Chapter 2
Module 2.1
This chapter explains why randomized evaluation can help determine what impacts were caused by a program.
PAPERS
Disease and Development: Evidence from Hookworm Eradication in the American South
Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages
Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female Musicians
The Elite Illusion: Achievement Effects at Boston and New York Exam Schools
Module 2.2
PAPERS
Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female Musicians
The Elite Illusion: Achievement Effects at Boston and New York Exam Schools
Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages
CASE STUDIES
How to Read and Evaluate Evaluations
Module 2.4
PAPERS
The RAND health insurance experiment
Findings from the largest health policy study in history.
Spring Cleaning: Rural Water Impacts, Valuation, and Property Rights Institutions
This randomized evaluation in Kenya studied the health impacts of spring protection.
Free Distribution or Cost-Sharing? Evidence from a Malaria Prevention Experiment
Does cost-sharing dampen demand? This study by Jessica Cohen and Pascaline Dupas on pricing of insecticide-treated bednets found that it does.
Throwing the Baby out with the Drinking Water: Unintended Consequences of Arsenic Mitigation Efforts in Bangladesh
A study in Bangladesh found high correlation between water contamination and infant mortality.
The Belmont Report on Ethics
A summary of the basic ethical principles set forth by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1974.
Outside Funding and the Dynamics of Participation in Community Associations
This randomized evaluation found that outside funding for women's groups in Kenya failed to increase organizational capacity.
Improving Health Care Delivery in India
This paper presents descriptive evidence on health and health care in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan, India, and uses it as a case study to illustrate the difficulties of providing health care to the poor.
Menstruation, Sanitary Products, and School Attendance: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation
A study evaluating claims that menstruation is a barrier to girls’ participation in school.
Determinants of Technology Adoption: Peer Effects in Menstrual Cup Take-Up
The role of peer effects on randomized distribution of menstrual cups in Nepal.
Menstruation as a Barrier to Education?
J-PAL’s policy briefcase of the Nepal study.
SUMMARIES
Menstruation and Education in Nepal
J-PAL’s evaluation summary of the Nepal study.
LECTURE NOTES
Benefits and limits of randomization
OTHER
NIH Office of Extramural Research: Protecting Human Research Participants
An online training course from the NIH on IRB requirements.