Evaluations
Search our database of 1,001 randomized evaluations conducted by our affiliates in 84 countries. To browse summaries of key policy recommendations from a subset of these evaluations, visit the Policy Publications tab.
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Finance, Labor Markets, Gender
Business Education for Microcredit Clients in Peru
Dean Karlan , Martin ValdiviaResearchers worked in Peru to measure the marginal impact of adding business training to a group lending program. The results of this study found business training slightly improved business practices, but had no impact on key business outcomes such as revenue and profit.
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Education, Gender
Incentives to Learn: A Merit-Based Girls' Scholarship Program in Kenya
Approximately 85 percent of primary school age children in western Kenya are enrolled in school, but only about one-third of students finish primary school. Dropout rates are typically higher for girls; in 2001 the 6th grade dropout rate was 10 percent for girls and 7 percent for boys among students in this study’s comparison schools at baseline. This project was introduced in part to assist families of high-achieving girls to cover the cost of school fees, supplies, and activities.
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Health
The Demand for and Impact of Learning HIV Status in Malawi
Rebecca Thornton , Susan Godlonton, Nicole Angotti, Agatha Bula, Lauren Gaydosh, Sara Yeatman, Eitan Zeev KimchiWhile even very small incentives encouraged people to return for their HIV test results, rapid testing in the home had the greatest impact on program take-up. However, for most people, learning status did not substantially change their behavior.
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Political Economy & Governance
Combating Corruption in Community Development in Indonesia
Top-down audits effectively reduced corruption in Indonesian village road projects, but community-level monitoring had no effect unless pains were taken to prevent control by elites.
Education
Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia
Eric Bettinger, Michael Kremer
, Joshua Angrist, Erik Bloom, Elizabeth King, Juan Saavedra
Colombia used lotteries to distribute vouchers which partially covered the cost of private secondary school for students who maintained satisfactory academic progress. Three years after the lotteries, winners were about 10 percentage points more likely to have finished 8th grade, primarily because they were less likely to repeat grades, and scored 0.2 standard deviations higher on achievement...
Education
Teacher Incentives Based on Students' Test Scores in Kenya
Michael Kremer, Paul Glewwe
, Nauman Ilias
In partnership with International Child Support, researchers designed and evaluated a incentives program that provided salary bonuses to teachers in Kenya based on the performance of their school as a whole on annual district exams. While results show that the incentives program led to an increase in student test scores, researchers believe that this increase was due to improved test-taking...
Education
Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya
Michael Kremer, Paul Glewwe
, Sylvie Moulin
The provision of textbooks in schools has no impact on average test scores or student attendance: test scores increased for already high-achieving students, but many in lower grades were unable to read them.
Education, Political Economy & Governance
Peer Effects, Pupil-Teacher Ratios, and Teacher Incentives in Kenya
Researchers evaluated three interventions that addressed the large class sizes and heterogeneity in student preparation in the Kenyan school system. They found that hiring additional local contract teachers helped reduce classroom overcrowding and improved student learning outcomes.
Political Economy & Governance
Combating Corruption in Community Development in Indonesia
Top-down audits effectively reduced corruption in Indonesian village road projects, but community-level monitoring had no effect unless pains were taken to prevent control by elites.
Political Economy & Governance
Direct Democracy and Local Public Goods in Indonesia
Choosing local infrastructure projects by direct election, rather than through representatives, had a small effect on the types of projects selected but a large impact on citizen satisfaction in Indonesia.