Evaluations

Policy Publications

Search our database of policy briefcases, bulletins, and evidence reviews. Briefcases summarize the results and policy recommendations from one randomized evaluation, while bulletins synthesize the broader policy lessons emerging from multiple evaluations on the same topic. Evidence reviews summarize an existing academic literature review, like a handbook chapter or white paper, for a policy audience.

Displaying 46-54 of 80
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What Can We Learn from Charter School Lotteries in the United States?

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Last Updated:
Mayo 1, 2017
The estimated impacts of charter schools have varied widely. In Massachusetts, students who won lotteries for charter schools located in urban areas often did substantially better than students who lost, while students who won lotteries for charter schools in nonurban areas fared, on average, about...
Shopkeeper writes a receipt

The Role of the VAT for Tax Enforcement

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Last Updated:
Marzo 20, 2017
The Value Added Tax (VAT) system, which generates a paper trail on transactions between firms, facilitated tax enforcement by spreading the impact of enforcement measures up the production chain in a study with over 400,000 firms in Chile.
Construction workers in Mexico work on constructing a road.

Pave the Way

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Last Updated:
Agosto 16, 2016
Paving streets in marginalized neighborhoods in Mexico increased property values, allowing households to purchase more home appliances and vehicles and to invest more in home improvements.Paving streets in marginalized neighborhoods in Mexico increased property values, allowing households to...

Make It Rain

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Last Updated:
Febrero 9, 2016
Weather index insurance protects farmers against losses from extreme weather and facilitates investment in their farms, but randomized evaluations in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have shown low demand for these products at market prices, suggesting the need for alternative approaches.

Paying for Performance

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Last Updated:
Noviembre 1, 2015
Performance pay for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

Responding to Risk: HIV Prevention and Male Circumcision

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Last Updated:
Diciembre 17, 2015
In rural Malawi, providing information about voluntary medical male circumcision and HIV transmission risk reduced risky sexual behavior among uncircumcised men, but did not increase take-up of circumcision. A subsequent evaluation of a voucher program in urban Malawi found that providing...
A group of people, each with a goat on a rope leash.

Building Stable Livelihoods for the Ultra-poor

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Last Updated:
Septiembre 1, 2015
A multifaceted livelihood program that provided ultra-poor households with a productive asset, training, regular coaching, access to savings, and consumption support led to large and lasting impacts on their standard of living across a diverse set of contexts and implementing partners.

Resilient Rice

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Last Updated:
Agosto 31, 2015
Flood-tolerant rice reduced risk for smallholder farmers in Odisha, India and encouraged additional investment in their farms, resulting in substantially increased yields in both flood and non-flood years.
Man and woman receiving job counseling in France

Public or Private? Job Counseling in France

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Last Updated:
Agosto 1, 2015
An intensive counseling program for job seekers at risk of long-term unemployment in France helped them find work sooner than the standard low-intensity counseling program, and the counseling was more effective when provided by a public agency than by private contractors.