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Stephen Bell, Ph.D.

Vice President, Social & Economic Policy

Stephen Bell, Ph.D. Stephen Bell, Ph.D.

Stephen Bell, Ph.D., an expert in random-assignment evaluation methods, first joined Abt Associates in 1983, then rejoined the company in 2005 as an Abt Fellow and a Principal Associate/Scientist in the Social and Economic Policy Division. From 1996 to 2005, he worked in The Urban Institute's Income and Benefits Policy Center.

Bell specializes in econometric impact evaluation of programs to assist disadvantaged workers and families. Among his projects has been the National Head Start Impact Study, a landmark evaluation of early childhood development assistance as an anti-poverty strategy, and on studies of employment strategies for people receiving disability benefits in the United States and in Britain. The Head Start research employs path-breaking impact analysis methodologies that he has developed, expanding on the basic experimental design in order to determine which program elements contribute most to impacts.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Bell played a lead role in the National Job Training Partnership Act Study, the nation's seminal random assignment employment and training program evaluation. The results of this research helped reshape federal employment training policy and set a standard for rigorous evidence on program effectiveness in the federal government.

Bell holds a B.A. in Economics from Knox College and a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Selected Publications by
Stephen Bell, Ph.D.

"What to Do When Data Are Missing in Group Randomized Controlled Trials," with Michael J. Puma, Robert B. Olsen, and Cristofer Price. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, October 2009

“Designing Reliable Impact Evaluations,” with Larry L. Orr and Jacob A. Klerman, in The Workforce Investment Act:  Implementation Experiences and Evaluation Findings. Edited by D. J. Besharov and P. H.Cottingham. Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2011.

"Review of Alternative Methodologies for Employment and Training Program Evaluation," U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, June 2003

"The Head Start Impact Study Final Report," with Michael Puma, Ronna Cook, Camilla Heid, et al. U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, January 2010. 

“Random Assignment for Impact Analysis in a Statistically Representative Set of Sites: Issues from the National Head Start Impact Study,” with Michael Puma, Gary Shapiro, Ronna Cook, and Michael Lopez. published proceedings of the August 2003 ASA Joint Statistical Meetings, November 2003. (CD-ROM)