Dean Karlan, appointed Chief Economist at USAID in November 2022, aimed to enhance cost-effective program designs based on evidence. After two years, Karlan resigned without ceremony, citing a lack of impactful change and stating, 'I literally just emailed USAID and told them, 'I hereby cancel the contract.' He reflected on his motivations to accept the role, emphasizing the importance of using evidence in decision-making during development processes and assessing the overall impact of his work compared to potential effective programs USAID could implement.
I literally just emailed USAID and told them, 'I hereby cancel the contract,' and that was it. No fanfare.
When I think about my time and what I do professionally, sure, I've produced less research for the past two and a half years.
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