Dr Maren Duvendack
| Job Title | Contact | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Lecturer in Development Economics |
M dot Duvendack at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 3685 |
Arts 2.76 |
Biography
Maren Duvendack has a PhD in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia. After completing her PhD she joined the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC as a postdoctoral fellow focusing on evaluating the policy impact of agricultural research before joining the Overseas Development Institute as a research fellow in evaluation and impact assessment where she is currently involved in testing and developing innovative tools to assess the impact of complex interventions.
Maren has recently completed an evaluability assessment for the World Food Programme investigating their food for assets interventions, she has also co-authored two systematic reviews on microfinance impact (one funded by DFID and the other by 3ie) which have recently been published. Maren’s contributions appeared in a number of academic journals (Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Development Effectiveness) and she acted as a reviewer for a number of academic journals as well as for 3ie. Maren regularly presents her work at international conferences, seminars and workshops and frequently engages with the media mainly on issues related to microfinance:
Speaker at the House of Commons: “Measuring the scope, defining the limits: weighing the evidence on microfinance” organised by the All Party Parliament Group on Overseas Development with David Roodman and Will Derban, chaired by David Laws (MP). Audio recordings available here:
http://www.odi.org.uk/events/details.asp?id=2842&title=measuring-scope-defining-limits-weighing-evidence-microfinance#audio-video
TV interview for a follow-up of the documentary: “Caught in Micro debt” by filmmaker Tom Heinemann for Norwegian Television.
Press interview for The New Republic. “Is Microfinance Pushing the World’s Poorest Even Deeper Into Poverty?” Available here:
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/98499/microfinance-drive-poverty#.TujZk8wCTMg.wordpress
Press interview for the Guardian. “Microfinance’s Sober Reckoning”.Available here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/18/microfinance-sober-reckoning-studies-question
Key Research Interests
Maren is a specialist in quantitative impact evaluation methodologies. Her key research areas cover applied micro-econometrics, microfinance, replication and reproduction of quantitative analyses as well as research ethics. She has replicated the results of microfinance impact evaluations in Bangladesh, and spent extensive time in the field conducting her own microfinance evaluation in India.
Grants awarded:
2012 AusAid for developing a ‘methods lab’ to test innovative impact evaluation methods, £1.6 mio over 4 years (with John Young)
2012 Gates Foundation for evaluating their Think Tank Initiative, $500,000 (with ODI colleagues and ECDPM)
2011 3ie – International Initiative for Impact Evaluation - for conducting meta-analysis on a systematic review focusing on microfinance and women’s empowerment, £13,000 (with Richard Palmer-Jones)
2010 – 2011 DFID for a systematic review on microfinance impact evaluations, £44,676 (with James G. Copestake, Richard Palmer-Jones, Nitya Rao, Yoon Loke and Lee Hooper)
2010 3ie – International Initiative for Impact Evaluation - for preparing a research proposal investigating selection processes in microfinance in India, $5,000 (with Richard Palmer-Jones)
Publications:
1. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2012. “Replication of Quantitative Work in Development Studies: Experiences and Suggestions.” Submitted to Progress in Development Studies.
2. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2012. “High Noon for Microfinance Impact Evaluations: Re-investigating the Evidence from Bangladesh.” Journal of Development Studies, 48(12):1864-1880.
The following files contain the “High Noon…” paper as well as the online appendix:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/Duvendack_Palmer-Jones_2012.pdf
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/Duvendack_Palmer-Jones_2012_OnlineAppendix.pdf
You will need these two files to replicate the “High Noon…” paper in STATA:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/PSM_Prep_all_Final.DTA (right click and choose 'Save Target As...')
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/HighNoonPaper_Final.do (right click and choose 'Save Target As...')
