Discontinuity Design for a Merit Scholarship

Historians have proposed different frameworks to explain the historical wealth disparity between the West and other regions. Match each specific argument below to the explanatory framework it best represents.

A researcher wants to evaluate the impact of a new government program that provides extra funding to schools where the student poverty rate is above 40%. To do this, the researcher compares the academic outcomes of a school with a 75% poverty rate (which received funding) to a school with a 15% poverty rate (which did not). The researcher concludes the funding was ineffective because academic outcomes were not significantly different. What is the primary methodological flaw in this researcher's approach?

Designing a Study for a Financial Aid Program

Evaluating a Tutoring Program

Evaluating a Tutoring Program

A city implements a new policy to provide free public transit passes to all residents whose annual household income is below $30,000. A researcher evaluates the policy's impact on employment rates by comparing the employment outcomes of residents with incomes between $29,000 and $29,999 (who received the pass) to those with incomes between $30,000 and $30,999 (who did not). Which of the following scenarios represents the most significant threat to the validity of this study's design?

A city implements a new policy to provide free public transit passes to all residents whose annual household income is below $30,000. A researcher evaluates the policy's impact on employment rates by comparing the employment outcomes of residents with incomes between $29,000 and $29,999 (who received the pass) to those with incomes between $30,000 and $30,999 (who did not). Which of the following scenarios represents the most significant threat to the validity of this study's design?

A city wants to study the effect of a new small business grant on local employment. The grant is awarded to all businesses located on streets with a 'walkability score' of 75 or higher. To measure the grant's impact, researchers compare the change in employment for businesses on streets with scores between 75-77 (who received the grant) to businesses on streets with scores between 73-74 (who did not). For this study's conclusion about the grant's effect to be valid, which of the following must be the most critical assumption?

Evaluating a Free Tuition Policy

A research team wants to determine the causal effect of a specific intervention. In which of the following scenarios would a discontinuity analysis be the most appropriate and valid research method?