Center for Effective Global Action
banner
cega-uc.bsky.social
Center for Effective Global Action
@cega-uc.bsky.social
We generate innovative research policymakers use to reduce global poverty.

Follow our #openscience (@ucbitss.bsky.social) & #inequality initiatives (@berkeleyolab.bsky.social).

Learn more at https://cega.berkeley.edu/.
Pinned
Over the past year, the global development landscape has undergone significant change, including the dismantling of #USAID.

In a new #CEGABlog, Director of Operations Lauren Russell reflects on the last year and introduces CEGA’s strategic priorities for 2026.

go.cega.org/2026-strategicpriorities
Recalibrating After a Bumpy Ride for Global Development
A year in review and CEGA’s 2026 strategic priorities
go.cega.org
💰 Do tall people make more money?

A new #CEGAWorkingPaper presents some of the first evidence of this phenomenon in Africa, finding that monthly earnings increase with height—an effect likely driven by differences in cognition.

📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS-257
go.cega.org
February 12, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Are you a West Coast-based development economics researcher?

🌍 Don’t miss PacDev 2026, the West Coast’s largest annual development conference, gathering researchers and practitioners to share research that improves development policy.

Register now: go.cega.org/pacdev-2026
Pacific Conference for Development Economics (PacDev) 2026
About the Conference The Pacific Conference for Development Economics (PacDev) is the West Coast's largest annual conference on development. The event brings together researchers and...
go.cega.org
February 11, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Opioid addiction is a major public health challenge in Punjab, India.

A new @Talkingdrugs article featuring CEGA Associate Director of Research and Policy Maddie Duhon highlights the impact of CEGA’s school-based drug prevention curriculum in Punjab.

🔗: go.cega.org/talking-drugs
Punjab Reinforces Drug Education To Prevent Youth Drug Use in India - TalkingDrugs
A new drug education programme in Punjab hopes to address growing youth drug use in the Northern state.
go.cega.org
February 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Are you passionate about the intersection of data & policymaking? Don’t miss DID 2026!

Join CEGA and the Togo Data Lab on Feb 19 in Lomé, Togo to explore how geodata innovations can support policymaking in low- and middle-income countries.

Learn more: go.cega.org/DID-2026
February 9, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Center for Effective Global Action
Prof. Josh Blumenstock's research with @cega-uc.bsky.social was featured in a Berkeley News article.

Using machine learning, he found that it would only take $318 billion per year (0.3% of the global GDP) to bring millions of people out of extreme poverty.
A bold calculation: What would it cost to end extreme poverty worldwide? - Berkeley News
Using detailed surveys and machine learning computation, new research co-authored at UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action finds that eradicating extreme poverty would be surprisingly…
news.berkeley.edu
February 6, 2026 at 1:30 AM
New evidence from Rwanda highlights the socioeconomic cost of malaria.

📚 A new paper by 2022 CEGA Fellow Aimable Nsabimana and colleagues finds that malaria is associated with lower student performance, especially for female students.

🔗 Learn more: go.cega.org/malaria-rwanda
Validate User
go.cega.org
February 7, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Over the past year, the global development landscape has undergone significant change, including the dismantling of #USAID.

In a new #CEGABlog, Director of Operations Lauren Russell reflects on the last year and introduces CEGA’s strategic priorities for 2026.

go.cega.org/2026-strategicpriorities
Recalibrating After a Bumpy Ride for Global Development
A year in review and CEGA’s 2026 strategic priorities
go.cega.org
February 5, 2026 at 6:49 PM
How does pollution affect cognitive activity?

In a new #CEGAWorkingPaper, researchers explore the short-term cognitive effects of air pollution in Kenya, finding that higher levels of pollution are associated with lower cognitive performance.

Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS255
February 4, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Are you interested in advancing transparency in research?

Join @ucbitss.bsky.social and the Institute for Business and Social Impact for the 2026 BITSS Annual Meeting to share new research and explore how to improve research reproducibility.

🔗 Register here: go.cega.org/BITSSmeeting-2026
BITSS Annual Meeting 2026
The BITSS Annual Meeting brings together actors from academia, scholarly publishing, and policy to share novel research and discuss efforts to improve the credibility of social science by...
go.cega.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:36 AM
🌾 How can machine learning predict agricultural yields?

CEGA researchers find that imagery-based monitoring effectively predicts maize yields in Zambia, offering governments a low-cost way to better target agricultural interventions.

Learn more: go.cega.org/cropyieldprediction
go.cega.org
February 3, 2026 at 1:00 AM
What works to prevent intimate partner violence?

In a new episode of @voxdev.bsky.social Talks, CEGA faculty affiliate Manisha Shah shares insights on the causes of intimate partner violence and the most effective interventions to reduce it.

Listen to the podcast: go.cega.org/VoxDevIPV
Intimate partner violence: Causes, costs and prevention
What have we learned about the causes, consequences, and policy responses to intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries?
go.cega.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:38 PM
📅 Participate in the AES!

