Publication: Can Disadvantaged Kids Ever Catch Up with Better-off Peers?
Loading...
Date
2013-05
ISSN
Published
2013-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The World Bank is focused on developing and supporting programs that help children reach their potential and live lives free of poverty. To help build a body of evidence of what works, the World Bank financed an evaluation of a program in Jamaica that targeted mothers of babies stunted due to malnutrition. The mothers received either support or guidance on how to encourage their babies' development through play and language, or nutritional supplements, or a combination of the two. The children whose mothers had received the extra guidance were doing as well financially as the less disadvantaged (and non-stunted) children. This study is a rare look at the effects of early childhood intervention over the decades, giving policymakers and development experts tangible proof of the potential effects of early childhood development programs. A rare long-term study of the effects of an early childhood development program shows that children's lives can be improved by ensuring that they have the right stimulation and emotional support as babies and toddlers.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2013. Can Disadvantaged Kids Ever Catch Up with Better-off Peers?. From Evidence to Policy;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16117 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Kenya(Washington, DC, 2022-10)Before the COVID pandemic, more than half of children in low and middle-income countries suffered from learning poverty: they either were out of school or failed to learn to read with comprehension by age 10. At the same time, numerous studies have documented serious challenges related to the quality of education services, particularly for those serving poor students. In a country like Kenya, for example, teachers exhibit low levels of content and pedagogical knowledge. Previous research has shown that highly structured teaching guides could improve literacy, but scripted lessons are not without critics, who worry that teachers will not be able to adapt content to student’s needs. In places where teachers may be less prepared to tailor high quality lessons to their students, however, scripting may offer a way to standardize a minimum level of quality at scale.Publication Rwanda(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11)Children need a safe, nurturing, healthy, and stimulating environment to thrive and reach their full potential. But millions of children living in poverty don’t receive enough stimulation or good nutrition in their first years of life, and poverty also makes them more likely to experience neglect and violence in the home. Domestic violence, however, is rarely addressed in programs promoting young children’s development, which also typically focus on mothers, with little attention on fathers. Previous research suggests home-based parenting programs can lead to positive improvements in children’s brain development. Can these programs be adapted to address family violence as well Can these services be effectively delivered through government social safety net programs which often target poor, vulnerable familiesPublication India(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07)In the first years of life, all children need healthy food, a clean environment, and stimulation to thrive and reach their full developmental potential. However, poverty prevents millions of young children in low- and middle-income countries from receiving adequate nutrition and stimulation. As a result, many disadvantaged children’s brain development lags behind that of their well-off peers, which can have lifelong consequences. Previous research from low-income settings has found that encouraging parents to play and interact more with their children can improve children’s brain development, with impacts that can last into adulthood. Delivering these parenting programs at scale and in a cost-effective manner, however, has been a challenge, in part because some of the most successful programs have been delivered through intensive and relatively costly home-based programs.Publication Armenia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04)More people around the world are dying from noncommunicable diseases than ever before. These diseases, which include cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and heart disease, prematurely kill more than 15 million people between ages 30 and 69 each year. Many of these health conditions also make individuals more susceptible to severe forms of other diseases like Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study targeted adults between the ages of 35 and 68 in Armenia who had not been screened in the preceding year. The baseline data suggests this population was not economically secure: half of participants responded that their income was sufficient for basic family needs, such as food, clothing, and utilities, but not enough for big purchases like a car, while 35 percent responded that their income is sufficient for everyday food but not for clothes and other basic needs. More than half of those in the study were unemployed. This research finds that conditional incentives and personalized invitations can substantially increase screening for diabetes and hypertension for those who haven’t been recently screened. Further research may be needed to evaluate these interventions at scale.Publication Rwanda(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01)Performance pay for teachers generates debate. Proponents argue that many school systems have low levels of accountability and advocate incentivizing teachers by linking their pay to either their own efforts or their students’ learning. Critics, however, raise concerns that performance pay attracts people to the teaching workforce who are in it for the money and can diminish the intrinsic motivation to teach among teachers already in classrooms.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Jamaica(Washington, DC, 2014-05)The World Bank is focused on developing and supporting programs that help children reach their potential and live lives free of poverty. To help build a body of evidence of what works, the World Bank financed an evaluation of a program in Jamaica that targeted mothers of babies stunted due to malnutrition. The mothers received either support or guidance on how to encourage their babies development through play and language, or nutritional supplements, or a combination of the two. The children whose mothers had received the extra guidance were doing as well financially as the less disadvantaged (and non-stunted) children. This study is a rare look at the effects of early childhood intervention over the decades, giving policymakers and development experts tangible proof of the potential effects of early childhood development programs. A rare long-term study of the effects of an early childhood development program shows that childrens lives can be improved by ensuring that they have the right stimulation and emotional support as babies and toddlers. This Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and the British governments Department for International Development.Publication Achieving Roma Inclusion in Romania : What Does It Take?