UC Berkeley Center for Effective Global Action

UC Berkeley Center for Effective Global Action
Name	Center for Effective Global Action
Established	2009
Location	Berkeley, California
Affiliation	University of California, Berkeley
Director	Dean Karlan (founding director)

UC Berkeley Center for Effective Global Action is a research center based at University of California, Berkeley that conducts randomized evaluations and policy-relevant research addressing international development challenges. The center brings together scholars from University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and other institutions to test interventions in low- and middle-income countries. Its work interfaces with policymakers, multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations, and bilateral agencies including United States Agency for International Development and Department for International Development.

History and Founding

The center was founded in 2009 by a group of economists and development practitioners associated with University of California, Berkeley, including Dean Karlan, alongside collaborators from Innovations for Poverty Action, J-PAL, and research networks linked to National Bureau of Economic Research and American Economic Association. Early influences included randomized controlled trial pioneers such as Angus Deaton, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Michael Kremer, and evaluators from International Food Policy Research Institute and World Bank teams. Founding priorities aligned with debates sparked by publications in journals like The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, and reports from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and think tanks like Brookings Institution.

Mission and Research Focus

The center’s mission emphasizes rigorous impact evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis in domains including public health, agriculture, microfinance, and education. Research topics have intersected with interventions evaluated in contexts studied by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grants, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria programs, and pilots coordinated with World Health Organization guidance. Faculty affiliated with the center have published in outlets such as Science, Nature, and discipline-specific journals, and have contributed to debates at forums like the United Nations General Assembly and conferences convened by International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs include randomized trial portfolios, policy labs, and practitioner training modeled after initiatives by J-PAL and IPA. Specific initiatives have addressed cash transfer programs analogous to those evaluated in Mexico’s Oportunidades program, conditional cash transfers studied in Brazil’s Bolsa Família, and vaccination campaigns similar to campaigns run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The center has developed toolkits and courses comparable to curricula offered by Harvard Kennedy School and London School of Economics for practitioners from organizations such as CARE International, Oxfam, Save the Children, and United Nations Children's Fund.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Collaborations span academic and policy partners including Stanford University centers, Columbia University departments, Yale University programs, and international agencies like United Nations Development Programme, Gates Foundation, and Inter-American Development Bank. The center has worked with national governments—examples include ministries in Kenya, Uganda, India, and Bangladesh—and with regional bodies such as African Development Bank and Asiac Development Bank. Collaborative research networks have included scholars affiliated with Princeton University, University of Chicago, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and research institutes like IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute) and CEPR.

Funding and Governance

Funding sources have included philanthropic funders such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and programmatic grants from National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, alongside contracts with multilateral institutions such as World Bank Group and bilateral donors like USAID and DFID. Governance structures mirror university-affiliated research centers, with oversight from academic directors, advisory boards comprising scholars from Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University, and policy experts formerly with United States Agency for International Development and United Nations agencies.

Impact and Policy Influence

The center’s randomized evaluations have informed policy debates on topics similar to interventions championed by Gates Foundation grantees and have been cited in policy documents from World Bank, IMF, and parliamentary committees in countries such as United Kingdom, India, and Kenya. Research outputs have influenced program design in microfinance experiments reminiscent of work by Muhammad Yunus proponents, agricultural input subsidy discussions akin to those in Zambia and Ghana, and health interventions aligned with WHO guidelines. Alumni and affiliated researchers have moved to positions at Harvard, Princeton, World Bank, IMF, and national ministries, embedding evidence from trials into policy and programmatic practice.

Category:University of California, Berkeley research centers