Webinar streamed via Zoom
The Vilfredo Pareto Research Seminar is the Economics department's weekly seminar, featuring external speakers in all areas of economics.
As part of the Vilfredo Pareto Research Seminar series, the International Economics Department at the Graduate Institute is pleased to invite you to a public talk given by Saurabh Singhal, Assistant Professor in Economics at Lancaster University.
He will present his paper The Long-Term Effect of Learning Readiness on Cognitive Abilities, coauthored with Arya Gaduh.
Abstract: We estimate the long-term impact of the unanticipated shift in the beginning of an academic year from January to July in 1979 in Indonesia. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that this policy led to between 0.21–0.28 standard deviation (SD) increase in cognitive abilities 30 years later. We interpret this finding as the impact of improving early-life learning preparedness on cognitive abilities in late adulthood. An examination of the underlying mechanisms suggests that is occurred via an increase in the absolute age-for-grade in early grades. We also a find a stronger effect for individuals who had good health during childhood and did not experience early life nutrition deficits.
Prior to his post in Lancaster University, Saurabh Singhal worked as a Research Fellow at the United Nations University - World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). He is also a Reseach Fellow at IZA - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), a Research Affiliate at Households in Conflict Network (HiCN), and member of Health Economics at Lancaster (HEAL). His research interests are development economics, political economy, and experimental economics.