No. 01 (2020): CODESRIA Bulletin, No 1, 2020

· 2020 No. 01 CODESRIA Bulletin, No 1, 2020 CB

This issue of the Bulletin returns to ongoing work theorizing Africa’s economic development. It zeros in on the debate on Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) in the design of development interven- tions for and in Africa. A resurgent area of western in- tellectual curiosity and policy initiative, RCTs recently attracted renewed attention and unexpected validation with the award of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics to Esther Duflo, Abijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer. This trio was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for their work in adapting the experimental method of RCTs to the design of development interventions in Africa, and was lauded by the Nobel Committee for thus making a major contribution to poverty alleviation. This catalysed vibrant debates and rebuttal amongst academics, development practitioners and public policy experts that continues to date, including on social media platforms. The debates centred around the merits of applying RCTs to development thinking in the continent. Consistently, interlocuters have sought to contextualise the literature on RCTs within the historical sociology of knowledge production and dissemination, with an emphasis also being placed on the impact on development outcomes. Read the Full Editorial

Published
2020-08-18

Articles

  1. 0 - Editorial

    Godwin R. Murunga, Ibrahim O. Ogachi

    Abstract views : 402 Downloads : 211

  2. 1 - Pop Developmentalism in Africa

    Grieve Chelwa
    3-5

    Abstract views : 1,462 Downloads : 176

  3. 2 - Involuntary Social Experimentation: Revisiting the Case for a Moratorium

    Nimi Hoffmann
    7-14

    Abstract views : 893 Downloads : 171

  4. 3 - Randomised Trials as a Dead-end for African Development

    Seán M. Muller
    14-20

    Abstract views : 972 Downloads : 184

  5. 4 - Climate Services for Smallholder Farmers Using Mobile Phones: Evidence from a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial in North Benin

    Rosaine N. Yegbemey
    21-24

    Abstract views : 421 Downloads : 182

  6. 5 - Trust, Legitimacy and Community Perceptions on Randomisation of Cash Transfers

    Marion Ouma
    25-29

    Abstract views : 809 Downloads : 459

  7. CODESRIA Bulletin, No 1, 2020: Special Issue - Randomised Control Trials and Development Research in Africa

    Abstract views : 204 Downloads : 215