Research
The Latest Five
"The Role of Fathers in Promoting Early Childhood Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Evidence" (with Jakiela), CGD working paper, 2024.
"The impacts of childcare interventions on children’s outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review" (with Jakiela and Mendez Acosta), American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, forthcoming. CGD working paper available. Summary blog post in English; en español.
"Parent Training and Child Development at Low Cost? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Mexico" (with Cárdenas and Holland), Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2023.
"How the Media Cover School Violence: Evidence from Five African Countries" (with Robertson), CGD Working Paper 666, November 2023. Summary blog post.
"When the Data You Have Aren’t the Data You Need: School-Related Violence Data Availability in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (with Hares, Smarrelli, and Wu), CGD Working Paper 658, October 2023. Summary blog post on the paper. Summary blog post on the data.
Journal publications
"The impacts of childcare interventions on children’s outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review" (with Jakiela and Mendez Acosta), American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, forthcoming. CGD working paper available. Summary blog post in English; en español.
"Parent Training and Child Development at Low Cost? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Mexico" (with Cárdenas and Holland), Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 2023.
"Book review: Jody Hemann, Aleta Sprague, Amy Raub—Equality Within Our Lifetimes: How Laws and Policies Can Close—or Widen—Gender Gaps in Economies Worldwide," Population and Development Review, 2023. Also available on the CGD blog (and on Twitter).
"How to Measure Student Absenteeism in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (with Mendez Acosta), Economics of Education Review, 2023. Summary blog post.
"How to Recruit Teachers for Hard-to-Staff Schools: A Systematic Review of Evidence from Low- And Middle-Income Countries" (with Mendez Acosta), Economics of Education Review, 2023. Summary blog post.
"Live Tutoring Calls Did Not Improve Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sierra Leone" (with Crawfurd, Hares, and Sandefur), Journal of Development Economics, 2023. (on Twitter) Replication data.
"Girls' Education at Scale" (with Mendez Acosta and Yuan), World Bank Research Observer, 2023. Summary blog post.
"Towards Clearer Ethics in Randomized Controlled Trials in Development Social Science," Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2023. Summary blog post.
"Adolescent Girls’ Safety In and Out of School: Evidence on Physical and Sexual Violence from across Sub-Saharan Africa" (with Hares, Holland, and Mendez Acosta), Journal of Development Studies, 2023. Summary blog post 1; summary blog post 2. (on Twitter) Replication data.
"Cash Transfers, Trust, and Inter-household Transfers: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania" (with Katrina Kosec), World Bank Economic Review, 2023. Summary blog post. (on Twitter) Replication data.
"The Educational Impacts of Cash Transfers in Tanzania" (with Charles Gale and Katrina Kosec), Economics of Education Review, 2022. Also available as CGD Working Paper 563. Replication data.
"Tools to Measure the Impact of Early Childhood Development Interventions on Maternal Mental Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (with Jakiela, Knauer, and Mendez Acosta), SSM - Mental Health, 2022. Open-access published version.
"Economic and Social Development along the Urban-Rural Continuum: New Opportunities to Inform Policy" (with Cattaneo, Adukia, Brown, Christiaensen, Haakenstad, McMenomy, Partridge, Vaz, and Weiss), World Development, 2022. Open-access published version.
"Teacher Pay in Africa: Evidence from 15 Countries" (with Fei Yuan and Deon Filmer), World Development, 2022. Open-access published version. (on Twitter)
"How Big Are Effect Sizes in International Education Studies?" (with Fei Yuan), Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2022. Open-access published version. Summary blog post.
