Center for Effective Global Action

November 2014 - Impact Note

IMPACT

Creating Standards for Reproducible Research

This month, representatives from the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) held a workshop with Science magazine at the headquarters of the Center for Open Science. The meeting included CEGA directors Ted Miguel and Temina Madon and J-PAL directors Ben Olken and Rachel Glennerster. Outputs include a set of standards for journal editors to accelerate the reproducibility and transparency of research in the social and behavioral sciences. CEGA fellow Garret Christensen writes about the meeting in the BITSS blog.

Eric Brewer at Techcon

Technology for Development: USAID Convening

On November 8-10, the Development Impact Lab (DIL) hosted the 2nd Annual Technical Convening (TechCon) of USAID's Global Development Lab. The conference drew more than 350 researchers, technologists, and development professionals-including representatives from 15 USAID country offices. At the event, CEGA affiliate Eric Brewer discussed a series of experiments using smart meters for rural electrification. DIL is a competitive research initiative, managed jointly by CEGA and the Blum Center, supporting the design and rigorous evaluation of technology-driven interventions.

Linking Behavioral Economics and Health

CEGA hosted an inaugural Behavioral Health Economics Conference in Berkeley on November 14th with presentations of ongoing research at the nexus of psychology, economics, and public health. Anna Fruttero, a co-author of the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society & Behavior, delivered a keynote highlighting the role of behavioral economics in cost-effectively improving policy and program design.

UPCOMING

Photo from http://duinobits.com

Behavioral Sensing Workgroup

Recent breakthroughs in remote sensing offer unique opportunities to measure economic, social and behavioral trends in real time with unprecedented accuracy and reliability. On Tuesday December 2, CEGA will host a Behavioral Sensing conference highlighting the latest research from grantees, including remote sensing of illegal mining in the Philippines, sensors to track black carbon emissions in India, and a mobile platform to assess people's valuation of time. RSVP to attend here.

Paper Submissions for PacDev Due December 8

The next Pacific Conference on Development Economics (PacDev) will be held on Saturday March 21, 2015 at UC San Diego. It will be hosted by the Policy Design and Evaluation Lab, with CEGA scientific director Paul Gertler as the keynote speaker. Paper submissions are due on December 8, 2014; please register for the event online.

EVIDENCE

Impacts of Solar Ovens in Senegal

Over three billion people worldwide use wood, charcoal, and other biomass for daily cooking, lighting, and heating. Use of inefficient equipment can drive particulate and greenhouse gas emissions, imposing heavy costs on health and the environment. However, low-income households have shown weak adoption of cleaner and more efficient technologies. A study by CEGA affiliate David Levine with Theresa Beltramo and J. George Shanthikumar studies the effects of subsidized "solar ovens" purchased by women in rural Senegal. They find inconsistent use of solar stoves and the persistent use of charcoal and wood fires for daily cooking. As a result, access to the solar stove does not reduce exposure to carbon monoxide. The evaluation led to the halt of a proposed nationwide rollout of the solar oven in Senegal.

NEWS

CEGA Helps Launch New Journal: "Development Engineering"

Development Engineering (Dev Eng) is a new open access, interdisciplinary journal that showcases innovative technological solutions to the problems of poverty. Slated for launch in Spring 2015, the journal is led by CEGA affiliate Paul Gertler and Berkeley engineer Ashok Gadgil. Dev Eng will serve as a bridge between development economists, engineers, and scientists working to address poverty. Submissions will open in January 2015.

Ted Miguel Featured in Washington Post

A recent NBER working paper, Climate and Conflict by CEGA faculty director Edward Miguel and co-authors Marshall Burke and Sol Hsiang, surveys the literature on the links between interpersonal violence, intergroup conflict, and climate change. The paper is discussed in a blog post in The Washington Post.

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