NGOs and the Effectiveness of Interventions

Abstract Programs implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are often more effective than comparable efforts other actors, yet relatively little is known about how implementer identity drives final outcomes. By combining a stratified field experiment in India with tripledifferences estimation strategy, we show that local development NGO's prior engagement target communities increases the effectiveness of technology-promotion program these areas at least 30 percent. This “NGO reputation effect” has implications for generalizability and scalability evidence from experimental research conducted implementation partners.