Evaluation Methods

This course aims to provide students with a range of specific technical skills that will enable them to undertake impact evaluation of policy. Too often policy is implemented but not fully evaluated. Without evaluation we cannot then tell what the short or longer term impact of a particular policy has been. On this course, students will learn the skills needed to evaluate particular policies and will have the opportunity to do some hands on data manipulation. A particular feature of this course is that it provides these skills in a real world context of policy evaluation. It also focuses primarily not on experimental evaluation (Random Control Trials) but rather quasi-experimental methodologies that can be used where an experiment is not desirable or feasible.

Topics:

• Regression-based techniques
• Evaluation framework and concepts
• The limitations of regression based approaches and RCTs
• Before/After, Difference in Difference (DID) methods
• Computer exercise on difference in difference methods
• Instrumental variables techniques
• Regression discontinuity design.

The target audience for this course will be students who are keen to learn more about impact evaluation and the associated statistical techniques. Participants will get the opportunity to develop some skills in the use of STATA software.

• Basic knowledge of STATA is assumed
• Familiarity with regression analysis would be an advantage for this course
• Knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics is required

Number of sessions: 4

Morning lecture; afternoon lab session

Stata will be installed on the machine in the computer labs for this module.

• Ravallion, M.(2000) The mystery of the vanishing benefits: Ms Speedy Analyst’s introduction to evaluation, World Bank (good simple introduction to economic evaluation methods) http://www.worldbank.org/html/dec/Publications/Workpapers/wps2000series/wps2153/wps2153.pdf.

• Gertler, P., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L., and Vermeersch C. (2011) Impact Evaluation in Practice, Washington DC: The World Bank https://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTHDOFFICE/Resources/5485726-1295455628620/Impact_Evaluation_in_Practice.pdf

Click the "Booking" panel on the left-hand sidebar (on a phone, this will be via a link called Booking/Availability near the top of the page).

There may be an online open-book test at the end of the module; for most students, the test is not compulsory.

• Elements of Social Science Research
• Statistics