This course consists of an introduction to (quasi) experimental methods in development policy evaluation. The course’s method of instruction will be practice and case-study based with a focus on the feasibility and value-added of different evaluation approaches for specific policy contexts and evaluation purposes. This course builds upon the Program Evaluation in Development class taught in the first semester.

• Students will become familiarized with commonly used quantitative methods of policy evaluation.
• Students will be able to develop statistical models to calculate treatment effects and to assess their limitations.
• Students will be able to critically engage with existing evaluations and to effectively communicate results to wider audiences.

Assessment

Each session will be divided into two sections. In the first segment, there will be a lecture on the week’s topic, followed by a short Q&A session based on the readings for the week.

In the second segment, we will cover practical examples of evaluation methods using RStudio. We will cover the basics of R in the first part of the course, no previous knowledge of it is expected, though familiarity with basic statistics is required.

Grading Policy:

• Assignments (60%: 3 total, 20% each)
• Student Presentation (25%)
• Attendance and Participation (15%)

Competences, learning outcomes and teaching activities (PDF)