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Designing What Works: Development Interventions from Model to Scale

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

42 readings22 free to read15 on request5 books

A free copy is the published text, or the author's own manuscript held by a university repository, which has the same content without the journal's layout. A subscription reading opens at the publisher, where your library may give you access. If it does not, request a copy and we will reply by email. Books link to their publisher.

Module 1. Module 1: The Intervention Mindset

  1. World Bank (2015). World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior. World Bank.Read it free

Module 2. Module 2: Diagnosing the Problem

  1. Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. and Woolcock, M. (2013). Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA). World Development, 51, 234-244.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Hausmann, R., Rodrik, D. and Velasco, A. (2008). Growth Diagnostics. In Serra, N. and Stiglitz, J. E. (eds), The Washington Consensus Reconsidered: Towards a New Global Governance, 324-355. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. and Woolcock, M. (2017). Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action. Oxford University Press.Read it free
  4. Coffey, D. and Spears, D. (2017). Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development and the Costs of Caste. HarperCollins India.Publisher pageBook

Module 3. Module 3: Theory of Change as a Design Instrument

  1. Vogel, I. (2012). Review of the Use of 'Theory of Change' in International Development. Department for International Development.Read it free
  2. Weiss, C. H. (1995). Nothing as Practical as Good Theory: Exploring Theory-Based Evaluation for Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families. In Connell, J. P., Kubisch, A. C., Schorr, L. B. and Weiss, C. H. (eds), New Approaches to Evaluating Community Initiatives, Vol. 1: Concepts, Methods, and Contexts, 65-92. Aspen Institute.Publisher pageBook

Module 4. Module 4: Cash - Transfers, Targeting & Delivery Rails

  1. van Teutem, S. and Hasell, J. (2025). Global inequality is huge, but so is the opportunity for people in high-income countries to support poor people. Our World in Data.Read it free
  2. Fiszbein, A. and Schady, N. (2009). Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and Future Poverty. World Bank.Read it free
  3. Haushofer, J. and Shapiro, J. (2016). The Short-term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Kenya. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(4), 1973-2042.Free copy, a working-paper versionPublisher page

Module 5. Module 5: Bundles & Sequencing - The Graduation Approach

  1. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (n.d.). Building stable livelihoods for low-income households. J-PAL Policy Insight.Read it free
  2. Bandiera, O., Burgess, R., Das, N., Gulesci, S., Rasul, I. and Sulaiman, M. (2017). Labor Markets and Poverty in Village Economies. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2), 811-870.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Goldberg, N., Karlan, D., Osei, R., Parienté, W., Shapiro, J., Thuysbaert, B. and Udry, C. (2015). A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries. Science, 348(6236), 1260799.Free copy, a working-paper versionPublisher page

Module 6. Module 6: Human Infrastructure - Frontline Workers & the Last Mile

  1. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (n.d.). Improving health worker performance through pay-for-performance programs. J-PAL Policy Insight.Read it free
  2. Chaudhury, N., Hammer, J., Kremer, M., Muralidharan, K. and Rogers, F. H. (2006). Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 91-116.Read it free
  3. Duflo, E., Hanna, R. and Ryan, S. P. (2012). Incentives Work: Getting Teachers to Come to School. American Economic Review, 102(4), 1241-1278.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 7. Module 7: Institutions of the Poor - SHGs, Federations & Collective Models

  1. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (n.d.). Designing financial services and social protection programs to enhance women's economic empowerment. J-PAL Policy Insight.Read it free
  2. Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Deininger, K. and Liu, Y. (2013). Economic and Social Impacts of an Innovative Self-Help Group Model in India. World Development, 43, 149-163.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 8. Module 8: Getting the Level Right - Service-Delivery Redesign

  1. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (n.d.). Teaching at the Right Level to accelerate learning. J-PAL Evidence to Policy.Read it free
  2. Banerjee, A. V., Cole, S., Duflo, E. and Linden, L. (2007). Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(3), 1235-1264.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Banerjee, A., Banerji, R., Berry, J., Duflo, E., Kannan, H., Mukerji, S., Shotland, M. and Walton, M. (2017). From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(4), 73-102.Read it free
  4. Miguel, E. and Kremer, M. (2004). Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities. Econometrica, 72(1), 159-217.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 9. Module 9: The Delivery Chain

  1. Barber, M. (2015). How to Run a Government So That Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook
  2. Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. and Woolcock, M. (2017). Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action. Oxford University Press.Read it free
  3. Khera, R. (2011). Trends in Diversion of Grain from the Public Distribution System. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(21), 106-114.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Chaudhury, N., Hammer, J., Kremer, M., Muralidharan, K. and Rogers, F. H. (2006). Missing in Action: Teacher and Health Worker Absence in Developing Countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 91-116.Read it free
  5. Muralidharan, K., Niehaus, P. and Sukhtankar, S. (2016). Building State Capacity: Evidence from Biometric Smartcards in India. American Economic Review, 106(10), 2895-2929.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 10. Module 10: Incentives, Targeting & Cost-Effectiveness

  1. Alatas, V., Banerjee, A., Hanna, R., Olken, B. A. and Tobias, J. (n.d.). Effectively Targeting Anti-Poverty Programs in Indonesia. J-PAL Evaluation Summary.Read it free
  2. Banerjee, A., Banerji, R., Berry, J., Duflo, E., Kannan, H., Mukerji, S., Shotland, M. and Walton, M. (2017). From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(4), 73-102.Read it free
  3. Baird, S., Hicks, J. H., Kremer, M. and Miguel, E. (2016). Worms at Work: Long-run Impacts of a Child Health Investment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(4), 1637-1680.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 11. Module 11: Why Things Don't Scale - The Voltage Effect

  1. Bold, T., Kimenyi, M., Mwabu, G., Ng'ang'a, A. and Sandefur, J. (2013). Scaling-up What Works: Experimental Evidence on External Validity in Kenyan Education. CSAE Working Paper WPS/2013-04. Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.Read it free
  2. Al-Ubaydli, O., List, J. A. and Suskind, D. L. (2017). What Can We Learn from Experiments? Understanding the Threats to the Scalability of Experimental Results. American Economic Review, 107(5), 282-286.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Bold, T., Kimenyi, M., Mwabu, G., Ng'ang'a, A. and Sandefur, J. (2018). Experimental evidence on scaling up education reforms in Kenya. Journal of Public Economics, 168, 1-20.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Duflo, E., Hanna, R. and Ryan, S. P. (2012). Incentives Work: Getting Teachers to Come to School. American Economic Review, 102(4), 1241-1278.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 12. Module 12: Pathways to Scale

  1. International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (n.d.). Scaling up development interventions requires planning from the beginning, 3ie's expert panel says. 3ie blog.Read it free
  2. Moore, M.-L., Riddell, D. and Vocisano, D. (2015). Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep: Strategies of Non-profits in Advancing Systemic Social Innovation. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 58, 67-84.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. and Woolcock, M. (2017). Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action. Oxford University Press.Read it free

Module 13. Module 13: Designing for Adaptation & Learning

  1. Andrews, M., Pritchett, L. and Woolcock, M. (2017). Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action. Oxford University Press.Read it free
  2. Korten, D. C. (1980). Community Organization and Rural Development: A Learning Process Approach. Public Administration Review, 40(5), 480-511.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental Evaluation: Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use. Guilford Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 14. Module 14: Design Studio - Your Intervention, End to End

  1. World Bank (2015). World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior, ch. 10, The biases of development professionals. World Bank.Read it free

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