I am an economist specialized in development with an interest on the design and evaluation of education policies. Advising governments in developing countries on strategies to improve learning, particularly among the poor.
Primary and Secondary Education During Covid-19, 2021
COVID-19 is not only leading to lower student learning levels, but likely resulting in a learning... more COVID-19 is not only leading to lower student learning levels, but likely resulting in a learning inequality catastrophe. In this chapter, we document the high-levels of learning inequality (within and between countries) that existed before the pandemic and disentangle the different mechanisms through which changes in inequality in learning may happen because of a shock like COVID-19, examining the role of school and family inputs. We show that historically, similar shocks in average learning levels disproportionally affect the most vulnerable students, and that emerging evidence from developed countries, as well as simulations, support the expected significant shifts in the learning distribution. Finally, we present a set of compensatory education policies that countries must urgently implement to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on learning inequality and promote equality of opportunities during and after the pandemic.
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bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
This paper uses a sample of 73 developing countries to estimate the change in the cost of allevia... more This paper uses a sample of 73 developing countries to estimate the change in the cost of alleviating urban poverty brought about by the recent increase in food prices. This cost is approximated by the change in the poverty deficit, that is, the variation in financial resources required to eliminate poverty under perfect targeting. The results show that, for most countries, the cost represents less than 0.1 percent of gross domestic product. However, in the most severely affected, it may exceed 3 percent. In all countries, the change in the poverty deficit is mostly due to the negative real income effect of those households that were poor before the price shock, while the cost attributable to new households falling into poverty is negligible. Thus, in countries where transfer mechanisms with effective targeting already exist, the most costeffective strategy would be to scale up such programs rather than designing tools to identify the new poor. This paper—a product of the Developmen...
Small-scale often subsistence farming constitutes the predominant source of livelihood in many po... more Small-scale often subsistence farming constitutes the predominant source of livelihood in many poor developing countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan context. These farmers may be partly or, in extreme cases, entirely detached from domestic and international markets. The poverty effects that trade liberalization can have in this type of economies are dampened by the lack of transmission mechanisms linking trade policy and the incomes of the poor. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the links between trade liberalization and poverty in predominantly agricultural economies. Given the gendered nature of agricultural markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, our analysis pays particular attention to the gender effects of trade liberalization. The framework proposed in this study combines three different, thought related, methodologies: the conventional price-transmission methodology described in McCulloch et al. (2002), the agricultural household model of Singh et al. (1986), and a mode...
This paper presents the results of a large-scale randomized experiment conducted across 1,496 pub... more This paper presents the results of a large-scale randomized experiment conducted across 1,496 public primary schools in Mexico. The experiment identifies the impact on schools’ managerial capacity and student test scores of providing schools with: (a) cash grants, (b) managerial training for school principals, or (c) both. The school principals’ managerial training focused on improving principals’ capacities to collect and use data to monitor students’ basic numeracy and literacy skills and provide feedback to teachers on their instruction and pedagogical practices. After two years of implementing these interventions, the study finds that: (a) the cash grant had no impact on the student’s test scores or the management capacity of school principals; (b) the managerial training improved school principals’ managerial capacity but had no impact on students’ test scores; and (c) the combination of cash grants and managerial training amplified the effect on the school principals’ managerial capacity and had a positive but statistically insignificant impact on students’ test scores.
Despite the recent growth in the number of large-scale student assessments, there is little evide... more Despite the recent growth in the number of large-scale student assessments, there is little evidence on their potential to inform improvements in school management and classroom instruction in developing countries. This study conducted an experiment in the Province of La Rioja Argentina, that randomly assigned 105 public primary schools to: (a) a “diagnostic feedback” group in which standardized tests were administered in math and reading comprehension at baseline and two follow-ups and the results were made available to the schools through userfriendly reports; (b) a “capacity-building” group for which schools were provided with the reports and also workshops and school visits for supervisors, principals, and teachers; or (c) a control group, in which the tests were administered only at the second follow-up. After two years, diagnostic feedback schools outperformed control schools by .34 and .36 standard deviations (SD) in third grade math and reading, and by .28 and .38 SD in fift...
Este articulo analiza la relacion entre educacion y movilidad social para el caso de Mexico utili... more Este articulo analiza la relacion entre educacion y movilidad social para el caso de Mexico utilizando la ESRU. De acuerdo a nuestras estimaciones existe evidencia de niveles considerables de movilidad educacional positiva entre generaciones e intra generaciones durante las ultimas decadas. A su vez, la movilidad educativa se traduce en movilidad de nivel socioeconomico medido a partir de los ingresos de la poblacion. A menor nivel educativo de los padres, mayor es el impacto positivo del progreso educativo sobre los ingresos de las generaciones subsecuentes. Nuestros principales resultados coinciden con las tendencias que se obtienen de un analisis similar utilizando la Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares del ano 2006, lo cual puede interpretarse como una prueba de su robustez. Asimismo, los resultados sugieren que la inversion en educacion, y en especial, en la educacion publica que otorga acceso a servicios educativos a la poblacion abierta constituye una inversion en la equidad de oportunidades a lo largo del tiempo. Gracias al acceso a la educacion, el nivel de bienestar de las actuales generaciones depende cada vez en menor medida de la posicion social de su hogar de origen. Adicionalmente, identificamos que el mayor rendimiento de la inversion publica en educacion en terminos de movilidad social, se obtiene al invertir en los hogares cuyos jefes presentan los menores niveles de instruccion.
