Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'

In ‘Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance,’ Glenn Harrison develops a criticism of randomized field experiments and denounces ‘intolerance’ for lab experiments and a ‘disconnect from theory.’ We argue that (i) lab experiments and RCTs are based on different methodological approaches and t...

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Main Authors:	Bossuroy, Thomas, Delavallade, Clara
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	en_US
Published:	Taylor and Francis 2016
Subjects:	lab experiments randomized controlled trials policy
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24183

id	okr-10986-24183
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-241832021-05-25T10:54:34Z Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance' Bossuroy, Thomas Delavallade, Clara lab experiments randomized controlled trials policy In ‘Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance,’ Glenn Harrison develops a criticism of randomized field experiments and denounces ‘intolerance’ for lab experiments and a ‘disconnect from theory.’ We argue that (i) lab experiments and RCTs are based on different methodological approaches and therefore fulfill different scientific objectives; (ii) key features of the RCT methodology make it highly relevant for policy-making, which accounts for a large part of its uptake; (iii) RCTs foster a convergence of interests between policy-makers and researchers around the study of economic mechanisms, which makes it possible to challenge and improve economic theory based on real-world facts; and (iv) hybrid forms of experimentation are being increasingly used and open promising avenues. In sum, economic research based on RCTs is more and more connected to theory and other forms of experiment, while also helping policy-makers tackle daunting problems of poverty and exclusion. 2016-05-02T18:24:32Z 2016-05-02T18:24:32Z 2016-03-29 Journal Article Journal of Economic Methodology 1350-178X http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24183 en_US CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Taylor and Francis Publications & Research :: Journal Article Publications & Research
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	en_US
topic	lab experiments randomized controlled trials policy
spellingShingle	lab experiments randomized controlled trials policy Bossuroy, Thomas Delavallade, Clara Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
description	In ‘Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance,’ Glenn Harrison develops a criticism of randomized field experiments and denounces ‘intolerance’ for lab experiments and a ‘disconnect from theory.’ We argue that (i) lab experiments and RCTs are based on different methodological approaches and therefore fulfill different scientific objectives; (ii) key features of the RCT methodology make it highly relevant for policy-making, which accounts for a large part of its uptake; (iii) RCTs foster a convergence of interests between policy-makers and researchers around the study of economic mechanisms, which makes it possible to challenge and improve economic theory based on real-world facts; and (iv) hybrid forms of experimentation are being increasingly used and open promising avenues. In sum, economic research based on RCTs is more and more connected to theory and other forms of experiment, while also helping policy-makers tackle daunting problems of poverty and exclusion.
format	Journal Article
author	Bossuroy, Thomas Delavallade, Clara
author_facet	Bossuroy, Thomas Delavallade, Clara
author_sort	Bossuroy, Thomas
title	Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
title_short	Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
title_full	Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
title_fullStr	Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
title_full_unstemmed	Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'
title_sort	experiments, policy, and theory in development economics : a response to glenn harrison’s 'field experiments and methodological intolerance'
publisher	Taylor and Francis
publishDate	2016
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24183
_version_	1764455866052902912

Experiments, Policy, and Theory in Development Economics : A Response to Glenn Harrison’s 'Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance'

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