"Management, Supervision, and Health Care: A Field Experiment" (with Felipe Dunsch, Ezinne Eze-Ajoku, and Mario Macis), Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2022. Open-access published version. (on Twitter)
"Teacher Professional Development around the World: The Gap between Evidence and Practice" (with Popova, Breeding, and Arancibia), World Bank Research Observer, 2021. Open-access published version. (on Twitter)
"Book review: Florent Bédécarrats, Isabelle Guérin, François Roubaud (Eds.)—Randomized Control Trials in the Field of Development: A Critical Perspective," Population and Development Review, 2021. (CGD version with hyperlinks)
"The Impact of Early Childhood Interventions on Mothers" (with Jakiela and Knauer), Science, 2021. Published version. Open-access accepted version. Supplementary materials. Summary blog post. (on Twitter)
"What We Learn about Girls’ Education from Interventions that Do Not Focus on Girls" (with Fei Yuan), World Bank Economic Review, 2021. Open-access published version. (on Twitter)
"Gender Gaps in Education: The Long View" (with Pamela Jakiela and Maryam Akmal), IZA Journal of Development and Migration, January 2021. Open-access published version. Summary blog post.
"Education in Africa: What Are We Learning?" (with Amina Mendez Acosta), Journal of African Economies, January 2021. Open-access published version. Summary blog post. (on Twitter)
"Analysis of clinical knowledge, absenteeism, and availability of resources for maternal and child health: A cross-sectional quality of care study in 10 African countries" (with Di Giorgio, Lindelow, Nguyen, Svensson, Wane, and Welander Tärneberg), BMJ Global Health, December 2020. Open-access published version. Summary blog post.
"Lifting bans on pregnant girls in school" (with Amina Mendez Acosta), The Lancet, 2020. [Online appendix]
"Practical Lessons for Phone-Based Assessments of Learning" (with Angrist et al.), BMJ Global Health, 2020.
"School Uniforms, Short-Run Participation, and Long-Run Outcomes: Evidence from Kenya" (with Mũthoni Ngatia), The World Bank Economic Review, 2020. [Policy blog post; research blog post; op-ed in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper]
"Cash Transfers Increase Trust in Local Government" (with Brian Holtemeyer and Katrina Kosec), World Development, 2019.
"Bias in Patient Satisfaction Surveys: A Threat to Measuring Health Care Quality" (with Felipe Dunsch, Mario Macis, and Qiao Wang), BMJ Global Health, 2018.
"Health Care Quality and Information Failure: Evidence from Nigeria" (with Anna Welander Tärneberg), Health Economics, 2017.
"Cash Transfers and Health: Evidence from Tanzania" (with Brian Holtemeyer and Katrina Kosec), World Bank Economic Review, 2017. Working paper; summary blog post.
“Cash Transfers and Temptation Goods” (with Anna Popova), Economic Development and Cultural Change, 65(2), 2017. Working paper; summary blog post; Radically brief policy brief
Media coverage: [Working paper] Vox.com, New York Times, Deseret News, New York Times, Huffington Post, Slate; [After publication of article] Humanosphere, Quartz, attn:, Yahoo! Finance, Business Insider, Mic, Forbes, The Young Turks, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor
“What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews” (with Anna Popova), World Bank Research Observer 2016. Working Paper; Blog post 1; Blog post 2
Adapted into Spanish: "¿Qué funciona para mejorar el aprendizaje en países en desarrollo?" (with Anna Popova), Reformas y Políticas Educativas, September-December 2016.
"Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Development: Accounting for Local Costs and Noisy Impacts" (with Anna Popova), World Development, January 2016. Working paper; Blog post.
"Health-care Worker Mortality and the Legacy of the Ebola Epidemic" (with Markus Goldstein & Anna Popova), The Lancet Global Health, 3(8), e430-e440, August 2015. Blog post in English | French; Supplementary appendix; Working paper (with more detailed methodology)
Media coverage: Wall Street Journal, The Guardian (UK), Voice of America, Reuters, Yahoo! News, Medical Daily, UN Dispatch, ABS-CBN News, Geo.TV News, Financial Express, Express Tribune, GMA News Online, Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Leadership (Nigeria), Medical Xpress,
"West African Ebola crisis and orphans" (with Anna Popova), The Lancet, 22 February 2015. Blog post; Working paper (with more detailed methodology)
"Learning from Exemplary Practices in International Disaster Management: A Fresh Avenue to Inform U.S. Policy?" (with Melinda Moore, Horacio Trujillo, Brooke Stearns, and Ricardo Basurto-Davila), Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6(1), 2009.
"Orphans and Schooling in Africa: A Longitudinal Analysis" (with Ted Miguel), Demography 44(1), February 2007, pp 35-57.
Working Papers
"The Role of Fathers in Promoting Early Childhood Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Evidence" (with Jakiela), CGD working paper, 2024.
"How the Media Cover School Violence: Evidence from Five African Countries" (with Robertson), CGD Working Paper 666, November 2023. Summary blog post.
"When the Data You Have Aren’t the Data You Need: School-Related Violence Data Availability in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (with Hares, Smarrelli, and Wu), CGD Working Paper 658, October 2023. Summary blog post on the paper. Summary blog post on the data.
"Michael Robert Kremer," draft chapter for forthcoming Palgrave Companion to Harvard Economics, updated February 2023.
"Public childcare, labor market outcomes of caregivers, and child development: experimental evidence from Brazil" (with Attanasio, Paes de Barros, Carneiro, Lima, Olinto, and Schady), NBER working paper 30653 and cemmap working paper, November 2022. Summary blog post. (on Twitter)
"Property tax compliance in Tanzania: Can nudges help?" (with Collin, Di Maro, and Manang), CGD Working Paper 621, August 2022.
"Rethinking the Human Resource Crisis in Africa’s Health Systems: Evidence across Ten Countries" (with Sheffel, Andrews, Conner, Di Giorgio, Gatti, Lindelow, Sharma, Svensson, and Welander Tärneberg), May 2022. Preprint.
"Learning Loss and Student Dropouts during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Evidence Two Years after Schools Shut Down" (with Moscoviz), CGD Working Paper 609, March 2022. Summary blog post. (on Twitter)
"Building State Capacity: What Is the Impact of Development Projects?" (with Di Maro, Khemani, and Scot), CGD Working Paper 598 and World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9875, December 2021. (on Twitter)
"Should Governments and Donors Prioritize Investments in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy?" (with Hares), CGD Working Paper 579, May 2021.
"How to Improve Education Outcomes Most Efficiently? A Comparison of 150 Interventions Using the New Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling Metric" (with Angrist, Filmer, Glennerster, Rogers, and Sabarwal), CGD Working Paper 558 and World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9450. October 2020.
"Equivalent Years of Schooling: A Metric to Communicate Learning Gains in Concrete Terms" (with Fei Yuan), Policy Research Working Paper 8752, February 2019.
"The Working Conditions of Teachers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (with Fei Yuan), RISE Conference Paper, March 2018.
"Extending the School Day in Latin America and the Caribbean," (with Peter Holland & Pablo Alfaro), World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7309, June 2015 [Updated October 2016]. Blog post
"Training Teachers on the Job: What works and How to Measure It" (with Anna Popova and Violeta Arancibia), World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7834, September 2016.
“Parental Human Capital and Effective School Management: Evidence from The Gambia,” (with Moussa Blimpo & Nathalie Lahire), World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7238, April 2015. Blog post
“The Permanent Input Hypothesis: The Case of Textbooks and (No) Student Learning in Sierra Leone” (with Shwetlena Sabarwal and Anastasia Marshak), World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7021, September 2014. Blog post
Books, Briefs & Reports
"How Can Education Systems Structure Virtual Communities of Practice for Teachers Most Effectively?" (with Bedoya and others), Center for Global Development Note, 2023.
"Advancing the Agenda in Girls' Education Research" (with Benta Abuya and others), Center for Global Development Note, 2023.
"Girls’ Education and Women’s Equality: How to Get More out of the World’s Most Promising Investment" (with Shelby Carvalho and others), Center for Global Development report, 2022.
“Successful Teachers, Successful Students: Recruiting and Supporting Society’s Most Crucial Profession,” (with Tara Béteille; second edition), World Bank, 2021. (First edition, 2019.) In Spanish.
