Replication study confirms robust economic benefits from ultra-poor transfer programs, highlighting gaps in pre-analysis plans and implementation details needed for external validity.
Banerjee, Duflo, and Sharma (BDS, 2021, American Economic Review: Insights, 3, 471–86) conduct a 10-year follow-up of a randomized transfer program in West Bengal. BDS find large effects on consumption, food security, income, and health. We conduct a replicability assessment. First, we successfully reproduce the results, thanks to a perfectly documented reproduction package. Results are robust across alternative specifications. We furthermore assess the paper's pre-specification diligence and the reporting in terms of external and construct validity. While the paper refers to a pre-registration, it lacks a pre-analysis plan. Assessing the validity of findings for other contexts is difficult absent necessary details about the exact treatment delivery.
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Rose et al. (2024) studied this question.
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