Projects

Community Driven Development in Sierra Leone

What happens when decision-making power is brought to the village level? This evaluation looks at the effectiveness of CDD designed to promote transparent, inclusive decision making, in order to reflect the priorities of the entire community, including traditionally disadvantaged groups.

RESEARCHERS: Rachel Glennerster, Edward Miguel, and Katherine Casey

Reconciliation, Conflict and Development: A Field Experiment in Sierra Leone

This evaluation looks at the effectiveness of alternative peace and reconciliation efforts done at the community level. Can reconciliation promote economic development and reduce conflict in communities that have experienced civil war? What kinds reconciliation efforts work best in post-conflict communities?

RESEARCHERS: Oeindrila Dube, Bila Siddiqi

Improving Health Service Delivery Through Community Monitoring and Non-Financial Awards

While existing healthcare infrastructure in developing countries is often inadequate to deliver necessary services, a lack of incentives for public providers to deliver quality services and the resulting low clinic utilization rates also contribute to poor health outcomes. Do bottom-up interventions such as community monitoring or top-down interventions such as performance based finance result in higher quality service provision and improved health outcomes?

RESEARCHERS: Oeindrila Dube, Bila Siddiqi Johannes Haushofer

Promoting Adoption of New Rice Varieties: Addressing the Costs of Early Adoption in Sierra Leone

Researchers investigate whether initial price and training subsidies effectively promote experimentation and adoption of new rice varieties among farmers in Sierra Leone. Do improved seed varieties benefit poor farmers in Sierra Leone? Can price subsidies and agricultural extension training lessen the costs of early adoption?

RESEARCHERS: Jeannie Annan, Rachel Glennerster, Tavneet Suri, Francis Kimmins, and Charles Dixon

Child Protection Knowledge and Information Network

Children in post-conflict environments are a population of particular concern, exposed to violence, displacement, death of family members, and greater risk of child labor. Mobile phones and SMS messaging provide one potential avenue for bridging the communication and support gap around such issues. Can increased communication and dialogue via mobile phones and SMS messaging improve community leaders’ abilities to assist local children?

RESEARCHERS: Ryan Sheely

Impact of Voter Knowledge Initiatives in Sierra Leone

The transparency and accountability of governance institutions are critical determinants of public sector performance. While many interventions have tested the efficacy of efforts to increase voter knowledge and access to candidates, very little work has been done to assess the application of such methods to post-conflict settings, where democratic institutions are nascent. Can innovative information dissemination campaigns affect voter behavior in the 2012 elections in Sierra Leone?

RESEARCHERS: Rachel Glennerster, Katherine Casey, Kelly Bidwell

Providing Collateral and Improving Product Market Access for Smallholder Farmers

Inter-seasonal fluctuation of agricultural prices is widespread throughout the developing world. Prices decrease at harvest season owing to the availability of large quantities of crop, while the prices increase in the lean season

This study seeks to rigorously evaluate the relation between access to credit and access to markets for small farmers, and whether inventory credit access improves profits, investments and market efficiency.

RESEARCHERS: Lorenzo Casaburi and Rachel Glennerster

Uganda

Enterprises for Ultra-Poor Women After War: The WINGS Program in Northern Uganda

Twenty years of war and widespread displacement have left virtually the entire population of northern Uganda impoverished and young women and girls in particular have suffered economically and educationally from the war. How can Uganda’s most vulnerable households best develop and maintain livelihoods and income in their post-conflict society? Can micro-enterprise development programs help?

Researchers: Chris Blattman, Julian Jamison, Jeannie Annan, and Eric Green

Northern Uganda Social Action Fund: Youth Opportunities Program

High youth unemployment is a major risk factor in post-conflict societies. Yet, the road to economic stability and job growth is difficult in societies recovering from conflict. Can cash transfers and vocational trainng prove an effective means of improving livelihoods while reducing violence in post-conflict countries? RESULTS HERE.

RESEARCHERS: Chris Blattman, Nathan Fiala, Sebastian Martinez

Afghanistan [Partner Project]

Democratic Republic of the Congo[Partner Project]