"Education Technology for Effective Teachers," CGD Note, February 2021.
"The State of Ceará in Brazil is a Role Model for Reducing Learning Poverty" (with Loureiro, Cruz, and Laudharte), June 2020. (in Portuguese)
15-page summary of educational reform experience in Sobral (Brazil) and Ceará (Brazil) (with Loureiro), June 2020. (in Portuguese)
2-page summary of the same (with Loureiro), June 2020 (in Portuguese)
All these materials on Sobral and Ceará are available on a single page.
"The Skills Balancing Act in Sub-Saharan Africa : Investing in Skills for Productivity, Inclusivity, and Adaptability," (with Omar Arias, Indhira Santos, and a number of chapter contributors), World Bank, 2019. French edition.
“Future Drivers of Growth in Rwanda: Innovation, Integration, Agglomeration, and Competition,” (with many co-authors), 2018.
"Commentary: Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid" (with Fei Yuan), in Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Science, measurement, and policy in low-income countries, UNESCO, 2018.
"Impact of free availability of public childcare on labour supply and child development in Brazil" (with Attanasio et al), 3ie Impact Evaluation report 58, 2017.
"Skills for Africa Today and Africa Tomorrow" (with Omar Arias and Indhira Santos), in Africa's Pulse, no. 16, October 2017.
World Development Report 2018: LEARNING to Realize Education's Promise, (with many co-authors), World Bank, 2017.
"Why Do Students Learn So Little? Seeking Answers Inside Haiti's Classrooms," (with many co-authors), World Bank, May 2015. [French version]
"The Economic Impact of Ebola on Sub-Saharan Africa: Updated Estimates for 2015," (with many co-authors), World Bank, January 2015.
"The Economic Impact of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic: Short and Medium Term Estimates for West Africa," (with many co-authors), World Bank, November 2014 (formal printing of October report). Press release
"The Economic Impact of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic: Short and Medium Term Estimates for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone," (with many co-contributors), World Bank, September 2014.
Media coverage: L.A. Times (interview with me)
“Community Based Conditional Cash Transfers in Tanzania: Results from a Randomized Trial” (with Stephanie Hausladen, Katrina Kosec, and Natasha Reese), World Bank, Washington DC, 2014.
Media coverage: The Guardian (Tanzania)
“Early Child Education: Making Programs Work for Brazil’s Most Important Generation” (with Katrina Kosec), World Bank, Washington DC, 2012.
“Achieving World Class Education in Brazil: The Next Agenda” (with Barbara Bruns and Javier Luque), World Bank, Washington DC, 2011.
“Brain Korea 21 Phase II: A New Evaluation Model” (with Somi Seong, Steven W. Popper, Charles A. Goldman, and Clifford A. Grammich), RAND Report MG-711-KRF, RAND, 2008.
Book Chapters
“Recruiting Better Teachers” (with Barbara Bruns, Javier Luque, Guillermo Toral, and Soledad de Gregorio), in Great Teachers: How to Raise Student Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank, 2015.
“Grooming Great Teachers” (with Barbara Bruns, Javier Luque, Guillermo Toral, Noah Yarrow, and Soledad de Gregorio), in Great Teachers: How to Raise Student Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank, 2015.
Permanent Working Papers
“Prioritizing Educational Investments in Children in the Developing World” (with Arkadipta Ghosh), RAND Labor & Population Program Working Paper WR-578, 2008.
“The Cost of Providing Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa and Uganda” (with Julia Aledort, Brooke Stearns, Penninah Iutung, Glenn Wagner, and Gery Ryan), working paper.
“The Spillover Impacts of Africa’s Orphan Crisis,” working paper, December 2005.
“Population Change and Human Development in Latin America,” with David Bloom, David Canning, Bryan Graham, Patrick Lynch, and Erin Murphy. Background paper prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank in connection with Economic and Social Progress in Latin America, 1999-2000 Report, 2000.