In this paper we investigate the comparative properties of empirically-estimated monetary models of the U.S. economy. We make use of a new database of models designed for such investigations. We focus on three representative models: the Christiano, Eichenbaum, Evans (2005) model, the Smets and...

This paper reviews some of the most popular policy evaluation methods in empirical microeconomics: social experiments, natural experiments, matching, instrumental variables, discontinuity design, and control functions. It discusses identification of traditionally used average parameters and more...

Swedish elementary school children stopped receiving written end of year report cards following a grading reform in 1982. Gradual implementation of the reform creates an opportunity to investigate the effects of being graded on adult educational attainments and earnings for children in the...

This paper analyzes the response of secondary schools to changes in their quality ratings. The current analysis is the first to address the impact of quality scores that have been published by a newspaper (Trouw), rather than public interventions. Our research design exploits the substantial...

This paper introduces the concepts of impact,impact analysis/assessment and management, outlining the differences between assessment and evaluation, and highlighting their growing importance among the international and European communities.The second part presents underlying reasons for...

The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness provided an important framework for encouraging donor and partner countries to adapt aid management practices to make development cooperation more effective. The agenda it advanced has since lost visibility, even among aid providers that were once...

The overarching aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of how the main target variable of innovation policy - change in behaviour - can be better conceptualised and put into practice in evaluation and policy making. The paper first develops a theoretical framework of the...

Measuring non-cognitive skills in evaluations of education policy interventions is an increasingly important task. At the same time, choosing the adequate measures is difficult. Contrary to cognitive development, there is a shortage of reliable and valid measures of personality and behavioral...

This volume was prepared by Constantin Mang while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in 2014 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes a short introduction and four self-contained chapters that focus on ICT...