Negotiating a Better Future – Women and Public Policy Program

Negotiating a Better Future – Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School

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Negotiating a Better Future – Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Date: February 2, 2012

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Measuring the Impact of Negotiation Skills on Health and Social Outcomes in Zambia?

Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School

Kathleen McGinn, Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and Nava Ashraf, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School

Accurate information is necessary for making good decisions, but information held by one party may not be sufficient when decisions are made interdependently with other parties. In Zambia, girls’ decisions around school attendance are made interdependently with family members and other parties potentially more powerful than the girls themselves, and girls’ decisions around sexual behavior are made interdependently with intimate partners and peers. These decisions have serious, measurable impact on the girls’ health and welfare. The researchers are carrying out a randomized controlled experiment among 8th grade girls in Lusaka, Zambia, testing the efficacy of information alone relative to information with relational skills training (and control treatment) in affecting girls’ school attendance and health outcomes. Authors, Nava Ashraf, Corinne Low & Kathleen McGinn, are carrying out a randomized controlled experiment among 8th grade girls in Lusaka, Zambia, testing the efficacy of information alone relative to information with relational skills training (and control treatment) in affecting girls’ school attendance and health

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* The above story is adapted from materials provided by Harvard University

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