Impact evaluation of public policies 2400-PL3SL230A
The seminar will show the main impact assessment methods (randomized control trials, discontinuity regression design, difference-in-differences method, and propensity score matching). Students will then prepare their own analyzes of available data to assess the impact of the selected program in any field. Students can also conduct a review of existing studies indicating the possible use of such methods. Practical applications will be demonstrated in the Stata program. These examples can be then easily adapted by students for their own research on a chosen public program.
Schedule:
1. Introductory lectures discussing specific impact assessment methods: randomized control trials, discontinuity regression design, difference-in-differences method, and propensity score matching.
2. Introduction to Stata and practical examples of uses in the Stata program.
3. Student presentations on the impact assessment of selected public policies.
4. Own work to prepare an analysis of selected public policies based on available empirical data.
5. Prepare a bachelor's thesis describing the results of your own research. Reviews of existing research to point out the right approach to assess the impact of selected public policies.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
1) Basic knowledge of impact evaluation methods.
2) Ability to describe results of your own empirical research or conduct a review of existing research that will allow you to write a bachelor's thesis, and in future will facilitate your master thesis.
Knowledge:
Upon completion of the course, the student has in-depth knowledge of the subject matter of his or her own work, as well as public policies in the field of interest and methods of impact assessment.
Skills:
Student can analyze data from empirical studies and evaluate methods used in analyzes.
Student can collect and conduct a review of literature.
The student can translate the research results into a language useful for public policy makers.
Student can describe research hypotheses, propose different methods of their verification, conduct their own research and describe in a clear way their results.
Social competence:
The student can communicate in a clear and concise manner the conclusions of the review and the results of his research.
The student can relate the results of her/his research to actual public policies and key policy debates
Assessment criteria
Passing the seminar in the 1st semester: based on the outline of the undergraduate work
Passing the seminar in the second semester: on the basis of progress in preparing the thesis
Bibliography
Impact Evaluation in Practice - Second Edition, World Bank. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/sief-trust-fund/publication/impact-evaluation-in-practice
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: