MSD, GEN and IGPS seminar: Designing Useful Field Experiments
Information and Knowledge Series
Speaker : Berk Özler
Date / Time : Wed 7th August 2013, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Location : Ministry of Social Development Auditorium, 3rd Floor Bowen State Building, Wellington.
RSVP not required for this seminar.
Abstract
What it means to conduct empirical research is rapidly changing in development economics along with other fields, such as political science, public health, and law. The changes in economics have a lot to do with the introduction of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into the academic and policy arena. But, the emergence of numerous field experiments has been met with equal parts enthusiasm and resistance – not to mention some confusion. In particular, critics have conceded the superior internal validity of estimated effects but have questioned the relevance of the experiments to the policy questions at hand. In this setting, it's hard for policymakers to separate signal from noise to make good use of existing research or design new studies. Berk Özler will talk about designing useful field experiments, focusing on issues of spillover effects, measurement issues, study design, and external validity.
Speaker
After receiving his Ph.D in Economics from Cornell University in 2001, Berk Ozler has worked as an economist and senior economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank until 2013, before joining the University of Otago as an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics in April, 2013. He is a development economist with a broad range of interests in poverty, inequality, education, and health. He is currently a co-principal investigator for several randomized controlled field experiments in Malawi and Tanzania. His work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Public Economics, The Lancet, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. His work has been covered by the BBC, The Economist, The Financial Times, Freakonomics, The Guardian, National Public Radio, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Slate. He is one of the four researchers who founded the Development Impact blog and contributes to it regularly