Center for Effective Global Action
January 2016 - Impact Note
IMPACT

Photo by Abbie Trayler-Smith/ H4+ Partnership/CC BY-NC-ND
Could your global programs use a nudge?

An article published by DevEx reports on how Behavioral Economics is gaining traction in reproductive health, with practitioners and researchers alike discovering how BE innovations can help the development community solve some of its most challenging problems. The article highlights the BERI white paper and researchers funded by CEGA.




CEGA Faculty Director Ted Miguel and Executive Director Temina Madon
Water research featured in Breakthroughs

Breakthroughs highlights some of CEGA's biggest impacts in a story about water and its complex role in global development. The article, "Where Science Meets Activism," describes solutions discovered by CEGA affiliates that are now reaching millions -- from chlorine dispensers that reduce the risk of childhood diarrhea, to stress-tolerant rice varieties that protect farmers against climate shocks.



Crowdsourcing Tech Improves Public Service Delivery in Pakistan

Photo by Avery Resor
The World Bank Development Impact blog highlights a randomized evaluation funded by the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative, that uses a crowdsourcing technology (like Yelp) to improve livestock extension services. The technology, which captures feedback on the quality of artificial insemination (AI) services, improved the AI success rate by 27 percent, or an additional two weeks' median income for cattle farmers in Punjab, Pakistan. It also represents a 300 percent return on the cost of the intervention.
RESEARCH
 
Retail Globalization and Household Welfare
Benjamin Faber
in Mexico
 
The arrival of global retail chains in developing countries is transforming the way households shop. A new working paper by CEGA Affiliate Benjamin Faber (UC Berkeley) and co-authors evaluates the arrival of foreign supermarkets on household welfare in Mexico. Researchers find that the entry of foreign retail causes large and significant welfare gains for the average household, mainly driven by a reduction in the cost of living.
CEGA IN THE NEWS
 
GiveDirectly Experiences "Massive Success" 
Paul Niehaus

CEGA affiliate Paul Niehaus (UC San Diego), co-founder and President of GiveDirectly, discusses the organization's evidence-driven focus on unconditional cash transfers in a recent interview with GOOD Magazine. GiveDirectly is providing 91 cents of every donated dollar directly to recipients in Africa.




Development Engineering Thrives

In its first year, UC Berkeley's PhD minor in Development Engineering (Dev Eng) attracted a diverse community of students and faculty. Launched by CEGA and partners, the program has attracted strong participation from women: 44 percent of faculty are female, as are 57 percent of students in the initial cohort. Nationally, just 21 percent of engineering bachelor degrees and 22 percent of PhDs are awarded to women. Read why DevEng is attracting female engineers in the
New York Times.

OPPORTUNITIES

Calling on Social Scientists in East Africa

The East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative is looking for applicants to its 2016-17 EASST Visiting Fellowship, which funds short sabbaticals in the U.S. for East African researchers. Applications are due by March 31.