CEGA is excited to host the 2026 Africa Evidence Summit with @nieraglobal.bsky.social on July 23-24 in Addis Ababa. CEGA invites speakers to present early-stage & completed research on any topic related to development economics.

Apply here: go.cega.org/AES-2026
2026 Africa Evidence Summit
CEGA and NIERA will co-host the 14th annual Africa Evidence Summit on July 23-24, 2026.
go.cega.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Does resting improve productivity?

In a new #CEGAWorking Paper, CEGA postdoctoral scholar @schubertlexi.bsky.social & colleagues find that periods of rest improve worker productivity and earnings, but that only 19% of workers voluntarily choose to rest.

Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS254
January 28, 2026 at 10:45 PM
New evidence shows how greater entrepreneurial aspirations can improve financial outcomes.

A new #CEGAWorkingPaper assesses the impact of financial literacy and aspirational interventions in Uganda, India, and Peru.

Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS251
January 27, 2026 at 7:07 PM
In a new episode of The Ezra Klein Show, Elie Hassenfeld of GiveWell explains how CEGA-generated evidence has informed GiveWell’s charitable recommendations.

🎧 Listen here: go.cega.org/ezrakleinshow
The Simplest Way to Save Lives With Your Money
The Ezra Klein Show · Episode
go.cega.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:13 PM
What would it cost to end poverty?

A @vox.com article features research by CEGA Faculty Co-Director Joshua Blumenstock & @give-directly.bsky.social Co-Founder Paul Niehaus finding that ending poverty would cost $318 billion a year, just 0.3% of global GDP.

Learn more: go.cega.org/Vox-eop
The low, low cost of ending extreme poverty
Less than Americans’ holiday shopping, actually.
go.cega.org
January 23, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Are you a researcher in the social sciences?

Join @ucbitss.bsky.social on May 19-21 for its Research Transparency and Reproducibility (RT2) Training to explore tools and best practices for upholding transparency in social science research.

Apply by February 8: go.cega.org/RT2-2026
January 22, 2026 at 4:35 PM
📣 We’re hiring!

CEGA is looking for a Predoctoral Research Fellow to support rigorous impact evaluations in Uganda, India, and South Africa related to health, gender, and environmental economics.

🔗 Learn more and apply by January 21: go.cega.org/devecon-predoc
January 20, 2026 at 8:05 PM
How do warning messages and peer interaction impact gambling behavior?

A new publication by 2021 CEGA Fellow Laura Barasa examines how these factors impact problem gambling in Kenya.

📖 Learn more here: go.cega.org/gambling-kenya
Peer Effects, Warning Messages, and Gambling Behavior: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-field Experiment - Journal of Gambling Studies
The rapid rate of technological advancement has led to a proliferation of online gambling applications in Africa. This has resulted in an unprecedented rise in problem gambling across sub-Saharan…
go.cega.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:16 PM
📣 Call for speakers!

The 2026 MeasureDev conference will gather experts to explore how rapid changes in technology and computational methods are shaping empirical research.

Applications for speakers are now open until January 30. Apply today!

🔗: go.cega.org/measuredev-2026
MeasureDev 2026: Open Science in the Age of AI: Balancing Privacy and Transparency
Over the past decade, social scientists and technologists have made significant advancements in transparency and reproducibility: from data and code sharing to pre-analysis plans and replication...
go.cega.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Center for Effective Global Action
We're excited to share the application for the next Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2)! Join us May 19 - 21, 2026 in Berkeley for hands-on training in open science tools and methods.

Apply by Feb 8: cega.submittable.com/submit/34383...
Center for Effective Global Action Submission Manager
cega.submittable.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Exciting news from CEGA’s Togo Data Lab!

CEGA and the Government of Togo have announced a $2 million partnership with Google.org to support Togo’s ongoing efforts to integrate data science into policymaking.

Learn more: go.cega.org/TDLpressrelease
January 14, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Dowry has long been a central institution in India, but its role may be changing in response to rising migration.

Learn more in a new @voxdev.bsky.social article featuring CEGA faculty affiliate Natalie Bau’s research: go.cega.org/VoxDev-dowry
How dowry shapes migration decisions in modern India
New data from India shows that parents often retain a share of dowry, which may enable sons to migrate for work, and provide a new role for dowry in modern times.
go.cega.org
January 13, 2026 at 9:20 PM
How can refugee data be shared with decision-makers without putting populations at risk?

Join CEGA on December 2 for a webinar with @unhcr.org exploring how privacy-preserving technology allows for the sharing of data while protecting individual privacy.

🔗 Register here: go.cega.org/UNHCRwebinar
Privacy-Preserving Data for Humanitarian Action Webinar
Humanitarian organizations around the world are striving to use data to enhance aid effectiveness, inform critical decision-making, and support transparent research and policymaking. Privacy risks...
go.cega.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Center for Effective Global Action
🗓️ Save the date: The next BITSS Annual Meeting is April 16, 2026! The conference will gather experts to discuss changes in academic publishing, AI, and current challenges to research transparency.

@cega-uc.bsky.social @tedmiguel.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM