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 10-18 of 22
A healthcare worker and mother with a baby in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the Business of Saving Lives

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Last Updated:
February 5, 2019
In Uganda, an incentivized community health promoter program increased health care access, knowledge, and health-promoting behaviors among households, leading to a 27 percent reduction in child mortality.
Young women take a group photo

Reducing Pregnancy Among Adolescents

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Last Updated:
June 12, 2018
Across a range of programs, interventions that successfully changed the calculus of costs and benefits of unprotected sexual activity and childbirth delayed pregnancy among adolescents. Some programs directly altered costs and benefits while others shifted perceptions of them.

Responding to Risk: HIV Prevention and Male Circumcision

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Last Updated:
December 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...

The Power of Information in Community Monitoring

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Last Updated:
July 1, 2015
A community-based monitoring program in Uganda led to large and sustained increases in health care utilization and improvements in child health. The key to success was providing communities with information on the performance of local health care providers.

After the Transfers Stop

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Last Updated:
June 30, 2014
  • Norbert Schady
  • Renos Vakis
  • Tania Barham
  • John Maluccio
Cash transfers directed to female caregivers in Nicaragua led to gains in child-development outcomes that persisted beyond the duration of the program.

Community Grants for the Next Generation

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May 19, 2014
Community block grants improved health and education in Indonesian villages, and adding performance incentives sped up improvements in health.

Cleaner Water at the Source

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Last Updated:
September 1, 2012
Protecting naturally occurring springs with simple infrastructure significantly improved source water quality and reduced the incidence of diarrhea in young children by one-quarter.

Up in Smoke

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Last Updated:
July 1, 2012
In Odisha, India improved cooking stoves did not reduce smoke exposure, improve health, or reduce fuel usage of recipients because they were not used regularly and recipients did not invest to maintain them properly.

A Balancing ACT

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Last Updated:
January 1, 2012
A retail-sector subsidy for effective antimalarials in Kenya greatly increased access among the most vulnerable, but design matters: finding the right price and providing diagnostic tests are important tools for limiting unnecessary treatment.