IZA/DFID Short Course on Evaluation of Training Programs took place on December 14th-15th, 2013.
The course was designed for postgraduate students, faculty members, and researchers in government and non-governmental organisations who would like to develop their skills in the evaluation of training programme using the latest econometric methods. The course consisted of four half-day sessions and covered the following topics:
- design and analysis of randomised controlled trials in training programmes
- propensity score matching methods
- difference-in-difference estimators
- regression discontinuity designs
The focus was on application of these methods to the evaluation of skills training programmes, especially in Africa.
40 students, 4 instructors, and 4 student helpers attended the short course. The course was intended for participants from low-income countries. In particular, priority was given to participants from low-income African countries based in African institutions who were involved in the design, implementation, or analysis of training programs, or plan to be involved in the future. The course and the conference was conducted in English. Funding: Participants who are selected for the course were provided with all travel expenses and were provided with food and accommodation from Thursday night December 12 through Monday morning December 16. Participants who were selected were required to be in attendance for the full period, including the one-day conference on Friday December 13.
Isaac Mbiti (Southern Methodist University), Marco Caliendo (University of Potsdam and IZA), Pamela Jakiela (University of Maryland), Owen Ozier (World Bank) were the instructor of the training programme.