Cali Ellis | The Evergreen State College (original) (raw)
Papers by Cali Ellis
Traditionally, Economic Strengthening (ES) programmes have focused on the head of the household a... more Traditionally, Economic Strengthening (ES) programmes have focused on the head of the household and were designed on the assumption that any benefits would trickle down to other members of the household including children. Despite this assumption, the impacts of ES on children’s wellbeing were rarely evaluated. However, more recently, external research has begun to evaluate and measure the impacts for children leading to some interesting and informative results for those designing and managing ES programmes.
This review focuses on the findings from high-quality published evaluation research into economic strengthening (ES) programs, implemented by NGOs, in resource-poor environments in the developing world, where external evaluators measured impacts on any of a wide variety of indicators of children’s or youth’s protection and wellbeing. A total of 46 published or publicly-available randomized control trial (RCT) research reports were selected for inclusion.1 35 evaluations measured the impact of programs in which the caregivers were the direct beneficiaries, and 12 measured the impact of programs in which adolescents or youth were the direct beneficiaries.
The review sets out to identify the ES programmes that impact child wellbeing outcomes positively as well as those that have potentially negative impacts. It also attempts to understand how factors such as gender and age might influence positive or negative impacts on child wellbeing outcomes. Lastly, the review identifies gaps in the evidence and makes recommendations for further research.
Enterprise Development and Microfinance, Jun 2015
Economic strengthening (ES) approaches are increasingly applied in resource-poor environ- ments, ... more Economic strengthening (ES) approaches are increasingly applied in resource-poor environ- ments, including in humanitarian crisis settings, in order to achieve a wide variety of socio- economic goals. At the same time, randomized control trial (RCT) methodology has become more prevalent in evaluations of ES and other microeconomic interventions. This review is a systematic research synthesis of randomized impact evaluations of NGO-implemented interventions in low-income countries that work to build income and/or economic assets either of the caregiver, the household, or the individual child, adolescent, or youth, where the evaluation looked at any child-level or youth-level outcomes. The papers evaluate interventions that work to build household or individual income and/or assets, such as conditional and unconditional cash and asset transfers, savings, and training. We find a wide variety of direct and indirect interventions that can potentially affect children. Most of the statistically significant findings from these studies are good for children across a range of outcome measures; however among the studies included here, there is no discernible pattern of any particular intervention category (skills training, savings, etc.) being more effective than any other at achieving better outcomes for children. In many outcome categories, researchers could find no short-term impact on children from ES programming at all. Unintended negative effects for children were found in over 20 per cent of the studies in our document set. By focusing on RCT evaluations of non-governmental programmes, we provide information about the highest quality evaluations of interventions that may be feasible to implement for programmers interested in this topic.
International Interactions, Sep 15, 2015
The Leader Experience, Attribute, and Decision (LEAD) dataset provides a rich source of new infor... more The Leader Experience, Attribute, and Decision (LEAD) dataset provides a rich source of new information about the personal lives and experiences of over 2,000 state leaders from 1875–2004. For the first time, we can combine insights from psychology and human development with large-n data on interstate conflict for a new theory of leadership and interstate relations. The dataset provides details about military experiences, childhood, education, personal and family life, and occupational history before leaders assumed power. The data is available in leader-year format and is compatible with existing tools for analysis such as EUGene (Bennett and Stam, 2000). This research note discusses the motivation for the creation of the LEAD dataset and discusses the coding decisions for most of the key variables. We provide a series of descriptive statistical illustrations of the data, and illustrate the depth of the available information with cases from Latin American leaders, showing the durability of these personal experiences across space and time.
PS: Political Science & Politics, Jul 2014
Journal of Homeland Security & Emergency Management , Apr 2013
Since 9/11, air transportation has been one of the most important and closely watched areas of ho... more Since 9/11, air transportation has been one of the most important and closely watched areas of homeland security under federal control. Despite this centralization of authority, some states have begun to question some of the policies enacted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In 2011, Texas passed legislation that would have criminalized TSA officers for carrying out such policies, specifically enhanced pat downs of airport travelers. In light of threats from the Department of Justice, Texas ultimately backed down from the legislation, but the legal arguments made by participants on both sides remain relevant
to future conflicts between state and federal authority on homeland security. The events in Texas are particularly interesting because they make public the tension between citizen preferences for security and civil liberties, highlighting the role of federalism in the homeland security domain. Using legal analysis, we find that
federal power in the realm of aviation security given by the
Constitution’s Supremacy Clause is less clearcut than generally argued. Therefore, Texas’ attempt to assert its authority in this domain was not necessarily legally unsound.
PS: Political Science & Politics, Apr 2012
Prediction markets are designed to aggregate the information of many individuals to forecast futu... more Prediction markets are designed to aggregate the information of many individuals to forecast future events. These markets provide participants with an incentive to seek information and a forum for interaction, making markets a promising tool to motivate student learning. We carried out a quasi-experiment in an introductory political science class to study the effect of prediction markets on student engagement with the course topics. Although we found no significant improvement in students’ enthusiasm or extent of topical reading, we did find that those students who were already reading broadly at the course start were more likely to trade actively in the markets. These findings indicate that prediction markets may be most successful as an education tool in settings, like graduate education, where individuals are already knowledgeable about the topics of the market, instead of an introductory learning context.
