Impact evaluation methods (methods, experimental economics)

Objectives

Overview of the main approaches to impact assessment of programs and public policies. Overview: impact assessment tools (for data from randomized experiments, or from laboratory experiments using non-experimental data, etc.).

Course outline

The course will focus on the concepts and approaches involved in impact evaluations. Impact evaluations aim to determine what changes can be attributed directly and exclusively to the implementation of a program. The central question is: what is the impact (or causal effect) of a program on a given outcome? The causal dimension is paramount.

Quantitative evaluation methods differ in the type of data they use. The first family of methods are those that use data from controlled experiments, whether in the field (randomized evaluations) or in the laboratory. The second family corresponds to evaluations that mobilize non-experimental data but attempt to approximate the conditions of experimental data.

The course is divided into 2 parts. The first deals with the different experimental designs used to establish the relationship between the implementation of a program and its observed outcome. In the absence of experimentation, "quasi-experiments" are sometimes used, i.e. econometric methods designed to reproduce experimental results using observational data. Econometric methods will be presented in the second talk.

Prerequisites

Not indicated