Impact evaluation of development programmes: Experiences from Viet Nam

This paper, written by Nguyen Viet Cuong for International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) explores some of the experiences and difficulties of evaluating the impact of programmes in Viet Nam. It begins by looking at the basic concepts and methods used in impact evaluation and then continues by looking at the role of impact evaluation in Viet Nam. Finally, it provides detailed examples of project impact evaluations that have taken place in Viet Nam.

Excerpt

"Impact evaluations can increase the effectiveness of development programmes as well as development policies by providing helpful information for decisions on whether a programme should be terminated or expanded. If an intervention has not achieved its expected impacts, it should be ended or modified. Conducting an evaluation is not a simple task. It requires a thorough design, including understanding the programme selection, defining valid treatment and control groups, conducting surveys, selecting the estimation method properly to solve selection bias problems and interpreting empirical findings from the impact estimation." (Nguyen Viet Cuong, 2014)

Contents

• Impact evaluation: basic concepts and methods 2
  • Concepts 2
  • Widely used methods 3
  • Steps in impact evaluation 4
• Impact evaluation in Viet Nam 6
  • The role of impact evaluation 6
  • Difficulties in impact evaluation 7
• Examples of impact evaluation studies in Viet Nam 10
  • Before and after comparison 11
  • Comparison between treatment and control groups 12
  • Panel data methods 13
  • Instrumental variable methods 14
  • Randomisation methods 15