OAGE 2010 - Impact Evaluation of Public Policies in International Development

One of the primary challenges in international development is to determine the policies and interventions that are effective at improving the welfare of the world's poor. In recent years, rigorous impact evaluations are increasingly used to assess whether a development program, policy or intervention works, i.e. causes actual improvements in welfare outcomes. The goal of this course is to provide a detailed understanding of impact evaluations in practice and more broadly for development economics. Many of the topics, such as measuring outcomes and dealing with threats to the validity of an evaluation, are relevant for all methodologies. Students will be provided with tools to determine the strength of current evaluations and critically raise interesting questions, both from a theoretical and practical view. The course will present material through interactive lectures and case studies using examples from completed or ongoing field experiments.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and discuss the big theories of economic development

2. Justify the choice of impact evaluation methodologies

3. Evaluate the rigor of an impact evaluation study report or from an academic article

4. Analyze program data and distinguish between descriptive statistics and analytical inference techniques.

Professional Skills

Oral communication: Communicating effectively and adequately orally

Written communication: Communicating effectively and adequately in writing

Research & Analysis: Collecting and analysing information to increase understanding of a topic or issue

Creative thinking: Looking at problems or situations from an original perspective

Critical thinking: Engaging in reflective and independent thinking

Vera CHIODI

Séminaire

English

- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

- Online learning activities: 1 hour a week / 12 hours a semester

- Reading and Preparation for Class: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 0.5 hours a week / 6 hours a semester

Introductory econometrics or statistics. Familiarity with basic statistical concepts and regression analysis is required.

Autumn 2025-2026

1/ Class presence and participation in each session: 25% of the final grade (individual grading)
2/ Five (5) Problem Sets — 20 % of the final grade (group grading)
3/ Quizzes in class: 10 % of the final grade (individual grading)
4/ Class presentation (group activity and individual grading) starting week 4: Oral presentation 25% of the final grade
5/ Paper (literature review; group activity and group grading). Due week 9: 20% of the final grade.

The lectures are interactive. Theory and key concepts will be presented in lecture format. Lecture notes are also part of the required readings (slides and other material posted in Moodle).

Feedback:
Five (5) problem sets' weighting: carrying 2 %, 3 %, 4 %, 5 % and 6 % of the final grade, respectively (in crescendo).
Release & context: Each set will be distributed one week before the due date. When it is handed out, I will outline the learning objectives and the relevant theoretical framework.
Software support: During the first two weeks, the teaching assistant will run a four‑hour Stata workshop to ensure everyone is comfortable with the software.
Submission: Work in groups; submit your answers one week after the set is assigned.
Feedback: We will go over the solutions in class—either fully or in part—so you can see how your reasoning aligns with the expected approach.

Four (4) Quizzes:
Format & timing: Four quizzes will be administered during the course, each lasting 10 minutes.
Content: Each quiz will focus on a specific topic or article, which will be announced in the previous class session.
Assessment: Quizzes are individual and designed to test understanding of key concepts and readings.

Class presentation: After the oral presentations, in-class.
Short Paper based on a literature review : Hand-in comments, by email after the 1st hand-in (within 1 or 2 weeks time). This will take the form of a concise written assignment based on specific guiding questions related to a selection of key articles.