2018年4月13日(金)、米国ワシントン・アンド・リー大学のDr. Niels-Hugo Blunchを講師にお迎えして、一橋大学国際交流セミナーを兼ねて定例研究会を開催しました。
ちょうどこの日、教授に昇任されたDr. Niels-Hugo Blunchから、最新の成果が報告され、活発な質疑応答が交わされました。
 
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小塩隆士教授の質問に答える講演中の様子参加者と
 
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日時2018年4月13日(金) 16:00-17:30
会場西キャンパス 第2研究館 5階 HIASセミナー室(517号室)
報告者Dr. Niels-Hugo Blunch, Associate Professor of Economics, Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics, Washington and Lee University, USA
タイトル「Unintended Consequences: Program Evaluation and The World Bank Vs. Adult Literacy Programs and Child Mortality」
言語英語
概要So as to maximize the impact of future programs and, hence, their development impact, the World Bank and other institutions, including national governments, rely on program evaluation of social programs in order to determine what works and what doesn’t.
I examine one such program, namely the National Functional Literacy Program (NFLP) in Ghana, which is a literacy program targeted to adults in rural areas, and its impact on child mortality (related results for other outcomes, including pre- and postnatal care, teenage pregnancy, and household expenditures, are also briefly discussed).
I start out by examining the evaluation of social programs more generally, the role of the World Bank in development, and the World Bank's particular approach to the evaluation of programs, coupled also with my own experiences working for the World Bank—including visiting adult literacy programs in rural villages in Ghana.
I then examine the NFLP for Ghana as a vehicle to decrease child mortality as a special case study to illustrate these issues.  And, while the main emphasis is on policy related issues, I also address some of the more thorny econometric issues related to self-selection into program participation, as well as possible non-random program placement which are important issues to address in order to obtain the best advice for policymakers.  A simple cost-benefit analysis is also presented, further supporting the cost-effectiveness of these programs for the case of child mortality in Ghana.