Center for Effective Global Action

Privacy-Preserving Data for Humanitarian Action Webinar Humanitarian organizations around the world are striving to use data to enhance aid effectiveness, inform critical decision-making, and support transparent research and policymaking. Privacy risks...

How can refugee data be shared with decision-makers without putting populations at risk?

Join CEGA on December 2 for a webinar with @unhcr.org exploring how privacy-preserving technology allows for the sharing of data while protecting individual privacy.

🔗 Register here: go.cega.org/UNHCRwebinar

🗓️ Save the date: The next BITSS Annual Meeting is April 16, 2026! The conference will gather experts to discuss changes in academic publishing, AI, and current challenges to research transparency.

@cega-uc.bsky.social @tedmiguel.bsky.social

🚨 New postdoc opportunity!

CEGA is hiring a Postdoctoral Scholar to support a multi-year research initiative on copper mining in Zambia.

🔗 Learn more and apply here: go.cega.org/pds-mining

Building Social Mobility Cambridge Core - South Asian Government, Politics and Policy - Building Social Mobility

How can housing subsidies change the trajectory of beneficiaries’ lives?

CEGA faculty affiliate @tanukumar.com’s new book explores how subsidized home ownership in India shapes beneficiaries’ economic, social, and political behavior.

Learn more: go.cega.org/buildingsocialmobility

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Can citizens influence politicians by sharing their preferences?

A new publication by CEGA faculty affiliates @mgoldenprof.bsky.social, @saadgulzar.bsky.social, & colleagues explores how voter preferences affect political responsiveness in Pakistan.

Learn more: go.cega.org/politicalresponsiveness

Dispelling the myth that contraceptives cause infertility increases uptake Across Africa, early first-births remain the norm even as educational attainment has increased. Evidence from Zambia shows misperceptions and medical mistrust may be a key reason why.

Can targeting misperceptions improve contraceptive use?

A @voxdev.bsky.social article featuring research from CEGA faculty affiliate Natalie Bau & colleagues shows how addressing the fear of infertility improved contraceptive use in Zambia.

📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/VoxDevzambia

📣 Join our team!

CEGA is #hiring a Privacy Engineer to join our new Data Privacy Lab and support the implementation of privacy-enhancing technologies in low- and middle-income countries.

Apply here: go.cega.org/privacy-engineer

💡 New results from Ethiopia show how safety concerns shape female entrepreneurs’ business decisions.

Women often accept lower profits to work with other women, during the day, and to avoid unsafe business partners.

Learn more in a new #CEGAWorkingPaper: go.cega.org/WPS253

Government of Punjab Scales A Novel Drug Prevention Program Researchers partner with the Government of Punjab to scale a curriculum that combats misbeliefs among youth about drug experimentation and addiction to all government-run secondary schools in the...

Can better education change attitudes toward drug use?

New findings from CEGA faculty affiliates Aprajit Mahajan & Supreet Kaur show how a school-based drug prevention program reduced students' misconceptions about drug use in Punjab, India.

📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/parvaazpilot

Elisabeth Sadoulet Elisabeth Sadoulet is a Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. Her research interests span agricultural technologies, microcredit, conservation, conditional cash...

Remembering Betty Sadoulet: 1945-2025

CEGA is saddened by the passing of faculty affiliate Betty Sadoulet. Betty leaves behind a remarkable legacy in the field of international economic development and will be deeply missed.

Learn more about her work: go.cega.org/bettysadoulet

Application deadline extended to November 9th! Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in evidence-based research improving the lives of refugee, migrant and host community families in Ecuador.

🔗 Apply now: go.cega.org/spring26fellowship

Culture and economic development How does culture shape economic policy and development?

In a new episode of @VoxDev Talks, CEGA faculty affiliates Natalie Bau and @saralowes.bsky.social explore how collaborating with other disciplines to understand local cultures can improve development interventions.

Learn more: go.cega.org/VoxDevculture

📣 Fellow Friday: Meet Peninah Nyamori!

CEGA is excited to welcome Peninah Nyamori as a Fall 2025 Fellow! Learn more about Peninah’s work here: go.cega.org/peninahnyamori

‘Just money, with no strings attached’: how direct cash transfers are giving women in rural Kenya a new life Financial support given directly to the women in rural Kilifi county has cut both infant mortality and deaths among under fives, while boosting village businesses

💡 How cash transfers are saving lives in rural Kenya.

A new article in @theguardian.com features research by CEGA Faculty Co-Director @tedmiguel.bsky.social and coauthors showing cash transfers nearly halved infant and under-five mortality.

📖 Learn more here: go.cega.org/guardiancashtransfers

New career opportunity!

