Center for Effective Global Action
September 2015 - Impact Note
IMPACT
 
Where Silicon Valley Meets Poverty Action   
 
The field of Development Engineering is highlighted in DevEx this month, described as the "next generation" in the global movement toward evidence-based development decision-making. Read about the role of CEGA and Safe Water Dispensers in the birth of this new approach.
 
New Evidence from BRAC  

Last month, the long-run impacts of BRAC's Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program were published by BRAC-CEGA fellows Jinnat Ara and Narayan Das. The study examines a variant of TUP, called "Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction," that focuses on women's empowerment in Bangladesh.

New Briefcase on Climate Resistant Rice

A new policy briefcase describes the impacts of 
Swarna-Sub1, a flood-tolerant rice variety developed 
in India by IRRI. CEGA affiliates Alain de Janvry, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and co-authors find that the technology reduces risk for smallholder farmers in Odisha, India and encourages additional investment in farming, resulting in substantial yield increases in both flood and non-flood years. Scale up of this rice variety across India will benefit marginalized farmers the most, because they tend to cultivate low-lying, flood-prone 
lands. The study was funded by the  Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI), a collaboration between the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and CEGA. 
PEOPLE
 
CEGA's Fall 2015 Visiting Fellows   
 
This Fall, visiting researchers Hailemariam Ayalew Tiruneh (Debre Marcos University, Ethiopia) and  Saint Kizito Omala (Makerere University, Uganda) will be in residence at UC Berkeley, as part of the EASST Collaborative fellowship program. In the past 3 years, CEGA has brought 22 developing country researchers to the U.S. for semester-long sabbaticals, resulting in more than 12 new studies in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Leamer
 
Who Inspired the Leamer-Rosenthal Prizes (Part II)?   

The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in Social Sciences (BITSS) recently launched a series of prizes for Open Social Science, named for 
Bob Rosenthal and Ed Leamer. Learn more about Ed Leamer and his 
impact on research transparency in this blog post. Submissions for the 
prize competition will close September 30.
CEGA IN THE NEWS
 
Partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank
An ongoing CEGA partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank was recently featured in a blog post on the Development Effectiveness Blog. The post provides a glimpse into the collaborative, discussing participants' experiences to date. 

Are We Placing Too Much Focus on Rural Electrification?

Catherine Wolfram was recently featured on the Energy Collective blog, in a post discussing her concerns about energy access as the primary focus of development in the energy sphere. 

OPPORTUNITIES

Abu Dhabi hosts the Working Group in African Political Economy 

WGAPE will hold a Special Meeting on January 7-9, 2016 at NYU-Abu Dhabi, including a workshop for junior developing country scholars on the newest tools for rigorous analysis of political economy in Africa. Paper submissions are due October 18.

Accepting Submissions: Development Engineering (Dev Eng)

CEGA and partners recently launched Development Engineering, an open access, interdisciplinary journal applying engineering and economic research to the problems of poverty. The journal is currently accepting submissions.

BITSS Annual Meeting: Call for Papers

The   Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences  (BITSS) is now accepting paper submissions on research transparency and reproducibility of research for the 2015 Annual 2015 Annual Meeting, which will take place December 10-11 in Berkeley. Submissions are due October 9.



Join the CEGA Team

The Center for Effective Global Action is currently hiring for multiple positions, including an Operations Associate and Program Managers in Measurement Technology, Agriculture, and Institutions. Please visit our webpage for more information.
CEGA Photo Drive

The deadline for CEGA's 2nd Annual Photo Drive has been extended to September 30! There's still time to submit your 
eye-catching and relevant photos from your work and travels around the world for use in our online and printed materials. Submit up to three images for a chance to win a cash prize!