In Rwanda, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to compare the impact of Huguka Dukore, a youth employment and training program, to that of cash grants of an equivalent value on several economic outcomes. Huguka Dukore improved hours worked, assets, savings, and subjective well-being, while cost-equivalent cash transfers increased all these outcomes as well as consumption, income, and wealth.

Researchers worked with Mercy Corps to evaluate the impact of a sports and life skills development program on psychosocial and labor outcomes of vulnerable young people. While the program had no effect on improved psychosocial well-being or resilience, it did lead to an increase in labor force participation.

Researchers tested whether making weekly calls to teachers, students, and the village chief during an adult education program in Niger could increase teacher accountability and improve student learning. Both the education program and the weekly calls increased students’ scores in reading and math.

In partnership with Concern Worldwide, researchers examined the relative effectiveness of traditional versus mobile cash transfers in Niger. Households who received electronic transfers had more diverse diets than those who received traditional cash transfers, in part due to time savings and shifts in women’s decision-making power within the household.

Together with the provincial government, researchers evaluated the impact of a performance-based incentive scheme on tax inspectors’ performance in Punjab, Pakistan. The incentive scheme allowed tax inspectors to choose their next posting location based on their past performance; specifically, how each inspector performed, relative to others, determined the order in which inspectors would choose their next posting.