The objective is to advance students’ understanding of the scientific approach to evaluation of public policy by drawing on leading articles from the literature. Considered as a second course on evaluation, this course will start with a refresher on standard evaluation methods (including randomized experiments, difference-in-difference) and provide more extensive treatment for some of these methods (IV, regression discontinuity).
In the second part of the course, we will offer an introduction to applied policy evaluation focusing on policy-relevant empirical papers for the evaluation of education, labor, social and health interventions and policies in both developed and developing countries.