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IZA/DFID Short Course: Program Evaluation

Organizers: Maryam Naghsh Nejad (IZA), David Lam (University of Michigan and IZA)
Location:Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Date:November 18, 2017 - November 19, 2017

Event Manager:

Viola Hartmann (IZA)


Program

+++ all sessions include 20-30 minutes practical applications +++
(with technical assistance)

Saturday, November 18:

08:00 - 09:00   Registration and Distribution of Learning Materials

Teaching Materials
Stata Licenses, Installation
 
09:00 - 09:15   Welcome and Introduction (All)
 
 
09:15 - 10:30   Simon Franklin (London School of Economics)
"Impact Evaluation"

Theory of Change and Outcome Variable Selection
Potential Outcome Framework
RCT and Other Identification Strategies
 
 
10:30 - 11:00   Coffee Break
 
 
11:00 - 12:30   Christopher Parsons (University of Western Australia and IZA)
"Difference in Differences"

Motivation and Intuition
Historical Example
Graphical Illustration and Formalization
DiD with Regressions
Practical Advice and Sensitivity Analysis
 
 
12:30 - 13:30   Lunch
 
 
13:30 - 15:00   Marco Caliendo (University of Potsdam and IZA)
"Matching I"

What Is (Propensity Score) Matching?
Estimating the Propensity Score
Overlap and Common Support
 
 
15:00 - 15:30   Coffee Break
 
 
15:30 - 17:00   Marco Caliendo (University of Potsdam and IZA)
"Matching II"

Choosing a Matching Algorithm
Assessing the Matching Quality
Effect Estimation
 
 
17:00 - 17:30   Day 1 Wrap Up (All)
 
 
19:30       Dinner at Restaurant "La Maison du Combattant", Rue Lecoeur, Abidjan
 
 

Sunday, November 19:

08:30 - 10:00   Simon Franklin (London School of Economics)
"Randomized Evaluations I"

When to Randomize and How to Randomize
Data Analysis and Learning from RCTs
Spillovers, Heterogeneous Effects
 
 
10:00 - 10:30   Coffee Break
 
 
10:30 - 12:00   Simon Franklin (London School of Economics)
"Randomized Evaluations II"

Implementation of RCTs: Balance Tests, Take-up, Attrition, Power
Calculations
Multiple Treatment Arms, External Validity
 
 
12:00 - 13:00   Lunch
 
 
13:00 - 14:30   Christopher Parsons (University of Western Australia and IZA)
"Regression and Discontinuity Design"

Motivation and Intuition
Examples: RDD in Practice
Sharp RDD: Formalization and Estimation
Robustness Checks
Fuzzy RDD: Intuition and Practice
 
 
14:30 - 15:00   Coffee Break
 
 
15:00 - 16:00   Practical Implications and Concluding Remarks (All)
 
 
       

Teaching Staff:



 




Suggested Reading

  • Impact Evaluation:
    Khandker, S.R., Koowal, G.B. & Samad, H.A. (2010): Handbook of Impact Evaluation : Quantitative Methods and Practices, Chapter 2, World Bank Publications.

  • Difference in Differences:
    Card, D. & Krueger, A.B. (1994): Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania , The American Economic Review 84, 772-793.

  • Matching:
    Caliendo, M. & Kopeinig, S. (2008): Some Practical Guidance for the Implementation of Propensity Score Matching, Journal of Economic Surveys 22, 31-72.
    Dehejia, R.H. & Wahba, S. (1999): Causal Effects in Nonexperimental Studies: Reevaluation of Training Programs, Journal of the American Statistical Association 94, 1053-1062.

  • Randomized Evaluations:
    Khandker, S.R., Koowal, G.B. & Samad, H.A. (2010): Handbook of Impact Evaluation: Quantitative Methods and Practices, Chapter 3, World Bank Publications.
    Duflo, E., Glennester, R. & Kremer, M. (2006): Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Technical Working Paper 333.
    Muralidharan, K. & Niehaus, P. (2017): Experimentation at Scale, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper 23957.

  • Regression Discontinuity Design:
    Meyersson, E. (2014): Islamic Rule and the Empowerment of the Poor and Pious, Econometrica 82, 229-269.