(Washington, DC, 2014-02-28)Romanian Roma families today constitute a large, young, and extremely poor ethnic minority group, facing exclusion from markets and services. Investments in Roma inclusion are essential for Romania to achieve its Europe 2020 social inclusion goals, and the considerable returns on such investments will lay a more solid foundation for achieving sustained, shared prosperity across Romanian society. Therefore, Roma inclusion is not only a moral imperative, but also smart economics for Romania. This report discusses what it will take for Romania to achieve the socioeconomic inclusion of its Roma population. The report identifies the most important socioeconomic achievement gaps of Romanian Roma. It identifies obstacles to Roma inclusion and examines the relevant institutional framework. It draws policy recommendations based on the observed gaps in outcomes and policies, informed by evidence on what works from international experience. These recommendations focus on providing support and enhancing opportunities for the next generation of Roma while helping to improve the living conditions of the current generation. In this context, the report is organized as follows: chapter one focuses on Roma inclusion is smart economics for Romania; chapter two presents socioeconomic achievement gaps of Roma; chapter three focuses on obstacles to Roma inclusion; and chapter four presents priority interventions and policy measures.Publication Toward an Equal Start(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06-04)Early childhood development programs are particularly beneficial to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Effective investments in this area have the potential to reduce inequalities perpetuated by poverty, poor nutrition, and restricted learning opportunities. This report explores the gaps in early education and care experienced by Roma children between the ages of 3 and 6 in Eastern Europe, and looks at measures to close those gaps. Many Roma children lack a strong early learning and care support mechanism at home. The vast majority of Roma children grow up in poverty and many regularly go hungry. Their parents have minimal levels of education. This creates multiple disadvantages from malnutrition to limited early learning stimulation. The report points to four main policy measures to increase pre-school enrollment and improve early learning at home: (1) better inform parents on the benefits of preschool for children's later life outcomes; (2) promote inclusive pre-schools by reaching out to parents and by involving them more directly in pre-school with the help of Roma teaching assistants; (3) remove cost barriers possibly coupled with regular attendance subsidies. In addition: (4) support parenting at home. These conclusions follow from the finding that the vast majority of Roma parents wish their children to complete secondary education, but that many also stated a desire to raise children at home in their early years when asked why they did not enroll their children in preschool. The report also calls for systematic piloting with variations of different programs, and implementing randomized impact evaluations. Findings from impact evaluations can build public support for scale-up of proven programs. Finally, the report points out that ensuring that poor Roma and non-Roma children alike receive an equal start in life by investing in early childhood development is essential to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and is also smart economics.Publication Intelligence, Personality, and Creativity : Unleashing the Power of Intelligence and Personality Traits to Build a Creative and Innovative Economy(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-11-04)Cognitive ability, as measured by IQ and background factors such as socioeconomic status and demographics have historically been seen as the principal determinants of a student s academic success. However, a growing body of research from psychology, education, behavioral economics and neuroscience is showing that personality traits also predict academic and work performance. This change in paradigm suggests that education systems face a more complex challenge than traditionally recognized: to work not only with the different types of intelligence possessed by students but also with their different personality traits in order to produce academic success measured by cognitive and non-cognitive skills. This paper reviews the research findings from the different literatures (psychology, education, behavioral economics, and neuroscience) that relate to these questions. Several good reviews summarize the findings on aspects of these questions, but rarely address all of the questions above. In particular, those reviews do not shed light on how education can improve both cognitive and non-cognitive skills and how such skills promote creativity and labor market outcomes. The scientific literatures on human intelligence and personality are large, but our focus is on the subset of research findings that relate intelligence and personality to academic performance. Likewise, the literature on creativity, innovation, and productivity is extensive, but our focus will be on the research findings that relate academic performance to creativity and, ultimately, to productivity in the workplace.Publication Tanzania Skills for Competitiveness in the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07)We examine the question of workforce skills for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania and find a mixed picture full of potential. On the one hand, education access has expanded at all levels and a more educated cohort is now entering the labor market - signaling the availability of a more skilled workforce for SMEs. On the other hand, acute shortages of secondary and postsecondary graduates persist. Disturbingly, the quality and relevance of primary education has come into question. It is unclear whether increased access to primary education is actually translating into acquisition of crucial basic skills in the country. In light of this, it is unsurprising that education attainment no longer appears to be a reliable proxy for relevant skills, as perceived by employers. Further, SMEs seem to have very little meaningful connection with education institutions for recruitment of workers. A related but equally concerning problem relates to the culture of recruitment among SMEs in Tanzania. It is one of passive hiring, wherein firms rely on networks and referrals to identify employees instead of actively seeking them through open advertising and links with education providers. In this backdrop there is room for cautious optimism. SMEs seem increasingly to realize and emphasize the importance of workforce skills, even though, in relative terms, they are likely to be significantly more pre-occupied with infrastructure constraints. Interestingly, a large share of firms that have recently failed consider inadequate workforce skills to be a contributing factor of above average importance to firm failure.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Making Procurement Work Better – An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Procurement System(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-06)This evaluation assesses the results, successes, and challenges of the World Bank 2016 procurement reform. Procurements acquire the works, goods, and services necessary to achieve the World Bank’s project development outcomes. The World Bank’s procurement processes must ensure that clients get the best value for every development dollar. In 2016, the World Bank reformed its procurement system for Investment Project Financing and launched a new procurement framework aimed at enhancing the Bank’s development effectiveness through better procurement. The reform sought to reduce procurement bottlenecks impeding project performance and modernize procurement systems. It emphasized cutting edge international good practice principles and was intended to be accompanied by procurement capacity strengthening to help client countries. This evaluation offers three recommendations to scale up reform implementation and enhance portfolio and project performance: (i) Improve change management support for the reform’s implementation. (ii) Strategically strengthen country-level procurement capacity. (iii) Consistently manage the full spectrum of procurement risks to maximize project success.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02)South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.