ABSTRACT
Evidence-based policy (EBP) maintains that public policy should be based on high-quality evidence of “what works,” in particular, experimental evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that measure the effects of policy interventions. While intuitively compelling, EBP has attracted significant criticisms from philosophers, methodologists, and political scientists. This chapter pursues three aims: (1) to provide an accessible overview of EBP; (2) to consider some of the most pressing challenges that EBP faces, including issues surrounding extrapolation and external validity as well as important value-related tensions; and (3) to explore a range of ameliorative proposals for improving how evidence informs the design and implementation of public policy.
