News and Announcements
Build Back Better Early Childhood Provisions Rest on Research by Heckman et al.
The Build Back Better spending package passed by the House of Representatives early Nov. 19 funds free preschool and other provisions that add up to “the largest investment in child care in the nation’s history.” The economic rationale for that investment is based on a body of research from HCEO Director James J. Heckman and colleagues.CEHD is Hiring Postdoctoral Scholars
The Center for the Economics of Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Chicago is actively seeking Postdoctoral Scholars interested in the economics of creating and measuring skills. Scholars are expected to conduct empirical collaborative work on one (or more) focused projects. Descriptions for past and ongoing projects can be found on the Center’s website. Scholars can propose new independent research projects consistent with the Center’s broad aims.CEHD is Hiring Predoctoral Fellows
The Center for the Economics of Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Chicago is actively hiring Predoctoral Fellows (Research Specialist 2) to conduct and disseminate rigorous interdisciplinary research that identifies and explores the conditions under which people develop the skills necessary to thrive in society and achieve their fullest potential. Descriptions for past and ongoing projects can be found on this website, such as ChinaREACH and the The Origins and Persistence of Inequality in Denmark Project.Jamaican Early Childhood Stimulation Study Shows Benefits Last Through Age 31
A group of infants and toddlers in Jamaica who received developmental stimulation—via home visits and nutritional support—continue to show benefits from this intervention as adults three decades later, according to a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.Marketplace cites research on intergenerational cost-benefit analysis of early childhood education
Highlighting recent research on the long-lasting benefits of the Perry Preschool Project, an American Public Radio Marketplace story made the case Investing in early childhood education is an effective way to create a more equitable society. The story cited research from Jorge Luis García, Frederik H. Bennhoff, Duncan Ermini Leaf, and James Heckman that used real life-cycle data on program participants, their siblings, and their children to produce more accurate estimates of the return on investment of such programs.
The data provide clear guidelines for action. American policy should acknowledge the power of the accident of birth. A child does not choose the family he or she is born into. But society can enrich the opportunities of disadvantaged children to flourish.
– James J. Heckman
Events and Workshops
1:30pm
Zoom
Lifecycle Working Group
The Lifecycle Working Group, organized by James Heckman, Steven Durlauf, and Jin Zhou, invites faculty, researchers and graduate students to present work that applies the comprehensive lifecycle approach to the study of human flourishing. The workshop takes place on Tuesdays at 1:30PM on Zoom. This interdisciplinary workshop is open to the campus research community. Learn about upcoming sessions.
12:30pm
Zoom
The Demography Workshop
The Demography Workshop, set up by the Population Research Center at NORC, helps make new and unique research accessible to the University of Chicago community and partners. The fall 2021 workshop is organized by the Center for the Economics of Human Development and will focus on topics related to early-life development such as intervention programs, parent-child interactions and other determinants of skills necessary for human flourishing. Learn about upcoming sessions or watch recordings of previous sessions.
November 18-19
Madison, Wisconsin
Frontiers in Economic Analysis with Genetic Data
The conference Frontiers in Genetics and Economics will take place on Thursday, November 18th and Friday, November 19th, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The conference will bring together economists interested in the potential for genetic data to contribute to broad, long-standing questions in economics. Learn more.
Current and Upcoming Visitors
Orhan Torul
Visiting dates: September 15, 2021 - June 30, 2022
Orhan Torul is an associate professor at the Department of Economics and a research associate at the Center for Economics and Econometrics at Boğaziçi University. He worked as a visiting researcher at the Istanbul School of Central Banking in 2015 and the Department of Economics at the University of Oslo in 2017. His research interests lie in the areas of macroeconomics, economic inequality, and political economy. His research concentrates particularly on the evolution of economic inequalities, intergenerational mobility, and their interaction with economic policies.