Michael Cooke – GiveDirectly

Longer-term impacts of GiveDirectly transfers – first evidence

Michael Cooke — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 01:48:00 +0000

Update (04/23/18): We’ve updated our take on the HS18 results, check out our latest here. Back in 2011 we announced our first randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Rarieda, Kenya. A lot has changed over that time – we’ve moved to new areas, changed our transfer design ($1,000 lump-sum transfers are now GiveDirectly’s standard, whereas most Rarieda treatment households received $300…

Source

Deepening our understanding of impact: who and how long?

Michael Cooke — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 21:38:00 +0000

Evidence about what works, for whom, and for how long is often lacking in international development. The impact of many interventions is simply unknown, while others continue to receive funding despite having been evaluated and found wanting. GiveDirectly was created because there is overwhelming evidence that cash transfers, in contrast, have a wide range of positive impacts. Until recently…

Source

Research Director Field Studies – Day 3: Cash transfer experts

Michael Cooke — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 20:23:00 +0000

In the final part of this three-part series, GiveDirectly’s Research Director Michael Cooke discusses key takeaways from his trip to visit field teams and recipients in Kenya. At GiveDirectly we talk a lot about the poor being the true poverty experts. Today I had the great privilege of being able to ask questions of poverty experts who had received cash transfers. For the purposes of this blog…

Source

Research Director Field Studies – Day 2: Gimoro amora

Michael Cooke — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 18:47:00 +0000

In the second part of this three-part series, GiveDirectly’s Research Director Michael Cooke discusses key takeaways from his trip to visit field teams and recipients in Kenya. Today I went out with GiveDirectly field staff to shadow the process of enrolling new program recipients. Luo was the primary spoken language of the recipients in the area we visited, and I followed the process through…

Source

Research Director Field Studies – Day 1: In the details

Michael Cooke — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 20:31:00 +0000

In the first part of this three-part series, GiveDirectly’s Research Director Michael Cooke discusses key takeaways from his trip to visit field teams and recipients in Kenya. Truth and customer service: two of many things that have been said to be in the details. What I saw today was GiveDirectly’s call center team in Kisumu, Kenya striving for both. Let’s face it…

Source

Human stories are not the opposite of data

Michael Cooke — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 16:30:00 +0000

Data comes in many forms, from the quantitative realm of questionnaire scores, biomarkers and financial metrics, to the qualitative world of narrative and observation. At GiveDirectly, we strive to be rigorous, honest and respectful in how we use all types of data to describe the impact of cash transfers to the extreme poor. Different types of data tell us different things about impact…

Source