Evidence-Informed Policy from an International Perspective

• Author: Thomas Chupein,Rachel Glennerster
• Date: 01 July 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716218764297
• Published date: 01 July 2018
• Subject Matter: Major Elements of the Evidence-Based Movement

62 ANNALS, AAPSS, 678, Month 2018

DOI: 10.1177/0002716218764297

Evidence-

Informed Policy

from an

International

Perspective

By

THOMAS CHUPEIN

and

RACHEL GLENNERSTER

764297ANN The Annals of The American AcademyEvidence-Informed Policy from an International Perspective

research-article2018

This article discusses the history of randomized controlled

trials (RCTs) in development economics and the ways in

which their use has shaped disciplinary practices and

development policy over the past two decades. We first

explain how increased use of academic-run RCTs interna-

tionally has led to important methodological break-

throughs that have advanced our knowledge of human

behavior as well as changes in how research is conducted,

including routine practice of in-field apprenticeships for

young researchers and the establishment of robust

research infrastructure in numerous developing countries

around the world. We then explore three ways in which

the scale-up of evidence-informed programs and policies

based on findings from RCTs have achieved real-world

impact, giving examples for each. These include how rig-

orous evidence can help to resolve contentious policy

debates; enable policy-makers to assess external validity of

findings and draw lessons across contexts; and support

institutionalization of evidence use in various types of

organizations.

Keywords: randomized controlled trials; develop-

ment economics; impact evaluation; inter-

national development

In 1994, Harvard economist Michael Kremer

and one of the authors of this article, Rachel

Glennerster, were visiting friends in western

Kenya, where Michael had taught high school,

when Paul Lipeyah asked a simple question.

How could his nonprofit organization,

International Child Support (ICS), know what

impact its financial support to local schools was

having? “If you really want to know,” Michael

Thomas Chupein is an independent consultant and

former senior policy manager at the Abdul Latif Jameel

Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), where he served for five

years as program manager for J-PAL’s health sector,

working with policy-makers around the world to forge

new research partnerships and to disseminate and

promote the use of scientific evidence as a pathway to

improving social and economic outcomes.

Correspondence: thomaschupein@gmail.com