Long-term impact of investments in early schooling

This paper identifies the cumulative impact of early schooling investments on later schooling outcomes in the context of a developing country, using enrollment status and relative grade attainment (RGA) as short- and long-run measures of schooling. Using a child-level longitudinal dataset from rural Ethiopia, we estimate a dynamic conditional schooling demand function where the coefficient estimate on the lagged dependent variable captures the impact of all previous periods’ schooling inputs and resources. We find that this lagged dependent variable indicates a strong positive association between current and lagged schooling. Past history matters more for girls than boys and for children from higher-income households compared with the poor.panel data, Schooling, value-added,

Cubic Polyhedra

A cubic polyhedron is a polyhedral surface whose edges are exactly all the edges of the cubic lattice. Every such polyhedron is a discrete minimal surface, and it appears that many (but not all) of them can be relaxed to smooth minimal surfaces (under an appropriate smoothing flow, keeping their symmetries). Here we give a complete classification of the cubic polyhedra. Among these are five new infinite uniform polyhedra and an uncountable collection of new infinite semi-regular polyhedra. We also consider the somewhat larger class of all discrete minimal surfaces in the cubic lattice.Comment: 18 pages, many figure

Estimation of Poverty Transition Matrices with Noisy Data

This paper investigates potential measurement error biases in estimated poverty transition matrices. We compare transition matrices based on survey expenditure data to transition matrices based on measurement-error-free simulated expenditure. The simulation model uses estimates that correct for measurement error in expenditure. This dynamic model needs error-free initial conditions that can not be derived from these estimates. We provide bounds on the initial-conditions parameters, when these initial conditions are obtained by projection, and we also obtain initial conditions on the assumption that there is no time-constant measurement error. We ?nd that for both estimates of the initial conditions measurement error in expenditure data magni?es economic mobility in and out of poverty. Roughly 44% of households initially in poverty at time t??1 are found to be out of poverty at time t using expenditure data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). However, when we remove measurement error through a model-based simulation, only between 32 and 40% of households initially in poverty are found to be out of poverty.Measurement error, Economic mobility, Transition matrix JEL Code: C81, I32, O15

Flying In Our Sleep

Flying In Our Sleep is a one-hour radio / podcast production of a story in which “Teens wake to discover they’re drafted into an army of killer robot drones and must outwit their deadly AI overlords in a desperate bid to escape.” This partly ironic summary sets the tone for an adventure story for Young Adult audiences with thoughtful elements around the meaning of consciousness, personality, and friendship. The project also includes a paper, “The Art of the Fiction Podcast,” that explains how the show was produced, and argues that digital media has a place in literary writing programs to expand the realm of creative expression, equip students with valuable competencies, and provide avenues of outreach to diverse communities

Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China: Evidence from CHARLS

Recent increases in Chinese elderly living alone or only with a spouse has raised concerns about elderly support, especially when public support is inadequate. However, using rich information from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find that the increasing trend in living alone is accompanied with a rise in living close to each other. This type of living arrangement solves the conflicts between privacy/independence and family support. This is confirmed in further investigation: children living close by visit their parents more frequently. We also find that children who live far away provide a larger amount of net transfers to their parents, a result consistent with responsibility sharing among siblings. Having more children is associated with living with a child or having a child nearby, while investing more in a child's schooling is associated with greater net transfers to parents.living arrangement, coresidence, proximity of children, CHARLS