Lab-in-the-field experiments: perspectives from research on gender

Abstract

This paper highlights the contributions made by lab-in-the-field experiments, which are also known as artefactual, framed and extra-lab experiments. We present a curated sample of lab-in-the-field experiments and discuss how they can be conducted on their own or combined with conventional laboratory experiments, natural experiments, randomised control trials and surveys to provide unique insights into the behaviour of a diverse population. Using our recent research on gender and leadership, we demonstrate how lab-in-the-field experiments have offered new perspectives about gender differences in decision-making. Finally, we outline the ethical and implementational challenges researchers may face while conducting these experiments and share some of the strategies we employed to address them.

Losing the female survival advantage: Sex differentials in infant and child mortality in Pakistan

“…Pakistan has the highest neonatal mortality rate in the world, has high levels of infant and child mortality, and exhibits evidence of severe gender discrimination in survival favoring boys (UN Population Prospects 2022; UNICEF 2018; Alkema et al 2014;Bongaarts and Guilmoto 2015). Most studies find that Pakistan has excess female mortality among children (1-4 years) and among the under-5 population (0-4 years) but not specifically with regard to infant mortality (0-1 years) (Sathar 1985;Agha 2000;Gangadharan and Maitra 2000;Nisar and Dibley 2014;Alkema et al 2014). The 2017-2018 PDHS also reflects this: the male-to-female ratio for infant mortality rate was above one, while the male-to-female ratio for child mortality rate was well below one (NIPS/Pakistan and ICF 2019).…”