Interplay of Human Development and Environmental Outcomes: Unveiling the Connection

Interplay of Human Development and Environmental Outcomes: Unveiling the Connection | (News and Research 359)

A review of human development and environmental outcomes | Patrinos, Ambasz, Gupta | As we witness the increasing evidence of climate change and its effects on the environment, there is a growing interest in understanding how human development is connected to these environmental changes.  While many researchers have explored how the environment influences human capital, literature on the impact of human capital on the environment remains scarce.

Remarks by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the 2023 Annual Meetings Plenary |… “By the numbers, one year without education reduces a person’s future income by 10 percent annually.” … “In India, technology is used to track student attendance and performance in real time. Education experts spot problems, take quick action, and get kids back on track.” … “In the last five years alone, … we’ve helped nearly 500 million kids get an education…”

Africa Spends 7.6% Of Its GDP On Debt Servicing, It Discourages Investors – World Bank | “The debt servicing ratio is more than the continent’s education and healthcare budget combined. Africa’s education and healthcare budget is 5.6 percent of the continent’s GDP.” “They are paying 7.6 percent of their GDP to pay back the interest cost on debt. You could say is 7.6 percent so bad – for comparison, what they spend on education and healthcare together, is 5.6 percent.”

The effects of private schooling on pupil achievement: a global systemic analysis | Shakeel, Dills | Globally, the private school share of enrollment increased from about 14 percent in 2000 to about 18 percent in 2019. The systemic effect of private enrollment share on learning outcomes is estimated. Estimates of the systemic effect of private school enrollment capture any competitive effects as well as any differences between public and private schools in raising student outcomes. New data from the World Bank on harmonized learning outcomes for mathematics, reading, and science are used to produce an unbalanced sample of 120 countries from 2000 to 2017. All else equal, on average, a one percentage point increase in private enrollment is associated with null to at most weakly positive effects on country-level learning outcomes. Countries that increased private school enrollment experience as much or slightly more learning than countries with no change in private school enrollment.

Long-term impacts of primary school scholarships: Evidence from Cambodia | Barrera-Osorio, de Barros, Filmer | This randomized trial investigates the long-term effects of a primary school scholarship program in rural Cambodia. Estimated impacts 9 years after program inception on educational attainment, cognitive skills, socio-emotional outcomes, labor market outcomes, and well-being, point to systematic improvements in educational attainment but no average impacts on long-term cognitive or socio-emotional outcomes. A merit-based (as opposed to poverty-based) targeting strategy did, however, increase cognitive outcomes, especially for poorer students. The results suggest positive effects on cognition for males. No improvements in labor market outcomes, yet positive effects on well-being, driven by recipients of merit-based scholarships.

Think Again: Is grade retention bad for kids? | Özek, Mariano | For many years, the conventional wisdom in the field was that grade retention was a bad idea. A 1997 opinion piece in Education Week titled “Grade retention doesn’t work” reflected the prevailing sentiment in the education community and the available research evidence at that time: retained students performed worse than their promoted peers in the years that followed. This brief challenges that notion, based on more recent studies that do a better job of isolating the causal effect of retention.

Key Competences and New Literacies: From Slogans to School Reality | Dobryakova, Froumin, Barannikov, Moss, Remorenko, Hautamäki, w/ chapter by Parandekar | Includes case studies from 8 countries on the competence-turn in the curriculum. Describes pedagogical approaches to foster 21st century skills. Outlines the components of environmental literacy.

Call for Papers:

Returns to Education Turns 50 | Submit a Manuscript to the Journal Education Economics for a Special Issue on the 50th Anniversary of the Returns to Education: An International Comparison | Manuscript deadline: 31 October 2023 | Special Issue Editor: Harry Patrinos, World Bank | Submit An Article | This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book, Returns to Education: An International Comparison, by George Psacharopoulos (assisted by Keith Hinchliffe). Education Economics is publishing a special issue to mark this occasion and the contributions of Professor Psacharopoulos. The focus of this special issue is research on the returns to education. Research on international comparisons and /or returns to education in less developed economies are especially welcome.