Andhra Pradesh Govt and ISB policy lab to drive evidence-based decisions for growth

The Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board has entered into an MoU with the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad with the objective of economic recovery and growth monitoring especially the post-Covid-19 development and job creation in the state.

The MoU would also nurture a think tank by setting up a “GoAP-ISB Policy Lab”, a public policy laboratory to drive evidence-based policy decisions. It aims to create a knowledge bank for strategic planning, policy analysis, data analytics and action-research essential for sustaining high rates of growth.

The lab modelled on the lines of the Policy Lab in the UK Cabinet would enable greater synergistic functioning of departments and work towards the objective of economic monitoring, recovery and development, a press release said.

JVN Subramanyam, CEO AP Economic Development Board and Prof Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB exchanged the MoU in the presence of Mekapati Goutham Reddy, AP minister for industries, commerce, IT in a virtual event.

“We are onboarding ISB as our knowledge partner to work on various initiatives in skill development, e-governance, turning Visakhapatnam into a growth engine, improving value addition in food processing etc. initiatives,” Reddy said.

“We intend to generate data using randomized control trials (RCTs) and gather evidence to measure the impact of our policies and drive our decisions based on strong research evidence. This is truly cutting edge in the field of economics and public policy. Last year’s Nobel Prize winners were recognized for pioneering this experimental (RCT) approach to development economics,” the minister further said.