Measuring impact and cost-effectiveness of development interventions: RCT evidence of menstrual health interventions in Bangladesh

How do you know how effective development interventions are? This dissertation investigated 1) how to measure the social impact of menstrual health interventions in Bangladesh and 2) how cost-effective the interventions were. Using a rigorous RCT design, results show that menstrual health interventions improved the lives of adolescent girls, both in the short term (coming to school more often, more freedom and respect, feeling more confident and happy) and most likely in the long term (increasing future earnings, reducing school drop outs, reducing restrictive menstrual taboos for all women and girls and delaying the age of first marriage and first child). Menstrual health interventions are often overlooked by policymakers, but the results show that these interventions have great potential and can be even more cost-effective than purely educational interventions (ie. you can help more girls, using the same amount of funds).