Education Research from the Development Research Group

One crucial area of study is early childhood development (ECD). Understanding the impact of early experiences on cognitive, social, and emotional development lays the foundation for effective interventions that support children's readiness for school and lifelong learning.

Preprimary education Improves Current Skills and Future Wellbeing: Causal and Cost-Benefit Evidence from Around the World 
Alaka Holla, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Magdalena Bendini, Iva Trako \ Working Paper Version

Socioemotional Skills in Preschool. Evidence from Mexico
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Francisco Haimovich, Mauricio Romero, and Marcela Silveyra

Violent Discipline and Parental Behavior: Short- and Medium-term Effects of Virtual Parenting Support
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Saravana Ravindran, Manisha Shah, Shawn Powers, and Helen Baker-Henningham | Working Paper Version | NBER WP 31338

Helping Families Help Themselves. The (Un)intended Impacts of a Digital Parenting Program
Sofia Amaral, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Patricio Dominguez, and Santiago Perez-Vincent, Journal of Development Economics, 2023 | Working Paper Version

Executive function in Chilean preschool children: Do short-term memory, working memory, and response inhibition contribute differentially to early academic skills?
F. Morrison, M. Montoya, M. Susperreguey, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, C. Rojas, C. Föster, and E. San Martin, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2019

Is Fade-Out a Myth? The Medium-Term Effects of an At-Scale Preschool Program in a Low-Capacity Context
Marina Bassi, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Saravana Ravindran, Ana Reynoso, and Bruno Besbas

Empowering Afghan Caregivers Through a Resilient Mobile Parenting Intervention
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Saher Asad, and Manisha Shah

Improving Preschool Provision and Encouraging-Demand: Evidence from a Large Construction Program
Jan Berkes, Adrien Bouguen, Deon Filmer and Tsuyoshi Fukao, Journal of Public Economics, 230:105050, 2024 | Working Paper Version

Early Education, Preferences, and Decision-Making Abilities
Joana Cardim, Pedro Carneiro, Leandro Carvalho, and Damien de Walque, World Bank Policy Research working paper 10187, 2022

Impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program plus accompanying measures (information sessions and home visits) in Burkina Faso
Richard Akresh, Damien de Walque and Harounan Kazianga, Ongoing

The determinants of school participation and strategies to enhance it, is another important research area, recognizing that access to school is the starting point for the full benefits of education to be realized.

Keeping Girls in School: Evaluating the Case Management System in Zambia
S Anukriti, and Kathleen Beegle.

Long-Term Impacts of Primary School Scholarships: Evidence from Cambodia
Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Andreas de Barros, and Deon Filmer, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 43(1):10-38, 2024 | Working Paper Version

Impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program plus accompanying measures (information sessions and home visits) in Burkina Faso
Richard Akresh, Damien de Walque and Harounan Kazianga, Ongoing

Incentivizing School Attendance in the Presence of Parent-Child Information Frictions
Damien de Walque, and Christine Valente, AEJ: Economic Policy 2023 15(3): 265-85 | Blog Post

Intergenerational Effects of Early Childhood Shocks on Human Capital
Kibrom Tafere

Another focus of research is the school-to-work transition, exploring pathways for youth to successfully transition from education to employment. Understanding the skills and competencies needed in the labor market, as well as the role of vocational training and entrepreneurship programs, informs policies and initiatives aimed at facilitating smooth transitions and fostering youth empowerment.

Informational Barriers to Female Employment in India: Experimental Evidence from Vocational Training Students
S Anukriti, Catalina Herrera-Almanza, and Sophie Ochmann

The Influence of COVID-19 on Young Women's Labor Market Aspirations and Expectations in India
S Anukriti, Catalina Herrera-Almanza, and Sophie Ochmann

Improving youth labor market outcomes in Sikkim: Impact Evaluation with a P4R operation in India
S Anukriti

Improving non-farm employment of women in Tamil Nadu: Impact Evaluation with a P4R operation in India
S Anukriti

Enhancing Apprenticeship Programs for Youth and Firms
Oyebola Okunogbe

Apprenticeships, Skills and the Transition to Work in Senegal
Frédéric Aubery, John Giles, and David Sahn

The Fast Track to New Skills: Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean
M. M. Ferreyra, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Sergio Urzua, and Marina Bassi

Quality Determinants of Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean In "The Fast Track to New Skills..." 
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, and Marina Bassi, 2021

What Makes a Program Good? Evidence from Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Five Developing Countries
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, M. M. Ferreyra, S. Urzua, and M. Bassi, World Development, 2023 | Working Paper Version

The Value Added of Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs to Students' Outcomes: Evidence from Colombia
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, M. M. Ferreyra, T. Melguizo, and A. Sanchez | Working Paper Version

Education and learning outcomes measurement are central to assessing the effectiveness of educational interventions and guiding continuous improvement efforts. The evaluation of tutoring, mentoring, and other supportive mechanisms seeks to enhance learning outcomes and promote equitable access to quality education for all children.

