Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?

Can project evaluation methods be used to evaluate programs: complex interventions involving multiple activities? A program evaluation cannot be based simply on separate evaluations of its components if interactions between the activities are important. In this paper a measure is proposed, the total...

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Main Authors:	Elbers, Chris, Gunning, Jan Willem
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	en_US
Published:	Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank 2016
Subjects:	beneficiaries control groups impact evaluation program evaluation ex post evaluation experimental methods health outcomes NGOs policy change program intervention project design randomized controlled trials regression analysis targeting treatment effects
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24192

id	okr-10986-24192
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-241922021-04-23T14:04:20Z Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions? Elbers, Chris Gunning, Jan Willem beneficiaries control groups impact evaluation program evaluation ex post evaluation experimental methods health outcomes NGOs policy change program intervention project design randomized controlled trials regression analysis targeting treatment effects Can project evaluation methods be used to evaluate programs: complex interventions involving multiple activities? A program evaluation cannot be based simply on separate evaluations of its components if interactions between the activities are important. In this paper a measure is proposed, the total program effect (TPE), which is an extension of the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET). It explicitly takes into account that in the real world (with heterogeneous treatment effects) individual treatment effects and program assignment are often correlated. The TPE can also deal with the common situation in which such a correlation is the result of decisions on (intended) program participation not being taken centrally. In this context RCTs are less suitable even for the simplest interventions. The TPE can be estimated by applying regression techniques to observational data from a representative sample from the targeted population. The approach is illustrated with an evaluation of a health insurance program in Vietnam. 2016-05-03T21:18:16Z 2016-05-03T21:18:16Z 2014-10-02 Journal Article World Bank Economic Review 1564-698X http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24192 en_US CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank Publications & Research :: Journal Article Publications & Research Vietnam
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	en_US
topic	beneficiaries control groups impact evaluation program evaluation ex post evaluation experimental methods health outcomes NGOs policy change program intervention project design randomized controlled trials regression analysis targeting treatment effects
spellingShingle	beneficiaries control groups impact evaluation program evaluation ex post evaluation experimental methods health outcomes NGOs policy change program intervention project design randomized controlled trials regression analysis targeting treatment effects Elbers, Chris Gunning, Jan Willem Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
geographic_facet	Vietnam
description	Can project evaluation methods be used to evaluate programs: complex interventions involving multiple activities? A program evaluation cannot be based simply on separate evaluations of its components if interactions between the activities are important. In this paper a measure is proposed, the total program effect (TPE), which is an extension of the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET). It explicitly takes into account that in the real world (with heterogeneous treatment effects) individual treatment effects and program assignment are often correlated. The TPE can also deal with the common situation in which such a correlation is the result of decisions on (intended) program participation not being taken centrally. In this context RCTs are less suitable even for the simplest interventions. The TPE can be estimated by applying regression techniques to observational data from a representative sample from the targeted population. The approach is illustrated with an evaluation of a health insurance program in Vietnam.
format	Journal Article
author	Elbers, Chris Gunning, Jan Willem
author_facet	Elbers, Chris Gunning, Jan Willem
author_sort	Elbers, Chris
title	Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
title_short	Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
title_full	Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
title_fullStr	Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
title_full_unstemmed	Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?
title_sort	evaluation of development programs : randomized controlled trials or regressions?
publisher	Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank
publishDate	2016
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24192
_version_	1764455894267985920

Evaluation of Development Programs : Randomized Controlled Trials or Regressions?

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