Abstract: We experimentally evaluate whether an interest-based negotiation (IBN) training for community leaders in Liberia improves their ability to strike beneficial deals related to their land and forests. We use environmental assessments, lab-in-the-field, and surveys and find that trainees are 27% more likely to reach a beneficial agreement, and when they conclude deals, their payoffs are 37% larger. Our exploration of mechanisms indicates that the training increases trainees' capacity to identify valuable deals, but does not improve their appraisal of their outside option. We find a reduction (0.27 standard deviations) in the exploitation of communal forestland in treated communities.

Abstract: We investigate the intergenerational evolution of  socio-emotional skills using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). We examine whether parents' cognitive and socio-emotional skills during childhood are transmitted  to their children. We  focus on cognition and two types of socio-emotional skills, internalising and externalising skills. Our mobility estimates are smaller than  estimates of persistence in occupation and income found for the United Kingdom. The BCS70 contains data on socio-emotional skills for three generations, allowing us to also estimate  multi-generational persistence. Grandmother's internalising skill correlates with the grandchildren's,  even after controlling for parental skills.

Abstract: Over 150 countries have laws allowing expatriate citizens to vote in their country of origin. Yet, little is known about their voting behavior and how this is affected by their host countries. Using unique micro-data on Chilean expatriates living in Europe and exploiting increases in the cost of voting caused by rainfall during the 2014 European Parliament election day in districts where Chileans reside, we show that 1 percentage point increase in the host-country local turnout decreases expatriates’ electoral participation in their home-country elections by nearly 1 percentage point. The result is driven by expatriates who were better integrated in the host-country societies. Evidence from surveys shows that higher host turnout promotes expatriates’ participation in host-country organizations and less in home-country organizations. Overall, our results suggest that in communities with high-political participation, migrants engage more with the local politics at the expense of their home-country politics.

Abstract: This paper structurally estimates the technology of skill formation in children who grow up with siblings, introducing a novel variable, the "sibling bond", which captures how well siblings get along. This measure is constructed using the Millennium Cohort Study data in the United Kingdom on the frequency and quality of interactions between siblings, such as enjoying playtime together and teasing each other. Descriptive evidence shows that a stronger sibling bond is associated with improved child outcomes during adolescence. Structural estimates further reveal that sibling bonds play a significant role in shaping both younger and older siblings’ skills, even after accounting for parent-child interactions.

Abstract: This paper examines how learning gaps between children of rich and poor parents have evolved over the past two decades in European countries, using data from PISA and PIAAC. We find that Nordic countries –traditionally known for low income inequality – have recently experienced a widening of these learning gaps, which are now as large as those observed elsewhere in Europe. We also show that differences in parental investments between rich and poor families in the Nordic countries are similar to those in other European countries, underscoring the persistent influence of families.

Abstract: In this paper we document gaps in math and reading achievement between children whose mothers have completed at least upper secondary education and those who have not, using test scores from third and sixth graders across multiple countries in LAC, in 2006 and 2013. There are substantial differences across countries in these gaps, and there are also differences in how they change over time. Interestingly, differences in these gaps are not correlated with differences in income inequality across countries. They are however strongly correlated with the levels of socio-economic segregation across schools in different countries.

Abstract: When deciding how to allocate their time between different types of investment in their children, parents weigh up the perceived benefits and costs of different activities. During the COVID-19 outbreak parents had to consider a new cost dimension when making this decision: the perceived risks associated with contracting the virus. What role did beliefs about risks and returns play for the allocation of time investment in children during the pandemic? We answer this question by collecting rich data on a sample of first-time parents in England during the first lockdown, including elicitation of perceived risks and returns to different activities via hypothetical scenarios. We find that parents perceive their own time investment to be more productive and less risky than the time spent by their children in formal childcare or with peers. Using detailed time use data on children’s daily activities, we show that heterogeneity in beliefs contributes to explain heterogeneity in investment choices across parents. We also document that less educated parents perceive both lower developmental returns and lower health risks from investments, while we find limited evidence of heterogeneity in preferences by socioeconomic status. This indicates that beliefs – rather than preferences – heterogeneity could contribute to inequalities in early years development, and suggests the need for timely and targeted provision of information on the actual returns and risks to different investments.