Lecture: Edward Miguel on Measuring Childhood Health Investments

In the latest of its centennial year lecture series, the Social Science Research Council asks “What are the Long-Run and Inter-Generational Impacts of Child Health Investments in East Africa?” with answers provided by University of California, Berkeley economist Edward Miguel. The free online lecture is set for Friday, April 21.

Noting that a lack of data has made measuring the effectiveness of investments in childhood health difficult, especially where average regional incomes are low. Miguel, the Oxfam Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics and faculty director of the Center for Effective Global Action at Berkeley, will discuss the Kenya Life Panel Survey, which leverages innovative methods and a unique dataset tracking thousands of Kenyans over two decades. According to the SSRC, “The evidence indicates that investments in child health radiate out over time and across generations in multiple, and perhaps surprising, ways.”

The hour-long lecture begins at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, April 21 on Zoom.

For its 100 years celebration, the council is highlighting one vexing social and behavioral science research question that was of paramount importance in one decade of the organization’s past. The Miguel lecture, for example, highlights economic development. For each lecture, a member drawn from the council’s College and University Fund for the Social Sciences member institution to address the issue. The fund represents a network of more than 45 research institutions.

Future scheduled lectures include:

“Encouraging Technology Adoption in Agrarian Societies” | Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University | May 23

Education | Karthik Muralidharan, University of California, San Diego | June 15

Persistent Poverty | Winnie van Dijk, Harvard University | August

Climate Change | Kelsey Jack, University of California, Santa Barbara | September

To watch past lectures in the series or for updates on future ones, click here.