My impression is that the relative lack of interest in education interventions is mostly because EA organizations place a very high value on health/life over income, which makes health interventions punch harder than education interventions.
Besides, deworming is a de facto education intervention, so it might be overstated to say that there is a universal disregard for education interventions.
I think GW has been increasingly considering income gains as an important part of their interventions. Significant parts of the cost-effectiveness of most of their health interventions are now estimated to derive from income gains. My argument is that if we try to be somewhat consistent with how we treat the income gains from health interventions and education interventions, the education interventions end up looking very good because they likely produce much more income gain with a better evidence base.
I don’t think deworming is classed as an education intervention by GiveWell. The rationale for deworming is that it supposedly increases long-term income. But GiveWell is unsure about the mechanism by which this happens. The follow up studies to the Miguel and Kremer RCT (the only study used by GiveWell to assess deworming) find “little to no impacts on education”. The initial RCT found no effect on test scores.
My impression is that the relative lack of interest in education interventions is mostly because EA organizations place a very high value on health/life over income, which makes health interventions punch harder than education interventions.
Besides, deworming is a de facto education intervention, so it might be overstated to say that there is a universal disregard for education interventions.
I think GW has been increasingly considering income gains as an important part of their interventions. Significant parts of the cost-effectiveness of most of their health interventions are now estimated to derive from income gains. My argument is that if we try to be somewhat consistent with how we treat the income gains from health interventions and education interventions, the education interventions end up looking very good because they likely produce much more income gain with a better evidence base.
I don’t think deworming is classed as an education intervention by GiveWell. The rationale for deworming is that it supposedly increases long-term income. But GiveWell is unsure about the mechanism by which this happens. The follow up studies to the Miguel and Kremer RCT (the only study used by GiveWell to assess deworming) find “little to no impacts on education”. The initial RCT found no effect on test scores.