Impact Analysis

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

In international affairs, and particularly in the field of international development, many questions on social and economic impact concern us. There are at two sets of questions: The first set concerns the impact of programs and initiatives that have been implemented or at least piloted on a small scale—the impact of conditional cash transfers on education, health and well-being of children , for example, or the impact of financial literacy training on the ability of households to manage their finances. The second set of questions concerns the poverty and social impact of programs, reforms, and even economic shocks that are yet to happen or have not yet taken place. Over the past decade, a large literature on impact evaluations and ex ante impact analysis has emerged to attempt to answer these important questions. This course exposes the students to key concepts and quantitative tools in impact evaluation and in ex ante poverty and social impact analysis. It will draw examples from studies and evaluations that have been conducted around the world in recent years. It will introduce students to experimental and non-experimental approaches that have been used in impact evaluation and simulation tools that have been used in ex ante analysis. The course includes hands-on Stata exercises in the analysis of data.