JHR News & Research Highlights

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017

You Can’t Teach What You Don’t Know: Teachers’ Lack of Knowledge Hampers Student Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Most children in Sub-Saharan Africa are enrolled in school these days, but for reasons not well understood, they learn very little. Previous research has shown that a lack of physical resources, such as textbooks and flip charts, cannot explain these low levels of achievement. New study finds that when teachers lack knowledge, their students fall behind.
Continue reading “You Can’t Teach What You Don’t Know: Teachers’ Lack of Knowledge Hampers Student Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=174

November 6, 2017November 13, 2017

Why Do First-Borns Perform Better? The First Years

A myriad of studies find that later-born children have worse educational and labor market outcomes as adults than their older siblings, a phenomenon known as the “birth order effect.” New research finds these differences begin very early in children’s lives—and parenting behavior can explain it.
Continue reading “Why Do First-Borns Perform Better? The First Years”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=164

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017

Children’s Self-Portraits Show that Child Sponsorship Increases Hope

Child poverty illustrated by children: draw yourself in the rain

The role of psychological attributes such as hope and self-efficacy in escaping poverty has attracted increasing attention among economists, policy-makers, and development practitioners. Researchers recently borrowed a technique from clinical psychology to learn what self-portraits can tell us about the effectiveness of a child sponsorship program in the slums of Jakarta.
Continue reading “Children’s Self-Portraits Show that Child Sponsorship Increases Hope”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=181

October 26, 2017November 1, 2017

Tracking the Effects of a Diaspora on Knowledge Production

Many economists have shown that ethnic diasporas are important for foreign direct investment, technology transfer, and international trade, but little is known about how international diasporas affect the production of scientific knowledge.
Continue reading “Tracking the Effects of a Diaspora on Knowledge Production”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=187

October 19, 2017January 25, 2018

Measuring the Effects of Welfare Time Limits

Study finds welfare time limits induce single moms to reduce benefit use as they dwindle—to “bank” them for future emergencies. Although most states have had welfare time limits since the 1996 Welfare Reform, it remains controversial as to how severely they affect single mothers’ behavior. Continue reading “Measuring the Effects of Welfare Time Limits”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=135

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017

Thank Your Parents for Your Soft Skills

Recent job seekers know that “soft skills”—traits related to personality, values, and personal interaction—can be important in receiving a job offer. These so-called noncognitive abilities are important parts of our personalities, and researchers are working to understand how they, as well as cognitive abilities, are formed in children. Continue reading “Thank Your Parents for Your Soft Skills”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=141

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017

Female Teachers Provide an Academic Boost to Middle School Girls

Gender disparities in academic performance still persist, despite decades of efforts to close them. A new study finds middle school girls perform better on standardized tests when they have female teachers, while boys’ scores do not show any such impact. Continue reading “Female Teachers Provide an Academic Boost to Middle School Girls”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=145

September 29, 2017October 10, 2017

Missing Work Is a Pain

When a popular drug is pulled from the market, what happens to those who suffer from chronic pain? Researchers find that removing Vioxx due to safety concerns left many unable to work.

Medical technology has improved dramatically, yet we know little about the impacts of medical innovation on the productivity and labor supply of workers. Continue reading “Missing Work Is a Pain”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=127

August 9, 2017April 9, 2018

What Works in the Long Run? Apprenticeships or General Education?

Inside Higher Ed story “Importing Apprenticeships” cites a JHR paper that investigates the payoffs and tradeoffs of more job focused education. Continue reading “What Works in the Long Run? Apprenticeships or General Education?”

Share/Follow:

https://uwpress.wisc.edu/jhr-news/?p=102