Impact Evaluations
Impact evaluations are analyses that complement PSE estimates. Whereas PSE measures the composition of public support to agriculture, impact evaluations measure the effectiveness of this support (policies/programs). Specifically, impact evaluations are focused on determining the causal effect of a policy or program on the beneficiary group. That is to say, this type of analysis measures what would have happened to beneficiaries in the program’s absence. To this end, tools that allow the identification of a comparable control group are used through experimental or quasi-experimental methodologies. This control group is compounded by units that did not participate in the program, but that are comparable to the beneficiary group. The results of an impact study can be utilized to complement the cost-benefit analysis to define the economic viability of different policies/programs. Also, they’re useful to extrapolate possible benefits to a bigger populational group and, thus, evaluate the viability of extending a policy/program to other beneficiaries or territories. Agrimonitor offers some impact evaluation examples from different agricultural policies/programs implemented in Latin America and the Caribbean.