Randomized controlled trials are a special case of designs using an unbiased instrument to take care of confounders even if they are unmeasured or unknown. Another example of studies using instrumental variables is the Mendelian experiment and Directed Acyclic Graphs show the power of such designs to enhance the internal validity. It is argued…

This chapter highlights the key assumptions underlying Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) and illustrates them with regard to the practice of RCTs in the realm of child and adolescent development. Given the prominence of RCTs in policy research, we analyze the possible ways in which these assumptions might not be met by single randomized…

Despite the knowledge that quality early childhood development programs, including those that target parental knowledge and behaviors, are essential for ameliorating the negative effects of early-life adversity, robust analyses of their implementation and impact in highly vulnerable settings are scarce. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted…