Presenter Biography

I am an Associate Professor of Economics at PSU specializing in health issues in developing countries and econometrics. My best known work is about the impact of geography and malaria on economic development.

Institution

PSU

Program/Major

Economics

Degree

PhD

Presentation Type

Presentation

Event Website

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/econ_fac/162/

Start Date

4-4-2024 4:38 PM

Creative Commons License or Rights Statement

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41998

Subjects

Early childhood cognitive development, economic growth, health, worker productivity

Abstract

A burgeoning literature finds that early childhood risk factors have large causal effects on individuals' cognitive development, education and earnings, but has not assessed the impact on the economy as a whole.

Cognitive ability is the foundation of human capital and the capacity to learn. The risk factors for poor cognitive development are very high in many countries. Each risk factor also causes child mortality, making child survival a viable proxy for good cognitive development conditions. The cognitive development of current workers happened decades earlier when they were children, providing a predetermined correlate. Controlling for country characteristics, income levels and worker health among other variables, child survival from a generation ago is one of the strongest correlates of economic growth in both low and high income countries. Unusually clear microeconomic causal evidence together with a strong correlation with economic growth suggests that early cognitive development may play a significant role in economic development.

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Apr 4th, 4:38 PM

Cognitive and Economic Development

A burgeoning literature finds that early childhood risk factors have large causal effects on individuals' cognitive development, education and earnings, but has not assessed the impact on the economy as a whole.

Cognitive ability is the foundation of human capital and the capacity to learn. The risk factors for poor cognitive development are very high in many countries. Each risk factor also causes child mortality, making child survival a viable proxy for good cognitive development conditions. The cognitive development of current workers happened decades earlier when they were children, providing a predetermined correlate. Controlling for country characteristics, income levels and worker health among other variables, child survival from a generation ago is one of the strongest correlates of economic growth in both low and high income countries. Unusually clear microeconomic causal evidence together with a strong correlation with economic growth suggests that early cognitive development may play a significant role in economic development.

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/publichealthpdx/2024/Presentations/7