Research

Publications

Piloting, testing and scaling parental training: a multi-partnership approach in Côte d’Ivoire (with Romuald Anago, Tiphaine Forzy, Sosthene Guei, Charlotte Pelras, Samuel Ramde, Camille Tevenart, Karen Macours), 2023. Frontiers in Public Health 11 (August)


Working Papers

When fathers are gone: the consequences of paternal absence during the early years (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: I examine the causal effect of paternal absence during the first years of life on early childhood development. I take advantage of Young Lives study, a unique panel dataset including skill outcomes of pairs of siblings with different levels of paternal involvement. With a difference in difference approach, I first compare the younger sibling exposed to the father's absence in the early years versus the older one exposed at age 5. Then, I control for the gap in skills between siblings living in households with no absence. Results show that paternal absence in the early years leads to a relative worsening in nutritional outcomes when 5 years old. The gap persists when 8 and 12 years old, with no evidence of cumulative effects. On the contrary, younger siblings relatively outperform their older counterparts. Finally, there is no strong evidence on differences in development when absence occurs at age 5 for the younger and 8 for the older sibling. These findings are consistent with critical windows for ability development during the first 1,000 days of life.

Vera Rueda, J. (2021). When fathers are gone: the consequences of paternal absence during the early years. HAL. 

Parental knowledge and behavior and children’s outcomes during the early years: cost-effectiveness of an intensive short-term parental training in Cote d’Ivoire (with Karen Macours- based on a joint project with Jere Behrman (University of Pennsylvania), Pamela Jervis (University of Chile), Karen Macours (PSE) and Charlotte Pelras (PSE))


The perception of a newborn’s health and its influence on parental investment and health outcomes: Evidence from ELFE

I study whether the parental perception of a newborn’s health affects their investments in the child and their health outcomes later in childhood. I use the medical cutoff of low birth weight (<2.5kg.), a historically standard cutoff used to identify infants at high mortality risk. While the economic literature has already studied the implications similar cutoffs (<1.5kg.) have on children’s development, most of it has focused on medical treatments as the primary mechanism. In this paper, I investigate whether parents also respond to this label by adapting their investment decisions. To answer this question, I use the French Longitudinal Study of Children (ELFE). Using a regression discontinuity design approach, I find an improvement in nutritional outcomes for those that, on top of being low birth weight, are premature. I do not find strong evidence of direct medical intervention at birth based only on the cutoff. Conversely, I encounter that parents respond to children being labeled low birth weight. This is particularly so when looking at parental investments in pre-term children. While doctors might have an indirect role- through advice and recommendations to parents- ignoring parental responses at birth could lead to an under/overestimation of the returns of early-life interventions by the medical community.


Projects 

Rice drying in Tiassalé, Cote d'Ivoire

Cost-effectiveness study of early childhood parenting programs in Cote d'Ivoire

with Jere Behrman (University of Pennsylvania), Pamela Jervis (University of Chile), Karen Macours (PSE) and Charlotte Pelras (PSE)

This project will test impacts and compare costs of different modalities to inform parents and communities in poor rural Côte d’Ivoire of parental practices around stimulation, discipline, nutrition and preventive health to enhance early-life (age 0-5) education and learning, through two clustered randomized control trials. In a first RCT, parental training will target the main caregiver through formal in-group training sessions. In the second RCT, the intervention targets households with in-group training and home visits.

Increasing schooling outcomes through reducing menstrual stigma in Madagascar: the role of young female leaders

with Karen Macours (PSE) and Duncan Webb (PSE)

This innovation aims to engage adolescent girls, “Young Girl Leaders”, as ambassadors who are encouraged to speak out in their schools against the harmful stigma that surrounds the topic of menstruation in a context where material constraints to hygienic practices are also lifted. An RCT in rural Madagascar will be used to evaluate whether the intervention, by reducing stigma and encouraging discussion of stigmatised topics, is able to increase girls’ ability and willingness to attend school, increase their access to health-related information, and improve their psychosocial wellbeing.

School in Ambositra, Madagascar