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Children’s Cognitive Ability, Schooling and Work

I investigate the relationship between children's cognitive ability and parental investment using a rich dataset on a cohort of children from Ethiopia. The data come from Young Lives, a long-term international study of childhood poverty in four countries. Ability is measured by scores on a cognitive test. A child's enrollment in school, participation in work and work hours are employed as measures of parental investment in human capital.

Children’s Cognitive Ability, Schooling and Work

I investigate the relationship between children's cognitive ability and parental investment using a rich dataset on a cohort of children from Ethiopia. The data come from Young Lives, a long-term international study of childhood poverty in four countries. Ability is measured by scores on a cognitive test. A child's enrollment in school, participation in work and work hours are employed as measures of parental investment in human capital.

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Do Schools Reinforce or Reduce Learning Gaps between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students?

This paper examines whether disadvantaged children learn less than advantaged children when both types of children are enrolled in the same school for two developing countries, Vietnam and Peru. This is done by estimating education production functions that contain two school fixed effects for each school, one for advantaged children and one for disadvantaged children. The paper examines six different definitions of disadvantage, based on household wealth, having low cognitive skills at age 5, gender, ethnic minority group (Peru only), maternal education, and nutritional status.

Do Schools Reinforce or Reduce Learning Gaps between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students?

This paper examines whether disadvantaged children learn less than advantaged children when both types of children are enrolled in the same school for two developing countries, Vietnam and Peru. This is done by estimating education production functions that contain two school fixed effects for each school, one for advantaged children and one for disadvantaged children. The paper examines six different definitions of disadvantage, based on household wealth, having low cognitive skills at age 5, gender, ethnic minority group (Peru only), maternal education, and nutritional status.

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Impact of Climatic Shocks on Child Human Capital

This study analyses the impact of two different climatic shocks drought and excessive rainfall/flood, as perceived by households on child human capital across four countries – Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam; countries with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Human capital, in this context, subsumes both child learning and health outcomes. The data source is the Young Lives Study and cross-sectional household data is utilized for the year 2009. The study examines the data on the older cohort of children, 14–16 years of age, and covers both urban and rural areas.

Impact of Climatic Shocks on Child Human Capital

This study analyses the impact of two different climatic shocks drought and excessive rainfall/flood, as perceived by households on child human capital across four countries – Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam; countries with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Human capital, in this context, subsumes both child learning and health outcomes. The data source is the Young Lives Study and cross-sectional household data is utilized for the year 2009. The study examines the data on the older cohort of children, 14–16 years of age, and covers both urban and rural areas.

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Youth Vulnerabilities in Life-course Transitions

This paper examines youth vulnerabilities, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It touches on the challenges confronted by young people exposed to extreme, life-threatening circumstances, such as political violence and armed conflict, but focuses on vulnerabilities that emerge in key transitions experienced by most young people, such as those linked to school, work, partnership and parenthood. Such vulnerabilities not only hold young people back, but also are a barrier to capitalising on the demographic dividend.

Youth Vulnerabilities in Life-course Transitions

This paper examines youth vulnerabilities, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It touches on the challenges confronted by young people exposed to extreme, life-threatening circumstances, such as political violence and armed conflict, but focuses on vulnerabilities that emerge in key transitions experienced by most young people, such as those linked to school, work, partnership and parenthood. Such vulnerabilities not only hold young people back, but also are a barrier to capitalising on the demographic dividend.

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What do we know about how children use their time?
What do we know about how children use their time?

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Emergence and Evolution of Learning Gaps across Countries

There are substantial learning gaps across countries on standardised international assessments. In this paper, I use unique child-level panel data from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam with identical tests administered across these countries to children at 5, 8, 12 and 15 years of age to ask at what ages do gaps between different populations emerge, how they increase or decline over time, and what the proximate determinants of this divergence are.

Emergence and Evolution of Learning Gaps across Countries

There are substantial learning gaps across countries on standardised international assessments. In this paper, I use unique child-level panel data from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam with identical tests administered across these countries to children at 5, 8, 12 and 15 years of age to ask at what ages do gaps between different populations emerge, how they increase or decline over time, and what the proximate determinants of this divergence are.

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Children’s Agency in Responding to Shocks and Adverse Events in Ethiopia

This paper focuses on children's experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children's well-being.

Children’s Agency in Responding to Shocks and Adverse Events in Ethiopia

This paper focuses on children's experiences of shocks and adverse events and their agency in dealing with the impacts of such events in Ethiopia, using survey and qualitative data collected from individuals and groups of children and young people. It draws on Young Lives data, including data from two qualitative sub-studies carried out in 2009 and 2010. It finds out that children have their own experiences of shocks, different from the experiences of adults or of the household as a whole, and that some of the shocks have long-term consequences for children's well-being.

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Children's well-being and work in Sub-Saharan-Africa

The majority of children in sub-Saharan Africa are engaged in some form of work, whether paid or unpaid. In Ethiopia, evidence from Young Lives shows that 90 per cent of 8 year olds undertook some form of work. Understanding how work affects children’s development and well-being, including their schooling, is critical for designing more effective child protection policies. We examine how work impacts on children’s opportunities to learn, physical health and subjective well-being.

Key Findings

Children's well-being and work in Sub-Saharan-Africa

The majority of children in sub-Saharan Africa are engaged in some form of work, whether paid or unpaid. In Ethiopia, evidence from Young Lives shows that 90 per cent of 8 year olds undertook some form of work. Understanding how work affects children’s development and well-being, including their schooling, is critical for designing more effective child protection policies. We examine how work impacts on children’s opportunities to learn, physical health and subjective well-being.

Key Findings

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Aspirations, Poverty and Education

While aspirations are receiving increasing attention in the study of poverty, empirical evidence remains limited. Using Young Lives data for Andhra Pradesh, this paper investigates whether mothers' aspirations matter for their children's education outcomes. We observe a strong relationship: aspiring to one additional year of schooling lifts the grade achieved at age 15 by 1.8 years on average. The relationship is, however, non-linear, with low aspirations having low effects, medium aspirations having large effects, and high aspirations having slightly lower but still large effects.

Aspirations, Poverty and Education

While aspirations are receiving increasing attention in the study of poverty, empirical evidence remains limited. Using Young Lives data for Andhra Pradesh, this paper investigates whether mothers' aspirations matter for their children's education outcomes. We observe a strong relationship: aspiring to one additional year of schooling lifts the grade achieved at age 15 by 1.8 years on average. The relationship is, however, non-linear, with low aspirations having low effects, medium aspirations having large effects, and high aspirations having slightly lower but still large effects.

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Classroom Process, Teacher Ability and Student Performance

There is ample evidence in the existing literature to show increased enrolment in school but mere achieving universalization of education in terms of enrolment may not be sufficient; rather there is a need for the completion of primary education with quality. Understanding the classroom processes is vital for improving the quality of education. It is thus crucial to critically examine the teaching-learning processes and the activities of teachers and children in the classrooms and in the schools for a comprehensive understanding of the quality of education.

Classroom Process, Teacher Ability and Student Performance

There is ample evidence in the existing literature to show increased enrolment in school but mere achieving universalization of education in terms of enrolment may not be sufficient; rather there is a need for the completion of primary education with quality. Understanding the classroom processes is vital for improving the quality of education. It is thus crucial to critically examine the teaching-learning processes and the activities of teachers and children in the classrooms and in the schools for a comprehensive understanding of the quality of education.

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