Business Dinner
Ristorante Solferino
Piazza Solferini 3
Hosted by Collegio Carlo Alberto

Welcome and Introductions:
Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland and Atlantic Council
Petro Terna, Collegio Carlo Alberto
David Myers, American Institutes for Research

What Qualifies as Evidence for Policy?
Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland and Atlantic Council

Open Discussion

Monday, May 21
Room: Auditorium
Collegio Carlo Alberto
Piazza Arbarello 8, Torino

Plenary Session

Opening Remarks
Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland and Atlantic Council

Rigorous Impact Evaluation: The Impact Assessment Office of the Italian Senate
Sen. Laura Bottici, Questore del Senato della Repubblica

Impact Evaluation at Cross National Organizations

Policy Evaluation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Stefano Scarpetta, OECD

Reactor: Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley
Presentation

Coffee Break
Room: Common Room

Rigorous Impact Evaluation in Europe? Motives for Optimism and Reasons for Pessimism
Alberto Martini, Universita del Piemonte Orientale and Associazione per lo
Sviluppo della Valutazione e l’Analisi delle Politiche Pubbliche (ASVAPP)

Better, Quicker, Cheaper Impact Evaluations to Inform Public Policy and Improve Practice: Lessons (for Europe) from Half a Century of Experience in the United States
Rebecca Maynard, University of Pennsylvania

Lunch
Room: Common Room

Systematic Reviews of Research to Build Knowledge and Advance Policy

Chair: David Meyers, American Institutes for Research

The Four Waves of the Evidence Revolution: Lessons and Challeneges for Research and Policy
Howard White, Campbell Collaboration (video link)

Federal Efforts to Build Evidence Base on Teen Pregnancy Prevention in the United States
Amy Feldman Farb, US Department of Health and Human Services
Presentation

(Meta Evaluation)^2 -- Or: What Can We Learn from Meta-Evaluations and Systematic Reviews?
Stefan Silvestrini, Center for Evaluation
Presentation

Panel 1: Workforce Development
Room: Classroom 2

Chair: Stephen H. Bell, Westat

Does Federally-Funded Job Training Work? Non-Experimental Estimates of WIA Training Impacts Using Longitudinal Data on Workers and Firms
Jeffrey Smith, University of Wisconsin
Presentation

Lower Caseload of Placement Officers and Unemployment Outcomes -- New Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial
Helmut Mahringer, Austrian Institute of Economic Research

'Private Good, Public Bad?' Delivering UK Employment Programmes for Disabled People
Bruce Strafford, University of Nottingham
Presentation

Panel 2: Employment Protection and Contracts
Room: Classroom 3

Chair: Lia Pacelli, Università di Torino (invited)

Employment Protection, Temporary Contracts and Firm-Provided Training: Evidence from Italy
Massimiliano Bratti, Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation,
European Commission and Universita di Milano

Young In, Old Out? Evidence from a Reform
Chiara Ardito, Università di Torino

Employment Protection Legislation and Mismatch: Evidence from a Reform
Fabio Berton, Università di Torino
Presentation

Coffee Break
Room: Common Room

Parallel Panels II

Panel 3: Welfare Polices and Unemployment
Room: Classroom 2

Chair: Elsa Fornero, Università di Torino

The Impact of Welfare Reform on Single Parent Employment in the UK (2008-2014)
Anthony Rafferty, University of Manchester
Presentation

Disability Status and Long-Term Employment Outcomes: The Case of Italian Injured Workers
Lia Pacelli, Università di Torino
Roberto Leombruni, Università di Torino

Conditional Cash Transfers and Family Well-Being
Chiara Pronzato, Universita di Torino and Collegio Carlo Alberto
Presentation

Panel 4: Elementary/Primary Education
Room: Classroom 3

Chair: Barbara Romano, ASVAPP

Financial Literacy and Saving Attitudes of Primary School Children, The Joint Effect of Formal Training and Domestic Financial Education
Flavia Coda Moscarola, Compagnia di San Paolo and Collegio Carlo Alberto

