Researchers are using Western Seed Company's expansion into new areas to evaluate the socio-economic effects of the hybrid maize program in Western and Central Kenya.

Researchers designed an employment program in northern Ghana and evaluated participants’ willingness to engage in paid labor and carry out complex tasks on the job.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Cape Town, South Africa to measure the effect of prepaid meters on households’ electricity use and utility revenue. They found that prepaid meters led households to reduce their electricity consumption, but helped the utility company recover more costs.

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing easy-to-remember and easy-to-adopt rules of thumb to microentrepreneurs in India in order to help improve their businesses performance.

Researchers partnered with the Senegalese government to evaluate the impact of a decentralized school grants program on student learning. The program improved test scores overall and for girls in younger grades. The impact was stronger in schools that invested more in human resource training rather than in school materials.

To understand the long-term effectiveness of CBT among adults, researchers evaluated the impact of a short-term CBT program and the distribution of unconditional cash transfers on the behavior of high-risk young men in Liberia. CBT reduced criminal behavior among participants both in the short run, one year following the intervention, and the long run, ten years later.

In India, researchers leveraged a randomized evaluation of the distribution of a new seed variety to assess how the new seed spread within communities and social groups. They found that local social structures, such as the jati-caste system, influenced the extent of seed adoption. In particular, sharing of seeds between farmers within a village occurred more rapidly and extensively in villages with a relatively more homogenous social structure.

Numerous summer jobs programs in the United States seek to support the employment of young people facing barriers to employment and opportunity. Researchers studied the impact of the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (which used a lottery to determine participation) on youth earnings, employment, college enrollment, incarceration, and mortality. Although the program increased earnings and employment during the year of participation, it caused a modest decrease in earnings in subsequent years and had no effect on college enrollment. The program also decreased the incarceration and mortality rates of program participants.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of community-based development on political participation, public goods provision, and individual well-being in Ghana. They found that, although the community engagement program led to changes in local leadership, it was not an effective way to increase public goods provision or socioeconomic status.

In partnership with Digital Green and Jeevika, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Bihar, India, to assess the impact of a video-based training on female farmers’ adoption of a climate-smart technique called System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and their yields and profits. Farmers increased their yields and estimated profits and the intervention demonstrated cost-effectiveness.