foreign assistance is a good investment - if transparency and accountability measures are upheld

"Results are fundamental to making the case that foreign assistance is a good investment. The evolution from aid inputs to development outcomes means improving technically rigorous, systematic and transparent methods for projecting, tracking, evaluating and communicating impact. This process must be inclusive and not overlook the poor, ensuring that economic growth improves the lives of the vulnerable and marginalised."

-from here

THE LONG WALK: A COLUMN ABOUT WASHINGTON

"Think about your morning today. Your radio wasn’t a jumbled mess thanks to the FCC. And those weather reports only occur due to the National Weather Service (under the umbrella of the Commerce Department—hope Texas doesn’t need any hurricane or tornado warnings). On the way to work from the house you might’ve bought with governmental help in the form of the mortgage interest tax deduction, you may have your life saved thanks to federal regulations mandating seat belts and child safety seats. OSHA has your back against unsafe work conditions. TheFDA labels food against manufacturers’ desires so you know what you’re actually eating. The EPA works to improve air and water quality. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera... Your tax dollars, which pay my salary, don’t create benefits that you get immediately, and usually you can’t even touch them."

-from here

variables to consider: benefits from taxes; not directly "economical to the household" but provisional, offering intangible benefits - natural, human, physical, social (well-being)

What does this have to do with policy?

"With the increasing emphasis in many governments and international agencies on evidence-based policy advice, it is important to understand which programs actually 'work' - generating gains for participants that are large enough to justify their costs and which are less successful."

-Building in an Evaluation Component for Active Labor Market Programs: a Practitioner's Guide

With budget cuts and tightening on spending, deciding what gets cut depends on the data available!

an introduction to my mind

Hi!

I am making this blog to streamline all my thoughts - external influences from school texts, the media, philosophers, co-workers and from my own mind. I have the ultimate intention of better understanding "What do people value and why?" however, along the way I hope to incorporate other ideas - best practices within the development world (my Masters degree), the politics of understanding which programs work and do not, and most importantly, expanding the dialogue of how to use quantitative data (or quantifying qualitative data) for credible and reliable evidence.

Organizational culture is averse to scientific policymaking. Own it.

I believe in:

- Formal impact evaluations

- Focusing on the right set of statistical indicators

- Methodological foundations

- Investing in women

Applying my work to development
- Labor problems exist throughout the world
- Revamping certifications, education policies
- The need to know the impact of programs and how to improve them