Evaluations

Policy Publications

Search our database of policy briefcases, bulletins, and evidence reviews. Briefcases summarize the results and policy recommendations from one randomized evaluation, while bulletins synthesize the broader policy lessons emerging from multiple evaluations on the same topic. Evidence reviews summarize an existing academic literature review, like a handbook chapter or white paper, for a policy audience.

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Students smiling looking at white board

Sectoral Employment Programs as a Path to Quality Jobs: Lessons from Randomized Evaluations

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Last Updated:
Febrero 22, 2022
J-PAL North America’s Sectoral Employment Evidence Review summarizes an academic paper that examines four randomized evaluations of sectoral employment programs and describes the mechanisms behind their success.
Two women walking outside in Ohrid, North Macedonia

Empowering Women through Targeted Conditional Cash Transfers

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Last Updated:
Octubre 15, 2021
Targeting payments of a nationwide conditional cash transfer program to women increased household spending on food by empowering women and enhancing their decision-making power in the household.
Mixed Christian and Muslim amateur soccer league groups greet each other before a game.

Improving Tolerance through Soccer in Post-ISIS Iraq

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Last Updated:
Septiembre 29, 2021
  • Salma Mousa
Promoting positive and cooperative contact helped Iraqi Christians displaced by ISIS build tolerance toward Muslim peers after conflict, but these effects did not generalize to the broader Muslim community.
A young woman presents a lesson in a classroom.

Getting Parents Involved

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Last Updated:
Julio 20, 2021
Parental involvement meetings increased parents’ participation in their children’s education and reduced delinquent behavior and absenteeism in France. Positive effects were also seen in classmates whose parents did not participate in the program.
Two women sit face to face. The woman on the left holds a pedometer and is speaking to the woman on the right.

Stepping Up to Combat Urban Diabetes

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Last Updated:
Julio 7, 2021
Providing financial incentives to walk at least 10,000 steps per day led to increased exercise and moderate physical and mental health improvements among diabetics and prediabetics in India, with "threshold" contracts being especially effective for diabetics who are more impatient.
Three African women sit together and smile at the photographer.

Commitments to Save

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Last Updated:
Mayo 25, 2021
Commitment savings products have increased savings and investments in low- and middle-income settings. Providers can improve the impacts of commitment savings products by including design features that meet the needs of the local population.
Health care workers in Sierra Leone put on personal protective equipment during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak.

Health Care Communities Can Count On

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Last Updated:
Marzo 9, 2021
  • Darin Christensen
  • Oeindrila Dube
  • Johannes Haushofer
  • Bilal Siddiqi
  • Maarten Voors
Community monitoring and nonfinancial award programs for health clinics in Sierra Leone improved clinic utilization, patient satisfaction, and reporting during the 2014 Ebola crisis. Community monitoring improved child health and reduced mortality among Ebola patients.
Women wait in line while holding up voter identification cards

Improving Lives through Evidence: Adapting to a Changing World 2020-21

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Last Updated:
Marzo 8, 2021
Last year brought new challenges and demanded innovative solutions. Read how our research, policy, and capacity building work evolved to adapt to lockdowns and meet new evidence needs in the online 2020-21 edition of “Improving Lives Through Evidence."
A young child receiving immunization drops

Customizing Performance Pay to Overcome Health Worker Procrastination in Pakistan

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Last Updated:
Enero 6, 2021
  • James Andreoni
  • Michael Callen
  • Karrar Hussain
  • Muhammad Yasir Khan
  • Charles Sprenger
Tailoring performance-based incentives according to health providers’ innate characteristics reduced procrastination and increased polio vaccination in Pakistan.