I’m not aware of a GW analysis quite like this one, although I didn’t go back and look at all its prior work.
In a situation like this, where GiveWell was considering StrongMinds as a top charity recommendation, it’s almost certain that it would have first funded a bespoke RCT designed to address key questions for which the available literature was mixed or inconclusive. HLI doesn’t have that luxury, of course. Moreover, what HLI is trying to measure is significantly harder to tease out than “how well do bednets work at saving lives” and similar questions.
I think those are relevant considerations that make comparing HLI’s work to the “GiveWell standard” inappropriate. However, to acknowledge Ben’s point, HLI’s critics are alleging that the stuff that was missed was pretty obvious and that HLI hasn’t responded appropriately when the missed stuff was pointed out. I lack the technical background and expertise to fully evaluate those claims.
I’m not aware of a GW analysis quite like this one, although I didn’t go back and look at all its prior work.
In a situation like this, where GiveWell was considering StrongMinds as a top charity recommendation, it’s almost certain that it would have first funded a bespoke RCT designed to address key questions for which the available literature was mixed or inconclusive. HLI doesn’t have that luxury, of course. Moreover, what HLI is trying to measure is significantly harder to tease out than “how well do bednets work at saving lives” and similar questions.
I think those are relevant considerations that make comparing HLI’s work to the “GiveWell standard” inappropriate. However, to acknowledge Ben’s point, HLI’s critics are alleging that the stuff that was missed was pretty obvious and that HLI hasn’t responded appropriately when the missed stuff was pointed out. I lack the technical background and expertise to fully evaluate those claims.