5) Suppose a microcredit loan program was randomly assigned among eligible poor households. Due to randomization, the treatment and control group are on average same in terms of both observable and unobservable characteristics before the loan was disbursed. We are interested in the impact of microcredit on earnings. After the program has run for 2 years, we collect information on earnings for both the treatment and comparison units. a) How can you measure the impact of the credit program?

Provide an analysis of the evidence emerging from tables 1 and 2

Below is the abstract of a recentNational Bureau of Economic Research working paper entitled “Human capital and organizational performance: evidence from the health care sector” by Ann Bartel, Ciaran Phibbs, Nancy Beaulieu, and Patricia Stone (2011): This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between human capital and organizational performance. We use detailed longitudinal monthly data on nursing units in the Veterans Administration hospital system to identify how the human capital (general, hospital-specific and unit or team-specific) of the nursing team on the unit affects patients’ outcomes. Since we use monthly, not annual, data, we are able to avoid the omitted variable bias and endogeneity bias that could result when annual data are used. Nurse staffing levels, general human capital, and unit-specific human capital have positive and significant effects on patient outcomes while the use of contract nurses, who have less specific capital than regular staff…

Question 18