Emily Beam

Publications

2026

Group versus Individual Coaching for Rural Social Protection Programs: Evidence from Uganda, Philippines, and Bangladesh

Emily A. Beam, Lasse Brune, Narayan Das, Stefan Dercon, Nathanael Goldberg, Rozina Haque, Dean Karlan, Maliha Noshin Khan, Doug Parkerson, Ashley Pople, Yasuyuki Sawada, Christopher Udry, and Rocco Zizzamia

American Economic Review: Insights Forthcoming

NBER Working Paper No. 34309 and Ungated NBER Working Paper (Oct 2025)

Abstract Bibtex PDF

Multifaceted social protection programs in low-income countries often include both capital grants and informational and behavioral support on the premise that households face simultaneous and multiple frictions. To tackle informational and behavioral constraints, programs typically deploy either individual or group coaching from field agents. The relative efficacy of individual versus group coaching could provide insights into the underlying mechanisms, such as strengthened peer connections, through which coaching changes household decisions. In three similar randomized evaluations in Uganda, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, we find no differences in efficacy across coaching modalities. Given its 15–20% lower costs, group coaching is more cost-effective.
@article{beam2026groupcoaching, title = {Group versus Individual Coaching for Rural Social Protection Programs: Evidence from Uganda, Philippines, and Bangladesh}, author = {Beam, Emily A. and Brune, Lasse and Das, Narayan and Dercon, Stefan and Goldberg, Nathanael and Haque, Rozina and Karlan, Dean and Khan, Maliha Noshin and Parkerson, Doug and Pople, Ashley and Sawada, Yasuyuki and Udry, Christopher and Zizzamia, Rocco}, journal = {American Economic Review: Insights}, year = {2026}, status = {Forthcoming}, }
Measuring the impacts of exposure to daycare quality on child development and nutrition measures through a large-scale randomised trial in Kenyan informal settlements: protocol

Emily A. Beam, Anne Fitzpatrick, and Emy Reimão

BMJ Open 2026

Supplemental Materials

Abstract Bibtex HTML PDF

Introduction: High-quality early childhood education can fundamentally alter children’s long-term education, earnings, and well-being. In low-resourced settings, children’s development is hampered by undernutrition, poverty, and limited access to services. This study will generate high-quality evidence on child development from children who both attend and do not attend daycare across informal settlements in Kenya by (1) examining the relationship between child development, nutritional status, and household characteristics using a large, community-based sample and (2) measuring the impact of exposure to improvements in childcare quality on child development and nutritional status. Methods and analysis: We combine a cross-sectional observational study of child development and anthropometrics of approximately 4700 children aged 0–5 across 11 counties in Kenya with a cluster randomized controlled trial that measures the impact of improved daycare quality on these outcomes. We use IDELA to measure child development and record child height and weight to measure height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores. Primary analyses will (1) estimate associations between child development outcomes and nutritional status using multivariable regression models, adjusting for prespecified covariates; and (2) examine differences in outcomes between children attending daycares in communities exposed to quality improvements and children attending daycares in control communities. Subgroup analyses will examine heterogeneity by child gender and daycare participation. Ethics and dissemination: The Strathmore University Institutional Scientific and Ethical Review Committee (SU-ISERC) has provided ethical review for this study, with initial approval SU-ISERC1602/23. This study has also received IRB approval from The Ohio State University (#2023B0300). Written informed consent will be obtained from caregivers before participation. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and presentations to local stakeholders, and we will publish de-identified data and replication code on a public repository. Trial registration number: AEA RCT Registry number AEARCTR-0011747.
@article{beam2026childdevelopment, title = {Measuring the impacts of exposure to daycare quality on child development and nutrition measures through a large-scale randomised trial in Kenyan informal settlements: protocol}, author = {Beam, Emily A. and Fitzpatrick, Anne and Reimão, Emy}, journal = {BMJ Open}, volume = {16}, number = {3}, pages = {e112224}, year = {2026}, doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2025-112224}, }

2023

The Impact of Short-Term Employment for Low-Income Youth: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines

Emily A. Beam, and Stella Quimbo

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2023

Also see 3ie Policy Brief and 3ie Report. Available as IZA Discussion Paper No. 14661.

