A few days ago, my colleague Gerry Johnson brought to our attention this presentation by Owen Barder. Watch it. It's provocative, persuasive and pregnant with ideas. It seems like it chats with Esther Duflo’s Ted Talk that Francisco Mejía shared a few days ago. It weaves very nicely the day-to-day practical issues that we face in impact evaluation. It also challenges, … [Read more...] about Two ideas that simplify: food for thought
Applying impact assessments to non-traditional lending areas
When it comes to finding out what works and what doesn’t work in development, it is worth noting the efforts made by the Inter-American Development Bank to measure the effectiveness of its projects. Over the past three years, the Bank has managed to significantly increase the number of projects that incorporate rigorous impact assessments based on experimental and … [Read more...] about Applying impact assessments to non-traditional lending areas
A lesson from economist Esther Duflo
Recently, as part of the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), renowned economist Esther Duflo made a passionate plea for the importance of measuring and comparing what we know and what we don’t know in order to determine which development policies work and which do not. I recommend that you read her presentation and reflect on her message. … [Read more...] about A lesson from economist Esther Duflo
Five strategies for more effective impact assessments
I recently read an interesting article that sets forth strategic options for increasing the effectiveness of impact assessments, not just from a methodological standpoint, but also in terms of implementation. The article specifically deals with China and the valuable experience of the Rural Education Action Project of Stanford University, which is collaborating with the … [Read more...] about Five strategies for more effective impact assessments
Children in Argentina learn more math and science, pilot program shows
I’m happy to share with you the IDB has launched its 2010 Development Effectiveness Overview (DEO). The 2010 DEO shows that in 2010, 27% of our projects had rigorous impact evaluation plans designed at project approval. The DEO reports on key impact evaluations, both ongoing and recently completed, of Bank’s projects in our five institutional priorities. Projects include … [Read more...] about Children in Argentina learn more math and science, pilot program shows