Please find below projects supported by the Peace & Recovery Competitive Fund, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Open Society Foundations.

• Off-Cycle (COVID-19)
• Round VII (Winter 2021)
• Round VI (Fall 2020)
• Round V (Fall 2019)
• Round IV (Spring 2019)
• Round III (Fall 2018)
• Round II (Spring 2018)
• Round I (Fall 2017)
• Off-Cycle
   

Projects Funded through P&R’s COVID-19 Off-Cycle Funding

Accelerating Changes in Norms about Social Distancing to Combat COVID-19 in Mozambique
Researchers: Dean Yang, Tanya Rosenblat, James Allen IV, Hang Yu
Country: Mozambique
Partner: Beira Operational Research Center at the Ministry of Health, Mozambique
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Social distancing is one of the most important health behaviors limiting the spread of COVID‐19, but people may practice it insufficiently for multiple reasons: they may not believe or realize that community norms have shifted towards support for social distancing, and they may not realize its public health benefits. This project is supporting Mozambique’s effort to promote social distancing, in collaboration with the government’s health research center for the central region. In a representative sample of 3,000 households across three provinces, many of whom were displaced by Cyclone Idai, researchers are evaluating two different messaging approaches to promoting social distancing. One emphasizes that others in the community—either prominent individuals or a high share of other households—support social distancing. The other emphasizes social distancing’s public health benefits. Data from high-frequency phone-based surveys will inform the government about how COVID-19-related knowledge, beliefs, and preventative behaviors are changing over time.

Cash and Compliance with Social Distancing: Experimental Evidence from Ghana
Researchers: Robert Darko Osei, Dean Karlan, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Ben Roth, Christopher Udry
Country: Ghana
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

As coronavirus begins to spread in developing countries, an important question is whether poor households will adhere to social distancing given the likely inability to work remotely, and the subsequent large income losses. In such a context, mobile money transfers may not only help households maintain consumption levels, they may also complement social distancing policies - those that get the cash may work less, and stay at home more. We are launching a three-arm mobile money transfer study in Ghana to test this idea. Specifically, using a subset of poor households from the Ghana Panel Survey (a representative panel dataset collected over the last decade) we will randomize households to receive a large weekly transfer, a small weekly transfer, or no weekly transfer. We will examine the effects on a battery of economic and psychological measures of well-being as well as adherence to social distancing and self-isolation.

Read the working paper here.

Communication to Promote Healthy Behaviors in Urban Slums in Kenya During COVID-19
Researchers: Timothy Abuya, Karen Austrian, Adan Isaac, Beth Kangwana, Faith Mbushi, Eva Muluve, Daniel Mwanga, Thoai D. Ngo, Mercy Nzioki, Rhoune Ochako, Jessie Pinchoff, Ben Tidwell, Corinne White
Country: Kenya
Partner: Ministry of Health, Kenya
Type of Project: Infrastructure and Public Goods
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Sub-Saharan Africa contains many densely overcrowded and poor urban slums at high risk of COVID-19 outbreaks. In these contexts, sanitation and social distancing measures are near impossible, and COVID-19’s rapid spread is a devastating prospect. To control the pandemic’s spread, the Kenyan Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Taskforce has implemented initial prevention and mitigation measures. To inform the Taskforce strategy, this study will deploy rapid phone-based surveys every two weeks on knowledge, attitudes, and practices to approximately 7,500 heads of households sampled from existing randomized evaluation cohorts across five urban slums in Nairobi. Baseline findings on awareness of COVID-19 symptoms, perceived risk, awareness of and ability to carry out preventive behaviors, misconceptions, and fears will inform Taskforce interventions. In subsequent rounds, behavior change messages will be randomly assigned to measure effectiveness, or if randomization is not feasible, survey questions on exposure and response to government campaigns will be evaluated using causal inference approaches.

Effective Communication and Dissemination of Critical COVID-19 Information with Syrian Refugees in Turkey 
Researchers: Ceren Baysan, Emily Eisner, Kristin Fabbe, Lisa Spantig
Country: Turkey
Partner: Syrian Economic Forum
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: No

The study tracked how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Syrian-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey during 2020. Researchers used phone surveys to understand the business environment for refugee-owned firms during Covid-19 and to assess the data quality collected via phone surveys. They found that 83 percent of SMEs that were operating in February (before the pandemic hit) were still operating in July, and this slightly increased to 88 percent by October 2020. Between July and October, the research team found that the percentage of business owners who reported lower sales decreased from approximately 70 to 50 percent. This data suggests that the pandemic did not significantly impact the number of businesses operating. Overall, all factors related to sales improved by more than 20 percentage points; including, access to capital (25 percentage point increase), consumer demand (27 percentage point increase ), worker absenteeism (36 percentage point decrease), and difficulty in devoting time to business (43 percentage point decrease). The only factor that deteriorated between July and October was the share of business owners reporting a reduced availability of resources to run their businesses (a decrease from 75 to 92 percent). While most indicators of business performance improved, researchers found that business owners became more pessimistic about future sales. The sample was drawn from the Syrian Economic Forum's database.

