Autores: Nicolas Pazos, Marta Favara, Alan Sánchez, Douglas Scott, Jere Behrman

Resumen

Whilst the long-term effects of being exposed to rainfall shocks early in life on school achievement tests are well-established, there is little population-based evidence from LMICs on the mechanisms through which these shocks operate. Executive functions (EFs) are key for children´s learning abilities. This paper analyses the effects of early exposure to rainfall shocks on four foundational cognitive skills (FCSs), including EFs that have been found to be key predictors of educational success. These skills were measured via a series of tablet-based tasks administered in Peru as part of the Young Lives longitudinal study (YLS). We combine the YLS data with gridded data on monthly precipitation to generate monthly, community-level rainfall estimates. The key identification strategy relies on temporary climatic shocks being uncorrelated with other latent determinants of FCSs development. Our results show significant negative effects of early life exposure to rainfall shocks on EFs measured in later childhood. We also find evidence of rainfall shocks decreasing households’ abilities to invest in human capital, which may affect both FCSs and domain-specific test scores. A social policy providing poor households with additional financial resources partially offsets the effects of the rainfall shocks.

Expositor

Alan Sánchez

Alan es Senior Quantitative Researcher en Oxford Department of International Development (Universidad de Oxford), Investigador Principal de GRADE e Investigador Principal del estudio longitudinal Niños del Milenio en Peru. Anteriormente, fue especialista en investigación económica de la Gerencia de Estudios Económicos del Banco Central de Reserva del Perú. Es Doctor en Economía por la Universidad de Oxford, institución que también le otorgó el Máster en Economía para el desarrollo (MSc in Economics for development).