MIT's [Massachusetts Institute of Technology ]Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a network of 59 affiliated professors around the world who are united by their use of Randomized Evaluations (REs) to answer questions critical to poverty alleviation. J-PAL's mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence. Their current work in the Education…
Tag Archives Evidence Based Planning
Message to the Coalition: people respond to incentives. I was listening the other day to Tony Abbott claiming that the price elasticity of petrol is zero (Joshua Gans quotes the Coalition’s Greg Hunt making the same claim). It was perhaps the first time that I had heard a politician use the word ‘elasticity’, and it made me wonder whether Abbott…
Means testing the baby bonus. I had vowed to not say another word on the baby bonus but the renewed speculation that something might be done has drawn me out. The talk now is of means testing it. As Andrew Leigh notes, this would have to be done with plenty of care but nonetheless would be a good step forward.…
If ever there was essential reading for every teacher and every teacher-educator, the work of Professor John Hattie from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, would be at the top of my reading list. The clarity and focus of such an extensive, system-wide meta-study that focusses on the EFFECTs of what teachers, schools and education systems DO is very compelling.…
This is re-produced from Andrew Leigh's WebSite. Among the most interesting debates in economics today is the dispute between Jeffrey Sachs and William Easterly over how best to help the world’s poor. The discussion is interesting not only because it concerns the most important question in all of economics, but also because Sachs and Easterly happen to be exceptionally good…
An excerpt from Professor John Hattie's Inaugural Lecture, Univeristy of Auckland, August 2nd 1999. Professor Hattie's work resonates very strongly with my own experiences and limited research. It most certainly encourages me to continue with further study in this field. This was his third inaugural lecture. The excerpt reads; There is so much known about what makes a difference in…