CEGA is #hiring a Research Project Manager to join our new Data Privacy Lab to explore how privacy-enhancing technologies can be implemented in low- and middle-income countries.

🔗 Apply here: go.cega.org/dpl-rpm

“If we target the psychology, can we help farmers meet their savings goals?”

CEGA affiliate Supreet Kaur discusses a simple, scalable planning intervention that helps farmers save + invest more, smooth their consumption, and enter the hungry season with more food.
cega.berkeley.edu/collection/s...

CEGA affiliated professor Tamma Carleton introduces MOSAIKS, a powerful and accessible satellite imagery-based tool that can be used to predict diverse outcomes like forest cover, household income, population density, and even unregulated mining activity. #E2A2025

cega.berkeley.edu/collection/m...

Ananth Balashankar of Google Deepmind discusses leveraging AI tools for better forecasts of climate shocks, and using those forecasts to craft more effective policies to curb hunger. #E2A2025

Nobuo Yoshida of the World Bank kicks off an #E2A2025 measurement session, discussing SWIFT, a rapid poverty monitoring tool that estimates household expenditures using just 10-15 questions.

CEGA Faculty Co-Director @tedmiguel.bsky.social shares results from mental health trainings and cash transfers to refugees in Kenya, finding 3-day mental health trainings are cost-effective and impactful even seven months later and cash transfers boost food security and better healthcare. #E2A2025

During his keynote address at #E2A2025, Rikin Gandhi introduces Digital Green and asks,

"Is there a role for digital technology in small scale farming systems? There's great value in creating a differentiated GenAI solution that's tailored to agriculture & the Global South."

digitalgreen.org

Evidence to Action is underway! We're exploring the fight against hunger in the new era of foreign aid. #E2A2025

As CEGA's @jennafahle.bsky.social remarked: “The world has made tremendous progress on hunger, but progress has stalled and in many places, reversed. Now, ~8 in 100 people face hunger."

Dev Econ Challenge Fall 2025 Request for Proposals.docx DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS CHALLENGE: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (FALL 2025)  DEADLINE TO APPLY: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2025 AT 11:59 PM PACIFIC TIME   Overview The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is…

💰 New funding opportunity!

CEGA is now accepting applications for the Fall 2025 Development Economics Challenge to support innovative research alleviating poverty and promoting development in low- and middle income countries.

Apply by November 9: go.cega.org/Fall25DEC

RCTs in Practice: What Happens When a Study Ends, and What Do We Owe Those Who Participate? Melissa Graboyes, the Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation’s Ethical and Responsible Research grant, and colleagues Elyse St. Sauver and Mira Cross share what motivated the...

🔎 What happens when a study ends and should results be returned to participants?

A new CEGA initiative explores this question through the perspective of East African study participants and economists.

📖 Learn more in a new #CEGABlog: go.cega.org/RCTsinpractice

Edward Miguel, the son of immigrants from Uruguay and Poland, knew early on that his life in the U.S. was different from his family around the world. 

As faculty co-director of @cega-uc.bsky.social and a professor of economics, he’s figuring out how to improve the lives the poorest people on earth.

🌎 What does food security look like in a new era of foreign aid?

Join CEGA on Oct 28 for E2A: Fighting Hunger in the New Foreign Aid Landscape to explore how to protect food security in low- and middle-income countries as funding models shift.

Register: go.cega.org/E2A2025

🔍 Machine learning with satellite imagery models is a powerful tool for monitoring development, but how can we better collect data to power these models?

📖 Learn more in a new #CEGAWorkingPaper: go.cega.org/WP251

🎉 Fellow Friday: Meet Abebe Ayana!

CEGA is excited to welcome Abebe Ayana as a Fall 2025 fellow! Learn more about Abebe’s work here: go.cega.org/abebeayana

🌟 Stay tuned every Friday as we introduce our latest cohort of fellows!

📚 New research opportunity!

CEGA is inviting one scholar from Ecuador to participate in a four-month fellowship at UC Berkeley in Spring 2026 focused on forced displacement, migration, and the livelihoods of refugees.

👉 Apply here: go.cega.org/spring26fellowship

Closing the Loop: How Researchers Shared Study Findings Back to Syrian Refugee Participants Mansi Kalra shares how the Syrian Refugee Life Study returned results to study participants, as part of CEGA's commitment to stronger research ethics.

🔎 What happens when research findings are shared with study participants?

In a new #CEGABlog, Forced Displacement Research Manager Mansi Kalra explores how researchers shared results of CEGA’s Syrian Refugee Life Study with participants.

Learn more: go.cega.org/returningresults