Low-Cost, Automated WhatsApp Surveys to Understand Venezuelan Migration in Colombia

Researchers: Jeremy Weinstein, Duncan Lawrence, Jens Hainmueller
Country: Colombia
Partner: Immigration Policy Lab (IPL), Mercy Corps
Type of Project: Pilot, Descriptive 
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

In partnership with Mercy Corps, the Immigration Policy Lab is designing and implementing a novel low-cost, automated WhatsApp survey among Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. The survey will generate valuable descriptive data on indicators of household resilience and return migration in the context of a global pandemic. This WhatsApp survey method has been internally adopted by IPA as a potential tool for country offices’ use in remote survey implementation. The research team will also develop a publicly accessible technical manual and reproducible code so that other teams can leverage this novel method for implementing remote surveys in the future. This will help other researchers implement low-cost remote surveys, which are particularly useful among populations difficult to reach.

State Engagement with Religious Leaders for Effective COVID-19 Crisis Response
Researchers: Kate Vyborny
Country: Pakistan
Partners: Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP)
Type of Project: Randomized Evaluation
Timeline: April-July 2020
Implemented by IPA: No

The goal of this study is to test whether outreach to religious leaders in Pakistan can enhance state effectiveness in dealing with the COVID-19 public health crisis. State interactions with religious leaders present both a challenge and an opportunity: there has been a lack of clarity on the official stance on whether and how congregational prayer is restricted as part of ongoing lockdowns. Many mosques in Pakistan continue to hold congregational prayer, and there have been some clashes between the state and mosques over this issue. Effective outreach to the clergy at the community level may help to address this challenge. The research team will conduct information treatment calls with a randomized sub-sample of imams to test secular and religious approaches to persuading community imams to carry out social distancing within their mosques.

Understanding Economic Outcomes and Resilience to COVID-19: Evidence from the Kenya Life Panel Survey
Researchers: Edward Miguel, Joan Hamory Hicks, Michael Walker
Country: Kenya
Partner: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Type of Project: Infrastructure and Public Goods
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

COVID-19 is causing major health and economic challenges for low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS) is uniquely situated to address numerous key questions about the effects of the pandemic. The KLPS is a 20-year longitudinal survey on health, educational, nutritional, demographic, social, and labor market outcomes among a sample of thousands of Kenyans who were participants in one or more randomized health, skills training, and financial capital interventions during childhood and adolescence, and collects intergenerational data on their children. Researchers are adding a phone survey round to KLPS to track COVID-19 exposure, knowledge, and coping mechanisms (including migration);  measure downstream long-term effects of adolescent interventions on responses; and determine how crisis experiences affect subsequent outcomes for adults and children. Researchers are estimating effects using the original experiments, and spatial and temporal variation in survey timing and COVID-19 intensity and policies across Kenya.

Vulnerability and Trust in the Aftermath of COVID-19 in Uganda
Researchers: Macartan Humphreys, Constantin Manuel Bosancianu, Ana Garcia-Hernandez
Country: Uganda
Partner: Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

COVID-19 has already disrupted community life and will surely alter community social dynamics for years to come. This project aims to identify and track over time citizens’ compliance with COVID-19 mitigation policies and their access to relief services in Kampala, Uganda. Building on an existing study in which certain residents were randomly assigned to attend meetings with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)—which is responsible for the city’s health centers, public schools, and other public services—researchers will survey the study’s representative sample of urban residents to understand patterns of rule compliance, uncover how the crisis alters patterns of intra-group and inter-group trust (using baseline information collected prior to the pandemic), and identify and track over time populations that are vulnerable to disruptions caused by the pandemic. The ongoing randomized evaluation will also help researchers to understand how this compliance is shaped by contact with a key governmental institution. Embedding this COVID-19 survey into a data collection process that extends to 2021 will allow researchers to gain a long-term perspective on community resilience.

