Center for Effective Global Action

July 2014 - Impact Note

IMPACT

Workshop on Innovation in Agriculture

Strategies to increase agricultural productivity were presented by CEGA faculty, staff, and visiting scholars at a week-long workshop in Kigali, Rwanda sponsored by the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) Initiative. The conference provided an opportunity to share results from the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI) with government officials from more than 10 African and South Asian countries.

Summer Institute in Research Transparency (through BITSS)

In June, CEGA convened more than 30 PhD students and junior faculty from 8 countries for a week-long institute, part of the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in Social Sciences (BITSS). The institute, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, presented new tools and approaches for increasing openness and integrity in social science research. All teaching material is available on the course page and through OSF.

EASST Annual Summit in Rwanda

The East African Social Science Translation (EASST) network convened its third annual Impact Evaluation Summit this June in Kigali, Rwanda in tandem with the World Bank's workshop. Hosted by former EASST Visiting Scholar Jeanine Condo at the University of Rwanda, the two-day event catalyzed collaborations among CEGA faculty, EASST scholars and researchers, and policy-makers in the region. The network will launch a blog in the coming year, featuring new ideas to promote development in East Africa.

E2A Videos Now Online

CEGA's Evidence to Action symposium, held in May 2014, highlighted strategies designed to help poor farmers benefit from modern agricultural technologies. If you missed this year's event, or want to revisit the program, videos of the presentations are now available here .

Webinar and BBC Event on Behavioral Economics

On June 10, CEGA's Behavioral Economics in Reproductive Health Initiative (BERI) was featured in a webinar highlighting the use of behavioral economics in health behavior change interventions. The event was organized by the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3), in partnership with USAID and Johns Hopkins University. CEGA also participated in a London event on behavioral economics and social change, hosted by BBC Media Action in collaboration with DFID and the Wellcome Trust.

UPCOMING

Berkeley-IDB Workshop

For two weeks in July, CEGA will host 60 staff and clients of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for an intensive workshop in program evaluation. Co-hosted by the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley, the workshop will connect CEGA affiliates with IDB leaders and their government counterparts to design evaluations for health, early childhood development, education and labor programs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

EVIDENCE

Reducing Electoral Fraud in Afghanistan

New research from CEGA affiliates Eli Berman, Mike Callen, Clark Gibson, and James Long points to the effectiveness of an anti-fraud intervention during the 2010 elections in Afghanistan. Polling station managers were sent letters indicating that election results would be audited against certified records. The intervention reduced incidence of fraud and increased the perceived legitimacy of the government. Results from the trial were featured on the Freakonomics blog.

IN THE NEWS

Thad Dunning in the Washington Post

CEGA affiliate Thad Dunning's new initiative to promote replication studies within the field of political accountability was recently featured in the Washington Post. The initiative, co-sponsored by the Experiments in Governance and Politics (EGAP) network and the UC Berkeley Center on the Politics of Development (CPD), aims to develop and test new strategies for enhancing political accountability in developing countries.

de Janvry, Emerik, and Sadoulet in the The Economist

Agricultural research by CEGA affiliates Alain de Janvry, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and UC Berkeley graduate student Kyle Emerick, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), was recently featured in the Economist. The research identifies benefits to the poorest farmers in India of adopting a flood-resistant strain of rice known as Swarna-Sub1.

Paul Gertler in Science & NPR's Morning Edition (Photo from IRRI Website)

A new study by CEGA Scientific Director Paul Gertler, published in Science and featured on NPR's Morning Edition, shows that early childhood stimulation programs improve cognitive development of growth-stunted youth, with benefits persisting into adulthood. The 20-year study finds that adults in Jamaica who participated in a "Head Start"-like program as toddlers now earn 25% more than those in the control group, suggesting that improved parenting skills can compensate for the early disadvantages associated with poverty.

STAY CONNECTED!