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Evaluating the Distributive Effects of a Development Intervention

2021-04-01 Working Paper Series
HKUST CEP Working Paper No.2021-06

Photo by Arthur Besnard on Unsplash

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Most analyses of randomized controlled trials of development interventions estimate an average treatment effect. However, the aggregate impact on welfare also depends on distributional effects. We propose a simple approach to evaluate efficiency-equity trade-offs, that follow the utilitarian tradition of Atkinson (1970). The method does not impose additional assumptions or data requirements beyond those needed to estimate the average treatment effect. We illustrate the approach using data from a credit delivery experiment we implemented in West Bengal, India.

Author
Sujata Visaria (On Leave)
Sujata Visaria (On Leave)
Associate Director, Center for Economic Policy
Associate Professor, Department of Economics
Sujata Visaria is a development economist and Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at…
Pushkar Maitra
Monash University
Sandip Mitra
Sampling and Official Statistics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute
Dilip Mookherjee
Boston University
Topics
Development
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