ACM SIGecom Exchanges, Dec 2011
In this letter, we report the results of a quasi-experimental study of prediction markets as a pe... more In this letter, we report the results of a quasi-experimental study of prediction markets as a pedagogical tool in an undergraduate setting.
Journal of Applied Security Research, 2009
Although school violence has been a topic of substantial research and analysis, the potential of ... more Although school violence has been a topic of substantial research and analysis, the potential of a mass hostage crisis in a school setting is still a relatively rarefied topic in the literature. Recent incidents such as the Virginia Tech shooting have been perpetrated by single shooters. Well-trained, multiple shooters present a range of substantially different problems for responders, which require serious consideration in all emergency planning. This article uses the 2004 school attack in Beslan, which resulted in over 300 deaths, as a case study for emergency responders at all levels. The article provides policy recommendations specific to schools, first responders, and city emergency management planners.
Book Reviews by Cali Ellis
Michigan War Studies Review, Sep 17, 2015
Michigan War Studies Review, Jun 30, 2014
Michigan War Studies Review, Oct 21, 2013
Books by Cali Ellis
The history of political events is made by people. It doesn’t exist without us. From wars to elec... more The history of political events is made by people. It doesn’t exist without us. From wars to elections to political protests, the choices we make, our actions, how we behave, dictate events. Not all individuals have the same impact on our world and our lives. Some peoples’ choices alter the pathways that history takes. In particular, national chief executives play a large role in forging the destinies of the countries they lead. Why Leaders Fight is about those world leaders and how their beliefs, world views, and tolerance for risk and military conflict are shaped by their life experiences before they enter office – military, family, occupation, and more. Using in-depth research on important leaders and the largest set of data on leader backgrounds ever gathered, the authors of Why Leaders Fight show that – within the constraints of domestic political institutions and the international system – who ends up in office plays a critical role in determining when and why countries go to war.
Talks by Cali Ellis
A webinar hosted by Save the Children and featuring Josh Chaffin, CPC Task Force on Livelihood an... more A webinar hosted by Save the Children and featuring Josh Chaffin, CPC Task Force on Livelihood and Economic Strengthening, and Cali Mortenson Ellis, to share their latest research reviewing 46 randomized control trials that looked at child and youth outcomes from economic strengthening and livelihood interventions. Josh and Cali will present their research findings and highlight the most important results for programmers and advocates.
Traditionally, Economic Strengthening (ES) programmes have focused on the head of the household a... more Traditionally, Economic Strengthening (ES) programmes have focused on the head of the household and were designed on the assumption that any benefits would trickle down to other members of the household including children. Despite this assumption, the impacts of ES on children’s wellbeing were rarely evaluated. However, more recently, external research has begun to evaluate and measure the impacts for children leading to some interesting and informative results for those designing and managing ES programmes.
This review focuses on the findings from high-quality published evaluation research into economic strengthening (ES) programs, implemented by NGOs, in resource-poor environments in the developing world, where external evaluators measured impacts on any of a wide variety of indicators of children’s or youth’s protection and wellbeing. A total of 46 published or publicly-available randomized control trial (RCT) research reports were selected for inclusion.1 35 evaluations measured the impact of programs in which the caregivers were the direct beneficiaries, and 12 measured the impact of programs in which adolescents or youth were the direct beneficiaries.
The review sets out to identify the ES programmes that impact child wellbeing outcomes positively as well as those that have potentially negative impacts. It also attempts to understand how factors such as gender and age might influence positive or negative impacts on child wellbeing outcomes. Lastly, the review identifies gaps in the evidence and makes recommendations for further research.
Enterprise Development and Microfinance, Jun 2015
Economic strengthening (ES) approaches are increasingly applied in resource-poor environ- ments, ... more Economic strengthening (ES) approaches are increasingly applied in resource-poor environ- ments, including in humanitarian crisis settings, in order to achieve a wide variety of socio- economic goals. At the same time, randomized control trial (RCT) methodology has become more prevalent in evaluations of ES and other microeconomic interventions. This review is a systematic research synthesis of randomized impact evaluations of NGO-implemented interventions in low-income countries that work to build income and/or economic assets either of the caregiver, the household, or the individual child, adolescent, or youth, where the evaluation looked at any child-level or youth-level outcomes. The papers evaluate interventions that work to build household or individual income and/or assets, such as conditional and unconditional cash and asset transfers, savings, and training. We find a wide variety of direct and indirect interventions that can potentially affect children. Most of the statistically significant findings from these studies are good for children across a range of outcome measures; however among the studies included here, there is no discernible pattern of any particular intervention category (skills training, savings, etc.) being more effective than any other at achieving better outcomes for children. In many outcome categories, researchers could find no short-term impact on children from ES programming at all. Unintended negative effects for children were found in over 20 per cent of the studies in our document set. By focusing on RCT evaluations of non-governmental programmes, we provide information about the highest quality evaluations of interventions that may be feasible to implement for programmers interested in this topic.