Enhancing Apprenticeship Programs for Youth and Firms
Oyebola Okunogbe

The Impact of Role Models on Educational Aspirations: Evidence from Nigeria
Oyebola Okunogbe

Evidence on data-driven remedial instruction in the Dominican Republic
Carolina Lopez and Astrid Pineda

Tripping at the Finish Line: Experimental Evidence on the Role of Misperceptions on Secondary School Completion
Carolina Lopez

Exacerbated Inequalities: The Learning Loss from COVID-19 in Italy
Michela Carlana, Eliana La Ferrara, Carolina Lopez, AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol. 113, 2023 

Preventing Violence in the Most Violent Contexts. Behavioral and Neurophysiological Evidence
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, and Pablo Egana, Journal of the European Economic Association | Working Paper Version

Peer Effects on Violence. Experimental Evidence in El Salvador
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Policy Research Working Paper 9187, March 2020

When Emotion Regulation Matters: The Efficacy of Social-Emotional Learning to Address School-Based Violence in Central America
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Pablo Egana, Claudia Martinez, and Cindy Rojas, Policy Research Working Paper 9957, March 2022

Designing a Character Strengths Development Program for Youth Living in Violent Contexts
B. Vasquez, and Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Journal of Youth Development, 2021

School Management and Government Support During an Emergency
Ciro Avitabile, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, and Renata Lemos, Ongoing

Tech-enabled Tutoring Program for Learning Recovery for Adolescents in Ukraine
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Renata Lemos, Rony Rodriguez, James Gresham, and Harry Patrinos, Ongoing

Mechanisms to Improve the Effectiveness of an Online Teacher Professional Development Program for Early Literacy
Jacobus Cilliers, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Dave Evans, Carolina Rovira, and Magdalena Bendini, Ongoing

Teacher Professional Development in a Fragile Setting: Evidence from Mozambique
Jacobus Cilliers, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Dave Evans, Ongoing

Supporting Mental Health and Learning Through the Promotion of Psychosocial Support in Armenian schools
Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Rony Rodriguez, Renata Lemos, Ongoing

Externalities of Connectivity: Labor, Education, and Crime in El Salvador
Wilber Baires, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Carlos Schmidt-Padilla, and G. Khanna, Ongoing

High Temperature and Learning Outcomes
Bhavya Srivastava, Kibrom Tafere and A. Patrick Behrer, Policy Research Working Paper 10714, March 2024

Public investments in health infrastructure during early life increase adult educational achievement
Kibrom Tafere, Ongoing

Curriculum reform and learning in primary schools in Guyana
Kibrom Tafere

Cognitive and Socioemotional Skills in Low-Income Countries : Measurement and Associations with Schooling and Earnings
Alice Danon, Jishnu Das, and Andreas de Barros and Deon Filmer, Journal of Development Economics, vol. 168, May 2024 | Working Paper Version

Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS): Defining A New Macro Measure of Education
Deon Filmer, Halsey Rogers, Noam Angrist, and Shwetlena Sabarwal, Economics of Education Review, vol. 77, August 2020 | Working Paper Version

Research on education system reform examines policy frameworks, incentives, governance structures, and institutional mechanisms aimed at enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of education systems in LMICs.

Teacher Performance-Based Incentives and Learning Inequality
Deon Filmer, James Habyarimana, and Shwetlena Sabarwal, Journal of Human Resources, October 2023 | Working Paper Version

Long-Lived Consequences of Rapid Scale-Up? : The Case of Free Primary Education in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries
Deon Filmer, International Journal of Educational Development, vol. 102, October 2023 | Working Paper Verison

Teacher Pay in Africa: Evidence from 15 Countries
David K. Evans, Fei Yuan, and Deon Filmer,World Development, vol. 155, July 2022 | Working Paper Version

Heterogenous Teacher Effects of Two Incentive Schemes: Evidence from a Low-Income Country
Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Jacobus Cilliers, Marie-Helene Cloutier and Deon Filmer, Journal of Development Economics, vol. 156, May 2022 | VoxDev | Working Paper Version

Information, Knowledge and Behavior: Evaluating Alternative Methods of Delivering School Information to Parents
Pedro Cerdan-Infantes, Deon Filmer and Santoso, Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 70, January 2022 | Working Paper Version