Evidence-Based Policy

authored by

Donal Khosrowi Djen-Gheschlaghi

Abstract

Evidence-based policy (EBP) maintains that public policy should be based on high-quality evidence of “what works, " in particular, experimental evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that measure the effects of policy interventions. While intuitively compelling, EBP has attracted significant criticisms from philosophers, methodologists, and political scientists. This chapter pursues three aims: (1) to provide an accessible overview of EBP; (2) to consider some of the most pressing challenges that EBP faces, including issues surrounding extrapolation and external validity as well as important value-related tensions; and (3) to explore a range of ameliorative proposals for improving how evidence informs the design and implementation of public policy.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Philosophy

Type

Contribution to book/anthology

Pages

370-384

No. of pages

15

Publication date

30.11.2021

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Arts and Humanities

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315739793-33 (Access: Closed)