How can organizations afford randomized control trials?
Randomized evaluations cost less than people think relative to non-randomized evaluations. Evaluations, of course, can be expensive, but should be thought of as an investment in order to learn how to best allocate future resources. In the short run, randomized evaluations can cost less than some quasi-experimental evaluations because they allow for smaller sample sizes. In the long run, experimental evaluations are less risky and hence less costly because they provide more reliable information for improving operations.
