WEERACHART T. KILENTHONG
RECENT RESEARCH
A Randomized Evaluation of an On-Site Training for Kindergarten Teachers in Rural Thailand
joint with Sartja Duangchaiyoosook, Wasinee Jantorn, and Varunee Khruapradit
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of intensive and hands-on on-site training for preschool teachers using a randomized controlled trial in rural Thailand. The main finding is that the intervention led to an increase in the effectiveness of the classroom in terms of children’s cognitive skills by almost 50 percent relative to the control group. The on-site training intervention is cost-effective, costing 32.7 USD per student. Further investigation reveals that its specificity regarding the teaching approach or curriculum and detailed weekly teaching plans could be critical to its success.
Keyword: teacher training; teacher professional development; early childhood; school readiness; on-site training; randomized controlled trial
Working paper version as of January 31, 2024
Heterogeneous Returns to Education across Hukou-Migration Subgroups in China
joint with Juan Huang
Abstract
This paper uses the China Household Income Project 2018 dataset to estimate returns to education for various Hukou-migration subgroups. We overcome the endogeneity problem of years of schooling using an instrument based on the Great Expansion of Higher Education policy. Our results indicate that the highest returns are for urban native workers (27.4%), followed by urban Hukou-converted (25.0%) and rural native workers (14.7%). In contrast, the returns to education for rural-urban migrant workers are insignificant. Further analyses suggest that Hukou conversion significantly increased the returns to education for rural-origin people by enabling them access to better job opportunities.
Keyword: returns to education; hukou system; migration; china
Working paper version as of November 13, 2023
Intergenerational Transmission of Time Preferences: An Evidence from Rural Thailand
joint with Suparee Boonmanunt, Sartja Duangchaiyoosook, Wasinee Jantorn and Varunee Khruapradit
Abstract
This study investigates factors associated with child time preferences in rural Thailand using a large and unique data set of more than 700 children with rich background information on child, caregiver, parent, and household characteristics. We find that the caregiver discount factor positively correlates with a child's ability to delay gratification, regardless of whether the caregiver is a parent. Children's age and literacy ability are significantly associated with child time preferences, while other variables, e.g., screen time, are not. Interestingly, the older the caregivers, the stronger the relationship between caregiver and child time preferences.
Keyword: time preferences; field experiment; intergenerational transmission; skill formation, genetics
Working paper version as of January, 2024
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Learning Losses from School Closure due to the COVID-19 Pandemic for Thai Kindergartners
joint with Khanista Boonsanong, Sartja Duangchaiyoosook, Wasinee Jantorn and Varunee Khruapradit
Economics of Education Review
Forthcoming.
Working paper version as of March 10, 2022
joint with Warabud Suppalarkbunlue, Sartja Duangchaiyoosook, and Varunee Khruapradit
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Forthcoming.
Working paper version as of August 30, 2022
joint with Ahmad Shabir Faizi
Southeast Asian Journal of Economics
Vol.10, No.3 pp. 135-162.
Working paper version as of May 9, 2022
WEERACHART T. KILENTHONG
Tee Kilenthong is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) and Director of the Research Institute for Policy Evaluation and Design (RIPED). His research interests include human capital, human development, development economics, macroeconomics, contract theory, and financial economics.
His current research focuses on early childhood and human development. One long-term research project is the Thailand Childhood Longitudinal Survey (TCLS), collecting detailed information regarding human development since early childhood. Another is the RIECE Thailand project, which promotes the HighScope approach to enhance the quality of early childhood education nationwide.
He received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago in 2006, where he studied under Professor Robert M. Townsend. He received a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honor with Gold Medal) from Chulalongkorn University and a Master of Physics from the same university. He was an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California at Santa Barbara between 2006 and 2010.