Millennium Development Goals
Scientific evidence to guide policy on MDGs
Governments need rigorous evidence on program effectiveness to make informed choices on where to invest scarce resources in the fight against poverty. Randomized evaluations use straightforward statistical techniques like those used in medicine to measure program effects. By distinguishing programs that work from those that don’t, and sorting highly effective programs from those that work but come with a higher price tag, randomized evaluations help answer tough questions on comparative cost effectiveness and are central to generating rigorous evidence for development effectiveness.
More than ever before, we have the scientific evidence to guide global policy. Practical and rigorously tested interventions exist that can inform policy to reduce poverty and, if massively scaled up, produce tangible and timely progress on the MDGs.
Best buys to reach the MDGs
Our seven “best buys” are practical programs that were highly effective at achieving specific development goals at a relatively low price.
1. For as little as 50 cents per child per year, deworming of children through mass school-based programs can cut school absenteeism by a quarter. By the end of their primary school education, children who have been regularly treated for worms will have an entire additional year of education.
2. It costs no more than $2.25 per child per year to provide remedial education to children who lack basic reading skills. Within three months, Pratham’s “Read India” remedial education program boosted letter recognition by 60 percentage points, and ability to read and comprehend a short story by 35 percentage points.
3. Doing away with small user fees on bednets to make them available for free to pregnant women and mothers in health clinics costs less than $5 per net and can increase uptake by 75 percent. Women who receive free bednets are as likely to use them as those who pay for them. Free provision does not increase wastage. It does however make the benefits of bednets accessible to many more mothers and young children.
4. Quotas for women in politics costs practically nothing. Yet, it increases women's political participation and shift spending towards women’s priorities, such as clean water. Voters systematically underrate women politicians but exposure to women leaders can eliminate biases against women.
5. It costs $4 per girl per year to provide free primary school uniforms that help keep girls in school and reduce teen pregnancies by 9 percent. Informing young girls about the added risk of unprotected sex with men in their 20s (or older) costs just $1 per student and can reduce the teen pregnancies with older men by 65 percent.
6. Smart subsidies to farmers boost technology adoption, farm productivity and income. Time-limited offers to purchase fertilizers in the harvesting season, with free delivery in the planting season, can massively increase uptake and usage of fertilizers.
7. Small incentives can be a minor additional price to pay to get children immunized. Vaccines are highly cost effective and provided for free in many countries. Yet, there are areas where coverage is low. Small incentives – such as a bag of lentils per shot - if offered to households can massively boost uptake in low take-up regions.
(paper in progress)
Not every study finds a highly effective program. Some will find that potentially good new ideas did not work. This is useful and important knowledge too. Other studies find that things work but the cost is high given the magnitude of the benefits. Even so, all of these studies are critical as they allow us to assess comparative cost effectiveness and help achieve buy-in for scale-up of the most successful programs. Our Fighting Poverty: What Works? bulletins spell out general policy lessons from across different studies.
If you have any comments or questions or want to know more about the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, you can contact us on povertylab@mit.edu.