Matthieu Chemin and Mark Pitt both commented on our "High Noon..." paper and our short response to their comments can be found in JDS: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2012.747781
Further to this, Matthieu Chemin published longer comments (http://matthieuchemin-research.mcgill.ca/research.html) on our “High Noon…” paper and our response to these can be found here: http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/Rejoinder_to_Chemin_Final.pdf
The following files are needed to comprehend and replicate the points we are making in our response to Chemin's longer comments: http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/CheminReply.zip
Mark Pitt also published a longer comment (http://www.brown.edu/research/projects/pitt/) on our “High Noon…” paper and we respond as follows:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/Rejoinder_to_Pitt_Final.pdf
The following data and code are needed to replicate the points we are making in our response to Pitt’s longer comments:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~nga07htu/PittReply.zip
3. Duvendack, M., Hombrados, J., Palmer-Jones, R. & Waddington, H., 2012. Assessing ‘What Works’ in International Development: Meta-Analysis for Sophisticated Dummies.” Forthcoming in the Journal of Development Effectiveness.
4. Mallett, R., Hagen-Zanker, J., Slater, R., & Duvendack, M., 2012. “The Benefits and Challenges of Using Systematic Reviews in International Development Research.” Forthcoming in the Journal of Development Effectiveness.
5. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2012. “Replication, Reproduction and the Credibility of Micro-econometric Studies of the Impact of Microfinance and Informal Sector Borrowing in Bangladesh.” Submitted to the Journal of Development Studies for a special section on replication.
6. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2011. “The Microfinance of Reproduction and the Reproduction of Microfinance: Understanding the Connections between Microfinance, Empowerment, Contraception and Fertility in Bangladesh in the 1990s.” Conference paper at the Second European Research Conference on Microfinance. Groningen: 16-18 June 2011. Working Paper 40 in DEV Working Paper Series.
7. Duvendack, M., 2010. “Smoke and Mirrors: Evidence of Microfinance Impact from an Evaluation of SEWA Bank in India.” Working Paper 24, DEV Working Paper Series, The School of International Development, University of East Anglia, UK. Forthcoming in T. Nair (ed.) Development Promise of Indian Microfinance. London: Routledge.
8. Duvendack, M., 2004. “New Sunrise for Japan?” Global Banking, Vol. 17, pp. 25-29.
Peer-reviewed consultancy reports:
9. Duvendack, M., Palmer-Jones, R., Copestake, J. G., Hooper, L., Loke, Y., & Rao, N., 2011. “What is the Evidence of the Impact of Microfinance on the Well-being of Poor People?” London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
10. Vaessen, J., Rivas, A., Duvendack, M., Palmer Jones, R., Leeuw, F., Van Gils, G., Lukach, R., Holvoet, N. & Bastiaensen, J., 2012. “The Effects of Microcredit on Women’s Control over Household Spending in Developing Countries”. Forthcoming as a 3ie Working Paper.
Commentaries and briefing papers:
11. Hagen-Zanker, J., Duvendack, M., Mallett, R., & Slater, R., 2011. “Making Systematic Reviews Work for International Development Research.” Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium Briefing Paper. Available at: www.odi.org.uk/slrc.
12. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2011. “Comment on: Abou-Ali, H., El-Azony, H., El-Laithy, H., Haughton, J. & Khandker, S., 2010. Evaluating the Impact of Egyptian Social Fund for Development Programmes. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2 (4), p.521 – 555” Journal of Development Effectiveness 2011, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 297-299.
13. Duvendack, M. & Palmer-Jones, R., 2011. “Reply: Much Ado About Something: Response to Haughton’s Reply to Duvendack and Palmer-Jones.” Journal of Development Effectiveness 2011, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 302-303.
Book reviews:
14. Review of “Microfinance in India” edited by K.G. Karmakar (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2008). Journal of South Asian Development 2009, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 317-320.
15. Review of "Indian Microfinance: The Challenges of Rapid Growth" by P. Ghate (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2007). Journal of South Asian Development 2008, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 297–336.
Teaching Interests
Maren is mainly teaching on the MSc Impact Evaluation for International Development and she is currently convening the module Welfare and Evaluation in Development.
She is also a director of the professional short course “Impact Evaluation for Evidence-Based Policy in Development” which is a 2-week long course held at UEA every summer.
She also taught on various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the past:
Undergraduate courses: “Economics for Development 1” (spring 2009), “Sub-Saharan Africa Development” (spring 2009), “Microeconomics for Development” (autumn 2009, 2010)
Postgraduate courses: STATA computer-lab sessions for “Econometric Methods for Development” (autumn 2009, 2010), SPSS computer-lab sessions for “Research Techniques and Analysis” (autumn 2009, 2010)
