Research
Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities
Edward Miguel and Michael Kremer
2004
African DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology
Intestinal helminths–including hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and schistosomiasis–infect more than one-quarter of the world's population. Studies in which medical treatment is randomized at the individual level potentially doubly underestimate the benefits of treatment, missing externality benefits to the comparison group from reduced disease transmission, and therefore also underestimating benefits for the treatment group. We evaluate a Kenyan project in which school-based mass treatment with deworming drugs was randomly phased into schools, rather than to individuals, allowing estimation of overall program effects. The program reduced school absenteeism in treatment schools by one-quarter, and was far cheaper than alternative ways of boosting school participation. Deworming substantially improved health and school participation among untreated children in both treatment schools and neighboring schools, and these externalities are large enough to justify fully subsidizing treatment. Yet we do not find evidence that deworming improved academic test scores.
Anaemia in Schoolchildren in Eight Countries in Africa and AsiaPublished PaperHealthEducation and Human Capital2001
Anemia and School ParticipationPublished PaperHealthEducation and Human Capital2006
Deworming and Development: Asking the Right Questions, Asking the Questions RightPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2009
Epidemiology of Single and Multiple Species of Helminth Infections Among School Children in Busia District, KenyaPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human Capital2000
Health, Education, and Economic DevelopmentBook ChapterAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalOther2005
Twenty Year Economic Impacts of DewormingPublished PaperEducation and Human CapitalHealth2021
Spillover effects on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic reviewPublished PaperHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2017
Using RCTs to Estimate Long-Run Impacts in Development EconomicsPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentEducation and Human CapitalHealthResearch Methodology2019
Economics of Mass Deworming ProgramsBook ChapterAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human Capital2017
Impacts and Determinants of Health Levels in Low-Income CountriesPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2017
Should the WHO withdraw support for mass deworming?Published PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2017
Commentary: Assessing long-run deworming impacts on education and economic outcomes: a comment on Jullien, Sinclair and Garner (2016)Published PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2017
Does Mass Deworming Affect Child Nutrition? Meta-analysis, Cost-effectiveness, and Statistical PowerWorking PaperHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2016
Worms at work: Long-run impacts of a child health investmentPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2016
Tracking, Attrition and Data Quality in the Kenyan Life Panel Survey Round 1 (KLPS-1)Working PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2008
Methodologies to Evaluate Early Childhood Development ProgramsPublished PaperHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2007
The case for mass treatment of intestinal helminths in endemic areasPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2015
Commentary: Deworming externalities and schooling impacts in Kenya: a comment on Aiken et al. (2015) and Davey et al. (2015)Published PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human CapitalResearch Methodology2015
When Should Governments Subsidize Health? The Case of Mass DewormingPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human Capital2015
The Illusion of SustainabilityPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human Capital2007
Orphans and Schooling in Africa: A Longitudinal AnalysisPublished PaperAfrican DevelopmentHealthEducation and Human Capital2007
Africa’s Turn?
