Methods and Practices 2. Basic Issues of Evaluation Introduction: Monitoring versus Evaluation Monitoring Setting Up Indicators within an M&E Framework Operational Evaluation Quantitative versus Qualitative Impact Assessments Quantitative Impact Assessment: Ex Post versus Ex Ante Impact Evaluations The Problem of the Counterfactual Basic Theory of Impact Evaluation: The Problem of Selection Bias different Evaluation Approaches to Ex Post Impact Evaluation Overview: Designing and Implementing Impact Evaluations 3. Randomization Setting the Counterfactual Statistical Design of Randomization Calculating Treatment Effects Randomization in Evaluation Design: Different Methods of Randomization Concerns with Randomization Randomized Impact Evaluation in Practice Difficulties with Randomization 4. Propensity Score Matching PSM and Its Practical Uses What Does PSM Do? PSM Method in Theory Application of the PSM Method Critiquing the PSM Method PSM and Regression-Based Methods 5. Double Difference Addressing Selection Bias from a Different Perspective: Using Differences as Counterfactual DD Method: Theory and Application Advantages and Disadvantages of Using DD Alternative DD Models 6. Instrumental Variable Estimation Two-Stage Least Squares Approach to IVs Concerns with IVs Sources of IVs 7. Regression Discontinuity and Pipeline Methods Regression Discontinuity in Theory Advantages and Disadvantages of the RD Approach Pipeline Comparisons 8. Measuring Distributional Program Effects, The Need to Examine Distributional Impacts of Programs Examining Heterogeneous Program Impacts: Linear Regression Framework Quantile Regression Approaches Discussion: Data Collection Issues 9. Using Economic Models to Evaluate Policies Structural versus Reduced-Form Approaches Modeling the Effects of Policies Assessing the Effects of Policies in a Macroeconomic Framework Modeling Household Behavior in the Case of a Single Treatment: Case Studies on School Subsidy Programs. Part 2 Stata Exercises 11. Introduction to Stata Data Sets Used for Stata Exercises Beginning Exercise: Introduction to Stata Working with Data Files: Looking at the Content Changing Data Sets Combining Data Sets Working with .log and .do Files 12. Randomized Impact Evaluation Impacts of Program Placement in Villages Impacts of Program Participation Capturing Both Program Placement and Participation Impacts of Program Participation in Program Villages Measuring Spillover Effects of Microcredit Program Placement 13. Propensity Score Matching Technique Propensity Score Equation: Satisfying the Balancing Property Average Treatment Effect Using Nearest-Neighbor Matching Average Treatment Effect Using Stratifi cation Matching Average Treatment Effect Using Radius Matching Average Treatment Effect Using Kernel Matching Checking Robustness of Average Treatment Effect 14. Double-Difference Method Simplest Implementation: Simple Comparison Using “t test” Regression Implementation Checking Robustness of DD with Fixed-Effects Regression Applying the DD Method in Cross-Sectional Data. Taking into Account Initial Conditions The DD Method Combined with Propensity Score Matching 15. Instrumental Variable Method IV Implementation Using the “ivreg” Command Testing for Endogeneity: OLS versus IV IV Method for Binary Treatment: “treatreg” Command IV with Fixed Effects: Cross-Sectional Estimates IV with Fixed Effects: Panel Estimates 16. Regression Discontinuity Design Impact Estimation Using RD Implementation of Sharp Discontinuity Implementation of Fuzzy Discontinuity