Local knowledge, formal evidence, and policy decisions☆

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Vivalt, Eva; Coville, Aidan; Kc, Sampada
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; The World Bank; University of British Columbia
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103425
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Impact evaluations; Policymaking; External validity

摘要

How do policymakers value advice from local experts versus formal evidence from impact evaluations when making policy decisions? Using a discrete choice experiment conducted in collaboration with the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, we show that policymakers were willing to accept a program that had a 5.0 percentage point smaller estimated effect on enrollment rates if it were recommended by a local expert. They also preferred programs supported by evidence from a different region over programs supported by local evaluations only if the former had a 5.8 percentage point higher estimated impact. These premiums are large, surpassing the effects of many programs aimed at improving enrollment rates. This highlights the substantial weight that policymakers place on local evidence.