Papers by Christopher Ksoll
Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment
We use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of an adult literacy program, target... more We use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of an adult literacy program, targeting women in rural India, on a broad range of outcomes one year later. We show that the program had significant impacts on multiple aspects of the women’s lives, such as improvements in the women’s health and hygiene practices, as well as increased involvement in their children’s education (but noted no differences in terms of health and educational outcomes of the children). In terms of mechanisms, we find that the program not only increased the women’s literacy and numeracy, but also made the women more knowledgeable, and confident in dealing with people outside their family. We document positive effects on women’s mobility, and some measures of bargaining power, but overall decision-making power appears not to have been affected.
The returns to educational investments hinge on whether such investments can improve the quality ... more The returns to educational investments hinge on whether such investments can improve the quality and persistence of educational gains. We report the results from a randomized evaluation of an adult education program in Niger, in which some students learned how to use simple mobile phones (Project ABC). Students in ABC villages achieved test scores that were 0.19-0.26 standard deviations higher than those in standard adult education classes, and standardized math test scores remained higher seven months after the end of classes. These results suggest that simple information technology can be harnessed to improve educational outcomes among rural populations. (JEL D83, I21, O15, O33)
This zip file contains the data instruments and data of the Tara Akshar Research Project (2013-20... more This zip file contains the data instruments and data of the Tara Akshar Research Project (2013-2018). A comprehensiveoverview of this project can be found on:https://sites.google.com/site/taraaksharresearchproject/home<br>A short description of the data is also included in the attached World Development paper. <br><br>
How do people reassess their beliefs in the light of new information? Do people follow the Bayesi... more How do people reassess their beliefs in the light of new information? Do people follow the Bayesian rule of utility maximisation? Or are there other aspects that people take into account when updating their beliefs? In order to better understand this process, experiments were conducted amongst rural women in Uttar Pradesh.
Using the random assignment of illiterate women to an adult literacy and numeracy program - Tara ... more Using the random assignment of illiterate women to an adult literacy and numeracy program - Tara Akshar - in Uttar Pradesh in north India, we attempt to gauge the effect of adult education on knowledge, self-awareness and confidence. We find that participation in the program increases women's knowledge about their community, as well as about issues related to their health and education. Following the knowledge test, we ask women to guess the number of correct answers. Comparing their actual number of correct answers with their own estimation of correct answers, we find that participation in the program reduces their over-confidence, and makes women more aware of how much they actually know. Finally, we find an increase in women's self-reported confidence to approach and talk to persons of authority (e.g., teachers, doctors).
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 2014
We present evidence from a field experiment to evaluate the effects of team incentives. We compar... more We present evidence from a field experiment to evaluate the effects of team incentives. We compare three common incentive schemes: piece rates, interim feedback, and tournaments, and analyze behavioral responses along two margins: how workers sort into teams, and effort within the team. A theoretical framework makes precise that increasing the strength of incentives can lead high ability workers to prefer to form teams with similarly skilled colleagues instead of workers they are socially connected to. However, if socially connected workers are better able to overcome free-riding within teams, the increased strength of incentives that changes team composition can reduce the firm's average productivity. Empirically, the provision of feedback on teams' relative performance, and the introduction of monetary prize tournaments both increase assortative matching into teams by ability, and make it less likely workers form teams with colleagues they are socially connected to. Relative to piece rates, the additional provision of feedback to teams significantly reduces average productivity by 14%, while adding a tournament prize structure significantly increases it by 24%. Both effects are heterogeneous: feedback only affects teams at the bottom of the conditional productivity distribution, and tournaments only affect teams at the top. The analysis highlights new directions for research in understanding how agents react to monetary and non-monetary incentives in workplaces characterized by team production where teams form endogenously.
econstor.eu
We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy program ... more We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy program (ABC) in Niger, in which adult literacy students learned how to use mobile phones as part of a literacy class. Students in mobile phone literacy villages showed substantial gains in numeracy exam scores. There is also evidence of heterogeneity in program effects across regions, suggesting the impact is context dependent. These results were stronger in one region, for women and for participants younger than 45. There was also evidence of learning dynamics: six months after the end of the first year of classes, students in ABC villages retained what they had learned better than the non-ABC students.
In lowerand middle-income countries, including Ghana, students in rural areas dramatically underp... more In lowerand middle-income countries, including Ghana, students in rural areas dramatically underperform their urban peers. Rural schools struggle to attract and retain professionally trained teachers (GES 2012; World Bank 2012). We explore one potential solution to the problem of teacher recruitment: distance instruction. Through a cluster randomized controlled trial, we estimate the impact of a program that broadcasts live instruction via satellite to rural primary school students. The program equipped classrooms in 70 randomly selected Ghanaian schools with the technology required to connect to a studio in Accra. An additional 77 schools served as the control. Instructors in Accra provided math and English lessons to classrooms in the treatment group. The model is interactive, and students in satellite classes could communicate in real time with their remote teachers. We estimate significant gains (p<.05) in rural students’ numeracy and foundational literacy skills. We find no ...
AEA Randomized Controlled Trials, 2018
AEA Randomized Controlled Trials, 2016
AEA Randomized Controlled Trials, 2014
We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy and nume... more We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy and numeracy program (Project ABC) in Niger, in which adult literacy students learned how to use mobile phones as part of a literacy and numeracy class. Students in ABC villages showed substantial gains in numeracy exam scores. There is also evidence of heterogeneity in program effects across regions, suggesting the impact is context dependent. These results were stronger in one region, for women and for participants younger than 45. There was also evidence of persistent impacts: six months after the end of the first year of classes, students in ABC villages retained what they had learned better than the non-ABC students. These effects do not appear to be driven by differences in teacher quality and motivation, nor student attendance.
The Journal of Development Studies
About 40 percent of adult female in India are illiterate. We use a randomized controlled trial to... more About 40 percent of adult female in India are illiterate. We use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of a computer-based adult literacy program, targeting women in rural North India, on a broad range of outcomes seven months after the program had completed. We show that the program had significant impacts on multiple aspects of the women’s lives and noted improvements in the women’s health and hygiene practices and increased involvement in their children’s education. In terms of mechanisms, we note that not only did the women demonstrate higher levels of literacy and numeracy, but also, and perhaps relatedly, the women have become more knowledgeable, report to feel more confident in dealing with people outside their family, enjoy a higher mobility outside their house and demonstrate increased bargaining power within their family. We did not observe any statistical significant impacts,however, on the overall decision-making ability of the women using traditional mea...
Violent conflicts, particularly at election times in Africa, are a common cause of instability an... more Violent conflicts, particularly at election times in Africa, are a common cause of instability and economic disruption. This paper studies how firms react to electoral violence using the case of Kenyan flower exporters during the 2008 post-election violence as an example. The violence induced a large negative supply shock that reduced exports primarily through workers' absence and had heterogeneous effects: larger firms and those with direct contractual relationships in export markets suffered smaller production and losses of workers. On the demand side, global buyers were not able to shift sourcing to Kenyan exporters located in areas not directly affected by the violence nor to neighboring Ethiopian suppliers. Consistent with difficulties in insuring against supply-chain risk disruptions caused by electoral violence, firms in direct contractual relationships ramp up shipments just before the subsequent 2013 presidential election to mitigate risk.
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Papers by Christopher Ksoll