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Policy and Program Evaluation Lab
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A lab that explores causal relationships in social phenomena using statistical causal inference.
AboutAbout the lab
Uncovering the causal relationships hidden in the world through data
The Policy and Program Evaluation Lab conducts research that uses statistical causal inference to analyze phenomena with a major impact on society and uncover their causal relationships.
Most of the causal relationships hidden in the world have yet to be uncovered.
The lab does not limit itself to a single theme; each student works on a topic that interests and excites them.
Data analysis is always part of the work.
Key terms
- Statistical causal inference
- An approach that uses data and statistics to examine whether one event is the cause of another
- Ethnic favoritism
- When a government favors particular ethnic groups in carrying out policies and projects. It is considered one of the factors that hinder economic growth
- Market integration
- The process in which lower trade costs connect markets in distant regions so that they come closer to functioning as a single market
ResearchResearch themes
To uncover the causal relationships hidden in the world, the lab uses statistical causal inference to analyze phenomena with a major impact on society. Each student works on a topic that interests and excites them, and beyond the project topics, students can take on a topic whose causal relationships they want to understand for their bachelor's or master's thesis.
*Illustrative imageRoads and Economic Development in Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa, data on road quality is lacking, and whether roads deteriorate as a result of ethnic favoritism has not been sufficiently discussed. The lab obtains and builds road quality information and studies its relationship with economic activity and economic development.
*Illustrative imageAir Quality and People's Lives
Research on how worsening or improving air quality affects people's lives has become active again in recent years thanks to advances in analytical methods. The lab studies the effects of air quality on people's health and the economic value of air quality.
*Illustrative imageRailways and Market Integration
It is easy to expect that lower trade costs from transport infrastructure promote market integration, but there is little empirical evidence based on statistical causal inference that measures the resulting benefits. The lab studies how rapid railway construction in the Meiji era affected development issues through market integration.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Policy and Program Evaluation Lab consist of faculty, doctoral students, master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKoichi Ushijima
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Rural women and cattle on a village road in Raichur” User: Vraj Acharya, WELL Labs / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Roads and Economic Development in Africa: “Dirt road kenya” Mikenjau / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Air Quality and People's Lives: “Skyline - haze and smog - DPLA - 149416a7fa6174168b353fb4f8a651e3” Halberstadt, Ernst / Public domain (cropped)
- Railways and Market Integration: “Toya Railway No.2 steam locomotive” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (黒瀬研究室): “No Known Restrictions Trading Floor, New York Stock Exchange (Highsmith LOC) ( )” Carol M. Highsmith / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (都市政策科学研究室): “A view of a sub urban area of Guatemala City in Guatemala” Jose Hernandez / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (公共心理研究室): “Malaysia Federal Highway Traffic Jam” Countryball mys123 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (応用計量経済学・統計学
（小西 葉子） ): “Data Analysis ( )” IAEA Imagebank / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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