Using Randomized Evaluations to Inform Development Policy

Rachel GlennersterAbdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action

LabOctober 11, 2010

A network of researchers and centers

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Wide coverage of topics and countries

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253 evaluations in more than 30 countries worldwide

Designing research for impact

• Work with implementers who have the ability to scale?

• Fill a key gap in knowledge

• Results and methodology must be convincing

• Replication helps

• Answering a fundamental question

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The right question and methodology

• Millions of dollars going into microfinance, large claims about the impact on poverty, growing backlash

• Major problems with the existing evidence on the impact of microfinance

• Randomized evaluation of the 18 month impact of a typical first generation microfinance program in urban India

• Major impact on debate without any proactive dissemination

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Deworming: cost effective, scalable

• Evaluation with small NGO in rural Kenya found treating parasitic worms increased school attendance by 25%• Costs only 0.5 cents per child per year• Comparisons across studies showed one of cheapest ways to achieve increase in education• Very similar to results from rigorous nonrandomized evaluation in the US south in early 1900s• Scale up to 3.7m in Kenya, 2m in Andra Pradesh, World Food program commitment, and coming in Bihar

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TCAI: learning from others

• Prathams remedial education program in India found very effective • Class size, teacher accountability, steaming/tracking tested in Kenya• Very similar results found in different contexts• Discussions with Ghanaian education Service, National Youth Employment Program about results• Pratham shares their experience with Ghanaian stake holders• Large scale RCT designed with all stakeholders to test options to scale up in Ghana

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