IERPE Archive

Since its founding in 2004, IERPE has carried out dozens of cutting-edge research projects throughout West Africa in collaboration with numerous partners and sponsors. Select projects are featured below. For more details on any given contract, please write to iheffernan[at]africanschoolofeconomics.com.


Motivating Bureaucrats: Group Incentives and Organizational Performance of Local Governments: To isolate the causal effect of each of the hypothesized channels for improving bureaucrats’ performance, IERPE ran a randomized control trial in six communes in Benin. This study of the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives for groups and individuals produced suggestive evidence that “both group and individual incentives have stronger and more consistent effects on improving outcomes.” In collaboration with the International Growth Centre (IGC). Working paper.


Examining the Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Supplementary Math Courses with a Focus on Girls: Beninese teachers are insufficiently trained in math and science subjects and overburdened with work. Using a randomized evaluation design, IERPE studied the impact of supplementary math classes offered by temporary teachers on learning outcomes and student aspirations. The study of secondary schools in rural Benin was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Secondary Education and the Institute of Mathematics and Physical Science. Sponsored by: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Link.


Land Fertility and Poverty: This study interrogated reasons why areas that rely heavily on agriculture are generally poorer than those where development cannot be based on agriculture due to low soil quality. The study focused on the role of human capital accumulation in regional development in the absence of natural resources. Sponsored by: African School of Economics (ASE), and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). Working Paper.


Local Governance: This year-long study of 40 Beninese municipalities investigated the efficacy of increased monitoring and transparency in reducing corruption at the local level. Using a randomized controlled trial, IERPE evaluated how monitoring of bureaucratic actors could reduce political corruption in Benin. The intervention consisted of quarterly public deliberative forums of local bureaucrats and NGO representatives. Sponsored by: J-PAL – The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.


Participative Campaign Strategies and Electoral Support for Good Governance: In 2015, IERPE used a clustered randomized control trial to determine whether competition within parties (primaries) in municipal elections can improve voter turnout and encourage parties to develop campaign platforms based on projects and issues rather than using clientelist strategies. The team found that parties using policy-focused deliberation earned a greater vote share. Sponsored by: Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). Related research.


Education and Human Capital Externalities: Evidence from Colonial Benin: IERPE oversaw the collection of a unique dataset to provide micro-evidence on the immediate impact of the first colonial schools in Benin on the income, professional achievement, and occupational choices of the first school attendees. Wantchekon et al. (2014) found large village-level and extended family externalities, meaning that the benefits of education extended beyond the direct attendees. Sponsored by Princeton University and the International Development Research Centre (Canada). Related research.


Additional projects include:

  1. Bed Net Usage in Benin, carried out in the town of Ouèdo, Benin, by IERPE
  2. Improving Emergency Healthcare in Benin, carried out in Benin with support from Princeton University and the Center for Health and Wellbeing (Princeton University)
  3. Impact Evaluation of the “Entreprenant” Status, carried out in Benin (2015-2016) for the World Bank and IFC
  4. Program to Support the Education and Upbringing of Children Excluded from the Educational System (PAEFE), carried out in Benin (2016-2019) in partnership with the Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED) and financed by the DDC Swiss Corporation and PADER – Related article
  5. PASTR-II Evaluation of the “Programme d’Appui au Sous-Secteur de Transport Rural” (Rural Transport Sub-Sector Support Program) in Benin (2012-2013 and 2014-2017), carried out on behalf of the Dutch Embassy and in partnership with the Center 4 Evaluation and Development at the University of Mannheim and PARTICIP. 
  6. Introducing Risk Management Tools to a Large-scale Agricultural Development Program in Senegal: A Process Evaluation, carried out in Senegal in partnership with PADAER
  7. Youth Employment Project (French: PEJ), carried out as part of the strategy of the Beninese government to fight poverty (2017), and financed by the World Bank
  8. Social Impact of SOS Children Villages, carried out in Abomey-Calavi, Benin and financed by SOS Children Villages.
  9. USAID National Investigation on Health Performance Indicators in Benin
  10. Cost of Politics, carried out in Benin and financed by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
  11. Impact Evaluation of Rural Land Plans, carried out in Benin (2010-2011 and 2015) for the World Bank
  12. Enhancing Transparency in African Parliaments: The African Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMOs), carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Chad and Togo (2013) for the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
  13. Research project on the Perceptions, Attitudes on Citizenship among Youth vis-à-vis Public Action in Benin (2012-2013), with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
  14. Impact evaluation of PNDCC, carried out nationwide in Benin (2013) for the Executive Secretariat of the “Projet National d’appui au Développement Conduit par les Communautés” (PNDCC)
  15. Evaluation of the Pilot Phase of the Solar Electrification Project in Kalalé, carried out in Benin (2011) for Stanford University
  16. Baseline study on Results Based Financing (RBF) in the Health System in Benin, carried out nationwide in Benin (2010) for the World Bank
  17. Evaluation of the Long-Term Effects of the Home Operations Council: The case of former adherents of the PADSE in Benin, carried out in Benin (2010-2011) for the French Development Agency (AFD)
  18. Study on Public Opinion on the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, carried out in Matadi, Kananga and Buvaku in the DRC (2010), for Effective Development Group
  19. Study of the Quality of Democracy and Good Governance in Côte d’Ivoire, carried out nationwide in Côte d’Ivoire (2009-2010), for the Government of Côte d’Ivoire
  20. Evaluation of Health Education and/or Microfinance Credit Associations of PADME, carried out in the Plateau Department of Benin (2009-2010) for Freedom from Hunger
  21. Impact of the Media on Benin’s Social and Economic Development (2007-2008), carried out for DANIDA, the World Bank and the Ministry of Maternal and Primary Education
  22. Criminality in Benin, carried out nationwide (2007) for the Africa Human Services Initiative Institute for Security Studies
  23. Classroom Dynamics, carried out in Benin (2007) for the World Bank
  24. Collecting data in three different health topics: Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses, carried out in Ouémé, Benin (2007) for Freedom from Hunger
  25. Study on the Decision Making Process in Households in Benin, carried out in the Plateau Department of Benin (2007)
  26. Community Management and Decentralization of Primary Education, carried out nationwide in Benin (2006-2010) for the World Bank, DNIDA, and the Ministry of Maternal and Primary Education
  27. Inquiry into Political Parties and Systems of Parties in French-speaking Africa, carried out in Benin (2006) for the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
  28. Transparency in governance in the health sector in Benin, carried out in Cotonou and Parakou, Benin (2006) for Management Systems International (MSI)