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Gisselquist, Rachel M. and Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel (2015) 'What Can Experiments Tell Us About How to Improve Government Performance?' Journal of Globalization and Development, 6 (1). pp. 1-45.

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Abstract

In recent years, experimental methods have been both highly celebrated, and roundly criticized, as a means of addressing core questions in the social sciences. They have received particular attention in the analysis of development interventions. This paper focuses on two key questions: (1) what have been the main contributions of RCTs to the study of government performance? and (2) what could be the contributions, and relatedly the limits? It draws inter alia on a new systematic review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies on governance to consider both the contributions and limits of RCTs in the extant literature. A final section introduces the studies included in this symposium in light of this discussion. Collectively, the studies push beyond polarized debates over experimental methods towards a new middle ground, considering both how experimental work can better address identified weaknesses and how experimental and non-experimental techniques can be combined most fruitfully.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: development; governance; randomized controlled trials
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Department of Economics
ISSN: 21946353
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1515/jgd-2014-0011
Date Deposited: 26 Jun 2022 12:45
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/37612
Related URLs: https://www.wid ... ve-governance-0 (Organisation URL)
Funders: Other

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