Projects Funded During Round VII (Winter 2021)

Countering Prejudice and Discrimination toward Victims of Criminal Violence in Mexico
Researchers: Natán Skigin
Location: Mexico
Partner: Documental Ambulante A.C., United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: Yes   

Over the last 15 years, Mexico has implemented a military strategy to combat drug cartels and insecurity. The situation has deteriorated rapidly, with rising crime and serious human rights violations perpetrated by drug cartels and state forces. In this context, the stigmatization of victims of human rights violations has become frequent. For example, many citizens believe that men who disappear were involved in criminal activities. And women who are victims of sexual abuse or disappearances are often considered responsible because they adopt "risky" attitudes, such as walking alone, dressing "provocatively," or visiting unsafe areas, even though most of these places are places where they live or work. Researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation to identify effective methods to combat rhetoric that justifies gross human rights violations and foster citizen solidarity with victims. The research team will examine whether watching a documentary about disappearances, having contact with victims, or participating in peer conversations about criminal violence has an impact on prejudice reduction and support for state violence and punitive behavior.

Can cognitive behavioral therapy reduce crime among at-risk youth in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil?
Researchers: Juliana Camargo, Eduardo Mello, Bruno Pantaleão 
Location: Brazil
Partner: Instituto Cidade Segura
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

Violence and homicides are in part associated with individuals’ failure to recognize and rethink aggressive behaviors and biased beliefs. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in improving self-control, both in the short and long term, and thus reducing crime at a low cost (Blattman et al. 2017). Researchers in Brazil are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of the Sagaz Methodology, an approach that incorporates CBT to promote better psychological responses among vulnerable and traumatized adolescents in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The program will target adolescents who are most at risk of becoming victims and/or perpetrators of violence. A key objective of the evaluation is to develop a replicable program that can be implemented at scale in Brazil and eventually translated into similar contexts in Latin America.

Climate Security and Criminal Governance: Countering Narco-Aid in Climate-Distressed Populations in Mexico
Researchers: Rafael Ch, Jane Esberg, and Ulrich Eberle 
Location: Mexico
Partner: Centro de Investigación y Acción Social (CIAS)
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: Yes 

Criminal groups increasingly provide humanitarian aid (narco-aid) following natural disasters, aimed at fostering trust among the affected populations and strengthening their territorial control (Blattman et. al, 2021). Insufficient state resources to cope with climate change can thus inadvertently strengthen the criminal influence and territorial control. Researchers will first field a pilot survey to assess the relationship between climate shocks, criminal governance, trust in the state, and welfare. After this stage, the researchers will assess the impact of workfare programs following natural disasters in high-crime Mexican localities vulnerable to climate shocks. The workfare program will provide residents 50-100 days of public employment focused on the reconstruction of neighborhoods affected by floods and landslides. Researchers will assess the likelihood of both criminal groups occupying a disaster-affected region and civilians accepting financial or humanitarian aid from criminal groups. Findings will provide insights into the link between climate change and criminal rule, which may support the design of future policies to counteract the presence of criminal groups in vulnerable areas.

Asking About Violence: Empirical evidence on the ethics of measurement in violent contexts
Researchers: Lauren Young, Graeme Blair, Rebecca Littman, Hannah Baron, Elayne Stecher, Vivian Khedari, Andres Moya, and Sandra Ley
Location: Nigeria and Mexico
Partner: [Mobukar Consultancy, Beyond Conflict, Data OPM]
Type of project: Infrastructure and Public Goods
Research implemented by IPA: No

Over the past decade, research that involves engaging with people affected by violence has increased dramatically, yet there is little evidence on the effects of asking about violence on respondents and interviewers. To fill this evidence gap, researchers will conduct a systematic evidence review and a randomized evaluation to study a set of common procedures used in academic and policy research to measure exposure to violence in interviews. The project will assess two outcomes: the potential for benefits and harm to research participants and the extent to which respondents regret participating in the research. The researchers have chosen study sites in Nigeria and Mexico that vary by region, type of commonly occurring violence, and socioeconomic characteristics. Researchers will produce a set of best practices for conducting social science research on violence in a way that maximizes benefits, minimizes harm, and promotes individual autonomy.

Bridging the Digital Divide: Data Access and Integration of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia
Researchers: Mateo Vásquez-Cortés, Nejla Asimovic, Kevin Munger
Location: Colombia
Partner: Somos Panas Colombia, Wedialog.net Platform
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: Yes 

Nearly two million Venezuelans fled to Colombia (USAID 2021), where they continue to face various legal, economic, and social barriers. Internet access barriers may reduce not only the amount of information that migrants can obtain about economic and assistance opportunities, which are available online but also their ability to expand or sustain their social ties or verify the truthfulness of the information received through social media. In this project, researchers study how internet access barriers affect integration and migrant well-being in contexts of limited state capacity and economic constraints. In particular, researchers will assess the effects of enhanced data access (by providing mobile data credit) on migrants’ knowledge and interest in existing government assistance programs, the expansion and maintenance of their social networks, and their levels of psychological well-being. Researchers will further evaluate whether complementing this enhanced data provision with access to online spaces that facilitate an exchange of accurate information (in collaboration with the National Planning Department of the Government of Colombia) leads to better socio-economic outcomes for the forcibly displaced and migrant community.

