Objective:

To characterize studies on the randomized evaluation of the impact of social programs against poverty in the work of Esther Duflo.

Methodology:

Systematic review, in which we applied the PRISMA guide to nine databases.

We ensured the reproducibility of the selection of studies and information extraction. We carried out a qualitative synthesis of the results by describing the populations, interventions, controls, and the evaluated outcomes.

Results:

We analyzed 34 randomized evaluations of social programs against poverty, 41.2% in education; 20.6% in health; 8.8% on micro-credit; 8.8% in political participation of women and 5.9% in direct transfers to poor populations. The remaining evaluated the use of fertilizers, police watchdogs, obtaining employment and control of environmental emissions in industrial plants.

Conclusion:

The best impacts were reported in education and health, which is related to human capital, labor force participation and effective poverty reduction. This is a significant support to evidence based public health and allows us to identify lines of public policy to reduce poverty, combat social inequities and improve the use of economic resources for public management.

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