Center for Effective Global Action

September 2014 - Impact Note

IMPACT

Berkeley-IDB (BIC) Impact Evaluation Collaborative

In July, CEGA hosted its second annual workshop with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). More than sixty IDB and government professionals, from 10 Latin American countries, came to Berkeley for two weeks to design impact evaluations for new social programs. This year's workshop focused on improving early childhood development, health, and education. Watch a short film on the program on YouTube.

DIME-CEGA Climate Workshop

Landsat 7 image of the Buba River in Guinea-Bissau, Africa. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

CEGA and the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) unit co-sponsored a workshop in Berkeley, highlighting how microsatellites, sensor networks, and other measurementtechnologies can be used to evaluate economic development programs. At the event, engineers, social scientists, donors, and practitioners discussed how remote sensing data can be used to measure the climate and environmental impacts of economic growth across multiple sectors, from agriculture, irrigation, and natural resource management, to energy and transportation. Video and slides are available on the event web page.

UPCOMING

Research Transparency 3rd Annual Meeting and Call for Papers

Save the date for the 3rd annual meeting of the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) on December 11-12, 2014. The deadline to submit a paper for presentation is October 10th; accepted papers should elaborate a new tool or strategy for increasing transparency and reliability in policy-relevant social science research. Apply online through CEGA's submission platform.

USAID Innovation Marketplace Competition at TechCon 2014

On November 10, Berkeley is hosting TechCon, the annual science and technology conference sponsored by USAID's Global Development Lab. Members of the local community are invited to showcase new technologies or development solutions at the event's Innovation Marketplace. To learn more visit: http://goo.gl/kQPdXk

EVIDENCE

Promoting Sustainable Fertilizer Use in Mozambique

Fertilizer subsidy programs are one strategy for improving food security and small farm productivity in developing countries, but they may not be sustainable in the long term. In a new NBER working paper, CEGA affiliate Michael Carter and collaborators conducted a randomized evaluation in Mozambique to measure the impact of fertilizer use when farmers are given opportunities and incentives to create savings accounts. They found providing vouchers for fertilizer and improved seeds substantially increased fertilizer use and influenced uptake within farmers' social networks.

Mobile-izing Savings: A Study on the Impact of Mobile Savings Accounts

Poor people are often uninsured and lack the resources to protect themselves against negative income shocks, like a bad harvest or a sudden medical emergency. Savings are one channel for protection against shocks. A forthcoming study by CEGA affiliate Joshua Blumenstock and Michael Callen (Harvard) measures the impact of a savings program in Afghanistan, which automatically places 5 percent of program participants' salaries into a mobile bank account.

NEWS

Low-Cost Sensor Prototype Developed

With support from CEGA's Behavioral Sensing Research Challenge, a team led by two UC Berkeley graduate students has developed an ultra-low-cost sensor that can collect data on cookstove usage for more than 10 months, uninterrupted. The sensors will be piloted in an upcoming study in India, measuring the effects of improved cookstoves adoption.

Manisha Shah in WSJ and NPR on the Effects of Decriminalized Prostitution

CEGA affiliate Manisha Shah and Scott Cunningham (Baylor University) were featured in the

Wall Street Journal for their NBER working paper on the effects of legalizing prostitution. Analyzing data from Rhode Island from 2003-2009, when a loophole in the law effectively legalized indoor prostitution, they find that decriminalization significantly decreases the incidence of rape and gonorrhea, while also decreasing the number of arrests and increasing activity in the sex industry. Listen here to the radio interview on NPR.

Fall 2014 Visiting Scholars

CEGA welcomes 3 new visiting scholars to California this fall: Mahbubur Rahman and Jinnat Ara of BRAC's Research and Evaluation Division (RED) in Bangladesh and Vedaste Ndahindwa, lecturer at the University of Rwanda School of Public Health. All three scholars will spend the semester in Berkeley auditing courses, presenting their research at seminars, and designing impact evaluations in partnership with CEGA researchers. They will also visit other campuses in the CEGA network.

STAY CONNECTED!