Research
Published Papers
“Reading Skills Transfer Best from Home Language to a Second Language: Policy Lessons from Two Field Experiments in South Africa” Journal of Research on Education Effectiveness. 2023. With Fleisch, Mohohlwane, and Taylor.
See also: Working paper, blog, and replication data and code
“What do education local bureaucrats do to boost learning?” World Bank Economic Review. 2022. With Eric Dunford and James Habyarimana.
See also: Working paper and policy brief
“Heterogenous teacher effects of two incentive schemes: Experimental evidence from a low-income country” Journal of Development Economics. 2022. With Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Marie-Helene Cloutier, and Deon Filmer.
See also: VoxDev blog, replication files, and working paper
“Can Virtual Replace In-person Coaching? Experimental Evidence on Teacher Professional Development and Student Learning in South Africa“. Journal of Development Economics 2022, With Fleisch, Kotze, Mohohlwane, Taylor, and Thulare
See also: Working paper, video presentation, and VoxDev blog
“The Challenge of Sustaining Effective Teaching: Spillovers, Fade-out, and the Cost-effectiveness of Teacher Development Programs” Economics of Education Review. 2022. With Fleisch, Kotze, Mohohlwane, and Taylor
See also: Working paper and replication files,
“Can public rankings improve school performance? Evidence from a nationwide reform in Tanzania” Journal of Human Resources. 2020. With Isaac Mbiti, and Andrew Zeitlin.
See also: Working paper, blog and replication files
“How to improve teaching practice? Experimental comparison of centralized training and in-classroom coaching.” Journal of Human Resources 2020. With Brahm Fleisch, Cas Prinsloo, and Stephen Taylor
See also: Working paper, policy brief, replication files, video, and a write-up by CfEE.
“Pay for locally monitored performance? A welfare analysis for attendance in Ugandan primary schools”. Journal of Public Economics. 2018. With Ibrahim Kasirye, Clare Leaver, Pieter Serneels, and Andrew Zeitlin.
See also: Working paper, policy brief, blog post, and replication files.
“Reconciling after Civil Conflict Increases Social Capital but Decreases Individual Wellbeing” Science. 352.6287 (2016): 787-794. with Oeindrila Dube, and Bilal Siddiqi
See also: Blog in the Monkey Cage (Washington Post) and replication files.
“The White-Man Effect: How Foreigner Presence Affects Behavior in Experiments.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 118 (2015): 397-414. With Oeindrila Dube, and Bilal Siddiqi
See also: Blog post
Working Papers
"Tackling Implementation Challenges with Information: Experimental Evidence from a School Governance Reform in Tanzania". With James Habyarimana.
Status. Submitted.
“Persistence and Emergence of Literacy Skills: Long-Term Impacts of an Effective Early Grade Reading Intervention in South Africa". CGD Working paper With Jonathan Stern, Matthew Jukes, Brahm Fleisch, Stephen Taylor and Nompumelelo Mohohlwane.
See also: Blog
Works in Progress
“The Proliferation of Administrative Units and Education Performance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Tanzania” with James Habyarimana and Martin Hiti
“An Empirical Investigation into Use of Machine Learning Methods to Select Control Variables in Field Experiments” with David McKenzie and Nour Elashmawy
Ongoing Projects
I am partnering with the World Bank and government counterparts to evaluate government-run teacher professional development programs implemented at scale in three countries: Indonesia, Mozambique, and El Salvador.
Peer Reviewed Policy Papers
"How can Education Systems Structure Virtual Communities of Practice for Teachers Most Effectively? A Rapid Review" Center for Global Development Note March 2023
The Digital Future of Teacher Training in Indonesia. What's Next? World Bank report. 2022.
See also: Blog post
“The Motivations, Constraints, and Behaviour of Tanzania’s Frontline Education Providers”. RISE Insight Series. 2020/023. With Shardul Oza
“How to Support Students When Schools Reopen?” RISE Insight Series. 2020/018.
"What Did Children Do During School Closures? Insights from a Parent Survey in Tanzania." RISE Insight Series. 2021/027.