- Interesting blog from the Global Innovation Fund, discussing results from an attempt to replicate the Kenyan sugar daddies RCT in Botswana, why they got different results, and how policy is reacting to this. “At some point, every evidence-driven practitioner is sure to face the same challenge: what do you do in the face of evaluation results that suggest that your program may not have the impact you hoped for? It’s a question that tests the fundamental character and convictions of our organizations. Young 1ove answered that question, and met that test, with tremendous courage. In the face of ambiguous results regarding the impact of No Sugar, they did something rare and remarkable: they changed course, and encouraged government partners and donors to do so as well”
- How to help farmers to access agricultural extension information via mobile phone? Shawn Cole (Harvard Business School) and Michael Kremer (Harvard University) gave a recent talk on this, drawing on work they’ve been doing in India, Kenya, Rwanda, and elsewhere. Video here and paper on some of the India results here.
- Rema Hanna on which traffic policies work best for megacities, at project syndicate.
- Oriana Bandiera and co-authors summarize their work on vocational training vs apprenticeships in Uganda on VoxDev: “When averaged over the three years post-intervention study period, the gains in employment probability were 21% for vocational trainees and 14% for apprentices, while the increase in monthly earnings was 34% and 20% respectively”. Also on VoxDev, tax audits as scarecrows – just giving firms information about audits increased tax payments by about 6.3%.
- John Holbein’s dropbox folder of 30 syllabi for teaching courses on experimental analysis/causal inference/use of surveys (from both economics and political science courses).
- On the J-PAL blog, James Turitto and Keesler Welch update us on use of the AEA RCT registry: “As of today, there are 1,579 trials registered with study locations across 115 countries”. Pre-registering and the use of pre-analysis plans are increasing, but post-trial reporting is still very incomplete – so if you have registered, remember to return and report what happens afterwards.
- Do you have top5itis? “The disease is believed to first have appeared in the United States; by now, it has spread to other regions of the world” and “4. Treatment. [This entry needs to be completed.]”
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