Primary and Secondary Education During Covid-19, 2021
COVID-19 is not only leading to lower student learning levels, but likely resulting in a learning... more COVID-19 is not only leading to lower student learning levels, but likely resulting in a learning inequality catastrophe. In this chapter, we document the high-levels of learning inequality (within and between countries) that existed before the pandemic and disentangle the different mechanisms through which changes in inequality in learning may happen because of a shock like COVID-19, examining the role of school and family inputs. We show that historically, similar shocks in average learning levels disproportionally affect the most vulnerable students, and that emerging evidence from developed countries, as well as simulations, support the expected significant shifts in the learning distribution. Finally, we present a set of compensatory education policies that countries must urgently implement to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on learning inequality and promote equality of opportunities during and after the pandemic.
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su r... more bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Pu bl ic Di sc lo su re A ut ho riz ed Produced by the Research Support Team
This paper uses a sample of 73 developing countries to estimate the change in the cost of allevia... more This paper uses a sample of 73 developing countries to estimate the change in the cost of alleviating urban poverty brought about by the recent increase in food prices. This cost is approximated by the change in the poverty deficit, that is, the variation in financial resources required to eliminate poverty under perfect targeting. The results show that, for most countries, the cost represents less than 0.1 percent of gross domestic product. However, in the most severely affected, it may exceed 3 percent. In all countries, the change in the poverty deficit is mostly due to the negative real income effect of those households that were poor before the price shock, while the cost attributable to new households falling into poverty is negligible. Thus, in countries where transfer mechanisms with effective targeting already exist, the most costeffective strategy would be to scale up such programs rather than designing tools to identify the new poor. This paper—a product of the Developmen...
Small-scale often subsistence farming constitutes the predominant source of livelihood in many po... more Small-scale often subsistence farming constitutes the predominant source of livelihood in many poor developing countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan context. These farmers may be partly or, in extreme cases, entirely detached from domestic and international markets. The poverty effects that trade liberalization can have in this type of economies are dampened by the lack of transmission mechanisms linking trade policy and the incomes of the poor. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the links between trade liberalization and poverty in predominantly agricultural economies. Given the gendered nature of agricultural markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, our analysis pays particular attention to the gender effects of trade liberalization. The framework proposed in this study combines three different, thought related, methodologies: the conventional price-transmission methodology described in McCulloch et al. (2002), the agricultural household model of Singh et al. (1986), and a mode...
This paper presents the results of a large-scale randomized experiment conducted across 1,496 pub... more This paper presents the results of a large-scale randomized experiment conducted across 1,496 public primary schools in Mexico. The experiment identifies the impact on schools’ managerial capacity and student test scores of providing schools with: (a) cash grants, (b) managerial training for school principals, or (c) both. The school principals’ managerial training focused on improving principals’ capacities to collect and use data to monitor students’ basic numeracy and literacy skills and provide feedback to teachers on their instruction and pedagogical practices. After two years of implementing these interventions, the study finds that: (a) the cash grant had no impact on the student’s test scores or the management capacity of school principals; (b) the managerial training improved school principals’ managerial capacity but had no impact on students’ test scores; and (c) the combination of cash grants and managerial training amplified the effect on the school principals’ managerial capacity and had a positive but statistically insignificant impact on students’ test scores.
Despite the recent growth in the number of large-scale student assessments, there is little evide... more Despite the recent growth in the number of large-scale student assessments, there is little evidence on their potential to inform improvements in school management and classroom instruction in developing countries. This study conducted an experiment in the Province of La Rioja Argentina, that randomly assigned 105 public primary schools to: (a) a “diagnostic feedback” group in which standardized tests were administered in math and reading comprehension at baseline and two follow-ups and the results were made available to the schools through userfriendly reports; (b) a “capacity-building” group for which schools were provided with the reports and also workshops and school visits for supervisors, principals, and teachers; or (c) a control group, in which the tests were administered only at the second follow-up. After two years, diagnostic feedback schools outperformed control schools by .34 and .36 standard deviations (SD) in third grade math and reading, and by .28 and .38 SD in fift...
Este articulo analiza la relacion entre educacion y movilidad social para el caso de Mexico utili... more Este articulo analiza la relacion entre educacion y movilidad social para el caso de Mexico utilizando la ESRU. De acuerdo a nuestras estimaciones existe evidencia de niveles considerables de movilidad educacional positiva entre generaciones e intra generaciones durante las ultimas decadas. A su vez, la movilidad educativa se traduce en movilidad de nivel socioeconomico medido a partir de los ingresos de la poblacion. A menor nivel educativo de los padres, mayor es el impacto positivo del progreso educativo sobre los ingresos de las generaciones subsecuentes. Nuestros principales resultados coinciden con las tendencias que se obtienen de un analisis similar utilizando la Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares del ano 2006, lo cual puede interpretarse como una prueba de su robustez. Asimismo, los resultados sugieren que la inversion en educacion, y en especial, en la educacion publica que otorga acceso a servicios educativos a la poblacion abierta constituye una inversion en la equidad de oportunidades a lo largo del tiempo. Gracias al acceso a la educacion, el nivel de bienestar de las actuales generaciones depende cada vez en menor medida de la posicion social de su hogar de origen. Adicionalmente, identificamos que el mayor rendimiento de la inversion publica en educacion en terminos de movilidad social, se obtiene al invertir en los hogares cuyos jefes presentan los menores niveles de instruccion.
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