Parental Love is Not Blind
Ainhoa Aparico Fenoll, Collegio Carlo Alberto

High Dosage Math Tutoring in Rotterdam: A Randomization SAGA
Mario Maggioni, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Dominico Rossignoli, Università Catolica del Sacro Cuore

Business Dinner
Circolo dei Lettori
Via Bogino 9, Torino
Hosted by Collegio Carlo Alberto

Tuesday, May 22
Room: Auditorium
Collegio Carlo Alberto
Piazza Arbarello 8, Torino

Plenary Session

Opening Remarks
Gian Paolo Barbetta, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

The International Audience for Policy Research Methods and Results
Jacob Klerman, Abt Associates and editor, Evaluation Review

The Implications of Heterogeneity for Internal and External Validity
Jeffrey Smith, University of Wisconsin
Presentation

Regional Economic Development Policies. A Second Look at Discontinuity Designs
Daniele Bondonio, Universita del Piemonte Orientale

Coffee Break
Room: Common Room

Parallel Panels III

Panel 5: Challenges and Strategies for Evaluating Policies Targeting Refugees and Migrants
Room: Classroom 2

Chair: David Seidenfeld, American Institutes for Research

The Impact of Multimedia Toolkits on Refugee and Vulnerable Host Populations: Evidence from Jordan
Thomas de Hoop, American Institutes for Research

Economic Transfers and Social Cohesion in a Refugee Housing Setting
Elsa Valli, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Presentation

No Lost Generation: Supporting the School Participation of Displaced Syrian Children in Lebanon
Jacobus de Hoop, UNICEF, Mitchell Morey, American Institutes for Research,
and David Seidenfeld, American Institutes for Research (presenting)

Panel 6: Secondary and Post-Secondary Education
Room: Classroom 3

Chair: Daniela Del Boca, Università di Torino and Collegio Carlo Alberto

Testing a Social Innovation that Provides Financial Aid to Low-Income Students: Lessons from an EU-Funded Randomised Controlled Trial Conducted in Italy
Barbara Romano, ASVAPP
Presentation

Repetita Luvant? Lessons from Repeated RCTs on the Effectiveness of a Teacher Professional Development Program
Gianluca Argentin, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Let's Tweet Again? Social Networks and Grades in Literature of High School Students. Results of a Randomized Contolled Trial
Gian Paolo Barbetta, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Difficulties in Cross-National Generalizability of Education Evaluations
Eric Hanushek, Stanford University
Presentation

Addressing Cross-National Generalizability in Impact Evaluation

Chair: Eric Hanushek, Stanford University

External Validity Bias in Cross-National Generalization of Findings from Experimental Impact Evaluations: Causes, Consequences, and Cures
Stephen H. Bell, Westat
Presentation

Regional Programme Evaluation: Challenges and Perspectives
Guido de Blasio, Banca d'Italia
Presentation

Coffee Break
Room: Common Room

Parallel Panels IV

Panel 7: Economic Growth/Development
Room: Classroom 2

Chair: Rebecca Maynard, University of Pennsylvania

Does EU Enterprise Support Boost High Quality Jobs? Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Microdata and Natural Experiment Conditions
Daniele Bondonio, Università del Piemonte Orientale

Broadband Diffusion and Firm Performance in Rural Areas: Quasi-Experimental Evidence
Giulia Canzian, Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation, European Commission

Panel 8: Issues and Approaches to Conducting Rigorous Impact Evaluation in Europe
Room: Classroom 3

Chair: Jeffrey Smith, University of Wisconsin

Counterfactual Impact Evaluation and Policy -- Challenges Revisted
Rahel Kahlert, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
Presentation

Achieving Rigorous Impact Evaluation Through Conceptual Clarity and Coherence
Alison Wells, University of Cambridge
Presentation

Plenary Session
Room: Common Room

Concluding Remarks and Post-Conference Publication Plans
Douglas Besharov, University of Maryland and Atlantic Council
Alberto Martini, Università del Piemonte Orientale and ASVAPP

Closing Reception
Hosted by Collegio Carlo Alberto

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