The Success of Randomized Controlled Trials: A Sociographical Study of the Rise of J-PAL to Scientific Excellence and Influence

Arthur Jatteau ()

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Abstract: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a method to assess impact that has become increasingly popular over the last fifteen years, particularly as a result of the work done by Esther Duflo and her Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), an or-ganization devoted to the promotion of randomization. This article aims to explore and understand this success by using an in-depth sociographical study of the J-PAL and a network analysis of economists who use RCT. J-PAL appears to be a concentration of educational and academic capital that give great legitimacy to the RCT method. The network is controlled by certain leaders who are able to diffuse the J-PAL approach to RCTs. Furthermore, this article argues that it is necessary to go beyond the intrinsic quality of this method to explain how it became so popular

Keywords: economics; job history; cultural capital; data collection method; scientific scene; sociography; social capital; elite formation; methodology; random sample; executive; social network; elite; occupational prestige; economist; course of academic studies; network analysis; occupational status (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-01-01
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Published in Historical Social Research, 2018, Historical Social Research, pp.94-119. ⟨10.12759/hsr.43.2018.3.94-119⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02569638

DOI: 10.12759/hsr.43.2018.3.94-119

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