Haddad reads Deaton, who takes a dimmer view of RCTs than I'm about to elaborate. Randomized controlled trials are great for identifying what? and how much? under appropriate conditions. It's much less versatile at answering why? Why matters:
Blattman cites a paper on the importance of why giving to women tends to improve child welfare more than giving to men: "If the underlying differences are biological in nature, giving more power to women should always benefit children. If, on the other hand, at least some of the behavioral differences are themselves due to gender discrimination [i {sic} the wage labor market], promoting gender equality would result in women becoming more like men, potentially lowering the benefits for children."
Marginal Revolution asks why vote buying is more prevalent in Afghanistan in this election than last ... and finds out that it's a good thing?? "The feeling, experts say, was that last year’s election was stolen wholesale by supporters of President Hamid Karzai, so there was little need for vote buying." Vote buying as a signal of lower corruption!
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