From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application
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jep.31.4.73.pdf
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Author(s)
Banerjee, Abhijit
Banerji, Rukmini
Berry, James
Duflo, Esther
Kannan, Harini
Mukerji, Shobhini
Shotland, Marc
Walton, Michael
Date Issued
November 2017
Journal
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Banerjee, Abhijit et al. “From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 31, 4 (November 2017): 73–102 © 2017 American Economic Association
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The promise of randomized controlled trials is that evidence gathered through the evaluation of a specific program helps us—possibly after several rounds of fine-tuning and multiple replications in different contexts—to inform policy. However, critics have pointed out that a potential constraint in this agenda is that results from small "proof-of-concept" studies run by nongovernment organizations may not apply to policies that can be implemented by governments on a large scale. After discussing the potential issues, this paper describes the journey from the original concept to the design and evaluation of scalable policy. We do so by evaluating a series of strategies that aim to integrate the nongovernment organization Pratham's "Teaching at the Right Level" methodology into elementary schools in India. The methodology consists of reorganizing instruction based on children's actual learning levels, rather than on a prescribed syllabus, and has previously been shown to be very effective when properly implemented. We present evidence from randomized controlled trials involving some designs that failed to produce impacts within the regular schooling system but still helped shape subsequent versions of the program. As a result of this process, two versions of the programs were developed that successfully raised children's learning levels using scalable models in government schools. We use this example to draw general lessons about using randomized control trials to design scalable policies.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.4.73