Abstract Bibtex PDF

We use a randomized field experiment to test the causal impact of short-term work experience on employment and school enrollment among disadvantaged, in-school youth in the Philippines. This experience leads to a 4.4 percentage point (79%) increase in employment eight to twelve months later. Although we find no aggregate increase in enrollment, we also do not find that the employment gains push youth out of school. Our results are most consistent with work experience serving as a signal of unobservable applicant quality, and these findings highlight the role of temporary work as a stepping stone to employment for low-income youth.
@article{beam2023impact, title = {The Impact of Short-Term Employment for Low-Income Youth: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines}, author = {Beam, Emily A. and Quimbo, Stella}, journal = {The Review of Economics and Statistics}, pages = {1379-1393}, volume = {105}, number = {6}, year = {2023}, }
Loss aversion or lack of trust: Why does loss framing work to encourage preventive health behaviors?

Emily A Beam, Yusufcan Masatioglu, Tara Watson, and Dean Yang

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 2023

Abstract PDF

We implement a field experiment designed to increase participants’ willingness to visit a health clinic. We find that framing a $50 incentive as a loss rather than a gain increases take-up, but we do not find support for the notion that loss aversion is responsible for the effectiveness of loss framing. Instead, it appears that loss framing promotes take-up by raising the perceived probability that the incentive will be provided as promised. The results suggest trust is an alternative pathway through which loss framing may affect behavior, and trust may be an important way to promote desirable health behaviors.
Social media as a recruitment and data collection tool: Experimental evidence on the relative effectiveness of web surveys and chatbots

Emily A. Beam

Journal of Development Economics 2023

Abstract Bibtex PDF

Online technologies enable lower-cost, rapid data collection, but concerns about access and data quality impede their use in global research. I conduct a randomized experiment in the Philippines to test the effectiveness of web-form and chatbot surveys of K–12 teachers recruited through social media and compare their effectiveness with phone surveys of teachers recruited from a pre-existing frame. Chatbot surveys yield higher response rates and higher-quality data than web-form surveys in terms of missed question and item di erentiation. The results suggest that chatbot responses match CATI responses on multiple dimensions of quality. Relative to CATI, online methods also yield higher rates or information disclosure on potentially sensitive topics, revealing substantially higher levels of distress among teachers. I show that social-media-based recruitment can be an attractive alternative for targeted sampling and that online surveys can be implemented effectively at a fraction of the cost of phone surveys.
@article{beam2023social, title = {Social media as a recruitment and data collection tool: Experimental evidence on the relative effectiveness of web surveys and chatbots}, author = {Beam, Emily A.}, journal = {Journal of Development Economics}, volume = {162}, pages = {103069}, year = {2023}, publisher = {Elsevier}, }

2021

The influence of hidden researcher decisions in applied microeconomics

Nick Huntington-Klein, Andreu Arenas, Emily Beam, Marco Bertoni, Jeffrey R Bloem, Pralhad Burli, Naibin Chen, Paul Grieco, Godwin Ekpe, Todd Pugatch, and others

Economic Inquiry 2021

Abstract Bibtex PDF

Researchers make hundreds of decisions about data collection, preparation, and analysis in their research. We use a many-analysts approach to measure the extent and impact of these decisions. Two published causal empirical results are replicated by seven replicators each. We find large differences in data preparation and analysis decisions, many of which would not likely be reported in a publication. No two replicators reported the same sample size. Statistical significance varied across replications, and for one of the studies the effect’s sign varied as well. The standard deviation of estimates across replications was 3–4 times the mean reported standard error.
@article{huntington2021influence, title = {The influence of hidden researcher decisions in applied microeconomics}, author = {Huntington-Klein, Nick and Arenas, Andreu and Beam, Emily and Bertoni, Marco and Bloem, Jeffrey R and Burli, Pralhad and Chen, Naibin and Grieco, Paul and Ekpe, Godwin and Pugatch, Todd and others}, journal = {Economic Inquiry}, volume = {59}, number = {3}, pages = {944--960}, year = {2021}, publisher = {Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Boston, USA}, }
Does younger age at marriage affect divorce? Evidence from Johnson’s Executive Order 11241

Martha J Bailey, Emily A Beam, and Anna Wentz

Economic Inquiry 2021

Abstract Bibtex PDF

Before President Johnson’s Executive Order 11241 in August 1965, married men received lower draft priority for military service. As the Vietnam War escalated in the summer of 1965, anecdotal evidence suggests draft-eligible men sought marriage to lower their likelihood of serving. This paper quantifies the effects of these Vietnam-era policies on marriage and finds that they significantly reduced the age at first marriage and altered the choice of spouse. However, younger marriages induced by the war were less likely to result in divorce 15 years later. Evidence also suggests that these younger marriages had little effect on long-term outcomes.
@article{bailey2021does, title = {Does younger age at marriage affect divorce? Evidence from Johnson's Executive Order 11241}, author = {Bailey, Martha J and Beam, Emily A and Wentz, Anna}, journal = {Economic Inquiry}, year = {2021}, publisher = {Wiley Online Library}, }
Search costs and the determinants of job search

