India is home to some 120 million children under the age of 5, 36 percent of whom are chronically malnourished. The associated high prevalence of stunting has generated a stream of research explaining why chronic malnourishment in India is higher than in poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa....

We study the relationship between maternal education and children's well-being in four Pacific countries. We exploit the richness of the Multiple Indicator Clustering Survey (MICS) dataset to investigate this relationship and its underlying mechanisms. We find that the number of years of...

There is a consensus in the literature on the relevance of the first 1,000 days since conception in the development of a child's cognitive and non-cognitive skills. However, little is known of the determinants of these skills at that age, as previous literature has focused on the effect of in...

We explore the effects of a randomly assigned conditional cash transfer in Honduras (Bono 10000) on early childhood development. We find significant impacts on cognitive development in children 0-60 months, with an average effect size of 0.13 SD. We show differential impacts by type of transfer:...

We explore the effects of a randomly assigned conditional cash transfer in Honduras (Bono 10000) on early childhood development. We find significant impacts on cognitive development in children 0-60 months, with an average effect size of 0.13 SD. We show differential impacts by type of transfer:...

This paper examines gaps in child development by socioeconomic status (SES) using a large nationally representative sample of children 0–59 months old in Bolivia and a rich set of child health and development outcomes including measures from dried blood samples. Child development is assessed...

We analyze the impact of unexpected health shocks - defined as the sudden diagnosis of cancer, stroke, or heart attack - on the probability of couple dissolution using longitudinal representative data on older individuals (50+). We leverage the longitudinal nature of the HRS and utilize a...

We analyze the impact of unexpected health shocks—defined as the sudden diagnosis of cancer, stroke, or heart attack—on the probability of couple dissolution using longitudinal representative data on older individuals (50+). We leverage the longitudinal nature of the HRS and utilize a...

We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to explore how high school peers’ grit, a personality trait characterized by perseverance and passion, influences long-term outcomes approximately 15 years after high school. Exploiting random variation within schools across...

We analyze data from the Minnesota Twin Registry (MTR), combined with the Socioeconomic Survey of Twins (SST), and new mortality data, and contribute to two bodies of literature. First, we demonstrate a beneficial casual effect of education on health and longevity in contrast to other twin-based...