Information about education provided online, with recent results of scientific research and useful information for teachers, parents, students and the general public. Contributing to an informed debate.
Rita Ginja earned her PhD in Economics from University College London and is an associate professor in the Economics Department at the University of Bergen.
Her main research interests include labor, development, and health economics. Rita has studied the short-, medium-, and long-term impact of early childhood investments. In particular, she has examined the effects of preschool programs targeting children from disadvantaged families — such as Head Start in the US and Sure Start in the UK — on academic performance, health, and childhood behaviors into early adulthood. She has also analyzed the impact of persistent and temporary shocks on parental investments in children, both in terms of time and financial resources.
More recently, Rita has investigated the effects of parental leave benefits on children's outcomes and household labor supply, as well as the indirect impact such policies can have on workplace hiring and promotion decisions. She has also studied various policies in Latin American countries, including home visits to low-income families in Chile and the effects of Mexico's introduction of universal health insurance on health and labor market outcomes.
Pre-school education for all: the impacts and long term effects
Some days ago, the National Bureau of Economic Research published an article on the long term impacts of public and universal pre-school education programs on the lives of children. The study took place in Boston, in the United States of America, but holds particular relevance to the Portuguese context as it analyses a model that is very similar to the situation in Portugal. Nevertheless, just what types of impact are we referring to?
The impact of school closures on future generations
The closure of schools and the consequent interruption of in-person classes in 2020 and 2021 shall cause negative effects on the lives of students. Recent studies suggest this impact may even have repercussions for future generations – thus, the children of today’s students. But what are the actual effects in practice? And just what might be awaiting future generations?