International Interactions, Sep 15, 2015
The Leader Experience, Attribute, and Decision (LEAD) dataset provides a rich source of new infor... more The Leader Experience, Attribute, and Decision (LEAD) dataset provides a rich source of new information about the personal lives and experiences of over 2,000 state leaders from 1875–2004. For the first time, we can combine insights from psychology and human development with large-n data on interstate conflict for a new theory of leadership and interstate relations. The dataset provides details about military experiences, childhood, education, personal and family life, and occupational history before leaders assumed power. The data is available in leader-year format and is compatible with existing tools for analysis such as EUGene (Bennett and Stam, 2000). This research note discusses the motivation for the creation of the LEAD dataset and discusses the coding decisions for most of the key variables. We provide a series of descriptive statistical illustrations of the data, and illustrate the depth of the available information with cases from Latin American leaders, showing the durability of these personal experiences across space and time.
PS: Political Science & Politics, Jul 2014
Journal of Homeland Security & Emergency Management , Apr 2013
Since 9/11, air transportation has been one of the most important and closely watched areas of ho... more Since 9/11, air transportation has been one of the most important and closely watched areas of homeland security under federal control. Despite this centralization of authority, some states have begun to question some of the policies enacted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In 2011, Texas passed legislation that would have criminalized TSA officers for carrying out such policies, specifically enhanced pat downs of airport travelers. In light of threats from the Department of Justice, Texas ultimately backed down from the legislation, but the legal arguments made by participants on both sides remain relevant
to future conflicts between state and federal authority on homeland security. The events in Texas are particularly interesting because they make public the tension between citizen preferences for security and civil liberties, highlighting the role of federalism in the homeland security domain. Using legal analysis, we find that
federal power in the realm of aviation security given by the
Constitution’s Supremacy Clause is less clearcut than generally argued. Therefore, Texas’ attempt to assert its authority in this domain was not necessarily legally unsound.
PS: Political Science & Politics, Apr 2012
Prediction markets are designed to aggregate the information of many individuals to forecast futu... more Prediction markets are designed to aggregate the information of many individuals to forecast future events. These markets provide participants with an incentive to seek information and a forum for interaction, making markets a promising tool to motivate student learning. We carried out a quasi-experiment in an introductory political science class to study the effect of prediction markets on student engagement with the course topics. Although we found no significant improvement in students’ enthusiasm or extent of topical reading, we did find that those students who were already reading broadly at the course start were more likely to trade actively in the markets. These findings indicate that prediction markets may be most successful as an education tool in settings, like graduate education, where individuals are already knowledgeable about the topics of the market, instead of an introductory learning context.
ACM SIGecom Exchanges, Dec 2011
In this letter, we report the results of a quasi-experimental study of prediction markets as a pe... more In this letter, we report the results of a quasi-experimental study of prediction markets as a pedagogical tool in an undergraduate setting.
Journal of Applied Security Research, 2009
Although school violence has been a topic of substantial research and analysis, the potential of ... more Although school violence has been a topic of substantial research and analysis, the potential of a mass hostage crisis in a school setting is still a relatively rarefied topic in the literature. Recent incidents such as the Virginia Tech shooting have been perpetrated by single shooters. Well-trained, multiple shooters present a range of substantially different problems for responders, which require serious consideration in all emergency planning. This article uses the 2004 school attack in Beslan, which resulted in over 300 deaths, as a case study for emergency responders at all levels. The article provides policy recommendations specific to schools, first responders, and city emergency management planners.
The history of political events is made by people. It doesn’t exist without us. From wars to elec... more The history of political events is made by people. It doesn’t exist without us. From wars to elections to political protests, the choices we make, our actions, how we behave, dictate events. Not all individuals have the same impact on our world and our lives. Some peoples’ choices alter the pathways that history takes. In particular, national chief executives play a large role in forging the destinies of the countries they lead. Why Leaders Fight is about those world leaders and how their beliefs, world views, and tolerance for risk and military conflict are shaped by their life experiences before they enter office – military, family, occupation, and more. Using in-depth research on important leaders and the largest set of data on leader backgrounds ever gathered, the authors of Why Leaders Fight show that – within the constraints of domestic political institutions and the international system – who ends up in office plays a critical role in determining when and why countries go to war.
A webinar hosted by Save the Children and featuring Josh Chaffin, CPC Task Force on Livelihood an... more A webinar hosted by Save the Children and featuring Josh Chaffin, CPC Task Force on Livelihood and Economic Strengthening, and Cali Mortenson Ellis, to share their latest research reviewing 46 randomized control trials that looked at child and youth outcomes from economic strengthening and livelihood interventions. Josh and Cali will present their research findings and highlight the most important results for programmers and advocates.