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The Experimental Approach to Development Economics

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  • Banerjee, Abhijit
  • Duflo, Esther

Abstract

Randomized experiments have become a popular tool in development economics research, and have been the subject of a number of criticisms. This paper reviews the recent literature, and discusses the strengths and limitations of this approach in theory and in practice. We argue that the main virtue of randomized experiments is that, due to the close collaboration between researchers and implementers, they allow the estimation of parameters that it would not otherwise be possible to evaluate. We discuss the concerns that have been raised regarding experiments, and generally conclude that while they are real, they are often not specific to experiments. We conclude by discussing the relationship between theory and experiments.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 7037.

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Date of creation: Nov 2008
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7037

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Keywords: development economics; randomized experiment;

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References

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Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Undergraduate Economics Journal Club
    by Liam Delaney in Geary Behaviour Centre on 2010-09-10 14:31:00
  2. The Rise of the French Socialists and the New Book "Uncontrolled"
    by Matthew E. Kahn in Environmental and Urban Economics on 2012-05-07 15:03:00
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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Cited by:
  1. Francis Teal & Markus Eberhardt, 2009. "Econometrics for Grumblers: A New Look at the Literature on Cross-Country Growth Empirics," Economics Series Working Papers CSAE WPS/2009-07, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
  2. Christine Valente, . "Household Returns to Land Transfers in South Africa: A Q-squared analysis," Discussion Papers 09/07, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
  3. José Salazar & Bryan Husted & Markus Biehl, 2012. "Thoughts on the Evaluation of Corporate Social Performance Through Projects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 175-186, January.
  4. Galarza, Francisco B. & Carter, Michael R., 2010. "Risk Preferences and Demand for Insurance in Peru: A Field Experiment," 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado 61871, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
  5. Utteeyo Dasgupta & Subha Mani & Lata Gangadharan & Pushkar Maitra & Samyukta Subramanian, 2012. "Choosing to be Trained: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Fordham Economics Discussion Paper Series dp2012_01, Fordham University, Department of Economics.
  6. Channing Arndt & Sam Jones & Finn Tarp, 2009. "Aid and Growth: Have We Come Full Circle?," Discussion Papers 09-22, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
  7. Ricardo Monge-Gonzalez, 2011. "The Impact of Internet Banking on the Performance of Micro and Small Enterprises in Costa Rica: A Randomized Controlled Experiment," Research Department Publications 4742, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  8. Van Klaveren, C. & De Wolf, I., 2013. "Systematic Reviews In Education Research: When Do Effect Studies Provide Evidence?," Working Papers 46, Top Institute for Evidence Based Education Research.
  9. Edgar Bejarano B, 2011. "Algunos Aprendizajes Y Postulados Para La Intervención Social," INVESTIGACIONES Y PRODUCTOS CID 008345, UN - RCE - CID.
  10. Thomas, Ranjeeta & Jones, Andrew M & Squire, Lyn, 2010. "Methods for Evaluating Innovative Health Programs (EIHP): A Multi-Country Study," MPRA Paper 29402, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  11. Guido W. Imbens, 2009. "Better LATE Than Nothing: Some Comments on Deaton (2009) and Heckman and Urzua (2009)," NBER Working Papers 14896, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  12. Gustavo A. Crespi & Alessandro Maffioli & Pierre Mohnen & Gonzalo Vázquez, 2011. "Evaluating the Impact of Science, Technology and Innovation Programs: a Methodological Toolkit," SPD Working Papers 1104, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness (SPD).
  13. Olofsgård, Anders, 2012. "The Politics of Aid Effectiveness: Why Better Tools can Make for Worse Outcomes," SITE Working Paper Series 16, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics, Stockholm School of Economics.
  14. Galarza, Francisco, 2009. "Risk, Credit, and Insurance in Peru: Field Experimental Evidence," MPRA Paper 17833, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  15. Hermes, Niels & Lensink, Robert, 2011. "Microfinance: Its Impact, Outreach, and Sustainability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 875-881, June.
  16. Juan Camilo C�rdenas, 2009. "Experiments in Environment and Development," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 157-182, 09.

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