Reducing Violence versus Building Trust: Exploring the Joint Effect of Top-down and Bottom-up Peacebuilding Interventions
Researchers: Catlan Reardon and Rebecca Wolfe
Location: Nigeria 
Partner: Mercy Corps
Type of project: Full RCT
Research implemented by IPA: Yes
Related article: Training local leaders in mediation can reduce violence: positive results in Nigeria (The Conversation) 

Persistent, low-level communal violence continues across many multi-ethnic societies. This violence threatens the livelihoods and stability of vulnerable communities, hardening attitudes between conflicting groups. In these contexts, formal governance is weak or absent and communities often rely on informal institutions to manage local conflicts and disputes. To address these challenges, peacebuilding interventions typically have focused on either strengthening these informal mechanisms for conflict resolution or building social cohesion among community members. However, there remains little evidence of whether these processes are complements or substitutes for one another. Researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation to examine the effects of two types of peacebuilding interventions—mediation training of local leaders (top-down approach) and community dialogues (bottom-up approach)—on violence, insecurity, prejudice, and mistrust among citizens in 88 communities in North-Central Nigeria. The results will provide insight into how these types of interventions can support peace where state presence is weak.
 

Projects Funded During Round VI (Spring 2021)

Dimensions of Conflict in Pastoral East Africa – Livestock Insurance and Its Conflict-Mitigating Potential
Researchers: Polly Ericksen, Chris Barrett, Erwin Bulte, Glenn Harrison, Nathaniel Jensen, Fred Zaal, Tagel Gebrehiwot Gidey, Karlijn Morsink
Location: Kenya & Ethiopia
Partner: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) & the World Bank
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

Insufficient resources to cope with the negative effects of weather shocks can lead people to migration, theft, and land seizures, which in turn can trigger social unrest and conflict. To combat this, policymakers often promote insurance against weather shocks, but there is little evidence of the extent to which they can help to avoid conflicts and cope with climate shocks. To try to fill this gap, researchers received pilot funding to design a randomized evaluation of the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI), that is offered to pastoralists in Ethiopia and Kenya. The evaluation will study whether this insurance can help mitigate the negative effects of weather shocks, both stand-alone and when insurance is jointly implemented with a conflict-mitigating intervention.

Training Local Leaders to Prevent and Reduce Intimate Partner Femicide in their Communities: Evidence from Peru
Researchers: Erica Field, Ursula Aldana, Javier Romero, Livia Schubiger
Location: Peru
Partner: Peruvian Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Population (MIMP)/National Program for Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women (AURORA)
Type of project: Full RCT
Research implemented by IPA: Yes

A third of femicides worldwide are committed by an intimate partner (UNODC, 2019). Despite the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and its long-term welfare consequences (including death), there is scarce rigorous evidence on interventions that aim to reduce it. In Peru, researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of two different delivery models of a state-run program. The intervention called Leaders in Action (LIA) is a community-level program aimed at reducing violence against women in rural areas via norm change through both a household-based approach and a group-based approach. 

Can Mental Health Interventions Influence the Behavior of Police Officers in Mexico City?
Researchers: Rodrigo Canales, Juan Francisco Santini, Seppälä
Location: Mexico
Partner: Mexico City Ministry of Citizen Security (SSC)
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: Yes

Policing is an occupation with distinctive characteristics that can prompt mental health disorders. Research shows that police officers are exposed to a variety of traumatic and stressful events over the course of their careers that have large negative impacts on mental and physical health, job performance, and interactions with citizens. The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by law enforcement workers, as their activities have expanded to help with COVID-19 mitigation. It is essential for police organizations, therefore, to identify interventions that can support the mental health of their workers. Collaborating with the Mexico City Ministry of Citizen Security, researchers will implement a randomized evaluation to measure whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can improve officers’ mental health, and job performance, and reduce violent behavior in the streets. 

