Evening the (Propensity) Score

It’s common sense that governments want to use their resources effectively by investing in programs and policies that have their intended effects. But studying programs and policies as implemented in the real world can be challenging. Each method we could use comes with upsides and downsides. So how can we generate evidence to learn about a program or a policy and whether it's effective within government? And how do we know which method is right? These are the questions that we here at The Lab @ DC are constantly thinking about—how we can fit those into the normal functions of government and the need for decisions about programs and policies. In this episode, we’ll be talking with Dr. Liz Stuart about study designs that can be used to learn about the effects of programs and policies that provide a balance of rigor and relevance. Liz is a Professor of Mental Health, Biostatistics, and Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research focuses on propensity score matching⁠—a tricky sounding technique that Liz will explain in more detail⁠—and methods to improve the generalizability of randomized evaluations. Music from filmmusic.io "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)