Economic Gangsters
Fifth Annual Symposium on Computing for Development (ACM-DEV) 2014San Jose, CADecember 5, 2014
Master of Development Practice (MDP) Special Lecture SeriesUC BerkeleyNovember 13, 2014
Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations (Google)Mountain View, CA, USAJanuary 30, 2009
Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence and the Poverty of Nations (Microsoft)Mountain View, CA, USAOctober 23, 2008
Identification and the Identity of Development Economics: Non-random Thoughts on the Use of Randomized ExperimentsDavis, CA, USAMarch 17, 2007
India Launches Campaigns Against Two Neglected DiseasesHumanosphere
Worm Wars: A Review of the Reanalysis of Miguel and Kremer’s Deworming StudyWorld Bank
Food for the Hungry Sees Incredible Success with De-worming Children in BurundiFood Digital
An Emerging Deworming ControversyA View from the Cave Blog
Random ActsSlate Magazine
Public-service Awards Honor those who ‘Honor this Institution’UC Berkeley News Center
Poverty Under the MicroscopeThe Chronicle of Higher Education
A Promising Study on the Long-term Effects of DewormingGiveWell
Deworming Improves Child Cognition. Eventually.The World Bank
Deworming the World for Better Schools, Brighter FuturesWorld Economic Forum
In India, a Small Pill, with Positive Side EffectsNew York Times: Opinionator Blog
Getting Smart on AidNew York Times, by Nicholas D. Kristof
Free MoneyBoston Globe
Shining Light on a Neglected DiseaseChicago Tribune, by Hoyt Bleakley and Miriam Wasserman
Making Economics Relevant AgainNew York Times
Field Trials Aim to Tackle PovertyNature
World Bank Challenged: Are Poor Really Helped?New York Times
Attack of the WormsNew York Times, by Nicholas D. Kristof
What worms can teach us about the AI apocalypseUnHerd
Could Giving Kids A 50-Cent Pill Massively Boost Their Income Years Later?NPR
Deworming Pill For Kids Linked To Better Wages When They Grow UpNPR
Esther Duflo and women in economicsBBC
The story of a trio’s experiments with developmentLiveMint
UC Berkeley professor’s work contributes to Nobel prize-winning researchThe Daily Californian
This year’s Nobel prizes prompt soul-searching among economistsThe Economist
The Nobel Winners in Economics Are On the Right TrackForeign Policy
Meta-analyses were supposed to end scientific debates. Often, they only cause more controversyScience
Ten Reasons Not to Measure Impact – and What to Do InsteadStanford Social Innovation Review
Chris Blattman on Chickens, Cash, and Development EconomicsEconTalk
Kenya Example: How Re-Analyzing Scientific Research Data Can Change The FindingsScience 2.0
Borges y el avance de los experimentalistas en economíaOye Borges
What Has Been Learned from the Deworming Replications: A Nonpartisan ViewMacartan Humphreys
The author of a contentious study on deworming finally speaks outVox
Is it worth treating everyone who might get worms?British Broadcasting Corporation
What are the economic benefits of mass deworming of children?World Economic Forum
Mass deworming: (Still) a best buy for international developmentVox EU
Deworming: What’s the deal here?DevEx
How to debunk a studyThe Economist
Deworming: An informed debate requires a careful look at the dataInnovations for Poverty Action
Economic data is not always about numbersGulf News
Worming a way to the hard factsBusiness Day Live
Worming our way to the truthTimHarford.com
Explainer: Where were you in the #wormwars?The Guardian
Good science gone wrong?The Berkeley Blog
Can deworming treatments at Kenyan schools cut absenteeism?World Economic Forum
Mapping the Worm Wars: What the Public Should Take Away from the Scientific Debate about Mass DewormingCenter for Global Development
Replication research promotes open discourse3ie Impact - Evidence Matters
Study throws doubt on education benefit of deworming childrenYahoo News
Why you can’t trust journalismFusion
Half of biomedical research studies don’t stand up to scrutiny – and what we need to do about thatThe Conversation
This academic debate about worms has an important lesson for the future of global povertyVox
Worm Wars – Vox SentencesVox
Scientists Are Hoarding Data And It’s Ruining Medical ResearchThe Governance Lab @ NYU
New deworming reanalyses and Cochrane reviewThe GiveWell Blog
Worm Wars – A Review of the Reanalysis of Miguel and Kremer’s Deworming StudyWorld Bank Development Impact Blog
Worm wars – The fight tearing apart the global health community, explainedVox
Dear journalists and policymakers: What you need to know about the Worm WarsChris Blattman Blog
The positive impact of deworming in Kenyan schools: the evidence untangledThe Conversation
Worms Win, Kids Lose? Our Statement.Evidence Action
New research debunks merits of global deworming programmesThe Guardian
Are deworming programmes beneficial?Cochrane
Scientists Are Hoarding Data And It’s Ruining Medical ResearchBuzzfeed News
Educational Benefits of Deworming Children Questioned by Re-analysis of Flagship StudyCochrane
How re-analysing the data of scientific research can change the findingsThe Conversation
Doing Good ScientificallyHarvard Magazine
Evidence for spending millions on deworming schoolchildren is inadequate, report saysThe British Medical Journal
The scientific case for deworming childrenThomson Reuters Foundation