Militant Courts or Police Posts? Evidence on Women, Women Police, and Forum Shopping in Somali Internally Displaced Person  Camps
Researchers: Prabin B. Khadka, Nicholas Haas
Location: Somalia
Partner: Wamo Relief and Rehabilitation Services, Somali Police Force in Jubbaland
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

In fragile contexts such as Somalia that feature weakened state institutions, women are both vulnerable to gender-based violence and largely unable to obtain justice through formal institutions, such as the police. Faced with few alternatives, there is increasing evidence of a worrisome trend wherein women turn to informal militant courts run by Al-Shabaab in place of the state. This in turn reinforces the haphazard patchwork of state-sanctioned and informal avenues for justice, rather than improving service delivery such that women seek redress from the state and not from militant groups (Haas and Khadka, 2019; Katuni, 2017). In Somalia, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to investigate the effects of a community police program aimed at preventing gender-based violence and increasing access to justice, amongst one of the region’s most vulnerable communities: women who are internally displaced. The program under evaluation will pair police training with two different encouragement strategies designed to increase women’s utilization of police services, should their performance improve due to the training: one that facilitates the identification of female officers trained in gender-based violence, and a second that seeks to create a personalized relationship and direct communication line between internally displaced women and female police officers. The results of this evaluation will provide evidence of the best ways to build trust in the police in order to increase access to justice for women survivors of gender-based violence.

Do body-worn cameras affect police behavior? A Quasi-experimental Analysis in São Paulo (Brazil)
Researchers: Joana Monteiro, Leandro Piquet, Pedro Souza
Location: Brazil
Partner: Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

Police brutality is one of the key violence problems in Brazil, the US, and many other Latin American countries. In 2019 alone, the police shot and killed more than 6,000 people in Brazil—six times the figures registered in the United States. In some Brazilian states, police forces are responsible for over 20 percent of homicides. Many police departments are increasingly investing in body-worn cameras (BWC) as a technological solution to improve policing accountability and reduce the use of force during citizen-police interactions. However, the evidence of the impact of this enforcement mechanism in the Global South remains limited. Researchers will conduct an evaluation to assess the impact of a large-scale BWC program on police use of force and police perception of their activity, work conditions, and interaction with citizens. As part of the project, the researchers will develop tools to measure and quantify the use of force by the police (physical, non-lethal, and lethal). Furthermore, the partnership will lay the foundation for a randomized evaluation in future waves of rollout, as well as serve as an example to other police units and cities in the region.

To learn more, listen to an interview with Joana Monteiro here and read the policy brief here.

The Economic Effects of Shia Sunni Contact
Researchers: Karrar Hussain, Zain Chaudhry,  Rashid Mahmood Langrial 
Location: Pakistan
Partner: none
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

The differences between the Shia-Sunni sects of Islam create a lack of trust that has sometimes led to substantial conflicts in Pakistan. Researchers will conduct an evaluation to determine whether these differences can be attenuated by increasing contact between sects and to measure the impact of those differences in economic and political outcomes. In addition to understanding religious differences and measuring its economic and political impacts, this research will provide evidence for the best mechanisms to change prejudice-based beliefs and solve conflicts. 

The Impact of Hate Literature on Radicalization in Pakistan
Researchers: Sultan Mehmood, Saher Asad
Location: Pakistan
Partner: Minhaj-ul-Quran Pakistan and CRED (Center for Research and Economic Development)
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

Radicalization as a precursor to political violence may be a threat to both democracy and development. Does limiting access to hate literature help combat radicalization, or is it the case that counter-narrative messaging and subsidizing competitors’ content is more effective? In Pakistan, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of hate speech literature magazines on the formation of radical political beliefs and extremist ideology in adolescents. Researchers will work with magazine distributors to display different types of magazines on their main visible shelves. Additionally, they will educate people on responsible media use and the impacts of hate speech.

Projects Funded During Round V (Fall 2019)

Can Democratic Engagement Reduce the Appeal of Violent Extremism Among Internally Displaced Persons? Evidence from Somalia
Researchers: Michael Gilligan, Prabin Khadka, Peter Vining
Country: Somalia
Partner: WAMO Relief and Rehabilitation Services, Kismayo Somalia, University of Jubba, Kismayo Somalia
Type of project: Pilot
Research implemented by IPA: No

Can promoting peaceful democratic engagement reduce the appeal of anti-Western violent extremism? Researchers will design and test an intervention that trains internally displaced persons in Somalia to use digital tools for civic engagement and encourages them to use these tools to engage with various civil society organizations working on foreign policy issues relevant to their lives. The study will measure participants’ attitudes, before and after the trainings, towards democracy and violent extremism to assess the impact of this civic engagement approach. 
 

