(Thursday, 3rd June 2010)
In this workshop we will discuss how randomized field experiments can be used to study the effects of political institutions. We will discuss several examples of the experiments in which different decision mechanisms were randomly assigned. We will focus on the advantages of this method in establishing causal relationships and discuss the main limitations of this approach.
Bibliographical references :
Macartan Humphreys and Jeremy M. Weinstein (1999) “Field Experiments and the Political Economy of Development”, Annual Review of Political Science Vol. 12: 367-378.
Benjamin Olken, (forthcoming) “Direct Democracy and Local Public Goods: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia”, American Political Science Review.
