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Pamela Jervis Publications

Publish Date
Econometrica
Abstract

Most empirical work in economics has considered only a narrow set of measures as meaningful and useful to characterize individual behavior, a restriction justified by the difficulties in collecting a wider set. However, this approach often forces the use of strong assumptions to estimate the parameters that inform individual behavior and identify causal links. In this paper, we argue that a more flexible and broader approach to measurement could be extremely useful and allow the estimation of richer and more realistic models that rest on weaker identifying assumptions. We argue that the design of measurement tools should interact with, and depend on, the models economists use. Measurement is not a substitute for rigorous theory, it is an important complement to it, and should be developed in parallel to it. We illustrate these arguments with a model of parental behavior estimated on pilot data that combines conventional measures with novel ones.

Pediatrics
Abstract

Millions of children are at risk for developmental deficits in low and-middle-income countries (LMICs).Reviews find that psychosocial interventions for children aged <3 years improve short-run child cognition and language (0.28–0.47 SD). Similarly, a meta-regression analysis of 54 preschool interventions for children aged ≥3 years found significant improvements in children’s cognitive skills (0.15 SD), executive functioning, social–emotional learning, and behavior (0.12 SD). Only 18 of these interventions were from LMICs, with 2 from India, which has the world’s largest population of children attending preschool (36 million children enrolled in Integrated Childhood Development Services [ICDS]). Interventions have had benefits in math and language. However, a survey of 298 Indian preschools found generally poor quality. Although short-run impacts of some interventions fade, some rigorous studies with long-term follow-ups found later benefits in educational attainment, reduced crime, and increased income.

Pediatrics
Abstract

Poor early childhood development in low- and middle-income countries is a major public health problem. Efficacy trials have shown the potential of early childhood development interventions but scaling up is costly and challenging. Guidance on effective interventions’ delivery is needed. In an open-label cluster-randomized control trial, we compared the effectiveness of weekly home visits and weekly mother-child group sessions. Both included nutritional education, whose effectiveness was tested separately.

Discussion Paper
Abstract

Social connections are fundamental to human wellbeing. This paper examines the social networks of young married women in rural Odisha, India.. This is a group, for whom highly-gendered norms around marriage, mobility, and work are likely to shape opportunities to form and maintain meaningful ties with other women. We track the social networks of 2,170 mothers over four years, and find a high degree of isolation. Wealthier women and women more-advantaged castes have smaller social networks than their less-advantaged peers. These gradients are primarily driven by the fact that more-advantaged women are less likely to know other women within their same socioeconomic group than are less-advantaged women are. There exists strong homophily by socioeconomic status that is symmetric across socioeconomic groups. Mediation analysis shows that SES differences in social isolation are strongly associated to caste, ownership of toilets and distance. Further research should investigate the formation and role of female networks.