves are rigorously tested. By learning from these results, and by conducting more randomised evaluations on issues important to UK policy (both at home and abroad) it will be possible to design more effective policies and do more with less.

This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible guide to running randomized impact evaluations of social programs. Drawing on the experience of researchers at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which has run hundreds of such evaluations in dozens of countries throughout the world, it offers practical insights on how to use this powerful technique, especially in resource-poor environments. This step-by-step guide explains why and when randomized evaluations are useful, in what situations they should be used, and how to prioritize different evaluation opportunities. It shows how to prioritize different evaluation opportunities. It shows how to design and analyze studies that answer important questions while respecting the constraints of those working on and benefiting from the program being evaluated. The book gives concrete tips on issues such as improving the quality of a study despite tight budget constraints, and demonstrates how the results of randomized impact evaluations can inform policy. With its self-contained modules, this one-of-a-kind guide is easy to navigate. It also includes invaluable references and a checklist of the common pitfalls to avoid

"Vaccines offer the best hope for controlling diseases and could dramatically improve health in poor countries. But developers have little incentive to undertake the costly and risky research needed to develop vaccines. This is partly because the potential consumers are poor, but also because governments drive down prices." "In Strong Medicine, Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster offer an innovative yet simple solution to this worldwide problem: "Pull" programs to stimulate research. Here's how such programs would work. Funding agencies would commit to purchase viable vaccines if and when they were developed. This would create the incentives for vaccine developers to produce usable products for these neglected diseases. Private firms, rather than funding agencies, would pick which research strategies to pursue. After purchasing the vaccine, funders could distribute it at little or no cost to the afflicted countries."--Jacket

This article discusses the history of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics and the ways in which their use has shaped disciplinary practices and development policy over the past two decades. We first explain how increased use of academic-run RCTs internationally has led to important methodological breakthroughs that have advanced our knowledge of human behavior as well as changes in how research is conducted, including routine practice of in-field apprenticeships for young researchers and the establishment of robust research infrastructure in numerous developing countries around the world. We then explore three ways in which the scale-up of evidence-informed programs and policies based on findings from RCTs have achieved real-world impact, giving examples for each. These include how rigorous evidence can help to resolve contentious policy debates; enable policy-makers to assess external validity of findings and draw lessons across contexts; and support institutionalization of evidence use in various types of organizations.

Marshals various statistics to demonstrate how the pharmaceutical industry disproportionately focuses on rich countries while neglecting poor countries in terms of sales and research and development.