Data and Code for: How Research Affects Policy: Experimental Evidence from 2,150 Brazilian Municipalities

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Jonas Hjort, Columbia University; Diana Moreira, Univeristy of California, Davis; Gautam Rao, Harvard University. Department of Economics; Juan Francisco Santini, Innovations for Poverty Action

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Data and Code_AER_forpublic			02/02/2021 11:16:AM

Project Citation:

Hjort, Jonas, Moreira, Diana, Rao, Gautam, and Santini, Juan Francisco. Data and Code for: How Research Affects Policy: Experimental Evidence from 2,150 Brazilian Municipalities. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2021. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-04-09. https://doi.org/10.3886/E122661V1

Project Description

Summary: Can research findings change political leaders' beliefs and cause policy change? Collaborating with the National Confederation of Municipalities in Brazil, we work with 2,150 municipalities and their mayors. We use experiments to measure mayors' demand for research information and their response to learning research findings. In one experiment, we find that mayors and other municipal officials are willing to pay to learn the results of impact evaluations, and update their beliefs when informed of the findings. They value larger-sample studies more, while not distinguishing on average between studies conducted in rich and poor countries. In a second experiment, we find that informing mayors about research on a simple and effective policy (reminder letters for taxpayers) increases the probability that their municipality implements the policy by 10 percentage points. In sum, we provide direct evidence that policy-makers value research information, change their beliefs when presented with it, and that this can drive policy change. Information frictions may thus help explain failures to adopt effective policies.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Impact evaluation; Beliefs; Evidence-based policy

JEL Classification:
      D04 Microeconomic Policy: Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      D90 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General
      F63 Economic Impacts of Globalization: Economic Development

Geographic Coverage: Brazil

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Published Versions

V1 [2021-04-09]

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