Emily A Beam

Labour Economics 2021

Abstract Bibtex PDF

This paper examines how individuals select into job search in terms of their individual qualifications and percep- tions and measures how recruiting additional applicants with a modest job-search subsidy affects selection. I use experimental evidence to examine individuals’ decisions to attend and participate in a job fair. Thirteen percent of invited but unsubsidized respondents attend the job fair, and they are positively selected from the overall dis- tribution of respondents. While the subsidy attracts those who are less qualified and less confident in their ability to find work abroad, the least qualified do not search intensively. Although the subsidy does not lead to any additional offers, it induces individuals with a high degree of uncertainty about their likelihood of job-finding to apply with recruitment agencies. These results demonstrate the importance of imperfect information about the returns to search and highlight how reducing search costs can increase search effort among those most uncertain about their prospects.
@article{beam2021search, title = {Search costs and the determinants of job search}, author = {Beam, Emily A}, journal = {Labour Economics}, volume = {69}, pages = {101968}, year = {2021}, publisher = {Elsevier}, }
Leveraging outside readings and low-stakes writing assignments to promote student engagement in an economic development course

Emily A Beam

The Journal of Economic Education 2021

Abstract PDF

The author of this article describes an intermediate economics course structured around outside readings, which include academic journal papers, policy briefs, and news articles. Students complete low-stakes, high-frequency writing assignments that promote accountability and encourage critical thinking about the readings. This pairing of outside readings and writing assignments leads to increased student engagement, high rates of self-reported reading, and high satisfaction with the course without imposing an unreasonable grading workload on the instructor. This model may be especially useful to instructors in intermediate and advanced courses who seek to increase students’ exposure to recent developments in their field and strengthen their ability to engage critically with economic theory and ideas.

2020

The relative returns to education, experience, and attractiveness for young workers

Emily A Beam, Joshua Hyman, and Caroline Theoharides

Economic Development and Cultural Change 2020

Bibtex PDF

@article{beam2020relative,
  title = {The relative returns to education, experience, and attractiveness for young workers},
  author = {Beam, Emily A and Hyman, Joshua and Theoharides, Caroline},
  journal = {Economic Development and Cultural Change},
  volume = {68},
  number = {2},
  pages = {391--428},
  year = {2020},
  publisher = {The University of Chicago Press Chicago, IL},
}

Superstition, Fertility, and Interethnic Spillovers: Evidence from Peninsular Malaysia

Emily A Beam, and Slesh A Shrestha

Economic Development and Cultural Change 2020

PDF

2016

Unilateral facilitation does not raise international labor migration from the Philippines

Emily A Beam, David McKenzie, and Dean Yang

Economic Development and Cultural Change 2016

Bibtex PDF

@article{beam2016unilateral,
  title = {Unilateral facilitation does not raise international labor migration from the Philippines},
  author = {Beam, Emily A and McKenzie, David and Yang, Dean},
  journal = {Economic Development and Cultural Change},
  volume = {64},
  number = {2},
  pages = {323--368},
  year = {2016},
  publisher = {University of Chicago Press Chicago, IL},
}

Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance

Emily A Beam

Journal of Development Economics 2016

Abstract Bibtex PDF

I estimate the causal impact of attending a job fair onemployment outcomes and labor market perceptions, using a randomized encouragement design to induce individuals in the rural Philippines to attend a nearby job fair for domestic and overseaswork. Attending a job fair matters: though it does not facilitate direct matcheswith a jobfair employer, attendance leads to a large increase in reported formal sector employment and in the likelihood of looking for any work outside the region in the months following the job fair. Several overseas recruitment agencies participated in the job fair, and attendance affects individuals’ overseas labor market perceptions but does not encourage them to take steps to migrate. These results suggest that job fairs can be important tools for encouraging individuals to move to the formal sector and for conveying information about labor market prospects.
@article{beam2016job, title = {Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance}, author = {Beam, Emily A}, journal = {Journal of Development Economics}, volume = {120}, pages = {32--40}, year = {2016}, publisher = {North-Holland} }