2023

How do online users respond to crowdsourced fact-checking?

Recently, crowdsourcing has been proposed as a tool for fighting misinformation online. Will internet users listen to crowdsourced fact-checking, and how? In this experiment we test how participants follow others’ opinions to evaluate the validity of a science-themed Facebook post and examine which factors mediate the use of this information. Participants observed a post presenting […]

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Psychosocial characteristics are associated with adherence to dietary, drugs and physical activity recommendations amongst cardiovascular disease patients in Lebanon

Cardiovascular diseases are increasing at an alarming rate worldwide, reaching epidemic proportions in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including Lebanon. Despite the growing number of patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases in Lebanon, there is scarce data on whether cardiac patients adhere to therapeutic dietary guidelines, drug prescriptions, and physical activity recommendations and whether such […]

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Do Work Permits Work? The Impacts of Formal Labor Market Integration of Syrian Refugees in Jordan

The integration of refugees into host countries’ formal labor markets is increasingly recommended as a durable solution to forced migration. Yet, this policy response is a contentious political topic with little empirical evidence, especially in low- and middle-income host countries available to support policy. This article examines the impacts of integrating Syrian refugees into Jordan’s […]

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Ethnic Cooperation and Conflict in Kenya

There is growing evidence that ethnic divisions and conflict experiences affect social capital and economic interactions in both positive and negative ways. We conduct a set of experiments measuring social capital in Kenya between the two largest ethnic groups, the Luo and Kikuyu, who experienced violence in the 2007 and 2008 post-electoral riots. Our findings […]

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Home garden interventions in crisis and emergency settings

Homes gardens are a key source of food security and micronutrient-rich fruits and vegetables and are promoted by aid organizations to help households cope in humanitarian emergencies. However, there is a strong divide between the popularity of home gardens among practitioners and the academic evidence of its nutritional, economic, social and political outcomes. This review […]

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Coping with Compounding Challenges in Conflict Crises: Evidence from North-east Nigeria

This paper analyzes how the intersectionality of gender, forced displacement, and collective violence shapes coping behaviors in conflict crises, paying particular attention to household composition by gender and age. Drawing on survey data from 17,951 individuals in North-east Nigeria, the analysis finds that coping behaviors at the household, adult, and child levels are interlinked and […]

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How to conduct impact evaluations in humanitarian and conflict settings

Methodological, ethical and practical challenges make it difficult to use experimental and rigorous quasi-experimental approaches to conduct impact evaluations in humanitarian emergencies and conflict settings (HECS). This paper discusses recent developments in the design, measurement, data and analysis of impact evaluations that can overcome these challenges and provide concrete examples from our recent research where […]

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Conducting (Long-term) Impact Evaluations in Humanitarian and Conflict Settings: Evidence from a complex agricultural intervention in Syria

The number of vulnerable people in humanitarian emergencies worldwide is increasing due to the rising frequency and intensity of risk exposure. At the same time, most interventions in humanitarian emergency and conflict settings (HECS) are short-term in nature, as if people only require temporary help to overcome adversity. Yet there is an acute scarcity of […]

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State-Based Conflict and Entrepreneurship – Empirical Evidence

This paper investigates the relationship between state-based conflict and entrepreneurship. From a survey of the existing literature, we formulate two hypotheses: (1) state-based conflict has a negative association with productive and opportunity-motivated forms of entrepreneurship, and (2) a positive association with unproductive and necessity-motivated forms of entrepreneurship. We test these hypotheses by drawing on several […]

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Mental Health in the West Bank and Gaza

More than half of the adult population in the West Bank and Gaza screen positive for depression. In Gaza specifically, the rate climbs to 71%. This is shown in the new report Mental Health in the West Bank and Gaza – a joint effort by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the World Bank, […]

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Violent conflict moderates food security impacts of agricultural asset transfers in Syria: A heterogeneity analysis using machine learning

Agricultural interventions are one of the key policy tools to strengthen the food security of households living in conflict settings. Yet, given the complex nature of conflict-affected settings, existing theories of change might not hold, leading to misinterpretation of the significance and magnitude of these impacts. How contextual factors, including exposure to conflict intensity, shape […]

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