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All that Glitters is not Gold. The Political Economy of Randomized Evaluations in Development
Author(s) -
Bédécarrats Florent,
Guérin Isabelle,
Roubaud François
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/dech.12378
Subject(s) - rigour , scope (computer science) , appeal , simplicity , politics , economics , intervention (counseling) , gold standard (test) , positive economics , political science , computer science , psychology , epistemology , law , medicine , philosophy , psychiatry , programming language
Randomized control trials (RCTs) have a narrow scope, restricted to basic intervention schemes. Experimental designs also display specific biases and political uses when implemented in the real world. Despite these limitations, the method has been advertised as the gold standard to evaluate development policies. This article adopts a political economy approach to explore this paradox. It argues that the success of RCTs is driven mainly by a new scientific business model based on a mix of simplicity and mathematical rigour, media and donor appeal, and academic and financial returns. This in turn meets current interests and preferences in the academic world and the donor community.