In the last decade, attention has increasingly been placed on measuring and establishing the causality of the impact that development projects or interventions – either privately or publicly funded - have on an outcome of interest. In many areas such as health, education and social protection there is an emerging consensus on how to estimate the causal impact of … [Read more...] about Impact evaluation, cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis: back to the future?
Crime, emotions and gender: from fútbol to football
I just finished reading a fascinating paper on soccer and crime in Uruguay (4th in the 2010 World Cup), by Ignacio Munyo and Martín Rossi from the Universidad de San Andrés in Argentina. Rossi is also the author of another interesting paper on conscription and crime where he showed that participation in the Argentinian military service increases the likelihood of developing … [Read more...] about Crime, emotions and gender: from fútbol to football
The top ten blogs and sites for 2012: a randomized list
As 2012 slowly starts, and this being our first blog of the year, here are ten blogs and sites that are fun and interesting, in eclectic and random(ized) order. Roving Bandit is probably the best economics blog in South Sudan, according to its author Lee Crawfurd, who also blogs at the Innovations for Poverty Action site. If you like Thaler’s and Sunstein’s Nudge, then … [Read more...] about The top ten blogs and sites for 2012: a randomized list
Cost Effectiveness: a new Guide for Health and Education
We have just published a new Guide, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Education and Health Interventions in Developing Countries written by Patrick McEwan, who teaches at Wellesley College. Cost effectiveness analysis is a straight-forward but hugely under-utilized tool. This paper reviews the framework and methods of cost-effectiveness analysis, emphasizing education and … [Read more...] about Cost Effectiveness: a new Guide for Health and Education
Cement is good
I just finished reading a fascinating paper on the social impact of urban street paving in Mexico by Marco Gonzalez and Climent Quintana. A previous version of this paper had been presented at the Impact conference in Cuernavaca back in June 2011. It turns out that street paving – mostly with cement - has a significant impact on property values (+43%), land values (+54%) … [Read more...] about Cement is good