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Mechanism Experiments and Policy Evaluations

Author Info

  • Jens Ludwig
  • Jeffrey R. Kling
  • Sendhil Mullainathan

Abstract

Randomized controlled trials are increasingly used to evaluate policies. How can we make these experiments as useful as possible for policy purposes? We argue greater use should be made of experiments that identify the behavioral mechanisms that are central to clearly specified policy questions, what we call "mechanism experiments." These types of experiments can be of great policy value even if the intervention that is tested (or its setting) does not correspond exactly to any realistic policy option.

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File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.25.3.17
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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Volume (Year): 25 (2011)
Issue (Month): 3 (Summer)
Pages: 17-38

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Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:25:y:2011:i:3:p:17-38
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.25.3.17
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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
  • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
  • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
  • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
  • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
  • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
  • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

References listed on IDEAS
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Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. An incrementalist view of Impact Evaluation and knowledge
    by Jed Friedman in Development Impact on 2012-05-02 13:27:23
  2. Not all cooking stoves are created equal: Contrasting results on improved cook stove programs in recent evaluations
    by Jed Friedman in Development Impact on 2012-06-13 12:59:07
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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Cited by:

  1. Zanella, Giulio & Banerjee, Ritesh, 2016. "Experiencing breast cancer at the workplace," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 53-66.
  2. Michele Belot & Jonathan James, 2013. "Partner Selection into Policy Relevant Field Experiments," ESE Discussion Papers 236, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
  3. Scott-Clayton, Judith & Minaya, Veronica, 2016. "Should student employment be subsidized? Conditional counterfactuals and the outcomes of work-study participation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-18.
  4. Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Using Case Studies to Explore the External Validity of ?Complex? Development Interventions," Working Paper Series UNU-WIDER Research Paper , World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  5. Wanjala, Bernadette M. & Muradian, Roldan, 2013. "Can Big Push Interventions Take Small-Scale Farmers out of Poverty? Insights from the Sauri Millennium Village in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 147-160.
  6. Stephan Litschig & Yves Zamboni, 2008. "Judicial presence and rent extraction," Economics Working Papers 1143, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Dec 2012.
  7. Jaime Torres, Mónica Marcela & Carlsson, Fredrik, 2016. "Social Norms and Information Diffusion in Water-saving Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Colombia," Working Papers in Economics 652, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
  8. Hunt Allcott, 2012. "Site Selection Bias in Program Evaluation," NBER Working Papers 18373, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  9. Muller, Sean, 2014. "Randomised trials for policy: a review of the external validity of treatment effects," SALDRU Working Papers 127, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
  10. Scarlato, Margherita, 2012. "Social Enterprise, Capabilities and Development: Lessons from Ecuador," MPRA Paper 37618, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  11. Delfgaauw, Josse & Dur, Robert & Non, Arjan & Verbeke, Willem, 2014. "Dynamic incentive effects of relative performance pay: A field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 1-13.
  12. Altmann, Steffen & Traxler, Christian, 2012. "Nudges at the Dentist," IZA Discussion Papers 6699, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  13. Mendoza Alcantara, Alejandra & Woolcock, Michael, 2014. "Integrating qualitative methods into investment climate impact evaluations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7145, The World Bank.
  14. Steven Venti & David A. Wise, 2014. "The Long Reach of Education: Early Retirement," NBER Working Papers 20740, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  15. Dolan, P. & Hallsworth, M. & Halpern, D. & King, D. & Metcalfe, R. & Vlaev, I., 2012. "Influencing behaviour: The mindspace way," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 264-277.
  16. Ferraro, Paul J. & Miranda, Juan José, 2013. "Heterogeneous treatment effects and mechanisms in information-based environmental policies: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 356-379.

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