Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited

No 12882, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the case for randomized controlled trials in economics. I revisit my previous paper "Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation" and update its message. I present a brief summary of the history of randomization in economics. I identify two waves of enthusiasm for the method as "Two Awakenings" because of the near-religious zeal associated with each wave. The First Wave substantially contributed to the development of microeconometrics because of the awed nature of the experimental evidence. The Second Wave has improved experimental designs to avoid some of the technical statistical issues identified by econometricians in the wake of the First Wave. However, the deep conceptual issues about parameters estimated, and the economic interpretation and the policy relevance of the experimental results have not been addressed in the Second Wave.

Keywords: field experiments; randomized control trials (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2020-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-ltv and nep-ore
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Published - published as 'Epilogue: Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited' in: Florent Bédécarrats, Isabelle Guérin, and François Roubaud (eds.), Randomized Control Trials in the Field of Development: A Critical Perspective, Oxford University Press, 2020, 304 - 330

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Related works:
Working Paper: Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited (2020)
Working Paper: Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited (2020)
Working Paper: Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited (1991)
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