Course description
This course is oriented to students with previous basic to intermediate knowledge in statistics (inferential and descriptive). This introductory course aims to give students the basic tools to interpret results from impact evaluation studies. It is not oriented to teach students how to carry on impact evaluations, but mostly to provide them with the tools to identify the key elements of a high quality evaluation when reading a research paper, properly interpret the main findings, as well as to identify the possible caveats in the analysis presented.
This course will cover the main areas of social policy, including education, health, earnings, productivity, agriculture, gender empowerment, among other relevant topics in the development sector.
Course learning objectives
- Understand the difference between the different levels of development interventions: policy, programs and projects and their scope in terms of results.
- Introduce students to the basic concepts of impact evaluation in the development field.
- Provide students with the tools to analyze and understand the results from impact evaluation articles.
Course design
The course is divided in 13 lessons. The first section of the course is dedicated to provide students with the basic knowledge about the different levels of development interventions, followed up by the most common impact evaluation designs used in the field. From here, each session we will analyze one or two evaluation articles in one specific development field (e.g. education, jobs, health, infrastructure) to identify their main elements, methodology, interpretation of results, and limitations.
Grading
Essay 1 50%
Essay 2 50%
Suggested bibliography
Gertler, P. J., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L. B., & Vermeersch, C. M. J. (2016). Impact Evaluation in Practice, Second Edition. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0779-4
Gottfredson, D. C., Cross, A., Wilson, D., Rorie, M., & Connell, N. (2010). An Experimental Evaluation of the All Stars Prevention Curriculum in a Community After School Setting. Prevention Science, 11(2), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-009-0156-7
Iarossi, Giuseppe. (2006). The Power of Survey Design A User's Guide for Managing Surveys, Interpreting Results, and Influencing Respondents (First Edition). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Khandker, S. R., Koolwal, G. B., & Samad, H. A. (2010). Handbook on impact evaluation: Quantitative methods and practices. Washington, D.C: World Bank.
Lance, P., D. Guilkey, A. Hattori and G. Angeles. (2014). How do we know if a program made a difference? A guide to statistical methods for program impact evaluation. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: MEASURE Evaluation.
Mallick, R. (2002). Implementing and evaluating microcredit in Bangladesh. Development in Practice, 12(2), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614520220127676
Parker, S. W., & Teruel, G. M. (2005). Randomization and Social Program Evaluation: The Case of Progresa. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 599(1), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205274515
- Lehrende/r: Karla Vanessa Rubio Jovel