Endnote export
%T The Success of Randomized Controlled Trials: A Sociographical Study of the Rise of J-PAL to Scientific Excellence and Influence %A Jatteau, Arthur %J Historical Social Research %N 3 %P 94-119 %V 43 %D 2018 %K Multiple Correspondence Analysis; MCA; Randomization; geometrical data analysis; prosopography; hierarchical classification; network analysis; sociology of economists %@ 0172-6404 %~ GESIS %> https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-59159-3 %X Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a method to assess impact that has become increasingly popular over the last fifteen years, particularly as a result of the work done by Esther Duflo and her Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), an or-ganization devoted to the promotion of randomization. This article aims to explore and understand this success by using an in-depth sociographical study of the J-PAL and a network analysis of economists who use RCT. J-PAL appears to be a concentration of educational and academic capital that give great legitimacy to the RCT method. The network is controlled by certain leaders who are able to diffuse the J-PAL approach to RCTs. Furthermore, this article argues that it is necessary to go beyond the intrinsic quality of this method to explain how it became so popular. %C DEU %G en %9 journal article %W GESIS - http://www.gesis.org %~ SSOAR - http://www.ssoar.info