Counseling, Intergroup Contact, and Refugee-Native Integration in Lebanon
Researchers: Salma Mousa, Alexandra Scacco
Location: Lebanon
Partner: Amel
Type of Project: Full study
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Social cohesion is thought to be crucial for political, economic, and social development. Yet, we know little about how to build it. This is particularly true for refugees and host communities—despite the urgency of the policy problem and the volume of programming and existing research. In Lebanon, where refugees make up 25 percent of the population, researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of a three-month psychosocial support program that brings together underprivileged Syrian refugees with native Lebanese youth. This study will provide insights on the potential of contact—in addition to empathy education—to build social cohesion in a context of pervasive prejudice and distrust. More broadly, the results will speak to the value of deliberately embedding intergroup contact within NGO programs. This simple design choice is potentially low-hanging fruit when it comes to building social cohesion in the field.

Can Aid Change Attitudes toward Refugees? Experimental Evidence from Microentrepreneurs in Urban Uganda
Researchers: Travis Baseler, Thomas Ginn, Helidah Ogude, Olivia Woldemikael
Location: Uganda
Partners: YARID, International Research Consortium
Type of Project: Full study
Research Implemented by IPA: No

How should aid for refugees be allocated to assist refugees and gain the support of host communities? While host populations often believe they are negatively affected by refugees, little evidence exists on the potential for aid to facilitate positive relations and mitigate tension. Researchers are conducting a randomized trial to evaluate three programs for host microentrepreneurs: canvassing, canvassing accompanied by a cash grant, and mentorship by an experienced refugee. The goal is to directly link the programs, which are implemented by a refugee-led non-profit, with the presence of refugees and Uganda’s existing aid-sharing policy. Researchers will assess the effects on political outcomes, such as support for hosting more refugees and allowing them to work, and economic outcomes, like participants’ business profits. The study seeks to understand whether sharing development aid that is associated with refugees can induce support for inclusive policies.

Read the working paper here.

The Impact of a Multi-Faceted Social Protection Program on Violence, Criminality and Migration
Researchers: Andrew Dillon, Adrien Bouguen
Location: Burkina Faso
Partners: Terre des Hommes Lausanne, Action Contre La Faim
Type of Project: Full study (module addition)
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Following conflict, social protection programs have the potential to promote stabilization and mitigate the effects of violence. Yet, there is scarce evidence on the effectiveness of these recovery programs in promoting individual resilience or improving cohesion between ethnic groups. In Burkina Faso, which has recently undergone waves of terrorist attacks and ethnic violence, researchers are conducting an evaluation to understand how an ongoing social protection program, composed of cash, asset, and food transfers, impacts child nutrition, household food security and economic resilience, in addition to beliefs, aspirations, and social norms about conflict. The study aims to inform future approaches to humanitarian assistance in conflict settings.

Reducing Prejudice Towards Refugees? A Pilot Study of Perspective Taking in Uganda
Researchers: Janet Lewis, Jennifer Larson
Location: Uganda
Partner: George Washington University
Type of Project: Pilot
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Uganda currently hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa. Despite Uganda’s generous national policies on refugees, relations between refugees and Ugandan citizens are often strained. What are the primary obstacles to harmonious, productive relations between Ugandan citizens and South Sudanese refugees in northwestern Uganda? Can a brief, face-to-face conversation encouraging respondents to take the perspective of South Sudanese refugees reduce prejudice towards them? This pilot will inform a randomized evaluation that will examine the effectiveness of a “perspective-taking” exchange in northwestern Uganda aimed at reducing anti-refugee prejudice. The randomized evaluation will be embedded in a social network analysis, and thus promises to advance knowledge about whether and how a face-to-face conversation can reduce an individual’s prejudice towards refugees in a resource-poor context; how information relayed during the intervention about refugees spreads through social networks; and whether and how beliefs about and behaviors towards outgroups spread socially, via treatment spillovers in villagers’ networks.
 

Projects Funded During Round IV (Spring 2019)

Improving Labor Market Outcomes for Refugees: Evidence from Uganda
Researchers: Francesco Loiacono, Mariajose Silva Vargas
Location: Uganda
Partners: The International Growth, Research and Evaluation Centre, Young African Refugees for Integral Development, Kampala Capital City Authority
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Many governments and international institutions are working to create economic opportunities for refugees in prolonged crises. Yet refugees, especially in developing countries, may find it particularly hard to access local job markets. By exploring the Ugandan labor market for refugee and local young job seekers, this project will design and evaluate a program with the aim of reducing the prevalence of labor market discrimination against refugees. In collaboration with a local NGO, this study will provide employment subsidies to hire a refugee or a local job seeker. By studying the effect of exposure and how firms learn about the true productivity of workers, researchers will assess whether the program reduces the extent of discrimination and whether labor market outcomes improve.

Learning to See a World of Opportunities
Researchers: Nava Ashraf, Leonardo Iacovone, Gharad Bryan, Alexia Delfino, Ashley Pople
Location: Colombia
Partners: Bogota Mayor’s Office
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Exposure to violence, conflict, and other traumatic life events can have harmful effects on the economic, human, and social capital of individuals and their communities. Entrepreneurship and business skills training curricula have been commonly adopted as an approach for promoting socio-economic inclusion in fragile settings. However, most of these programs pay little attention to motivation and internal barriers to learning and decision-making, which may be particularly relevant for victims of conflict. For such populations, imagery techniques—which encourage participants to envision future scenarios or adopt the perspectives of others—could be an effective pedagogical tool for boosting motivation. To evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques, researchers are designing and evaluating a soft skills training program that incorporates imagery for entrepreneurs who have experienced violence or other traumatic or challenging life circumstances in Bogotá, Colombia.

Local Solutions to Local Problems? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Educational Programs to Reduce Interethnic Tensions and Local Violence
Researchers: Allison Grossman, William Nomikos, Niloufer Siddiqui
Location: Burkina Faso
Partners: ProgettoMondo MLAL
Type of Project: Pilot
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Burkina Faso has a strong history of peaceful coexistence among ethnic and religious groups, but in recent years has seen a rise in organized violence by Islamic extremists and fracturing of old forms of social solidarity. This pilot study is assessing the effectiveness of a new EU-funded project to strengthen social trust and rebuild communal norms of tolerance. Through a curricular intervention administered in schools and youth clubs, this study assesses the effectiveness of individual-level (building self-esteem and self-confidence) and community-level (encouraging social cohesion through emphasizing shared identities) factors on inter-communal trust and the willingness of individuals to rely on non-violent solutions to local disputes. This research will inform future work seeking to disentangle the effect of various factors on these outcomes, while also collecting important baseline data in a data-scarce, but increasingly vital, context.

Read the published paper here.

Militarized Policing to Reduce Homicides and Other Violent Crimes: A Field Experiment in Cali, Colombia
Researchers: Robert Blair, Michael Weintraub
Location: Colombia
Partners: Security and Justice Secretariat, City of Cali
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

In Latin America, governments commonly use their armed forces to combat high homicide rates, especially in urban areas. Advocates view these strategies as necessary to bring violent crime under control and allow social programs to take root, while opponents counter that militarized policing undermines human rights and exacerbates insecurity. However, little rigorous evidence exists on either side of this debate. This study evaluates the impact of a militarized policing program that deploys intensive, recurring army patrols to neighborhoods with the highest homicide rates in the city of Cali, Colombia, one of Latin America’s most violent cities. Researchers will compare the program to a comparison group that receives no militarized policing as well as a spillover group adjacent to blocks where militarized policing operates. The study will test the impact of the program on homicides and other violent crimes, as well as on citizens' perceptions of security and trust in government.

The Psychosocial Impacts of Forced Idleness in Refugee Camps
Researchers: Reshmaan Hussam, Fatima Tuz Zahra, Erin Kelley, Greg Kelley
Location: Bangladesh
Partners: Pulse
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Between August and December 2017, approximately 700,000 Rohingya men, women, and children fled genocide in Myanmar. Intent on limiting integration and maximizing repatriation to Myanmar, the Bangladesh government has made formal work illegal for the refugees and placed strict restrictions on movement limiting their access to informal work in nearby urban centers. Data from a pilot study demonstrated that working-age refugees within the camps spend a substantial amount of time sitting idle, leading to profound mental health challenges, especially for people who have experienced the trauma of losing family members in the genocide. Researchers are carrying out a randomized evaluation to compare the impacts of cash for work and unconditional cash transfers for people living in these refugee camps on psychosocial well-being.  The study is also investigating how past trauma and future uncertainty might impact the effectiveness of various employment programs.

Refugee Business Development and Regional Markets in a Humanitarian Setting
Researchers: Ceren Baysan, Kristin Fabbe, Zhimin Li
Location: Turkey
Partners: Syrian Economic Forum and Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce
Type of Project: Pilot
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Responses to humanitarian crises, such as the Syrian refugee crisis, have often focused on aid that targets immediate vulnerabilities. While this approach provides crucial short-term relief, access to sustainable livelihood opportunities is necessary for refugees to achieve autonomy. Syrian refugees have founded over ten thousand small and medium enterprises in Turkey, the majority of which are engaged in wholesale and retail trade. They have also established large firms. This study aims to inform policies that cultivate the existing domestic and regional business markets in which Syrian refugees in Turkey are engaged. Researchers will investigate whether business development assistance (designed to lower the costs refugees face when formalizing businesses and influence business owners’ time preferences) and facilitating complementarities between refugee and native business networks can change investment behavior and business activity among a refugee population that was recently exposed to violence and whose personal networks remain vulnerable.

