Edward Miguel Kenya direct cash transfers interview on BBC World Service Radio Weekend programme
A major study in western Kenya has found that unconditional cash transfers to low-income families led to significant improvements in health, including almost a 50% drop in infant mortality. Economist Professor Edward Miguel of the University of California, Berkeley, explains the results of the large-scale trial conducted with the NGO GiveDirectly.
Just money, with no strings attached’: how direct cash transfers are giving women in rural Kenya a new life
Financial support given directly to the women in Kilifi county has cut both infant mortality and deaths among under fives, while boosting village businesses
Watch an economics professor explain foreign aid in 101 seconds
Edward Miguel, faculty co-director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action, has made it his life’s work to figure out how to improve the lives of some of the poorest people on earth.
Cutting aid could kill children. Giving cash could save them
Opinion: Maternal deaths are rising for the first time in decades, and every year, children die before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes. But the answer may not entirely lie in medicine — it’s also a question of money.
Study finds giving pregnant women cash transfers cuts infant mortality in half
A new study by Associate Professor Dennis Egger (Department of Economics and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford) and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley reveals that giving unconditional cash transfers to pregnant women in rural Kenya significantly reduces infant and child mortality.
Cash payments cut infant mortality in rural Kenya by half
New study in rural Kenya, co-authored by economist Edward Miguel, shows that unconditional cash transfers halved infant mortality rates. In conversation with NPR, Miguel emphasized that the findings go beyond poverty relief, demonstrating how direct aid enables families to seek lifesaving care at critical moments — a powerful case for cash as a public health …
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Researchers discover a secret weapon that saves babies’ lives. And it’s not medical
A newly published study shows that infants and little children born to people who received $1,000, no-strings-attached, in a massive experiment had improved survival rates.
A New Way to Reduce Children’s Deaths: Cash
Simply giving money to poor families at certain times reduced deaths among young children by nearly half, a new study found.
This Problem Is Easy to Solve
This New York Times opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof examines the devastating impact of recent U.S. foreign aid cuts, spotlighting how millions of vulnerable children around the world—especially in Africa—are losing access to life-saving food, medicine, and basic support. It echoes the findings of the landmark ‘Worms’ study by Edward Miguel, Michael Kremer, and others, …
Edward Miguel on the Developing Practice of Development Economics
In this episode of Sean Carroll’s Mindscape Podcast, Ted Miguel dives deep into the world of development economics, sharing how randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are transforming the way we understand and tackle global poverty. Drawing on decades of fieldwork in sub-Saharan Africa, Ted unpacks the power of simple, cost-effective interventions like deworming pills and cash …
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Lancet Profile: Sarah Baird – understanding, action, and optimism
This recent Lancet profile featuring Sarah Baird traces her personal and professional journey that led her to become a leading voice in global health and development economics. As featured in the article, a pivotal moment came during her PhD at UC Berkeley, when she spent six months in Busia, Kenya, working under the mentorship of …
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Economics professor tackles poverty in Kenya and global climate change
From seasonal hunger to sustainable hope: how Berkeley’s Edward Miguel transforms field experiments in Africa into data-driven solutions for poverty, conflict and climate resilience.
Edward Leamer, Economist Who Said Economists Were Doing It Wrong, Dies at 80
Preaching humility, he inspired new levels of transparency in economics and other fields
UC Berkeley community shows support for international students, protest threats to cut federal funding
Students, faculty and community members gathered in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus to support international students and protest threats by the Trump administration to cut federal funding to a growing number of elite universities.
Researchers and students gather in Sproul Plaza to ‘Stand up for Science’
Over a thousand people gathered at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on March 7 to protest cuts to federal research funding in a nationwide “Stand Up for Science” movement. Speakers criticized the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts, which threaten funding for institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), as …
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Thousands ‘Stand Up for Science’ in Bay Area to rally against Trump’s cuts
At rallies across the United States, including Berkeley, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, communities gathered to defend scientific research against proposed federal funding cuts by the Trump administration. Speaking to ABC7 News, Professor Ted Miguel emphasized the fundamental role of science in daily life, stating, “Science isn’t just some abstract thing. It’s what makes us …
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Hundreds march through campus, rally for science
The Stand Up For Science protest took place at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Friday 7th March, with hundreds rallying before marching through campus. Part of a nationwide movement, the protest aimed to prevent political censorship in science, reinstate terminated federal employees, and restore research funding and DEI initiatives. Ted Miguel joined the protest, standing …
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Changing the climate on science: Nationwide movement pushes back on cuts for research
Waving signs and banners, more than a thousand scientists, student researchers, Nobel laureates and elected officials participate in a nationwide Stand Up for Science rally at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Friday, March 7, 2025. Speakers defended the social and economic value of science against federal cuts to research institutions.
Publication in The Economic Journal
A recent study published in The Economic Journal investigates the direct impact of temperature on economic decision-making and destructive behavior by Ingvild Almås, Maximilian Auffhammer, Tessa Bold, Ian Bolliger, Aluma Dembo, Solomon M Hsiang, Shuhei Kitamura, Edward Miguel, Robert Pickmans.
Allegedly does not replicate | Episode 9
In this episode, we sit down with Ted Miguel, a prominent economist and a leading voice in open science, to explore the transformative role of pre-analysis plans and other open science initiatives in research. We discuss how these practices are reshaping the social sciences by fostering transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration. Ted shares his insights on …
A massive basic income experiment in Africa | Dennis Egger (Oxford University)
Visit this page to join a village fundraiser and help send life changing cash to 164 families in a Kenya directly, no strings attached. The effects of these transfers are studied and recorded in detail, revolutionizing our understanding of the macroeconomic effects of cash transfers.
How economic history can benefit people today and generations to come
In the segment at 4:34, Professor Ted Miguel offers a concise analysis on conflict and recovery, drawing lessons from economic history to highlight resilience and growth.
Who benefits from the indirect effects of cash transfer programs?
The World Bank blog post explores the indirect effects of cash transfer programs, focusing on how benefits extend beyond direct recipients. It examines new research findings that challenge previous assumptions, revealing that spillover effects are often more significant for non-recipients in treated areas. The discussion highlights the complexity of measuring these impacts and the importance …
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Economist James A. Robinson, a new Nobel laureate, left a lasting impact in his years at UC Berkeley
Robinson helped to transform the study of development in low-income countries, and built a network of influential former students. His win is now one of four 2024 Nobel Prizes awarded to scholars with UC Berkeley connections.