Author Li Fan;Ma Liang;Li Shaoping;

Abstract：As an important part of the modernization of state governance,the core function of public policy evaluation is to identify the causal effect of a policy. Due to the obvious deficiency of traditional policy evaluation methods in causal inference,in recent years,experimental design and causal inference have been applied in western policy evaluation research,and gradually developed into an important tool for evidence-based research in public policy and public management. This paper summarizes the latest progress of experimental research and design,and discusses the basic principles of randomized controlled experiments and quasi-experiments and their applications in public policy evaluation based on the latest research cases, so as to provide new methods and perspectives for China’s public policy evaluation practice,and finally improve the governance capability and governance level of the Chinese government.

Key words： Public Policy Evaluation； Evidence-Based Policy； Experimental Design； Causal Inference；