Projects Funded During Round III (Fall 2018)

Can Contact Reduce Conflict Between Farmers and Herders? Evidence from Nigeria
Researchers: Oeindrila Dube, James Robinson 
Location: Nigeria 
Partners: Search for Common Ground 
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Does contact between groups help resolve conflict? In this study, researchers will investigate whether contact between groups can help resolve the endemic farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria. In collaboration with Search for Common Ground, researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation that studies the impact of inter-dialogues between farmers and herders in 96 communities, testing whether contact can reduce conflict even when the underlying conflict is economic in nature. The study will additionally investigate the drivers of any effects.

Does Information Affect Irregular Migration from Nigeria?
Researchers: Alexandra Scacco, Macartan Humphreys, Dean Yang, Bernd Beber
Location: Nigeria
Partners: UK Cabinet Office
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes 

Irregular migration and human trafficking have reached crisis proportions in many fragile states. Yet we lack answers to basic questions about how individuals weigh the risks and benefits of migration, and whether exposure to conflict distorts this process. These answers matter for migrated-related programs and policies: Do information campaigns highlighting risks change people’s decisions to migrate? Does information about economic opportunities at home affect these decisions? Where and how is information most effectively transmitted?  Following piloting in Edo state, researchers will explore these questions in partnership with IPA Nigeria and the UK Cabinet Office. The randomized evaluation will assess the impact of providing information about the risks and outcomes of migration through door-to-door campaigns and via family members abroad on actual migration decisions. 

Read the published paper here.

Social and Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Host Communities in Jordan
Researchers: Eliana La Ferrara, Pedro Rosa Dias, Marcus Holmlund 
Location: Jordan 
Partners: Jordan Ministry of Municipal Affairs 
Type of Project: Pilot
Research Implemented by IPA: No

Does interpersonal contact between groups lead to a reduction in prejudice or does it exacerbate divisions? Debate is divided on this question and causal evidence on the topic is scant. This research uses a large-scale randomized evaluation to investigate this question in the context of communities in Jordan that are hosting Syrian refugees. The evaluation builds on a cash-for-work program, where refugees and Jordanian residents cooperate in upgrading infrastructure in Jordanian municipalities exposed to a large influx of refugees. Researchers are varying the proportion of Syrian refugees who work in the teams employed by the program, thereby changing exposure to members of other groups. They will measure how contact impacts stereotyping, social norms, trust between the groups, and productivity. They are also evaluating the effect of disseminating information about refugees amongst residents on these outcomes.

In this round, the Peace & Recovery Program supported the refinement of the study design and survey tools, along with other piloting work for the full-scale randomized evaluation.

Trauma and Integration in Rohingya Refugee Camps
Researchers: Reshmaan Hussam 
Location: Bangladesh 
Partners: BRAC Bangladesh
Type of Project: Full RCT
Research Implemented by IPA: Yes

Between August and December 2017, approximately 700,000 Rohingya men, women, and children fled genocide in Myanmar. The Rohingya, who are stateless and have endured a history of systematic oppression, now find themselves in difficult camp conditions in Bangladesh. While political promises focus on repatriation, those on the ground recognize the infeasibility and danger of such a policy and the need to pursue strategies of integration. This randomized evaluation compares the impact of a low-touch, scalable mobile phone strategy, which facilitates contact between refugees and host communities against two alternative strategies: a high-touch employment program and a no-contact, cognitive exercise, delivered over tablets, designed to break the “prejudice habit.”This study will also look at whether the integration schemes are effective in the face of genocide-related trauma.

Understanding the Dynamics of Refugee Return
Researchers: Ala' Alrababa'h, Marine Casalis, Dominik Hangartner, Daniel Masterson, Jeremy Weinstein
Location: Lebanon
Partners: CARE, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut
Type of Project: Public Good
Research Implemented by IPA: No 

How do refugee crises end? Despite the policy relevance of the question, very little research addresses the topic. This project will examine the determinants of the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon, a country that has hosted over a million Syrians since the beginning of the conflict. Using a panel survey, researchers will assess how Syrians' intentions to return home relate to their subsequent choices, and evaluate the relevance of push factors in Lebanon and pull factors in Syria in household decision-making. Results will inform the design of humanitarian programming to facilitate refugees' safe voluntary choices about returning.
 

Projects Funded During Round II (Spring 2018)